Şehriyeli Pilav (Vermicelli Rice)

How do you cook your rice Meliz? Watch my Instagram highlights and follow the recipe below.

What are the little brown bits in the rice Meliz? Vermicelli (browned in oil first). 

How do you get individual grains of rice like that Meliz? Use easy cook long grain rice, make sure you wash it with cold water through a sieve to rid excess starch, and drain well before cooking. Easy cook long grain rice is already part-cooked and sealed so it goes less stodgy. 

Why do you put kitchen paper over the pan once the rice is cooked and then put the lid on top for 5 mins Meliz? So that the paper soaks up any excess steam and liquid to give you lovely individual strains of rice. 

What method do you use for your rice Meliz? Absorption method so no draining us required, the rice is perfectly cooked, and it stays hot.

Right, I think that’s all rice questions answered, so just pass me the thick, strained yoghurt and a spoon PURLEEEAAAASSSSE!

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp sunflower / veg / rice bran / tsp rapeseed oil 
4 tbsp crushed vermicelli 

1 mugful Easy Cook Long Grain Rice, (pour into a sieve, wash well with cold water and leave to drain)

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube dissolved in 2 1/2  mugfuls boiling water (use same sized mug as the rice) 

1/4 tsp salt 

METHOD

Add the oil to a medium saucepan on a medium heat. 

Add the vermicelli (you can buy the vermicelli in rounds or already cut up in small pieces) to the pan and brown, stirring continuously. 

Take off heat, allow to cool down for a min or two.

Add the washed/drained easy cook rice into the pan and stir so that the rice is coated in the oil and the vermicelli and rice are amalgamated. 

Pour in the stock (make sure you use the same sized mug as the rice to measure the stock quantities) and add the salt to the pan and return to hob on a med-low heat. Give a little stir, then cook for about 10-12 mins or until stock has almost fully evaporated (little bubble holes that start to appear in the rice), take off, turn off heat, cover pan with sheet of kitchen roll and lid, leave for a few mins then fluff up with a fork before serving.