Savory Coconut Rice

Do you like curry? I love curry of all sorts, served of course with a side of long grain basmati rice. Usually we pay more attention to the curry than we do the rice. But the rice can be a star all on its own.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with coconut rice, not the sweet dessert rice that accompanies mango slices, but the savory type, more like a pilaf, cooked with grated coconut and aromatic spices like cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. If you like coconut (hello dad!) this one is for you.

I’ve made several versions of this recipe, with clarified butter, with plain butter, with coconut oil. My favorite is clarified butter but the coconut oil version is really good too! I keep eating it and coming up with excuses to make more.

This recipe is loosely adapted from a recipe in a cookbook from the 60s, called A Taste of India, by Mary Atwood.

Savory Coconut Rice Recipe

You can use either coconut oil or clarified butter for this recipe. Clarified butter will add a wonderful buttery flavor to the rice if you use it and is more traditional for this Indian style rice. Use coconut oil for vegan option.

To make clarified butter, take 4 Tbsp of unsalted butter and melt in a saucepan on medium low heat. Skim the foam. Strain through cheesecloth into a bowl, straining out the solids. (If pressed for time, you can skip the straining step for this recipe, and just skim the foam.)

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp coconut oil (for vegan option) or clarified butter
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 cups basmati long grain rice
• 1/2 cup grated, unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut water*
• 1 3/4 cups plain water
• 3 cardamom pods
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 stick cinnamon

* If you don't have access to packaged coconut water, add 1 cup of grated coconut to 4 cups of water, bring to a simmer, cover and remove from heat, let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain. Use in place of the coconut water and plain water for this recipe.

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