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Yellow rice (geelrys)
Cape-style sweet turmeric rice with cinnamon and raisins, the partner to bobotie
Geelrys, or yellow rice, is the bright, faintly sweet rice that comes to the table in the Western Cape with bobotie, curries and Sunday roasts, and at Cape Malay weddings and funerals alike. It is cooked with turmeric, a stick of cinnamon, a little sugar and plump raisins, then finished with a knob of butter so the grains gleam. The sweetness is gentle, just enough to soften a spicy curry. Chef's tip: add the raisins at the start so they plump in the cooking water; added at the end they stay tough and chewy.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 10 ½ oz long-grain white rice, 2 ½ cups water, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 ⅞ oz raisins and ¾ tsp salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat, stirring once.
4 minStep 2: Cover tightly, turn the heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed and small steam holes appear on the surface.
15 minStep 3: Turn off the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes. A common mistake is lifting the lid repeatedly while it cooks, which lets the steam out and leaves hard grains on top.
5 minStep 4: Remove the cinnamon, add ⅞ oz butter and fork it through gently until the rice is glossy and fluffy. Serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 79 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does yellow rice (geelrys) take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 25 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 long-grain white rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
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