Mrs Bailey’s Lemon Rice

(or you can do as I do these days, and make Mrs Bailey’s Lemon Rice Without The Lemon…)

Photo by Kalyani Akella on Unsplash

In the interests of full disclosure, I have taken to making this lemon rice without the actual y’know lemon, just because I always used to forget to add the lemon*, and as it turned out m’wife prefers it that way. For years I used to call it “Mrs Bailey’s Lemon-Rice-Without-The-Lemon”, till someone suggested that I should perhaps just call it “Karen’s Rice”, Karen being the actual y’know name of m’wife. So I do that now. But here’s Mrs B’s original, preserved for her posterity.

250g (dry weight) basmati rice

1 heaped teaspoon black mustardseeds

A large pinch of asafoetida

1 teaspoon turmeric

Zest and juice of a lemon

Cook the rice according to your own temperament and practice. (This is a way of noting that many people have faith in a formula; many more will use a rice cooker. Me, I boil in lots of salted water until done, as Mrs B has taught generations of schoolgirls to do.)

Spread the cooked rice out on a baking tray to cool and dry.

Heat a wok or large skillet. Once it’s hot, add a splash of oil, and then the mustardseeds. Once they start to pop, cover…