YellowRice is incredibly fragrant and aromatic -- every bite is an absolute explosion of flavor! This rice has notes of sweetness from the raisins, sweet corn, and cinnamon, a deep richness from the butter and chicken stock, and a wonderful savory flavor from the curry powder and turmeric.
PREP: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Very generously spray a glass, ceramic, or glass (not metal) 9x13-inch pan. Cut butter into 8 slices (1 tablespoon each) and set aside.
BAKE: Add everything except the butter and corn into the pan. Season to taste with salt & pepper (I add 1-1/4 tsp fine sea salt & 1/2 tsp pepper). Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are incorporated and spread in one even layer making sure the rice is covered in the liquid. Evenly top with the cut pieces of butter. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Then, remove the foil (save foil -- just set aside for now) and bake for 15 more minutes.
REST: Remove from the oven. Don't stir the rice. Top with the foil again and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. This is very important to avoid mushy rice!
ENJOY: After 10 minutes, remove bay leaf and add frozen corn. Gently mix everything together and lightly fluff rice with a fork. Taste and add more salt/pepper if needed. Enjoy!
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Notes
Note 1: Rice: We tested this recipe with several different kinds of rice and the only one we found success with is basmatirice. Other varieties of rice gave very inconsistent results -- ranging from very mushy to unevenly cooked (some hard grains/some mushy).Note 2: Ginger and garlic: To keep things quick, use refrigerated minced garlic and refrigerated ginger paste. OR use fresh ginger and garlic; simply grate (with a microplane) ginger root and individual garlic cloves into the dish -- no other preparation is necessary.Note 3: Curry powder: Use a curry powder you know you enjoy, with a level of heat you can tolerate (we use McCormick® which we find to be very mild). If you aren't sure, add less but know that you will be missing out on some flavor!Note 4: Chicken stock: The stock is very important to flavor -- use a full-bodied (not low sodium) stock. We love Swanson® stock best.Note 5: Make this side dish into a main course: Serve with a cooked protein (we love a hot rotisserie chicken or seasoned grilled chicken), topped with some full-fat Greek yogurt (or a cooling yogurt sauce, ripe diced avocado, or goat cheese) and thinly sliced cucumbers. See the blog post for more ideas!