Skip to main content

Forbid Me Not



This rice was cultivated exclusively for emperors of China, and the common men were forbidden to eat it. When I read this on the packet of forbidden rice in New York's Whole Foods, it was incentive enough for me to lug it all the way back to India. The other incentive was it's color - black rice, how could I not try it.

Further research told me that while the rice was black raw, it will become a deep purple once cooked. This presented a problem. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what to pair with purple rice. Finally, I decided to cook it like a pulao - sauteed some onions, added rice, salt, black pepper and twice the quantity of water then let the rice simmer for 45 minutes or so till it was done.

The flavor was akin to a very fine basmati, but had more bite to it. And I had it with the only white colored pairing I could think of : spiced yogurt.

I know I am a day late, but this rice - from black to purple - makes a perfect entry for Sunshinemom's Food in Color.

Comments

Sunshinemom said…
I am adding it in the end! I too could not resist it:) Too good, and I have never heard of this! I like the way you keep introducing new stuff:)
CurryLeaf said…
Lovely Simran.I have heard about it,and seen it being cooked in FoodNetwork here,but never ever purchased it.
PS: I am planning to hoard it back there
Marie said…
Thanks Simran for adding me to your list of Mumbai bloggers. You are on my Reading list too. I tried to subscribe by clicking on Posts (Atom) but couldnt get it done. Anyway, I will surely visit your site regularly. Take care.
This is very interesting. White, pink, red but black?
I'm seeing it for the first time.
notyet100 said…
somethin new for me,..thnks for sharin,..:-)
notyet100 said…
glad to knw delhi is ur favourite city mine too ,..specially for varities of food available here....:-) after all i am foodie,...

Popular posts from this blog

Announcing AWED : Britain

Before I ate my first Italian wood fired pizza, before I went to that swanky Japanese sushi bar for the first time, or the neighborhood Chinese joint, the first non-Indian cuisine I encountered was British. Not real food, mind you, but the tempting, oh so delicious descriptions in my favorite novels. From Enid Blyton to Jane Austen to P.G. Wodehouse, every favorite character in every favorite novel seems to have food on their mind. Yes, British food gets ridiculed a lot. But forget their main course dishes for now, and think of the full English breakfast and the elegant afternoon teas. Then try imagining the world without cucumber sandwiches or potato chips and you will realize you can't do without British food. Which is why when I saw that DK was looking for hosts for her monthly event AWED (A Worldly Epicurean's Delight) and there has never been a British AWED, I promptly signed up. The rules are simple really: Make any vegetarian or vegan British dish (eggs are

I've found my perfect cookie

It's a bite sized cookie, with flavors of a pie, shape of a croissant and a pretty, pretty name. It's Rugelach. I first heard of this cookie when it became the baking pick for Tuesdays with Dorrie a couple of months back. The looks, the concept - everything was fascinating. And I've dreamed of making this cookie ever since. I ditched hundreds of recipes floating around and went straight to the master. It's Dorie Greenspan's recipe that I used, and ain't I glad I got it so perfect the very first time. So what's rugelach? It's cream-cheese pastry dough, rolled then cut into wedges, spread with jam and sugar and fillings of choice, rolled into crescents and baked. First the dough. Dorie did it in her processor, but I just went and did it by hand. Put 100 gms cream cheese and 100 gms butter out of the fridge until they were soft but still cold. Added both to a cup of plain flour (I omitted the salt because I use salted butter). Rubbed the flour and but

Aloo Paranthas

In all these years of blogging, I've somehow never managed to talk about aloo paranthas, the potato stuffed flatbread that's a standard breakfast in North India. Possibly because they are such a staple in our home, I found there wouldn't be enough interest in the recipe. But I've also realised over time that my mom's recipe is unique, using a combination of flavours and spices that make these paranthas delicious. But that's not the only reason for this post. I also wanted to tell you about a super cool party and some ways we found to make aloo paranthas even better and believe it or not, healthier. The party in question was hosted by Rushina at her cooking studio a few months back. For a while now, Rushina has been talking about the merits of cling film, parchment and something called cooking foil made by Asahi Kasei. Because we won't believe that you can really cook without oil but using science, she invited a bunch of us over for a potluck lunch.