Jala-hua Chawal Checks all the Right Boxes
It turns out, burnt, crispy, crunchy scorched rice is a favourite across many cultures around the world. Vasundhara shares her family recipe for mangodi in scorched rice pulao. Get the recipe.
In Nik Sharma’s Flavor Equation he writes that flavour is defined by emotion, sight, sound, aroma & taste. Well, my scorched rice pulao checks all these boxes in my family. Digging out toasty, caramelized chunks of rice from under a pillowy top layer, studded with hing-infused umami bombs of mangodi, I am transported back to that very first bite.
Mangodi Pulao
In cooking, one of the worst mistakes one can make is to burn the dish. But then, I think back to the burnt rice at the bottom of the pan when mum cooked mangodi pulao. Mangodi are dal dumpling, made in the summer and sun-dried to last the whole year round. Today, we’d probably label them a plant-based protein fix. Mangodi pulao was mummy’s quick-fix meal; it had rice and dal both, to feed three hungry children a nutritious one-pot meal.
I would always ask her to cook it longer, because I wanted the niche se jala hua burnt rice from the bottom. Ghee soaked, turmeric stained, yellow grains of basmati, studded with ghee-roasted mangodi, steeped in an infusion of spices and redolent of hing. The spices she used were everyday masalas — coriander, red chillies, reshampatti, turmeric, amchur and sendha namak; yet her proportion, timing and of course, her haath ka swaad (the gift of flavour that some cooks are blessed with) made it a most spectacular and memorable meal every time.
What Makes Burnt Rice Delicious?
But what makes burnt rice so special? Apparently, burnt, crispy, crunchy or scorched rice is a favourite across many cultures around the world. In fact, it has its own name: Intip in Indonesia, Okoge in Japan, Socarrat in Spain, Tahdig in Persia or Iran, Gouba in China, Nurungji in Korea, and Kurchan in Urdu. At home, we simply call it Jala-hua chawal. And those words have the power to trigger a huge release of oxytocin.
Normally, rice must be white like fluffy clouds, but scorched rice is crunchy, a bit chewy, caramalised bordering burnt, but never charred or bitter. That’s what makes it so special. I have been cooking for almost 3 decades, which makes me a reasonably good cook. Yet I find it difficult to burn rice perfectly. After a lot of research, here’s what I learn about burning rice properly.
1. Wash the rice well, until water runs clear and all the starch is released.
2. Toast the drained rice in fat before adding water.
3. Use a cast iron or stainless steel pan for extra toastiness
4. Boil rice on high heat
5. When almost done, add water and butter/ghee on top so it seeps down faster.
6. Cover with a cloth before putting the lid on. This helps absorb extra steam and avoid condensation
7. Keep covered for 10-15 minutes after rice is cooked, this helps remove the scorched rice from the bottom easily.
And here is my mother’s recipe for Mangodi Pulao:
RECIPE FOR JALA-HUA CHAWAL OR MANGODI PULAO
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1/3 cup moth/ moong mangodi, roasted in ghee
3+3+1 tbsp ghee
1 bay leaf
2 dry red chillies
Pinch of Kabuli hing
2 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp red chilli powder, resham patti variety (spicy and earth)
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp green chilli-ginger paste
4 tbsp tomato, grated
2 cups + 2 tbsp warm water
Salt, to taste
Pinch of garam masala
Coriander leaves
Method
Soak basmati rice for 20 min, drain well
Pre-cooking
In 1 tbsp ghee, gently toast drained rice for 1-2 minutes. Be careful and not break the rice. Remove from the pan
In the same pan, add 2 more tbsp ghee and toast mangodis on medium flame for 4-5 minutes till nice and golden and fragrant. Keep aside
In a cast iron pan, add 3 tbsp ghee
When hot, add bay leaf followed by dry red chillies, Kabuli hing
Add cumin seeds, tomatoes and green chilli-ginger paste
When the fat begins to separate, add red chilli powder, haldi, amchoor, dhania powder and cook for a minute on low flame
Then add roasted rice and mangodi, 2 cups warm water and salt
Cover with lid, and let it cook till almost done (about 15 minutes)
Midway, open the lid and cover with a kitchen towel and put the lid back.
When almost done, mix 1 tbsp ghee in 2 tbsp water and gently pour all over the rice and close the lid again.
Turn off the flame when all the water has evaporated, and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes
The rice should have loosed. Scoop it out with the rice server or over turn on a plate. Say a quick prayer that it comes out like a sponge cake without breaking. If it does break, that’s alright, it will still be delicious.
Garnish with freshly cut corianader leaves
Serve with boondi raita and papad
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