Bhaat( Plain Rice)

Once the capital of British India,Calcutta is at present the first city of eastern state of west bengal,and  is in the rice bowl .Rice is the staple food.There are two kinds of rice depending on the method of dehusking, the paddy-Sun-dried or Atap and Par -boiled or siddho rice. Each kind has many varieties known by different names and used for different occassions.
Good cooks time their rice to within minutes of serving straight from the pot to the platter with the precision of a hi -tech rice cooker.
Anna is the Sanskrit word for rice which when cooked is Bhaat in Bengali and is a central fact of Bengali cultural existence.

Ingredients :

Rice                     250grams
Water                   3-4 cups

Method :

Wash the rice three four times under running water and soak for thirty minutes.
Put the water in a vessel and cook on high flame till the water begins to boil. Drain the rice and add to the boiling water. Stir the rice once after adding to the water. Lower the flame and cook till done.
If you are cooking Basmati rice, you should turn off the flame before it is fully done. This will prevent the rice from getting soggy and over cooked.
Drain off access water, serve.
In Bengal a teaspoon of hot ghee(clarified butter) follows to bring out the flavour of the first mouthfuls.