Slightly adapted from the p.7 recipe of May/Jun 2019 Cook's Illustrated

Feeds 4–6; total time 50 minutes. Cooking time, 19 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1.5 C basmati rice
• 2–3 T unsalted butter
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1/4 t 3 cardamom pods
• 5 3 whole cloves
• 1/4–1/2 t turmeric, enough to make solution bright yellow
• 1/8 t saffron threads
• 2.25 C water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 1 bay leaves
• 1/2–3/4 1 teaspoon ordinary (table) salt

Method:

Notes. Original recipe calls for 3T butter, but I only add the last if the rice is sticking to the pan. Turmeric & saffron are listed as optional, but to my mind the turmeric, at least, is essential. Since I'm using salted butter (& it's a lot for only 1-1/2 C starch) I use less.

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