Indian Spiced Risotto

I love Indian food. It is probably my favorite cuisine. Now that my spice drawer is fully stocked, I can start cooking it. I've never had chicken biryani before and wanted to make something healthy, so I set off trying out Mark Bittman's recipe.

I now realize the importance of having all your ingredients ready when cooking. One of the worst feelings in the world is when you start cooking a complex recipe and you realize you don't have an integral part of it. I learned this first hand last night, when I had all the spices mixed in with the softened onions and discovered that I only had 1/4 cup of basmati rice left. I said a swear, since I thought I just wasted my last onion, a cinnamon stick and a bunch of spices. The only rice I had was aborio, which I didn't think would be good with the chicken. Since I had some stock simmering, I was poised and ready to try making risotto. I had low expectations so I poured myself another glass of wine and set off.

The end result was exquisite. The spices were super complex and in the perfect quantities. There were clear notes of cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and a hint of cloves in each bite. I had never heard of an Indian risotto and I'm sure I'm not the first to make it, but I am posting it anyway.

Indian Spiced Risotto
1 1/2 Cups Arborio Rice
6 Tb of butter
1 large onion (Diced)
2 Tb freshly minced ginger
4+ cups of simmering vegetable/chicken stock + 1/2 cup white wine mixed in
6 cloves
4 black cardamom pods
7 white/green cardamom pods
1 4" cinamon stick
1 tsp freshly ground cumin
1 tsp freshly ground Tellicherry peppercorns (or to taste)
pinch of turmeric (for color)
salt, to taste (I only added a little salt when softening the onions, the stock/broth had plenty)

Start to simmer the stock and wine mixture. If you're using bouillon or store-bought stock, I recommend throwing in some parsley, an onion quarter, and a carrot or two to brighten it up.

Melt 2 Tb of the butter in a large skillet (I used a 12" saute pan) on medium heat. Cook the onions until translucent and are tender and slightly sweet. Add the ginger, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and cloves and cook for another minute. Throw in the rice and stir it around for a minute or so to coat. Add the remaining spices.

Turn the heat to medium high. Add the stock 1 ladle at a time, waiting for the liquid to evaporate before adding the next ladle. Do this for 20-30 minutes, tasting after about 15. You want to cook the risotto just until al dente. You may not use all the stock, and you may need more, depending on your stove. Once the rice kernels are tender, remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Remove the cloves and cinnamon stick. The cardamom pods are edible, but you can remove them if you wish. Garnish with chopped cilantro and some freshly ground/shaved cinnamon.