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Bagara khana
Spiced tempered rice
بگھارا کھانا: Hyderabad's plain spiced rice, tempered with whole spices, mint and fried onion and cooked on dum
Ask for rice at a Hyderabadi wedding or Eid dawat and, if it is not biryani, it will be bagara khana: long-grain basmati cooked in a bagar (tempering) of ghee, shahi jeera, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf, with sliced onion, ginger-garlic, green chillies, mint and coriander. It has no vegetables or meat in it at all; it is the plain partner for rich, sour gravies like dalcha (lentils with bottle gourd), mirchi ka salan and bagara baingan, and every Old City household eats it on Sunday. Each grain should be long, separate and fragrant, glossy with ghee and flecked with green. The common mistake is too much water, which makes it mushy; measure 1¾ cups of water for each cup of soaked rice and finish on dum. Chef's tip: add a squeeze of lemon to the boiling water; it keeps the basmati white and stops the grains breaking.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the rice
- 10 ½ oz basmati ricewashed and soaked 30 minutes
- 2 ¼ cups waterhot
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the bagar
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 cinnamon stick5 cm
- 4 cloves
- 1 onionthinly sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 3 green chilliesslit
- ½ oz mint leavesa handful
- ⅓ oz fresh corianderchopped
To serve
- 2 tbsp fried onions (birista) (optional)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat 2 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat. Add 1 tsp caraway or black cumin (shahi jeera), 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 4 green cardamom pods and let them sizzle for 30 seconds until fragrant.
1 minStep 2: Add 1 onion and fry for 6–7 minutes, stirring, until golden brown.
7 minStep 3: Stir in 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste and 3 green chillies and cook for 1 minute until the raw smell goes. Add ½ oz mint leaves and ⅓ oz fresh coriander and stir for 30 seconds until wilted.
2 minStep 4: Drain the 10 ½ oz basmati rice and add it to the pot. Stir gently for 2 minutes so every grain is coated in ghee.
2 minStep 5: Pour in 2 ¼ cups water with 1 ¼ tsp salt and 1 tsp lemon juice. Bring to a boil on a high heat and cook uncovered for 4–5 minutes until most of the water has been absorbed and small holes appear on the surface.
5 minStep 6: Cover tightly (seal the lid with foil or a damp cloth), put the pot on a tawa over the lowest heat and cook on dum for 12 minutes.
12 minStep 7: Turn off the heat and rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, scatter over 2 tbsp fried onions (birista) and serve with dalcha or mirchi ka salan.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bagara khana take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of basmati rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
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