This Jewelled Rice or Pilaf is fragrant, lightly spiced and makes a gorgeous side dish for middle eastern dishes, festive gatherings or celebratory dinners.
Jewelled Rice or Pilaf – A Recipe you can easily adapt
The great thing about this recipe is that this recipe is very easily adaptable to your tastes. I make it in a number of ways as can be seen by the pictures below.
In the versions below, I added Pomegranate kernals and fried onions to the rice and skipped the Carrots.
What is Jewelled Rice or Pilaf?
In this recipe, fluffy rice is lightly spiced with cumin, cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon and then tossed with sultanas/raisins and nuts.
This dish is known as jewelled rice because of it’s appearance. It is vibrant and glistens with coloured nuts and dry fruits.
I like to top it with Fried Onions and Garlic too.
Any flavoured rice always tastes so much better then plain old boring rice and I love all kinds of flavours added to mine such as in this Peri Peri Rice recipe or this Jeera Rice Recipe.
What goes in Jewelled Rice or Pilaf
The ingredients you need to make this recipe are:
Best rice to use – I always use basmati rice . It is the best for fluffy rice with seperate grains. Basmati is a long grain rice. It also has a natural fragrance that lends a subtle flavour to rice dishes.
Ghee/Butter or Oil – All 3 work wonderfully well but Ghee adds the best flavour.
Base – Sautéing garlic and onion gives a lovely nutty flavour to the rice.
Spices – I’ve used a combination of cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom and cumin in this Rice.
Stock OR water – For extra flavour, I would sugeest using chicken stock but water is great too.
Nuts – Almonds, Pistachios or Cashews can be used here. Or a combination of all 3! You can also use toasted seeds instead.
Dried Fruit – Use anything you like here. I like Sultanas or Raisins. Apricots, Barberries and Cranberries also work well.
Fried Onions – To add to the top along with Fried Garlic.
How to make Jewelled Rice
Full instructions and printable recipe card are at the bottom of the page:
This recipe is straight forward to make.
Lightly toast the nuts to bring out the flavour.
Sauté Spices in Ghee/ Oil. Add onion and garlic, then add the rice, stock and fruit.
Add Saffron.
Fry Garlic in Oil.
Once cooked, top with Fried Onions, Carrots, Almonds and Fried Garlic.
Tips to make the best Jewelled Rice
Liquid to Rice Ratio: I always add double the Water to Rice and it always yields perfectly fluffy Rice.
Leave the Rice to do it’s thing – Once the rice goes in, you do not need to open that lid. This yields the best results. After cooking has finished, leave it covered and let it rest.
Nuts – I add these after cooking because I prefer the flavour.
Storage
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the Microwave.
What to serve with:
This recipe pairs well with a number of dishes especially protein rich dishes, such as:
**if you make this recipe, please rate/comment below. we love to hear from you and seeing your creations makes our day – safira
Jewelled Rice or Pilaf
This Jewelled Rice or Pilaf is fragrant, lightly spiced and makes a gorgeous side dish for middle eastern dishes, festive gatherings or celebratory dinners.
Ingredients
- 250 g Rice
- 3 tbsp Flaked Almonds
- 1 tbsp Ghee Or use Veg Oil
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cardamom Pods lighly bashed open
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 large Onion Diced
- 2 cloves Garlic Crushed
- 500 ml Chicken Stock or Veg
- 75 g Sultanas
- Pinch Saffron Optional, Soaked in a little boiling water
Topping
- 3 tbsp Oil Vegetable
- 3 cloves Garlic finely sliced
- 4 tbsp Fried Onions
- 1/2 small Carrot Peeled then shredded, Optional
Instructions
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Soak rice for 30 minutes. Then rinse in a sieve under a cold tap until the water runs clear.
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Lightly toast flaked almonds in a dry pan over medium heat until golden. Remove and set aside.
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Melt Ghee (if using) in a large pan over medium heat then add Oil. Add Cumin Seeds, Cinnamon Stick, Cardamom Pods and a Bay Leaf. Cook till fragrant - 1 minute.
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Add Onion and saute until golden brown. (About 10 minutes). Add Garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
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Add Rice and stir to coat.
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Add Stock, Sultanas and Saffron if using.
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Bring to simmer then immediately turn heat down to medium low and place a lid on the pot. Cook for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Then remove pot from the stove (still covered) and leave, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Remove lid, use fork to fluff rice.
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Add Oil to a pan, once hot and add Garlic. Fry until lightly golden.
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Add Rice to a platter and top with fried Garlic, fried Onions, Flaked Almonds and Carrots.
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