How to store basmati parboiled rice (Cooked)
Talking about rice you must think of its storage. Basmati parboiled rice is the main item of food in most of the household all over the world. Its instant cooking time, taste and texture make it the favourite of everyone. Importantly one can buy rice from every store easily and its price is also very reasonable according to other food items. Most people buy rice in large quantities at the start of every month according to their needs and consumption. In the superstores, rice is mostly available in bags of 50kg, 40kg and 20kg.
If your family is an active eater of rice then you need a bulk quantity of rice every month. When you think of buying bags of rice, you might be worried about its storage because storage of rice is an important task. You have to protect rice from fungus, moulds, rats and insects besides this heat, light and moisture is also a very big hurdle in the safe storage of rice. If you cooked rice more than your need then its storage is also important to keep them fresh till next meal or even day. We are going to discuss a method of storing cooked basmati parboiled rice.
Choice of a container or plastic bag:
Storing of cooked rice is mostly the same for brown, basmati parboiled, and regular white rice. The storage life of your food depends upon your choice of Container. Wash your container properly and let it for drying. A Plastic airtight container is best for storing rice in the refrigerator, you may store rice in a steel container but in the steel container your rice becomes hard and its flavour and texture are compromised. You can also use plastic bags for the storage of rice but before storing rice in bags must note their capacity and strength. If you are using plastic bags use them only for one time, do not try to use them again by washing. When you are storing rice in a plastic disposable bag do not try to stack bags and do not place any container or pot on the rice bags.
Putting rice in the container:
After cooking put rice in the container but make sure that your container must be neat and airtight. Try to wash the container just before adding rice in the container. You also use a plastic bag to store rice but before storing rice in the plastic bag, read the maximum capacity of the bag, strength of the bag and airtight sign on the top corner. If you try to put extra rice in the plastic bad the rice in it starts clumping and its texture will not remain presentable. This may suitable for brown rice and parboiled basmati rice but as far as regular white rice this is not suitable at all. Because regular white rice is already clumpy just after cooking. So, when you compress them to put extra in the plastic bag the grains of rice start sticking together. One more thing about storing rice in a plastic bag, it should be disposable, do not try to use the bag again and again by washing it. Washed plastic bag decreases the storage life of food, use a new one every time.
Placing rice in the refrigerator:
After putting rice in airtight container, place the rice container in the lower compartment of the refrigerator, if you eat rice in few hours. If you want to store rice for days then place the container in the upper compartment of the refrigerator. But avoid putting rice in direct upper compartment of the refrigerator. Dealing with regular white rice, if you want to store white rice for days it will stick together on reheating. Because white rice is already sticky, even just after cooking. The texture of basmati parboiled rice is firm, so it is less prone to stick and the same for brown rice. While using plastic bags do not stack them over and over. Avoid placing containers or any pot over the bag.
Reheating of rice:
After storing the rice in the refrigerator, the next step is reheating the rice when you want to eat. Reheating is a bit tricky if you do not reheat the rice in a perfect way you will ruin the texture of rising and remember texture is half of the taste. Take out the container from the refrigerator and allow the rice to reach room temperature in the same container. Avoid stirring rice by spoon it will make rice like porridge. If you put rice on the flame immediately then u probably ends up in the clumping of rice. When rice grains separate at room temperature after freezing, put the rice in a non-stick cooking pot add a few tablespoons of water. Water produces steam which helps in even heating of the pot, you can also use few spoons of milk for this purpose.
After adding water or milk in the pot having rice and turns on the flame high for 1 to 2 minutes and then lower the flame of the stove and cover the lid of the pot. Reheating time of rice is about 10 to 12 minutes. After 12 minutes and turn off the flame and take out rice on the plate and enjoy. While reheating regular white Basmati Steam rice add less amount of water to avoid clumping instead heat white rice on low flame for 15 to 18 minutes.
Pro Tips:
- Use plastic or glass container
- Avoid steel or aluminium container
- Try to use a transparent container
- Always use a dry container
- Avoid reusing plastic storing bags
- Reheat slowly on low flame
- Avoid stirring during reheating
At the end:
Rice is a popular food all over the world. One can buy rice from every store or corner shop of the street at a reasonable price. Cooked Basmati parboiled rice is easy to reheat and store in the refrigerator. Its grains maintain their texture and taste on reheating. While regular white rice is difficult to reheat because of clumping. However, it’s a personal choice, some like basmati parboiled, some like regular white, some like both.
