Nasi Samin/Nasi Minyak

We had it with Chicken Bamiah and pickled cucumber+carrot

This is the first traditional dish I made for 2012. This was actually inspired after a chat I had with my dad recently. Nasi samin is made using butter made from animal fat like cow, goat or camel. Here, we can get ghee (clarified butter) which is derived from cow easily. So my version is using ghee. It is a relatively simple dish, not much fuss and ingredient. To serve, I pan fried the cashew and raisins with a bit of ghee for flavour and aroma.

Ingredients:
3C basmati rice, rinse till water is clear then drain
4C water
1 medium size cinnamon stick
3 cloves
3 cardamoms
1 star anise
2 large onions, sliced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
2 T ghee
1 T oil
salt to taste

for garnishing, some cashews and raisins, pan fried with a bit of ghee

Method
1. Heat pot with both ghee and oil, once melted add onions, stir till onions becomes translucent
2. Add garlic and the spices (cardamom, clove, cinnamon stick, star anise) and stir till fragrant
3. Add rice and make sure they are coated with oil, add salt
4. Pour water into the pot, stir and cover to let the rice cook
5. Once the rice is cooked, sprinkle cashew nut and raisins before serving