This Kerala Fried Rice is such a simple side dish to make when you need something to go with your curries. Honestly, though, I could eat of bowl of this on its own. Featuring ghee-fried onions, cashews, and raisins, and tender long-grain rice, you’ll have a beautiful side dish ready in under 20 minutes!
What I love most about this dish is the flavor that comes together in the rice water. Any time I am making something that cooks in water, I ALWAYS season the water. This rule goes for pasta, rice, couscous, and more. There’s nothing more flavorful and simple than a hint of salt in your cooked rice or noodles. In this case, I am using kewra, cardamom, cumin seeds, and salt to flavor my rice water. Kewra has a very similar aroma to rose water, but it’s distinct in its eathy aroma. I love using it in biryani!
As always, I hope you enjoy making this simple, flavorful Kerala Fried Rice. It pairs really well with my Mallu Butter Chicken, Amma’s Chicken Curry, or even just Moru. If you have any questions about my recipes, cooking tips, or anything reach out to me on Instagram @thefamiliarkitchen and check out my recipe highlights for a “behind the scense” look at making this dish!
Kerala Fried Rice
Ingredients
- Long Grain Rice (Basmati works), 3 cups
- Kewra Water (or Rose Water works), 1 tbsp
- Green Cardamom Pods, 4
- Cumin Seeds, 1/2 tsp
- Salt, 1 tbsp
- Ghee, 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
- Onion, 1, thinly sliced
- Raisins, 1/4 cup
- Unsalted Cashews, halved, 1/4 cup
Instructions
Wash and cook the rice.
- In a strainer, add the rice and wash it under cold water a few times. We're washing the rice to remove extra starch, which is what can make rice sticky. Once you're rice is washed, set it aside. Bring a pot of water to a full rumbling boil along with the kewra water, cardamom, cumin, and salt. Only after the water has come to a full rumbling boil should you add the rice into the pot. Once the rice is in, give it a stir and then loosely cover the pot with its lid. Cook for exactly 7-8 minutes or until the rice is just firm. If the pot bubbles up while it's covered, you can remove the lid, give it a stir, and leave it uncovered for the duration of cooking. As soon as 8 minutes are up, strain the rice under cold water then set aside.
Fry.
- While the rice is cooking, grab a separate saute pan on medium high heat and add in 1 tbsp of ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add in the sliced onions and saute these until golden in color. TIP: add 1/4 tsp of salt and sugar to the onions to help sweat them out and give a caramel-like flavor.Once the onions are a golden color, remove them and then in the same pan, fry the cashews. Once the cashews form a light golden color, remove. Finally, add in the raisins and fry just until the raisins puff up then remove. (Don't overcook the raisins or they can easily taste bitter).
Put it all together.
- The finaly step is to use a deep skillet on high heat and add in the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add in the cooked rice and continuously stir the rice back and forth in the pan to keep it moving and to allow the moisture content to dry out of the rice. After 2-3 minutes, add in the fried onions, raisins, and cashews and sprinkle a pinch or two of salt on top. Add fresh cilantro if desired. Done!
Using Kewra water in Ghee rice is new to me . Never tried it before . Thanks for sharing your recipe