Well, it is a process that gives rice their perfect softness, prevents them from clumping, or being too soft, it also incorporates the taste of various ingredients added to rice.
For giving dum to any type of rice dish, follow the following procedure. Make sure to use a wide bottom cooking pan with a nice tight fitting lid.
Cover with a lid. Put the pan on the stove, under the minimum possible heat. This process is called "dum." The idea is to create a steam filled environment for the rice to cook,and also, for the flavor of the gravy to be incorporated into rice. Make sure the lid is closed properly, and the heat is low. Too high heat will cause the rice to stick to the bottom of the pan and it will be a pain to wash later on.
Let the dum go on for 10-15 minutes depending on your stove. For gas stoves, and coil top electrical 15 is ok, but for smooth top 10 minutes is enough, after that the rice starts sticking to the pan.
Time also depends on the amount of rice and the width of the bottom of the pan. If pan has a wide bottom (therefore good concuctance) you can open the dum in lesser time. Similarly, lesser the quantity of rice being cooked, lesser the time required for dum). for example for 1- 1+1/2 cups of rice, I find that 8 minutes is enough for my smooth top stove. If I leave it any longer, it gets stuck to the pan... very nasty!!
I think giving your rice a perfect dum, is a skill that can only be mastered by experience. All stoves are different, even rice is different, so it really is up to you to figure out the optimum time, temperature etc!!
Good luck!!
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