Hi all

we've decided to have a party in a couple of weeks time and the food is all going to be Indian. The curries will all be made in advance but I was wondering what the best approach with the rice will be.

I would like to do some flavoured rice but do they have to be cooked just prior to serving or can they be cooked in advance (hours not days!).

I've only ever done the rice and then served immediately. I would like to avoid as much active cooking as possible when my guests are here and milling around the kitchen.

Thank you

Flavored rice with curries may not be a good idea. You need plain boiled rice to let the curry talk. Best made fresh.

I think its fine to cook in advance, and reheat in a ?wave oven, but I'd add a little water, and cover the bowl. Also, I would only do this to rice cooked by the absorption method. I would also endorse the 'fresh is best' sentiment.

As regards flavoured rice, most of the time, one wants a foil for a flavoured curry, and plain boiled rice is excellent for this, but sometimes a contrast with a counter flavour is beneficial, and I make lime rice (zest and juice from fresh Bengali limes) to go with fish, or dill bhath with same. But with a variety of curries, I'd go with plain, or at least have it as one option.

I make a rice dish that can be left for a few hours (its normal as it takes a bit of work)

I start off by making an onion and spice mix. Cook the onions down down down into almost a sticky brown sauce, add in ground (cinnamon, cardamon, paprika, turmeric), garlic, tomato pur?e, touch of vinegar to loosen it....

Cook the rice till nearly done (I microwave mine which takes 16mins so I do it for about 14mins)

I then get a deep roasting dish and put a layer of rice, scatter a little of the onion mix, then scatter some fresh corriander leaf, some fresh or dried mint, another layer of rice, more onion mix etc...

Then when its all to the top and the last scattering of onions I mix up a little turmeric in hot water (most people would say use saffron but I don't like the taste) and pour it sporadically around creating a marbling of yellow. Then I use the juice from beetroot/red cabbage and do the same with the pinky red colour (again you might want to use red food colour!?).

Cover with foil and leave until you have got everything else on the go, then heat up in the oven (the extra 'water' you added in the colouring will help steam the last bit out of it).

Serve either by scooping out and leaving it undisturbed.. or mix it up.. you should get white rice, yellow and red/pink.

As I take that many photos I know I will have some somewhere but archived to backup hardrive - these are the only ones I have on here

the dish undisturbed

undisturbed

and bottom left corner of this shot, mixed up

mixed

Steve

I also pimp up the dish with peas, green beans, maybe other veg and spice up with chilli (fresh or flakes/powder) and make it a dish in its own right)

Steve

Rice is fine to cook in advance, as long as you do not leave lying around in the kitchen for too long. A simple rice, like Peas Pilaf or Jeera Rice will be good with curries. You can flavour it with saffron or cardamoms, if you wish.

It takes very little time to cook rice while your guests are chatting amongst them selves.

Fry sliced onions beforehand, for cooking the dish, as well as for the garnish. This takes time.

Measure rice, other ingredients in advance.

Wash and soak rice just before guests arrive.

Put the kettle on.

15-20 minutes before serving, heat the oil/ghee, add cumin, whatever other whole spices you are using and half the onions.

Drain and add rice to the pan, stir for a few seconds, add boiling water, salt, flavouring/colouring. It will come to boil quickly, if you are using boiling water from a kettle.

Turn heat to minimum, cover and join your guests.

Rice will be ready in 10 minutes.

Fluff it up and serve fresh, hot rice.

When I did chef training some years ago, our tutor claimed that 90% of all food poisoning outbreaks that occurred from Chinese restaurants and take aways came from the rice. You can keep cooked rice in the fridge for no more than two days and then it should be thrown away. His words no mine LOL!!

You/your chef are right sid. Rice looks harmless but can cause stomach upsets if not taken care of well. Bacillus cereus can be problematic.

I would add my 2 anna's worth about keeping cooked rice in the fridge. My SIL nearly died from botulism toxin from a Chinese take away!! (the very next day saw the take away's kitchen gutted and all fridges and cookers thrown out!!)

Bacillus cereus is a facultative aerobic bacterium, which means it is anaerobic (likes no/low oxygen levels), but will tolerate aerobic conditions. Also forms spores readily, all of which means bad news for storing rice, which is a perfect medium for most bacteria, because it is nearly pure starch/glucose.

I have frozen cooked rice without problems.

Having read some of Mamta's posts in the past in regards too cooking for large amounts of people, I have concluded that she is a digital machine that is pre-programmed in advance and you just push button B when the guests arrive. It really is fascinating!!!

Sid

It is years of practice sid ;-), greying hair entertaining family, friends and colleagues LOL! When we were young, a long time ago, we used to invite up to 60-70 people, at least once a year. Parties of 30 people was the norm until just 5-6 years ago. Now we have around 8 guests usually, occasionally up to 16-18. Planning became part of it and I learnt from others along the way.

It reminded me, Kavita and her sister Neeta used to be on 'passing around the nibbles' duty and they hated it, bless them.

Passing round the nibbles, passing out the starters, refilling drinks (which meant interrupting the adults' conversations to ask them what they wanted and then going off to collect them from whichever adult was on bar duty)... we did hate it!

But we loved helping everyone park their cars outside, to fit as many in as possible in the cul de sac at the back! Just as well neighbours were always invited as guests or they'd never have been able to get their cars out and back in to go anywhere else on those evenings!!!!!!

finally got around to writing up my rice dish !

Steve