Chalow
The plain Afghan white rice: basmati par-boiled, drained, then steam-finished in a covered pot with oil and salt. The canvas for kebabs and stews.
Overview
Chalow is Afghanistan's foundational rice method, and once you have it down you can build any Afghan rice dish on top of it (kabuli pulao starts from a chalow base, for example). The technique is parboil-then-steam. Long-grain basmati rinses thoroughly until the water runs almost clear, soaks for half an hour, then boils hard in plenty of salted water for five or six minutes (the grains should be 70% cooked: soft outside, just a touch firm in the middle). Drain, return to a dry pot, drizzle a little oil over the top, clamp the lid on with the heat at its absolute lowest for twenty minutes (this is the dum). What comes out is rice with separate, fluffy grains and a thin gold crust on the bottom of the pot. The crust is the cook's reward; scrape it up and eat it first.
Ingredients
- 400 g basmati rice
- 2 litres water (for the par-boil)
- 1 tablespoon salt (for the par-boil)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee)
- ½ teaspoon salt (for the dum)
Method
Stage 1 - Rinse and soak
- Rinse the rice in 3-4 changes of cold water until the water runs almost clear.
- Cover with cold water by 5 cm; soak 30 minutes.
- Drain.
Stage 2 - Par-boil
- Bring 2 litres of water to a hard boil; add the tablespoon of salt.
- Tip in the drained rice.
- Boil 5-6 minutes until the grains are 70% cooked (a grain crushed between thumb and finger should have a chalky core).
- Drain immediately into a sieve; rinse briefly with hot water.
Stage 3 - Dum (steam)
- Wipe the pot dry; return to medium heat.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the oil over the bottom.
- Tip the par-boiled rice back in; smooth into a mound.
- Drizzle the remaining oil over the top; sprinkle the ½ teaspoon salt.
- Wrap the lid with a clean tea towel (catches condensation); cover tight.
- Reduce heat to the lowest setting; steam 20 minutes undisturbed.
Stage 4 - Serve
- Lift the lid; fluff gently with a fork.
- Tip onto a wide platter - the gold crust comes out last.
Notes
- Long-grain basmati only: Short-grain rice cooks short and sticky; chalow is built on long separate grains.
- 70% par-boil is the trick: Underdone in the boil, finished by steam. Cooking through in the boil gives mush after the dum.
- The crust (tahdig-style): Less dramatic than Persian tahdig because no yogurt or potato is used, but a thin gold layer forms on the bottom from the oil. The most-prized portion.
Storage
- Refrigerate 3 days; reheat covered with a tablespoon of warm stock.
- Don't freeze.
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