Hello my dear friends and fellows!

Welcome back to my space Dish Of Delight once again. If you are bored of eating the same plain rice every day, and wish to make it a bit more interesting, without making it spicy, then do try this recipe of Saffron rice. It is very easy to make and will give you a change of taste without much hassle.

Lets take a look at the simple recipe for making Saffron rice.

Ingredients

*1 cup = 250 ml

Basmati rice 2 cups

Cinnamon 1” stick

Cardamom 5 or 6

Cloves 5 or 6

Black pepper (whole) 12 to 15

Saffron strands 15 to 20

Milk (lukewarm) ¼ cup

Dry fruits 5 to 6 almonds sliced and 10 to 12 cashews halved (optional)

Oil 1 and ½ tbsp

Ghee 1 tbsp

Salt as per taste

Sugar as per taste

Procedure

  • Clean wash the rice grains and soak in 3 cups of water for about 20 minutes
  • After 20 minutes strain out the water and spread the rice grains on a flat surface and let dry for 15 to 20 minutes. If you are short of time then you can skip the drying part
  • Soak the saffron strands in the lukewarm milk for 15 to 20 minutes
  • Heat oil in a heavy and deep bottomed cooking vessel at medium high flames. Once the oil gets heated, add the whole spices and saute for few seconds
  • Then, add the dry fruits and fry these for few seconds. Do not let them turn brown
  • Now, add the rice grains and stir and fry for 5 to 7 minutes at medium flames. Do not let the grains change colour. Fry until the grains turns glazy
  • Then, add 4 cups of water, salt, sugar and mix. Put the flames at maximum. Do not stir repeatedly or else the grains might break
  • Once the water starts boiling, reduce the flames to minimum, stir once and then cover
  • Cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until water is mostly soaked in
  • At this stage, add the saffron infused milk and ghee. Give it a light mix and again cover and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes at minimum flames and then switch off the flames.
  • Saffron rice is ready to be served. Serve it with any veg or non veg dish of your choice and enjoy with your family and friends.

** I don’t prefer to use food colour. If you wish to make the rice a bit more colourful, then add 2 drops of saffron colour to the milk along with the saffron strands.