Skip to main content

Ways of Cooking Plain Rice (A Lebanese Way)

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 cups long-grain or basmati rice
3 cups water
Salt
4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

Preparation

  1. Wash the rice if basmati, and drain well. It is not necessary to wash American long-grain. Put the 3 cups of water, salt, and 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Throw in the rice and boil vigorously for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly and cook over very low heat, undisturbed, for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and fluffy, and little holes have appeared all over the surface. Turn off the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
Read More
Like potato pea chowder and green goddess grain bowls.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Like spicy carrot rigatoni and weeknight-fancy ravioli with peas.
Thinly sliced and cooked hot and fast, pork tenderloin is the juicy, cook-quicking weeknight champion of this vegetable-heavy stir-fry.
Like lemony risotto and tandoori-style cauliflower.
The most efficient method takes less than an hour, but you might not even need it.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.