It’s good to add a little variety to your rice game. This fragrant basmati and wild rice mixture would suit a multitude of meals, whether meatballs in a tomato sauce, a creamy chicken casserole, spiced oxtail stew, or plain, steamed white fish. It straddles a variety of cuisines too, thanks to the widely used aromatics of mustard seed and lemon. If you’re thinking of a roasted or fried meat without a sauce, consider serving a saucy or at least buttery dish on the side too.
My general rule of thumb for basmati and long-grain rice is to undercook the rice by a few minutes, then drain, rinse and let it steam to fluffy perfection while finishing the rest of my meal. It seems a reliable and fairly foolproof method.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon juice and 2 lemon zest
- 250 g mixed basmati and wild rice
- 4 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
- 15 sprigs thyme leaves
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to Make It
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from each of the lemons (leaving any white pith behind), then slice the strips into fine lengths as thinly as you can. Juice 1 lemon and set to one side.
- Put the rice in a sieve and rinse until the water runs clear, then tip it into a medium-large pan and fill it three-quarters full with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 3 minutes less than the packet tells you to. Drain, rinse with boiling water, return to the saucepan, put the lid on and leave it for 5 minutes so the rice steams to perfection in its residual heat.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the mustard seeds and wait for about 2 minutes, or until they start popping. Now add the lemon zest and thyme. Cook for 1 minute more, until the lemon begins to turn translucent and it smells as though its oils have been released.
- Fluff the cooked rice with a fork, then use a spatula to scrape in the oil and aromatics. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper, add the lemon juice and stir well.
