Cheese? Yes, please! I remember having this really cheesy baked rice dish in Singapore a few years back. This is a version of that dish. I am not sure of what exactly it had in the dish, but it was all about cheese and mushrooms. I made my version of the dish based on my memory and it instantly became a family favorite. Even the non-cheese lovers in the house loved this dish. Somehow even though there is a lot of cheese in the dish, it doesn’t taste overly rich and dense. Its a perfect meal for a cheat day.
There are four components to the dish- mushrooms, rice, cheese, and white sauce. Prepping each of the components is fairly easy. The mushrooms are sauteed, the rice is cooked as usual, the cheese grated and the white sauce takes 5 minutes to make. The great thing about this dish is that you can use any rice from basmati to arborio or jasmine rice. You can also use a variety of mushrooms or just keep it to a single type. And I don’t need to mention the cheese. Any cheese works great, although I love to keep mozzarella as a constant every time I cook the dish. Just mozzarella also tastes delicious.
For the white sauce, saute onions and garlic in the butter. Add in the flour and saute for a minute. Once the flour starts changing color, add in the milk in two parts, whisking before the second addition. Keep aside.
For the sauteed mushrooms, in the same saucepan, add the onions and mushrooms with some salt and let it cook for 10 minutes, till all the water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Keep aside.
In a baking dish, add a layer of rice, followed by the mushrooms and white sauce, and then the cheese. Repeat the process until the components are over, I got three layers. Bake at 230 Degrees C for 20 minutes, switching to grill for the last 5 minutes.
Recipe:
Total time- 60 minutes
Cooked rice- 1 Cup
Cheese, grated- 1.5 Cup, or more
Mushrooms, chopped- 300 Grams
Garlic, chopped- 6 Cloves
Onions, chopped- 1/4 Cup + 1/4th cup
Thyme- 4 sprigs (Oregano works well too)
Flour- 1.5 Tablespoon
Butter- 2 Tablespoons
Milk- 1 1/2 Cups
For the white sauce, saute 1/4th cup onions and garlic in the butter. Add in the flour and saute for a minute. Once the flour starts changing color, add in the milk in two parts, whisking before the second addition. Keep aside.
For the sauteed mushrooms, in the same saucepan, add the 1/4th cup onions and mushrooms with some salt and let it cook for 10 minutes, till all the water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Keep aside.
In a baking dish, add a layer of rice, followed by the mushrooms and white sauce, and then the cheese. Repeat the process until the components are over, I got three layers. Bake at 230 Degrees C for 20 minutes, switching to grill for the last 5 minutes.
-ISHANI SHENOY- 