This is a delicious Indian rice recipe that was made more interesting with a very Italian risotto rice.

Indian rice Pilau made with Gallo risotto

I went to the BBC Good Food Show Summer at the NEC a couple of weeks and came back with so many ideas I’ll probably never get to them all.

One of the people I met was the Managing Director of Riso Gallo, Jason Morrison . I already knew the brand very well as I love Italian food. I tried some of the nice rice dishes they were serving on the stand and Jason suggested I try creating an Indian recipe.

No problem!

I decided to serve the rice with a simple roast chicken that I marinated for a few hours in, olive oil, garlic and ginger paste, cumin and lime juice. It went so well with the risotto.

This Indian rice recipe could be served on its own or with the meat/vegetables of your choice.

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Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

500g/1lb Gallo Carnaroli rice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tabelspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic puree
1 tablespoon ginger puree
4 black cardamom pods
8 cloves
1 ince piece cinnamon stick or cassia
1 red chilli pepper – finely chopped
! nice pinch of saffron
100ml milk
2 bay leaves
1 litre fresh chicken stock
1 glass of wine (optional)
Juice of two limes
1 tablespoon garam masala (homemade is best) – Try blending 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cloves, 1 inch cinnamon stick and 2 bay leaves. Heat the spices in a pan for about 20 seconds and then grind to a powder in a spice grinder. This will make more than is needed for this recipe but it can be stored for up to two months.
Salt and pepper to taste.

The Gallo rice I used

In a large frying pan or paella style pan, melt and blend the butter with the olive oil.

Throw in the cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon so that the oil and butter take on their magnificent flavours.

Now add the chopped onions.

Fry over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the ginger and garlic pastes and the chopped chilli and mix well. I actually used a lot more chilli than this recipe calls for. I’ll leave that one up to you.

Pour in half of the chicken stock and add the bay leaves.

The rice will begin to soak up the liquid. As it does, add a little more until you have used all of the stock.

If you are using the wine, pour this in now. You may need to add a little more stock or water. You want the rice to be slightly al dente and not mushy!

Heat the milk up in the microwave until it is just hot but not boiling. Add the saffron and stir it into the hot milk.

Let it sit for about two minutes and then add it to the rice.

Once all of the liquid is soaked up and you are happy with the texture of the rice, add the garam masala and stir it in.

Reduce the heat to a very low setting or turn it off all together.

Cover the pan with a lid or foil and allow the rice to steam for about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and squeeze the lime juice all over the top.

Serve hot with the side dish or main course of your choice.

Disclaimer:The Gallo rice used in this Indian rice recipe was supplied free of charge by Riso Gallo and I confirm that it was absolutely gorgeous!