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Panta bhat
পান্তা ভাত (panta bhat): overnight-soaked rice with salt, chilli, onion and mustard oil for Pohela Boishakh
For farming families across Bangladesh, panta bhat was simply what you ate in the morning: last night's rice, left covered in water, now cool and slightly tangy, eaten with a fistful of salt, a raw green chilli and a bite of onion before going out to the fields. Today it is also the ritual breakfast of Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year in mid-April, when Dhaka families gather near Ramna Batamul in red and white and eat panta from clay bowls, usually beside fried hilsa, which many households now skip, and a few bhortas. The grains are soft and cold, the soaking water is drunk too, and mustard oil and charred dried chilli give it bite. The real pitfall is food safety: cooked rice left warm on the counter overnight can grow harmful bacteria, so cool it quickly and soak it in the fridge. Chef's tip: use cold boiled water for soaking and eat it within 12 hours, while it tastes fresh and only faintly sour.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 3
Ingredients
For the rice
- 1 ⅓ lb cooked white rice (preferably parboiled)from about 250 g raw rice, cooled within 1 hour of cooking
- 2 ½ cups cold boiled water
To serve
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 onioncut into wedges
- 1 lime or lemon (optional)cut into wedges
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Spread the freshly cooked 1 ⅓ lb cooked white rice (preferably parboiled) out on a tray to cool quickly, no more than 1 hour, then put it in a bowl or clay pot.
60 minStep 2: Pour over 2 ½ cups cold boiled water so the rice is covered by about 2 cm, cover, and refrigerate overnight, 8–12 hours.
Step 3: Next morning, heat 1 tbsp of the 1 tbsp mustard oil in a small pan over a medium heat and fry 3 dried red chillies for 1–2 minutes until it darkens and smells smoky; tip onto a plate.
3 minStep 4: Spoon the rice into bowls with a little of its soaking water and season each bowl with 1 tsp salt and the rest of the 1 tbsp mustard oil.
Step 5: Serve with the fried chillies, 3 green chillies and 1 onion on the side so everyone crushes them into the rice by hand, with 1 lime or lemon and any bhorta you like.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 56 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does panta bhat take?
- About 15 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 3 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of cooked white rice (preferably parboiled)?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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