Cooking Recipe Chilau
Recipe Ingredients
Directions
Wash the rice well in a colander then put it in a bowl with 2 tb salt
and lukewarm water to cover. Stir and let it soak overnight if you
can, or at least for 1 hour. The longer the better.
Fill a large saucepan with plenty of water, add 2 tb salt and bring
to the boil. Sprinkle the drained rice in gradually and let it boil
vigourly for about 4 to 8 minutes. The time depends upon the batch of
rice but is ready when if you bit on a grain of rice you consider it
to be slightly underdone, slightly harder than you would like to eat
it. Drain quickly and rinse in lukewarm water.
Put 2 tb butter and let it melt in the bottom of a pan, add all the
rice and stir. Cover with 2 more tb of butter. Stretch a clean cloth
over the top of the pan, put the lid on the top and lift the corners
of the cloth up over it.
Leave the rice to steam for 20 to 30 minutes over a very low flame. It
should be cooked and separate. The crisp, brown, golden crust that
forms at the bottom is considered a delicacy to be offered firs to
guest. It is called 'dig'. Remove it with a spatula and serve
separately.
From: A New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden.