Basmati rice with walnuts and raisins

The introduction

Hello everyone, I hope, that you are all doing just fine!

In this article I want to tell you about my sweet rice and how I prepared this one the other day and it was really delicious, I must say, because it had almost all the ingredients, that I wanted and I did a good job in preparing this dish, if you ask me.

Well, to tell you the truth, I long wanted to prepare this sweet rice, because whenever I went in those large supermarkets with prepared dishes’ section and stuff like that, I always found this sweet rice dish in between those shelves and containers and I just really wanted to eat that, however, I knew, that they were just made with those raisins and marmelades or dried fruit or things like that and they were not good enough, I mean, they were not the same as I wanted them to be, and, trust me, I’ve tasted almost every sweet rice in every supermarket and so far, the best sweet rice was in Goodwill Kavtaradze, because they had this cinnamon flavoured rice there and it was pretty good, however, it still was not what I wanted, if you want to know the truth. And in fresco supermarket, they prepare sweet rice pretty differently, I mean, they don’t have that cinnamon in their sweet rice and they don’t have raisins in it either, or, they have some of them and mostly they have these colourful marmelades in them and the rice is not very sweet either, and, well, to be honest, being not that sweet is an advantage to the dish, because when it’s very sweet, it means, that it has much sugar and much sugar is not good, you know, however, it still doesn’t have that taste of sweet rice, if you ask me.

So, that’s why I like preparing some dishes myself, because if you prepare them yourself, you can prepare them just like you want them to be and enjoy your dishes, you know. It’s that simple. However, if you are not sure, that you will prepare something, you should still do it, I mean, you can never know something for sure, unless you try and do it and then, if you don’t get what you wanted, at least, you will know, that you tried, and , well, to tell you the truth, many people fail on the first try in those things and it doesn’t mean, that if you do that the next time, you won’t get it done either, so that you should definitely try new things and see, if you are good at them. That’s what I do and I do that in cooking a lot and, well, I do that well most of the times and it’s a really good feeling, when you do something and it comes out as planned. It’s not like you are going hard on yourself or making yourself do something, it just comes in a natural way and you can’t force that, you know. I mean, when you just want to do something, you should do it and if you don’t want to do it, then you shouldn’t do it, because if you do it, then it all may go pretty wrong, because it’s not that simple to do something that you don’t want to do.

The right type of rice for the dish

Anyways, what I want to tell you is, that preparing that sweet rice myself was a great idea, because then I would be able to prepare it my way and use those ingredients, which I wanted my sweet rice to have and, besides, I would really enjoy cooking, because it’s not that hard to prepare that sweet rice and, besides, I really wanted to prepare it and I looked forward to preparing it and when you just really want to do something, you can’t really wait to start doing it, if you ask me, and that’s how I was feeling that day, you know, I was pretty excited that I would prepare the sweet rice.

Well, first of all, I must tell you, that if you want to prepare some sweet rice, you should definitely buy the right type of rice, you know, because if you buy the wrong one, it will be pretty thick and it won’t be that sweet rice, that you know, and it will be like porridge or something like that, you know, that rice pudding, that Germans have with milk and stuff like that and it will be something similar to that. I’ve tried and prepared sweet rice with that round white rice and it was more like that rice pudding, than the actual sweet rice as we know it. However, you should know, that if you really want to have some sweet rice and you don’t have that right type of rice for it, you can still prepare it and just add the ingredients and the taste will be the same, I guess , with a little difference though, perhaps.

So this “right type” of rice is called “Pantia” rice in Georgian and I long looked for it in the supermarkets and I didn’t really know, what it was actually called and that’s why I couldn’t buy that rice there. I just knew it when I looked at it, because I knew how it looked like and I could buy it like that, however, I wasn’t sure, that it was the same one as that one, which I bought in bazaar, of course.

Well, after some time, when we went to  this Carrefour supermarket, I wondered which rice was that rice and I asked my father about it and he kind of knew what we were looking for and we just stood there and reading all those signs on different packages of rice and we would choose one of them to take home and prepare it some other time and see whether it was really that one or not. So, there were many different types of rice there and many of them were those packs of white round rice, which is very common in Georgia. However, there were also some others, and there were these ones, called basmati rice, which I didn’t know what it meant, and then we realized, that it was just the one, that we were looking for, because it was kind of dark white and it was long and thin and just like that one, that I bought in bazaar, so that we decided to buy it and see how it would be in that sweet rice dish. It was said, that it was rice produced in asia, however it was a French product, I mean, Carrefour is a French supermarket, so that they have some of their own products, you know, which they package themselves and they sell them that way. Well, to be honest, I wanted to buy this other one, which was in a plastic container and it was transparent and you could see what type of rice there was inside of it, and, if you want to know the truth, it was said, that it was called basmati rice on that container and since I knew, how that right type of rice looked like, I saw, that this rice looked just the same and the fact that it was called basmati made me think, that the type of rice I was looking for was basmati rice, so that this French package rice had the same name of basmati and that’s why we took it, because it was not a transparent package comparing to that other one and that’s why we couldn’t see the rice inside of it, however, my father thought that this one would be better and that’s why we bought it. And I was really looking forward to seeing whether it  was the right type of rice for sweet rice dish or not and when we got home, I took the liberty of opening the package and seeing it and it was just the one, that we needed, I must say.

Anyways, I had to put that rice into some containers until I used it, because I was not going to prepare that sweet rice that day when we bought it, so that it needed to be on a safe and dry place for storing. However, it didn’t’ need to be stored for a long time, because I just needed it the other day, when I decided to have some sweet rice prepared.

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice, 200 grams
• Raisins, 200 grams
• Dried plum, 5 medium
• Walnuts, 100 grams (optional)
• Cinnamon
• Honey, 2 tablespoons
• White granulated sugar, ½ cup
• Apples, 2 medium
• Vanilla
• Water

Preparation process

So, the preparation process begins with taking the rice and washing it and then putting it in a saucepan and having some water poured into it. Well, it’s said, that the proportions should be 2:1, I mean, water should be double of the amount of the rice, however, some people add even more water and when they decide, that the rice is ready and if the water is not fully absorbed , they will just spill it out and that’s it, so it’s not a big problem if you have too much water on your rice, if you want to know the truth. And when the water boils, you should then let it boil for half an hour or even more, you know, you should taste it and decide, whether it’s ready or it needs more time to get cooked, because some recipes tell you, that you should cook the rice for half an hour after the water boils, however, sometimes it’s not enough for it to get all cooked and stuff, you know. So that, you should definitely taste it and see if it’s cooked. I always do that and that way I get a pretty well cooked rice. And if you want your rice to have some sweet taste before it goes with other ingredients, you can have some sugar added while it’s being cookedand that way it won’t have this taste of nothing, rather, it will have a kind of sweet taste already when you cook it and get ready for adding some other sweet ingredients.

Well, in the meantime, I took those apples and started peeling them , because they don’t need the skin when you are having them in your sweet rice dish, if you want to know the truth, because then it will have this hard skin pieces on it and it will be uncomfortable, while eating the dish, however, I haven’t really done it with their skin on them, so that when cooked, they may get softer and don’t be a problem at all when eating, however, I still don’t recommend leaving the skin on the apples and that’s why I peel them, usually, you know, and, besides, those apples were already been in the fridge for too long and their skin was not as fresh and hard as it usually is and that was one of the reasons why I peeled them, too. Well, after peeling them I just cut them into some pieces and took that core out and then I cut them into even smaller pieces, so that they were like the shape of raisins, you know. It was just a thing there, that these apple pieces would be kind of sour and not that sweet as raisins or that dried fruit, so that it would need some sugar to be added,or maybe it didn’t even need to have any sugar at all, however, I still added some sugar for it not to make much contrast in the dish. Though, when it got all blended together, it wouldn’t make any contrast at all, if you ask me.

Anyways, I had those apple pieces put into a frying pan with some oil in it and put it on a medium gas heat and I would stir occasionally so that it would get cooked and in the meantime I added that sugar, that I told you about and I also added some cinnamon to those apples, so that it would get this sweet and better taste. I wanted those apple pieces to get cooked well, however, you should be careful not to get them burned, you know, because if they get burned, then the dish will have that burned taste and you won’t like it , of course and it will be frustrating and you will get disappointed, because you will have all those apple pieces cut in vain and you will have to throw them out, I guess, if it’s mostly burned and if anything can be saved, you can save them, of course. well, that happened to me once, I mean, I had these apple pieces to be cooked in an oily frying pan and I just had a little too much for cooking and it got burned and there were pieces just really black and they couldn’t be saved, of course, and they had this burned taste and it was pretty awful, you know, and I still added them to my rice dish and then when I had the dish to taste, it was just horrible every time those burned pieces got to me. And, as you might have already understood, it was not a good idea to have that dish for eating and I just had to throw it away into the trash, so that no one would eat it and no one would see, what a horrible dish it was. Well, that’s how just one small thing can become a significant one, you know, and it’s like a butterfly effect, I mean, one small unnoticeable thing can change everything and it can become a huge problem for everyone or for many people or things like that.

Well, after cooking the apple pieces well, I wanted to have some raisins and dried fruit cooked there, too, however, first, I had them put into a small bowl and added some warm water and had them like that for some time. Then I had these dried fruit cut into even smaller pieces and I added them with the raisins to the frying pan, but until that, I had those apple pieces removed from the frying pan, because otherwise they would get burned, because they were already cooked well and enough and they didn’t need to be cooked more than that. However, I could have just cooked them halfway and then added those raisins and dried fruit and that would have been a better idea, than having those things cooked separately, you know, however, I didn’t think about that until it was too late and until I had all those things already cooked and done and everything and I couldn’t do anything else about it. Though, the next time I prepare this dish, I will definitely consider doing that and I won’t cook them separately, because that way I will not waste my time and effort and gas and oil and everything and it will just cook together and it will blend together as well, you know.

So that, I had all those things cooked pretty well and those raisins got spheric, I mean, they got like small balls or whatever and I was pretty surprised to see that, and I didn’t really know why they got all those ball-shaped and stuff, however, they didn’t get bad or anything, so that it was just okay to be like that and when they were done, I added those already cooked apple pieces and had them mixed together and after that, I could just add the cooked rice and mix those things. However, I thought, that cooking the walnuts would be a good idea and then I would have them added to the dish and that was when I got those walnuts from the container and had them cut or crashed into smaller pieces and I had them put into that frying pan. But first, I had those apple pieces and raisins and dried fruit removed from the frying pan, because that way they would get overcooked and it all would be a mess and so that I just had those walnuts into that frying pan and I just cooked them for a couple of minutes, until they had this different taste of cooked walnuts and that was when I added all those other ingredients to the frying pan, I mean, I added those apple pieces and raisins and dried fruit and rice and I also had some honey added to the dish, so that it would be sweet and I mixed all of them together and have them cooked for a while occasionally stirring.

I also added some cinnamon to the dish, because I thought, that the amount that I had added to the apple pieces wouldn’t be enough for it to  taste great. And that was when I waited for a couple more minutes for the rice to get cooked in that oil and get mixed with all those other ingredients and then it was all ready and stuff and all it needed was some time to be set aside and get everything blended inside. And the most efficient place for that was the refrigerator, however, first, it needed to be cooled down, because it’s not recommended to place hot dishes into the fridge, you know. Well, to be honest, I didn’t really want to wait for the dish to get all cooled down and blended and stuff like that, because I couldn’t really wait for that as I wanted to taste it, however, I knew, that it wouldn’t taste that way, that it would some time later. Though I still tasted some of it and it tasted pretty good, I must say. And, well, as I say, you should always taste the dish that you prepared until you suggest it to others and until you decide, that it’s finished and ready for eating, because you may forgot something or you may not have had it cooked well or something may be wrong, so that you should always have a taste of your dishes and then decide, whether they are worth eating or not. And, well, maybe some of them are worth eating, but not worthy of suggesting them to your guests or whoever there are and you can just eat it yourself, because it’s not that good for others to taste it, you know. So, that was not the case this time and I could proudly suggest it to my family members, if you want to know the truth and I know, that they love that sweet rice and, well, to be honest, I didn’t really love sweet rice, until they had it almost every week at home. Well, they had it bought in Goodwill supermarket whenever we visited it and though I didn’t eat it, it looked pretty delicious and some time later  I just decided to have it tasted a little and, well, to be honest, I really liked it, and as I’ve already mentioned, Goodwill supermarket had some great and delicious sweet rice there and that’s why I liked that sweet rice, I guess.

And there’s this thing about the rice, when you eat it, you can’t just stop eating it, I mean, you feel like you don’t want to eat anymore, however, you just keep eating that rice, you know. However, you should know, that you shouldn’t eat too much rice, because it’s not that easy for the gastrointestinal tract to deal with it, as I know. Though they say, that you can eat plenty of brown rice, it’s still not recommended to eat too much of it either, you know. And it’s better if you eat fish or poultry, than the rice, of course, and there’s nothing better than eating fish and seafood, if you want to know the truth.

Anyways, this sweet rice got really delicious after some time of cooling and being in the fridge and everything and that’s why they say, that it’s better to eat some dishes on the other day, because then everything is just very well blended and you can feel every taste together, you know. It’s just a great feeling then. And that’s what it was here, too, I mean, I just really enjoyed that sweet rice that I prepared, and I must say, that it was a great idea to add those walnuts to the dish, because it made the dish taste really amazing and it made it different from all those sweet rice dishes, if you want to know the truth. I guess, walnuts are great in everything and people should use them in many dishes, I guess. However, it’s not that cheap to buy some walnuts here, and it costs somewhere about 30 laris a kilogramme and it depends on what kind of walnuts you are buying and where you are buying it and what season it is when you are buying it, you know.

Well, that was the recipe of my sweet rice with apples and raisins and walnuts and dried fruit and cinnamon, of course. You can add or remove the ingredients you like, however, I still think , that you should definitely have some raisins and walnuts in your sweet rice dish, because they make the dish taste better and different and that’s what I really like and those walnuts are just amazing in this dish. You know, walnuts are good for your brain, too, and it’s recommended to have some walnuts or nuts in your daily nutrition, so that it’s really good if you have them in your dishes and you should really consider them having as a  daily intake, so that you will get that essential fats  that walnuts contain and your brain will function better when taking them, so they say.

Anyways, I think, that I have told you more than enough about this sweet rice recipe and how to prepare it and what type of rice you need for the dish and many other things and I hope, that it will be interesting for you and you will get all intrigued and stuff about it and I hope, that you will want to prepare this dish yourself and taste it and see, whether it’s that delicious as I have described or not. Well, I’m saying, that it’s worth preparing, so that you should trust me and try preparing it some time and you won’t regret it, I can say. It’s not that difficult to prepare it and, besides, if you just add some raisins and cinnamon and walnuts to that rice, it would still be just amazing and you will not have to cook all of them separately or something like that, you know. It will just be easy, to put them into the frying pan in some oil and cook them together for some time and that will be it, if you want to know the truth.

So, I hope, that you will enjoy preparing this dish and have a nice day!

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