Eye: Nasi Briyani

After spending so much time cooking and baking over the holidays, the last thing I wanted to do this past week was to cook or eat another big meal. Therefore this week I’d like to share with you a very simple one-pot rice dish that can cook in under 30 minutes — my Singapore/Malaysian fusion Nasi Biryani. Many of the spices happen to be ingredients we often use in holiday baking, so it’s also a good way to use up some of those leftover spices.

Biryani is a rice dish with a lot of spices, vegetables and often meat. The word “biryani” originates from “birinj,” the Persian word for rice. There are many, many different versions of biryani across the world, from South East Asia to Africa. The version that we’ve been enjoying at our house is the Singapore/Malaysian nasi biryani. It is believed that biryani was introduced to Malaysia by Indian Muslims as well as the Arab diaspora. This is a healthy and very simple dish you can make as a post-holiday meal. Or if you have anymore energy left to cook for a New Year’s Eve party, this is a great last-minute party food to put together. I’ve actually brought this dish to several parties and potlucks during the holidays and it has always been a crowd pleaser.
You will need:

Ingredients: (Serves 4 people)

1 cup basmati rice
1⅓ cup water
½ cup coconut milk
1 onion
1 carrot
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. minced ginger
½ tsp. turmeric powder
¼ tsp. coriander seeds
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1½ tsp. coarse salt
¼ tsp. pandan leaf extract
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

For the toppings:
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup toasted cashew nuts
1 small fried shallot

Directions:
Start by soaking the rice in 1⅓ cup of water and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Slice onion and carrot into thin strips.

In a deep pot, cook the onions and carrots along with 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil on medium low heat until the carrots are soft and onions are translucent. This will take about three to four minutes. Once the onions and carrots are cooked, turn the heat up to high and toss in the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, coriander seeds and star anise, along with the remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil. Cook for one minute or until you can smell the fragrance from all of the spices. If you don’t have whole spices, you can substitute each with ⅛ tsp. ground spice.

Stir in the coconut milk and the soaked rice, along with all of the soaking water and turmeric powder. Cook until it comes to a simmer. Stir in the pandan leaf extract and cover the pot. Turn the heat down to low and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes. If you can find fresh pandan leaves, you can just tie two leaves into a knot and place it in the pot instead. For those who are not familiar with pandan leaf, it is a tropical plant that is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. It’s got a very unique, almost creamy and sweet flavor. You can find the extract in Southeast Asian grocery stores or online. However, if you want to skip this step, that’s fine too. I have made this dish without the pandan in the past and it still tastes very delicious with all the spices and coconut milk. But the pandan leaf is what will give it the unique Malaysian taste.

While you are waiting for the rice to be cooked, you can prep the toppings. Lightly toast the cashew nuts in the toaster oven or on the stovetop until it’s brown. To fry the shallots, slice them into thin rings. Fry the shallot on medium high heat with 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil until it’s brown and crispy (about 1-2 minutes).

Once the rice is cooked, toss in the raisins and fluff the rice very gently. Cover the rice up again and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the raisins to infuse with the rice. After that, sprinkle the fried shallots and cashew nuts on top of the rice and serve.