Sweet Coconut Rice
Sweet coconut rice cooked with aromatic cardamom, cloves, raisins and then garnished with saffron and lightly fried cashews.
Sweet coconut rice cooked with aromatic cardamom, cloves, raisins and then garnished with saffron and lightly fried cashews.
- Carbohydrate 32.5461932068898 g
- Cholesterol 0.473484848084588 mg
- Fat 1.30416785340527 g
- Fiber 1.67320972158843 g
- Protein 3.3270700377499 g
- Saturated Fat 0.314446785278887 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (69g)
- Sodium 6981.66052888841 mg
- Sugar 30.8729834853014 g
- Trans Fat 0.142651921702042 g
- Calories 154 calories
Step-by-step
- Wash, rinse and soak rice in water for 20 minutes. Drain the rice and keep aside.
- Soak saffron in milk and set aside for garnishing
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute(more) mode. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee and cashews. Cook the cashews for a minute or until they turn golden brown, stirring constantly. Take the cashews out and keep aside for garnishing in the end.
- Add remaining ghee to the pot. Add cardamom pods and cloves. Cook for 10-15 seconds as the release the aromas. Add drained rice and toast gently for a minute stirring constantly.
- Add 1-1/2 cups of water and salt. Mix well. Make sure all the rice is submerged under water. Close Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 6 minutes followed by 5-minute Natural Pressure Release.
- Open Instant pot. Add coconut, sugar, raisins and cardamom powder. Mix well.
- Set Instant Pot to Saute(less) mode. Cook with a glass lid on for 5 mins.
- Garnish with fried cashews and saffron.
- Enjoy!
Tracing the Roots of Spiced Rice Preparations
South Asian traditions often integrate sweet aromatics into grain dishes for celebratory feasts rather than standard daily fare. Green cardamom pods, whole cloves, and saffron threads share a lineage with Persian and Mughal pilafs where dried fruits and nuts punctuate starchy bases. Basmati rice brings distinct length and fragrance, resisting mushiness better than short-grain alternatives when handled correctly. Frying cashews in ghee draws out natural nut fats before they ever touch the liquid. Soaking the grains for exactly 20 minutes allows moisture penetration into the endosperm without breaking the delicate structure.
Managing Moisture and Sugar Timing
Adding sugar too early in the cooking process halts grain expansion by drawing water out of the rice through osmosis. Granulated sweeteners and fresh grated coconut enter the pot only after the pressure cycle finishes and the starches stabilize. Toasting drained grains in rendered fat for 60 seconds coats each individual starch molecule in lipids, preventing clumping under pressure. Monitoring the final five-minute simmer under a glass lid evaporates excess surface moisture without scorching the bottom layer.
