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1At Tilda, were proud to offer a range of specialty rice varieties to make it easier to create mouth-watering gourmet dishes at home. Like fine wine, each of these varieties offers a distinctive flavour tone and texture highlight that can be matched perfectly with dishes from across the globe.
Thats why weve teamed up with MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker, known for his complex layering of flavours and spices, to develop the first ever Tilda Rice & Spice Pairing Guide. Dhruv has been working with experts at Tilda to become a 'Rice Sommelier', to help uncover the secrets behind identifying the perfect rice for each dish to create delicious mealtime pairings. Weve also included top tips from Dhruv, to give you an insight into understanding and appreciating the complexities of a truly excellent rice dish.
Discover why a robust, nutty Wholegrain Basmati will enhance your Chilli Con Carne beyond belief, how a Fragrant Jasmine rice balances perfectly with fiery ginger and why Pure Basmati, often referred to as the Prince of Rice, is the ideal accompaniment to a perfect curry. Keep reading to learn more about getting the very best from your rice dishes!
Introduction
Contents:
Welcome to the Rice and Spice Guide!
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Dhruv BakerWinner, MaSterChef 2010
Pure BaSmati - - - - - - - - - 2
Wholegrain BaSmati - - - - - - 3
Fragrant JaSmine - - - - - - - 4
Ea y Cook Ba mati - - - - - - 5
Giant Wild - - - - - - - - - - - 6
Ba mati and Wild - - - - - - - 7
2Pure BaSmati
Truly the jewel in the crown of our rice range, a gorgeously aromatic
and delicate, light grain which needs to be served with a dish that will
work with its flavour profile without overpowering. The Perfect Chicken
Curry is an excellent example of such a dish delivering layer upon
layer of flavour.
This unique grain is renowned for its tantalising flavour, magical aroma and
delicate fluffy texture. Basmati also has the highest amino acid and nutritional content
of all rices, and its gluten free too.
Star anise is shaped like an eight-pointed star and contains seeds with an aniseed flavour. It is used widely in Chinese cooking and is one
of the five spices in Chinese five-spice powder. Try infusing your Basmati with this aromatic
spice whilst cooking.
Basmati can only be grown in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Perfect Chicken CurryDhruv's
Ingredients
75g desiccated coconut
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
3 whole dried red chillies
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp fennel seeds
3 tsp coriander powder
tsp chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
tsp cinnamon powder
5 tbsp vegetable oil
3 red onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
6 tbsp fresh curry leaves
8 tomatoes, finely chopped
tsp salt
500g boneless chicken thighs (skin removed)
200ml water or chicken stock
1 small bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
A squeeze of lemon
1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional if you like it hot!)
Method
1. Toast the coconut in a pan over a low heat, stirring until it turns golden brown.
2. Remove the coconut to a plate and into the same pan add the cinnamon sticks, dried chillies, peppercorns, star anise and fennel seeds. Roast in the pan for 3-4 minutes then add the ground coriander and chilli powder and stir for a minute. Add 100ml of water to form a paste and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Remove the cinnamon sticks, star anise and whole chillies and keep for later. Add the toasted coconut, turmeric and salt to the pan. Add everything to a spice grinder or pestle and mortar and grind to a smooth paste.
4. Heat the oil in the same pan and slowly cook the onions until they are soft this will take about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes then turn up the heat and add the curry leaves and stir for a minute.
5. Add the tomatoes and the spice paste, return the cinnamon stick, star anise and chilli to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring until you end up with a smooth paste and the oil starts to separate out.
6. Remove half the mixture and freeze or place in an airtight container which will keep in the fridge for a week or so.
7. Add the chicken and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Add 200ml chicken stock remove the lid and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
8. Remove the star anise, cinnamon and chilli, stir through the lemon juice and green chilli (if using) and scatter with the fresh coriander.
Serves 4 Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 45 mins
Spice Match:
Star AniSe
Rice Fact
3Wholegrain Basmati is a world apart from Pure Basmati in terms of flavour and texture. A firmer grain with the bran layer intact and a nuttier aroma and taste, making an ideal match for this delicious, rich chilli con carne.
With the bran later intact, Wholegrain Basmati has a distinctive nutty flavour. It is rich in
nutrients and natural fibre due in large part to the bran, which is an excellent source of fibre,
oils, B vitamins, and important minerals.
In Spain farmers harvest and dry the chillies over wood fires, creating smoked paprika. Smoked
paprika is traditionally used in paella, and highly flavoured dishes where you need to create a
multi-layered depth of flavour and heat.
For Hindus rice is associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, love and prosperity.
Ingredients
240g Tilda Wholegrain Basmati Rice 1 tbsp olive oil2 springs of rosemary, chopped1 large white onion, chopped red pepper, diced
orange pepper, diced2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tsp if you only have mild)1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp smoked paprika
500g lean lamb mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can red kidneybeans
Soured cream & guacamole, to serve
Jalapeos (as desired)
Method
1. Heat oil in pan and add the chopped onions followed by chopped rosemary until the rosemary releases its oils about 2-3 mins.
2. Add the garlic peppers and followed by the mince lamb. Cook the meat out until its separate approx. 10 mins.
3. Then add the red kidney beans followed by the tomatoes, cumin, chilli powder and cook for 15 mins until bubbling.
4. For the rice cook 240g of Tilda Wholegrain Basmati as per pack instructions.
5. Serve with sour cream, guacamole & jalapeos.
Lamb Chilli Con Carne
Serves 4 Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 30 mins
Spice Match:
Rice Fact
Wholegrain BaSmatiS
Smoked Paprika
4Fragrant JaSmine
Fragrant Jasmine rice has a stickier texture than Basmati and long-grain rices, so it needs a dish with plenty of flavour but without being too heavy. This ginger and soy turkey is perfect.
Wonderfully savoury with soy and perfectly light because of the turkey.
Add in the crunch and colour from the fresh vegetables, and its easy to see why
this is such a great pairing.
This perfumed and floral rice is renowned across South East Asia and no Thai curry
would be complete without a side of steamed sticky rice. It is also an excellent base for traditional Thai, Malay and Indonesian
stir fries, and teams perfectly with ginger, lemongrass, galangal, lime, green chilli and
kaffir lime leaves.
Fresh ginger has a sweet and pungent taste and a perfume-like scent that makes it suitable for both sweet and savoury dishes. Ginger is popular in cuisines throughout Asia and is especially favoured in stir-fries, curries and
fried-rice dishes.
In Indian tradition rice is the first meal that a wife serves to her husband after their marriage.
Jasmine Rice With Ginger Soy Turkey
250g Tilda Fragrant Jasmine Rice
500g diced turkey
tsp sugar
tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 small red pepper, sliced
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
50g mangetout, sliced diagonally
2 tbsp light soy sauce
150ml stock blended with 1 tsp cornflour
Sea salt and pepper
Fresh coriander or parsley
Method
1. Cook rice according to covered pan method on pack. Keep warm, mounded, on serving plate.
2. Fry diced turkey in oil for 3 minutes, stirring, then add red pepper, ginger and onions. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add mangetout, soy sauce, lemon juice and sugar. Cook for 2 minutes then mix in stock and cook to thicken.
4. Check seasoning and spoon on top of rice. Garnish with herbs and serve hot.
Serves 4 Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 25 mins
Spice Match: Ginger
Rice Fact
Ingredients
5EaSy Cook BaSmati
More forgiving to cook than Pure Basmati, Easy Cook has a delightful fragrance that is ideal alongside the cumin, saffron and cinnamon and
compliments the sweetness from the raisins. It is also more robust, both
texturally and in terms of flavour, so it stands up to the lamb resulting in
a fabulous finished dish.
Easy Cook Basmati rice is parboiled with the husk on within days of the harvest. This results in the grain appearing slightly golden in colour
until it is cooked when it turns white. This firmer grain is also perfect for one pot dishes.
Cinnamon is the dried bark of the cassia tree, and it is a central spice in traditional garam masala where its warmth, citrus notes and
woody pungency make it a perfect addition to a host of curries, biryanis and pulaos.
Scientists believe there are 140,000 varieties of cultivated rice, but no one knows the
exact number.
Qabili Pilau
360g Tilda Easy Cook Basmati
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
600g lamb on the bone or chicken, cut in pieces
200ml water
2 large carrots
100g black seedless raisins
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp of cinnamon
tsp of pepper
1 tsp sugar
tsp saffron
1 litre of water
Salt and pepper
Method
1. Heat a large pan with the 2 tbsp oil and add the onions and saut until brown.
2. Add the lamb in 1 inch cubes and brown lightly.
3. Add the tsp cinnamon, 1tsp cumin pepper with the water and cover and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hours.
4. Remove meat from the juice and set juice aside.
5. Cut 2 carrots into match stick size pieces. Saut carrots and 1 tsp sugar in 1tbsp of oil. Cook until they are cooked.
6. Remove from oil Add 1 cup of raisins to the oil and cook until they soften up.
7. Simmer the leftover meat juices until it thickens into a sauce.
8. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the Tilda Easy Cook Basmati, cook for 8 mins and then drain off the excess water.
9. Add the rice back to the pan with 5 tsp of the meat sauce and the saffron. Mix the meat, carrots, raisins and rice together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Place in a large oven-proof dish and cover well to keep the steam inside. Bake for 30 mins at 180 or 350 degrees for about a half hour.
11. Serve in a large platter and enjoy with the leftover meat sauce.
Serves 6 Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 2hrs 35mins
Ingredients
Spice Match:
Rice Fact
Cinnamon
6Giant Wild
The nuttiness and texture from the Giant Wild rice needs something with similar properties from the
spice world - and that something has to be mustard seeds. Their rounded almost bitter flavour is ideal with
the rice, and offers a gorgeous contrast to the smooth
mellowness of the lentils.
Wild Rice is not actually a rice. Its an aquatic cereal grain that grows in isolated lakes and
watercourses across North America. The grains are long, slender and black, with a distinctive
earthy, nutty flavour.
The nutty pungency of mustards such as wholegrain and wholegrain dijon work beautifully with the nutty grains of wild
rice. The grain also combines well with dry fried brown and black mustard seeds used in
traditional Bengali and South Indian cookery.
It takes between three and six months for a rice plant to reach maturity.
Giant Wild RIce Medley
125g Tilda Giant Wild Rice
4 sea bass fillets
100g split yellow peas
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
6 tbsp olive oil
Handful of chopped parsley
2 tsp wholegrain mustard (or Dijon should you prefer)
1 clove crushed garlic
Pinch of salt snd pepper
Method
1. In a pan of boiling water add the yellow split peas and the wild rice and cook at a simmer for 40 mins then drain the excess water off.
2. In separate bowl add olive oil and the lemon zest and juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and whisk to make a dressing then add the rice and lentils.
3. Add the parsley and mix well. Garnish with a lemon slice if desired.
4. Pan fry the sea bass for approx. 10 minutes, then season to taste.
5. Serve piping hot.
Serves 4 Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 45 minsSpice Match:
Rice Fact
Mustard SeedS
Ingredients
7BaSmati and Wild
This dish is delicious, easy and quick to prepare and its visual appeal makes it a real crowd pleaser. The addition of asparagus lifts the dish adding its
unique flavour but also a textural contrast to the robust, satisfying bite of the wild rice. Here the spice match
is actually a contrast - the paprika adding a smoky heat to this otherwise
creamy and delicate dish.
The nutty, wholesome taste of the wild rice matches perfectly with the Basmati grain,
adding a visual twist to any dish.
While the smoked version adds a little more heat, plain Paprika offers a depth of flavour
and a natural way to add colour and intensity to dishes. It is used in a range of dishes across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
From the deserts of the Middle East to the tropical jungles of Africa, rice grows on every
continent... except Antarctica.
Salmon & Asparagus Stroganoff
Serves 4 Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 25 mins
Ingredients
240g Tilda Basmati & Wild Rice
1 tbsp olive oil
500g salmon fillet, cubed
200g button mushrooms
125g asparagus tips, cut into 3cm pieces
200g low fat cream cheese
100ml semi skimmed milk
tsp smoked paprika
20g pack chives, chopped
Method
1. Cook the rice in boiling water for 25 minutes, drain.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the salmon and mushrooms for 3-4 minutes.
3. Stir in the asparagus, cream cheese, milk and paprika and cook for 1-2 minutes. Season to taste.
4. Mix the chives into the rice and serve with the salmon stroganoff.
Spice Match:
Rice Fact
Paprika