Cooking the spices slowly in oil releases the aromatic essential flavor from the spices into the rice. “Arroz con mango” is a Miami Latin slang phrase for being all mixed up!
Ingredients to Serve 8-10
2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
5 whole Cloves
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
2 Inch piece Cinnamon stick
16 whole Black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon Saffron, soaked in
1 tablespoon hot water
2 cups Basmati rice, rinsed
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
3 cups Water
1 Large Ripe mango, diced
4 tablespoons Golden Raisins
3 Tablespoons Chopped cilantro
3 Tablespoons Minced green onion
To Prepare the Spices:
In a sauce pan over medium heat warm the olive oil. Pan fry the cloves, cumin, cinnamon and black peppercorns stirring constantly with a wooden spoon about 2 minutes.The spices should begin to become very flavorful.
To Cook the Rice:
Stir the rice into the spice mixture. Add the saffron and salt stirring until rice is well coated. Add water and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
To Finish the Rice:
When the water has been absorbed, remove from heat. Let the rice stay covered for another 5 minutes on the side of the stove. Remove the cover and fluff the rice with large fork. Gentlely mix in the mango, raisins, cilantro and green onion.