Bagara Rice

Soak the rice

Pour water into the rice to cover. Let it soak for about 30 minutes as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Julienne jalapeño

The best chilies to use in this dish would be the tiny green chilies you can find at Thai or Indian grocery stores. But they can be a little difficult to get ahold of, so I just used a jalapeño.

Slice the red onion

Slice off the stem tip. Remove outer peel. Slice.

Heat some oil in a pan

Place a sauteée pan over medium heat. Add some olive oil.

Add spices

Add the black pepper, the cumin, the cinnamon and the bay leaf. Feel free to mix up the spices. Cardamom and star anise are great in this dish, but are sometimes more difficult to find.

Toast the spices

Toast the spices briefly, only until the aroma hits you.

Add onion and chili

Dump in the onion and the sliced chili. You can reduce the heat a little here.

Add garlic and ginger

Stir in the crushed garlic and the grated ginger.

How to Crush Garlic

Basic cooking techniques

How to Grate Ginger

Stir

Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to caramelize.

Strain rice and add to the pot

The rice has been soaking. Remove the rice from water and dump it into the pot.

Add water and salt

Dump in the water. Add some salt.

Add cilantro and bring to a boil

Clean your cilantro and add a handful here as you bring the liquid up to a boil.

Cover and simmer

When the liquid comes to a boil, turn down the heat. Cover the pot and hold at a very gentle simmer for about 25 minutes.

Stir

After 25 minutes, check the bottom of the pot to make sure that the water is evaporated. If water is gone, give the rice a stir. Otherwise, replace the cover and give it another 5 minutes.

Remove from heat

Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.