Saffron Rice

Saffron, the most precious of all spices, makes this simple dish warm and smooth to the taste, with a powerful aroma. I like the nutty flavour of basmati rice for this dish.

It takes 150,000 flowers to yield 1kg (2¼lb) of saffron, which accounts for the high price of this exotic spice. Turmeric can be used as a substitute as it has the same slightly bitter, musky aroma as well as that deep orange hue. In case you want to invest in saffron, buy threads instead of powder.