Hyderabadi Khushka
Khushka is Plain Basmati Rice. The word Khushka comes from the term ‘Khushk‘ in Urdu, which means Dry, or Plain. Khushka is also called as Saada Chawal in some households, which means Plain Rice. The rice is lightly salted while boiling and drained. The procedure is very simple, and it is as the name says about it, a plain basic rice which can be had along with any side dish.
Having this Rice while it is warm is so comforting, but if you wish to serve it later and want to prepare it ahead of time, just microwave reheat the cooked rice covered for 1 or 2 minutes adding a few drops of water in a microwave safe bowl. You can store left over rice in a microwave safe bowl for easy reheating in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. It stays good and is as good as fresh when reheated in a microwave just before having it.
Khushka – Basmati Chawal (Plain Basmati Rice)
Serves – 4
Ingredients:
Long grained white rice – 2 cups
Water
Salt – 2 tsp
Hyderabadi Khushka,
served along with a dry chicken curry
Method:
1. Wash the rice well and soak it in 4 cups of cool fresh water for about 10-30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, pour in 5 cups of fresh cool water and add the drained rice and salt. Mix well. Bring it to a boil, then simmer, uncovered until the rice is done. Keep checking if the rice is done, take a few grains from the boiling water and press between your thumb and index finger if the rice is soft, or taste a few grains for softness. Do not overcook the rice and make it mushy.
3. Once the rice is done, close the heat and drain off all the water in a wire mesh strainer in your sink and return the rice back into the saucepan. Working quickly, clean the sides of the pan with a rubber spatula and level the rice properly. Cover with a lid, and leave it for 5 minutes to finish cooking on dum (till a nice steam has been formed). Serve it hot, or you can even have it later.
I am so happy to recieve the Nice Matters Award from the beautiful sisters Zainab and Hameeda, of Arabic Bites.
“Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers that are just nice people , good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!
Thank You Guys! This is my very first award, and I’m delighted to receive it. If I didn’t have to send it to only a few of the selected bloggers, I would have sent this award to each and every blogger in the blogging world, as each one of us are so dedicated to our love of sharing our knowledge across places. HoweverIi had to cut short the list, so, I choose to pass on this Award to Asha, Amna, Lubna, Daagh, Sailaja, Indira, Priya, Jai and Bee, Meena, Nabeela, Rahin, Seena and MJ. Everyone of you all bloggers are deserving for this award and very nice.
Luv,
Mona
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 26th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
congrats on the award, mona, and thank you for thinking of us.
February 26th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Thank you for the award.
Take care
.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
That’s a tempting dish, Mona.
Congrats on the award and appreciate your good thoughts.:). Thank you.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Thanks dear for the award..Am taking it..:)
February 27th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Look at that Kushka, just adorable.
Thank you so much for thinking of me, I appreciate it Mona. You are a nice girl, you deserve it too, enjoy! Hugs!:))
February 27th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Thank you sooo much Mona for thinking about me..:)
February 27th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Congratulations!
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:15 am
hey mona , congratulations !!! n thanks for sharing the award with me …..also…i want to eat some khushka right now
March 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Congratulation mona for the award! khushka reminds me of my mom……..aaah khichdi has a story ………that was what we used to have every Sunday for breakfast..khichdi,khatta,paapad,ghee…yummmm, Our sundays didnt seem like sunday without this menu for breakfast, and of course watching Chandrakanta….do u remember? chandrakanta..then mogli(jungle book)….oh Mona you brought back those beautiful memories…
March 19th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
hi mona
nice web site
i like it
can u tell me
what is the chiken stock?
do u have pic 4 it
cuz my english is bad
Hadeel, Thanks for the appreciation. Glad you like my website. Chicken Stock is nothing but Chicken soup. You can prepare it at home or even buy it from the Halal market. I usually buy these Halal chicken stock cubes from Saudi Arabia and store them in bulk for very long time.
To prepare it at home: you should boil together leftover bones and skin from a chicken carcass, a few vegetables of your choice like carrots onions, tejpatta, ginger, garlic, cilantro, mint leaves, salt and black peppercorn, for 1-2 hours in surplus water, covered, in a stockpot. Later, remove from heat and strain and reserve the chicken stock. Store in the refrigerator.
I will also post the procedure of how I prepare it in my house if possible on my blog in the future. ~Mona
August 13th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Mona
What I like about you other than your recepies is that you use the normal but typical Hyderabadi gharelu words like sukka salan, patla salan, saada chanwal, phulka etc. Nowadays many of us are calling Khushka as Chanwal, Phulka as roti and patla salan as gravy etc which sounds strange to me. We grew up with the words you used. Thanks
March 18th, 2013 at 12:59 am
[...] Accompaniments: Parathas, Naan, Basmati Chawal, Pulaos.. or even in between toasted bread as [...]