Day 191 - Basmati Rice

I have mentioned this before but it bears repeating – we eat a TON of starch at our house.  Every dinner usually includes at least one green veggie and one starch, often RICE.  So we cook and consume loads of rice.

The variety I am reviewing here is BASMATI.  It is from India and it is good.  It has a nutty aroma and it long grained.  A couple of months ago David started a new technique (new to us) where he puts some olive oil (Extra Virgin) in a pot, fries it a bit (stirring a lot) until the kernels turn white instead of translucent, then adds the water for cooking.  This takes 2 – 3 minutes.  It results in good tasting rice.  We used to always just throw it in a rice cooker or pot to cook the regular old way, but this technique really does give you a tastier dinner.

David's fancy "cook a bit before you actually cook the rice" technique in action

This Trader Joe’s Basmati is really good.  It is long grained, if cooked correctly it does not all stick together (my bad the other night when we had a gloppy dinner…), and best of all, it is REALLY WELL PRICED.  This is much cheaper than other brands of Basmati.

Bowl of rice - see how it is not gloppy?

The one tricky part about this bag is OPENING IT.  Instead of opening on the TOP it opens a bit down the front.  Odd.  It does zip up to reseal, which is nice.

David worriedly opening the bag - see how it opens a bit down the front and not on top?

This is a good rice to keep on hand.  Because, as they say (I have never actually heard anyone say this…), RICE IS NICE!

Here is a handy guide to Trader Joe’s rice that I found online. 

http://traderjoes.com/digin/post/guide-to-TJs-rice

Price - $3.29

Rating – 4.5