Sweet Rice Zarda Rakhi Recipe

Zarda is a sweet saffron Basmati rice served by a sister to her brother on Rakhi in India

This gets little tricky, as the sugar in rice makes the absorption harder. To this end we do three things different than making a pilaf:

1. Pre-soak rice in water for one hour.

2. Reduce the traditional amount of sugar, but add lemon juice to make sugar sweeter.

3. Add more water and increase cooking time.

See How to cook Rice to understand the chemistry.

Equipment needed

One heavy bottom stainless steel sauté pan used in step 3

One heavy bottom stainless steel Brazier with a lid for main dish used in Step 5

Ingredients

Steps 1 and 2

1. Basmati Rice: 2 cups

2. Water for pre-soaking rice: 3 cups

Step 3

3. Ghee: 3 Tablespoons
4. Cashew halves raw: ¼ cup

5. Sliced almonds: ¼ cup

Step 5

6. Water: 4¼ cups

7. Salt: pinch

8. Saffron 4 to six strands

9. Cardamom powder: ¼ teaspoon

10. Cinnamon powder: ¼ teaspoon

11. Sugar: 1 Cup

Step 6

12. Lemon juice: ½ teaspoon

13. Raisins: ¼ cup

Method

Step 1 Wash Rinse

Wash and rinse rice to remove dirt and starchy powder. I repeat it three times.

Step 2 Presoak Rice

Presoak rice in 3 cups plain water for one hour at room temperature.

Step 3

Add Ghee to the sauté pan. Start heat. When Ghee is hot,  add cashews, sliced almonds. Sauté till lightly for one minute.

Step 4

Add presoaked rice. Toss it around so the Rice is coated with oil. The rice will start turning opaque white.

Step 5:

In the brazier pan, add water, sugar, saffron strands, cardamom, cinnamon and bring it to a boil.

Step 6:

Add lemon juice, Raisins and rice from Step 4. Bring it to a boil.

Step 7. 

Cover the pan, turn down heat simmer on low heat for 17 minutes. Turn off heat. Let it rest for 20 minutes.