Saffron Rice

WOW!!! This is downright addictive, and just so perfectly flavoured! The only thing I changed was in using a little less saffron... darn expensive thingies! I used the optional peas as well. Gawsh Sue, I'm gonna make this a LOT! Thanks a million! :-)

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This is one truly ADDICTIVE rice that must really be eaten with your fingers if you want to relish each grain to the fullest. I made it for lunch this afternoon. Oh my gosh! - The aroma of the spices was wafting through my kitchen and it reached every single corner of my house. It got everyone bang on time to the lunch table:) My mom was the happiest with that because usually we all dilly-dally as far as timing is concerned:) I made this rice using 1/2 tsp. saffron threads(good to eat in the winter/cooler months due to its heat producing capabilities, and I hope many try this recipe in this season), 1 tbsp. cooking oil(I use Sunflower), 2 medium-sized onions, 1 cup basmati rice, 4 whole cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 cup boiled greenpeas and 1 tsp. salt . I soaked the saffron threads in 2 1/2 cups of water instead of just 1/2 cup and I allowed it to come to a boil. Thereafter, I used it in step 4 of the recipe(I did not add water again as mentioned in step 4). I also tossed in the greenpeas(boiled) in step number 4. The rice was a beautiful golden yellow colour. I topped it with a dollop of low-fat yogurt and mmmmm, I was in rice-yogurt heaven! Also, I must tell you that my very picky brother made me feed him this rice(nobody believes he is 18!) LOL. He really loves this rice and did a happy dance around the table(actually, on his chair! Haha- good thing the chair is still in 1 piece, ROFL). He demands to have this rice more often and says its even more special when big sis(me) feeds it to him:) Mom and dad also loved it. I also created a "Veggie Lentil Salad" (please check my recipe posted separately) and this rice tastes excellent with the salad as well. I tossed in some of the salad into this rice and lo and behold, there was a crunchy- munchy side dish created all on its own! Thank You, Aunty Sue, for sharpening my creative side this afternoon:) It goes without mentioning that this will be a regular on our table and we'll always send warm and loving thoughts your way when we eat this!

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Very good rice! A lovely scent wafts through the house as this cooks and I really enjoyed the taste very much. This has a very attractive color and a nice blend of flavors. The directions are very clear and easy to follow. Next time, for personal preference, I will reduce the amounts of both the pepper and the onion, as I felt there was too much of both. Still, I enjoyed this very much and would make this again.

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It was a bit tasteless. I was told that you have to buy really good saffron for it to taste.

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OMG!!! Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe, Sue!!!

I was looking for a little something savory to compliment grilled Salmon fillets, and this was absolutely intense!!! 4 adults eating supper, and talk about quiet! EVERYONE WAS TOO BUSY EATING!!! I laughed because it really was delicious! Beautiful rice, fragrant and absolutely full of flavors!

Since I prefer the Basmati rice over other types (it's just not as sticky), and I go through quite a bit of it, the only things different I did was to steep the cloves with the saffron, and then remove the little sticks before adding to the onions in the sauce pan. Also, since I did not have green cardamom pods, I substituted ? teaspoon of cardamom seed for the pods. I used a full 15 oz can of peas (warmed), since I did not feel like storing the remaining 1/3 of the can.

I will try the recipe again when I pick up some cardamom pods.

This will definitely become a rice dish that I will want to make often!!!

Thanks again!

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This was just great! I used the ingredients as written other than omitting the pepper and peas. Instead of cooking on the stovetop, however; I used my rice cooker. First I cooked the onion and spices in the oil, then added the remaining ingredients- measuring enough water to go with my cooker's instructions. The rice was fluffy, golden, and had a wonderful aroma from the saffron and spices. A definite make again!

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Lovely fluffy rice, very easy too. I used tumeric instead of saffron and it turned out brilliantly. Cheers for the post

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I loved the aroma while this was cooking. I didn't have cardamom pods so I substituted ground. We found the clove flavour to be a bit too strong for our tastes so in future I'd reduce the number of cloves. Made for ZWT4

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A very enjoyable rice that I served along with Bobotie (Beef Pie). I thought that crushing the cardamon pods might have been worthwhile, it didn't seem to impart a lot of flavor over the fairly short cooking time.

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might have used a few more spices but the overall taste was great!! made for ZWT4

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Used one medium onion, and way less pepper. I just poured 3 cups of boiling water over the saffron, let it steep, and added all the water to the rice in step 4. But basically I made it as stated and it was a nice saffron rice. First time I've cooked with cardamon pods and whole cloves. Made for ZWT4.

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Very Good and so much better than plain rice with a curry. Used 1 onion which was chopped and fussy kids didn't notice. Great with Butter Chicken Butter Chicken and a cucumber and yogurt raita

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Nice rice dish. I omitted the cloves as my husband does not like his saffron to be over powered by other flavors. Next time, I will cut down on water, perhaps to 2 1/2 cups total instead of draining which I neglected to do.

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Delicious! We didn't have cardamom pods, so I used 1/2 t. ground instead. Took the advice of other reviewers and used less onion chopped in smaller bits (1/2 onion). The neighbors were surely salivating as the smell while cooking is divine. I agree on eating it with fingers, as the left-over was picked at for some time after the meal! Makes a generous amount. We had ours with chicken satay and grilled veggies-- fab!

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The best saffron rice I have ever made. Only change I made was to reduce the pepper to 1/2 tsp. Next time I'll reduce it to 1/4 tsp and I'll use less onion and chop it.

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