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Dresil
Sweet rice with butter and raisins
འབྲས་སིལ: Losar morning rice with butter, sugar, raisins and droma
On the first morning of Losar, Tibetan and Sherpa households in the Himalaya and in Kathmandu greet the year with a bowl of dresil: rice tossed with melted butter, sugar, raisins and droma, the small sweet roots of a wild silverweed gathered on the high pastures. It is eaten with butter tea before visits begin, and a little is offered at the family shrine first. The rice is fluffy and glossy, gently sweet and buttery, with chewy bursts of fruit. The common mistake is cooking the sugar in with the rice, which makes it sticky and likely to catch; cook the rice plain, then fold everything in. It is ready when every grain is coated and separate and the raisins have plumped. Chef's tip: droma is hard to find outside Tibetan shops; chopped dried dates and a few toasted cashews give a similar sweet, earthy chew.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 7 oz basmati rice
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 oz dried droma rootsor 4 dried dates, chopped, plus 25 g cashews
- 1 ⅜ oz butter or ghee
- 1 ⅜ oz raisins
- 1 ⅜ oz sugar
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rinse 7 oz basmati rice until the water runs clear and soak it for 15 minutes. If using 1 oz dried droma roots, soak it in hot water at the same time.
15 minStep 2: Drain the rice and put it in a pan with 1 ¾ cups water and 1 pinch salt. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes, then leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes.
17 minStep 3: Drain the droma and simmer it in a little fresh water for 10 minutes until tender, then drain. (Skip this if using dates and cashews.)
10 minStep 4: Melt 1 ⅜ oz butter or ghee in a wide pan over a low heat. Add 1 ⅜ oz raisins and the droma, or the dates and cashews, and stir for 2 minutes until the raisins plump.
2 minStep 5: Tip in the rice and sprinkle over 1 ⅜ oz sugar. Fold gently with a fork for 1–2 minutes until every grain is glossy and the sugar has melted. Serve warm.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 370 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 64 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does dresil take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 20 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 butter or ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
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