Sweet Rice

Sweet Rice

Sweet rice is a sweet dish my children used to love and I loved making it as it was easy, requiring less time and best of all I could make use of the leftover rice from previous meal. But it is made from freshly cooked rice as main course in many parts of India. Though I make it with sugar / jaggery but in Uttar Pradesh a northern state of India during the harvest season of sugar cane this preparation of rice is very popular. My father’s friend used to grow sugar cane and every Sunday till the harvesting lasted, we used to have a feast of sweet rice flavored with cardamom garnished liberally with almonds and cashew nuts. Of course the same taste of my childhood cannot be created by me but my kids used to love my version of sweet rice made with jaggery / sugar. 

Preparation Time: 5 min.

Cooking Time: 15 min (If the rice is cooked in pressure cooker)

Servings: 4 Medium Servings

Ingredients required For Making Sweet Rice:

• 200 gm. Rice

• 75 gm. Jaggery / Sugar

• 10-15 Almonds

• 10-15 Cashew nuts

• 10-15 Raisins

• 1 Small pinch of salt

• 1/4Teaspoon Turmeric Powder

• 3-4 Green Cardamom

• 2-3 Cloves

• 2-3 Small florets of Javitri (Dried flower of Nutmeg)

• 10 ml. Ghee (Clarified butter)

Directions For making Sweet Rice:

• Cut almonds and cashew nuts to pieces.

• Pound the green cardamoms.

• Wash rice and boil rice in a thick bottom vessel till rice is soft but not completely cooked. 
• Drain excess of water through a sieve and pass cold water in large amount through the partially cooked rice to ensure that the partially cooked rice grains do not stick to each other.

• Keep the partially cooked rice in a sieve for draining all water.

• Heat ghee in a thick bottom wok till it is very hot.

• Add 

• Javitri

• Pounded green cardamom

• Fennel seeds

• Cloves and cook for 30 sec.

Seasoning for Sweet Rice

• Add cut almonds and cashew nuts and cook till the nuts gain light brown color.

Nuts being shallow fried with seasoning

State of dry fruits when Rice should be added

• Add rice and mix nicely.

• Add pinch of salt, turmeric powder and mix.

Rice added and mixed nicely

• Cook for 3-4 min. with constant stirring.

• Add sugar / jaggery and mix nicely. Sugar / jaggery will lose it’s water and thus there will be some liquid in the wok.

• Bring the flame to high and cook with continuous stirring till the liquid dries. Do not cover.

Sweet Rice Ready To Be Served

• Sweet rice is ready to be enjoyed. I personally prefer piping hot sweet rice you can serve it hot or cold as per your liking.

Sweet Rice

Tips:

• If the rice is being cooked in the cooker then make sure it is not over cooked (not more than 2 min. of low heat cooking will be required once the pressure is built and weight is put on the cooker). Cool the cooker by pouring water and remove hot cooked rice on a sieve and pour cold water in excess to ensure the partially cooked rice grains do not stick to each other.

• Do not change the cooking medium, if done so the authentic taste of sweet rice will be lost.

• Basmati rice gives best result.

Suggested Variations:

• Fennel seeds can be replaced by Cinnamon stick.

• Crushed walnut, Pistachios can be added.

• Seeds of watermelon/ musk melon can be roasted and sprinkled on the cooked sweet rice before serving.

• If fresh sugarcane juice is available then to make sweet rice:

• Wash the rice and soak for one hour.

• Drain water from soaked rice.

• Heat ghee in a thick bottom vessel and add the seasonings. Cook for 30 sec.

• Add soaked and drained rice and shallow fry for 4-5 min.

• Add 150 ml. water, cover and cook on low flame for 5 min. Rice will start becoming soft to touch.

• Add 500 ml. of sugarcane juice and cook on high flame with occasional stirring till all liquid dries up and the rice becomes soft.

• Rice cooked in sugar can juice will not have the grains separate. But the taste is absolutely great.

• Shallow fry nuts to light brown color and add the browned nuts to the cooked rice.

• Mix and serve hot with a dollop of Ghee !!!!!!!!