Indian · Authentic-ish Indian
Pilau Rice
267 kcal a serving, against 348 for the traditional version. That is 81 kcal off, or 23%, with 7.8g of protein. Serves 6. 45 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A massive portion of white basmati rice fried in a heavy puddle of ghee with whole spices and onions, then steamed until fluffy. It's undeniably delicious, but rich enough to coat your mouth in fat before the main course even starts.
What changed, and what each change costs
60g of ghee down to 10g
Frying rice in heaps of clarified butter before boiling it gives it a beautiful, separated texture, but it dumps hundreds of calories into a side dish. Dropping the fat is the first step. A tiny spoon of ghee is all you need to bloom the spices and get that authentic buttery smell.
What it costs you. You lose that intensely rich, slick coating on every single grain. The rice is drier and lighter, which means it relies entirely on the curry sauce for moisture.
400g of basmati rice down to 300g, adding 150g of frozen peas
Cutting the rice drops the massive starch load, while throwing in a big handful of peas fills the visual gap. Peas are a fantastic, cheap source of protein and fibre. They pop with a sweet freshness that cuts right through heavy spices.
What it costs you. A vegetable rice, then. Not a pure, unadulterated bowl of white carbs anymore, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. If you hate peas, you'll be picking them out for 20 minutes.
Adding 600g of chicken stock
When you remove 50g of pure dairy fat, you remove a massive carrier of flavour. Cooking the rice in a decent chicken stock pushes a deep, savoury note straight into the centre of the grain, making up for the lost ghee.
What it costs you. Vegetarians can't eat it. You've also got to watch your salt levels, because stock brings its own seasoning to the party.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 348 | 267 |
| Protein | 5.2g | 7.8g |
| Fat | 10.6g | 3.5g |
| Saturated fat | 6.2g | 1.5g |
| Carbohydrate | 56.6g | 50.2g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 1.5g | 2.9g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Indian prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. milk, celery.
The method is in the book
This is exactly what a side dish should be. It smells fantastic, the grains are perfectly separated, and the sweet pop of the peas breaks up the savoury stock. Dropping the heavy fat means you can actually eat a decent portion of rice without feeling completely bloated. It does the job perfectly and lets the main curry take the spotlight.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Indian, along with 54 more. Buy the paperback