How to cook brown rice

This is a really easy reliable way to cook brown rice so it’s perfect every time.  Here I use turmeric to give the rice a golden colour, meaning that you’re less likely to get objections if you are feeding fussy children (or partners) brown rice for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

For 2 people (with protein and at least 2 servings of veg to accompany)

100g/half a mug of brown long grain rice or brown basmati (organic if possible)
275ml/1 mug boiling water
1/4 level teaspoon turmeric powder

1. Measure out your rice into a small saucepan with a lid.  Add the turmeric and boiling water, cover with the lid and bring to the boil on a medium heat.  You want the whole thing to boil gently until cooked.  DO NOT STIR.
2. When the rice is done it will have soaked up all the water.  This takes about 25 minutes for long grain and about 20 for basmati. Cooking times do vary depending on the hardness of your water.  Adding salt or (salt-containing) stock cubes increases the cooking time.  This is because salt lowers the boiling temperature of water, making it boil at less than 100C.
3. When the rice is done, you can keep it warm for up to 20 minutes by simply taking off the heat and wrapping the whole saucepan in a towel.  This will also help everything become more fluffy.Why this is better for you:
   Brown rice contains more vitamins, minerals and fibre than white.  This is because the outer layer of the grain contains most of the nutrients whereas the inside of the grain is composed mostly of (natural) sugars.  When you eat a wholegrain, like brown rice, it comes with the vitamins and minerals needed for your body to benefit from it.  By contrast, white rice is stripped of the nutrients your body needs to process it.  The body takes vitamins and minerals from elsewhere, to help it deal with the nutrient-poor white rice.   Let’s look at magnesium.  This mineral is needed for good digestion, skin,  mood and more.  Deficiency can make you very stressed.  100 grams of cooked brown rice (about a cup) contains 110mg of magnesium whereas 100g of cooked white rice contains 11mg.