One of the essential elements of the Iranian/Persian cuisine is rice without it, the meal is incomplete. In Iran, rice is made in two ways; Kateh and the drained version. Each of these methods has its own fans. Kateh is common in the Northern regions of Iran as an instant food but in some other regions, rice is often made by the draining method which results in longer and uncrushed grains.
Since rice will be one of the main components in most of the Persian cooking instructions, we consider it necessary to present one of its cooking methods, which is Kateh, at the very beginning. In the next issue, we will explain the other cooking method that is drained rice.
- Step 1 Choosing a proper pot
Choose a pot size that raw rice fills only 1/3 of it, because its volume will increase during the cooking. If the pot is too small, your rice will be crushed.
- Step 2 Washing the rice
In order to get whiter appearance and avoid clumping, wash the rice with lukewarm water 2 or 3 times and put it in the pot. Washing is needed to remove the starch from the rice.
- Step 3 Adding water and salt
Add 8 cups of water. Be sure to add salt before putting the pot on the heat, because it helps the rice grains keep their shape and not fall apart. Cooking oil prevents the rice grains to stick together or clump. Pay attention that too much oil also makes rice sticky and clumped.
- Step 4 Cooking
To cook Kateh, you need to put the pot on a flame that matches its size and raise the heat until the water starts to boil. Then reduce the heat and cover until the rice water is gone.
- Step 5 Last step
When the rice water runs out, holes are created on the surface and a small amount of water remains at the bottom of the pot. Then pile up rice in the middle of the pot in the shape of a pyramid and make 4-5 holes on it with the end of a spoon or spatula. We do this for the steaming purpose. Now add the oil, reduce the heat and wait for 30-35 minutes until it is ready to be served.
- Do not use hot water to wash the rice as it will crush the grains.
- For every cup of rice, you should add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil.
- Do not stir the rice while it is boiling, because it will be crushed. After the water has run out, try a few grains, if they are still dry/raw, add about a cup of boiling water to the pot to boil again.
