Cardamom Rice with Poached Egg

This recipe is a simple weeknight meal that can be thrown together in a jiffy--most of the main ingredients can be found around the home and the rest (spices, for the most part) can be scooped up from your grocery store's bulk section. It's a bit of a variation on the phenomenal chicken and cardamom rice that I was so in love with from Jerusalem, but the idea of a slightly easier, mostly vegetarian version of that rice was immensely appealing.

This fragrant rice is best eaten the day it's made and served with a perfectly poached egg (follow the directions below and you can't miss) and a big dollop of yogurt. It's a one-bowl meal that warms the heart and the soul and is elegant enough to serve for either a family meal or an informal weeknight get-together with friends.

 Cardamom Rice with Poached Egg (From Ottolenghi's Plenty)


4 tbsp oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
6 curry leaves
8 cardamom pods
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 fresh green chiles, thinly sliced
coarse sea salt
2 cups basmati rice
3 cups plus 2 tbsp water
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
8 medium eggs
1 1/3 cups parsley leaves, chopped
5 cups cilantro leaves, chopped
6 tbsp lime juice
8 tbsp Greek yogurt
black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Start with the rice. Heat up the oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof saucepan for which you have a tight-fitting lid. Add the onions and garlic and saute on low heat for 8 minutes. Add the curry leaves, cardmom, coriander seeds, turmeric, chiles and 1 teaspoon salt. Continue to cook and stir for 4 minutes on medium heat.

Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil. Add the water. Cover the pan and put it into th eoven. Cook for about 25 minutes. By this point the rice should be totally cooked. When you check, remove the lid very briefly so you don't lose all the steam in the pan. Remove the pan from the oven, keeping it covered, and set it aside somewhere warm.

Fill a shallow saucepan with enough water for a whole egg to cook in. Add the vinegar and bring to a rapid boil. Carefully break each egg into a cup, then gently pour into the boiling water. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and set it aside. After about 4 minutes the egg should be poached to perfection Using a slotted spoon carefully transfer the poached egg to a bowl of warm water to keep it from cooling down. Once all the eggs are done, dry them on paper towels.

When you are nearly finished poaching the eggs, stir the parsley, cilantro and lime juice into the rice and fluff it up with a fork. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Divide the rice among individual serving bowls and spoon yogurt on top. Place one or two eggs on each portion, drizzle some oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Enjoy!