South African Yellow Rice

55 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 20
  • 4 star values: 23
  • 3 star values: 6
  • 2 star values: 4
  • 1 star values: 2

This is a traditional South African recipe, which comes from the great culinary tradition of the Cape Malays -- originally brought in as slaves in the 17th century. It's easy and plain, but great with meats like venison, corned beef tongue or any meat with gravy. Also usually served with Bobotie: There is a good recipe by Caryn on this site.

By DEONI
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Ingredients

4
Original recipe yields 4 servings
The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified

Directions

  • In a saucepan, combine the rice, salt, turmeric, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, butter and water. Bring to a boil uncovered. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until rice is fluffy and water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Keep warm until serving time.

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Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:
296 calories; 3.4 g total fat; 8 mg cholesterol; 316 mg sodium. 63.5 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; Full Nutrition

Popular in Rice

Reviews (47)

Read All Reviews

Most helpful positive review

ahoffort
Rating: 5 stars
01/06/2008
Very good and easy. I just threw all of the ingredients into the rice cooker.
Helpful
(16)

Most helpful critical review

Anonymous
Rating: 1 stars
01/07/2015
I did not care for this recipe. Far too sweet
55 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 20
  • 4 star values: 23
  • 3 star values: 6
  • 2 star values: 4
  • 1 star values: 2
Reviews:
Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest
CookingDownUnder
Rating: 3 stars
02/13/2006
This dish was really sweet and I only used 2/3 of the sugar. I also served it with Bobotie which was also quite sweet so the combination was overpowering. Maybe it should have been 3 teaspoons instead of 3 tablespoons. Otherwise it was quite good with a lovely aroma.
Helpful
(23)
Salihah
Rating: 4 stars
11/19/2007
Super Delicious! So glad I tried this recipe! I used Sucanat instead of sugar in the same qty listed. I also used some vegetable broth for some of the water and added a handful of cashew nuts. Yum! This will be on our table again!
Helpful
(20)
ahoffort
Rating: 5 stars
01/06/2008
Very good and easy. I just threw all of the ingredients into the rice cooker.
Helpful
(16)
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TRMARSHALL32
Rating: 5 stars
01/29/2007
I must admit I was a bit nervous about the raisins in rice but it was so delicious. I used brown sugar in place of white sugar and served it with African Curry Chicken. My kids thought it looked gross but was pleasantly surprised and couldn't get enough of it. EXCELLENT!
Helpful
(7)
Dave W.
Rating: 4 stars
07/26/2010
I made this with a north African chicken dish and it was good. After reading some other reviewers' comments that they found it somewhat sweet I made 1 serving ahead of time and based on that decided to use only about a quarter of the amount of sugar called for. I also soaked the raisins for about an hour to plump them up a bit. Served the meal with a South African white wine.
Helpful
(7)
ETZNAB
Rating: 4 stars
10/11/2010
This was very good. My only complaint is that I don't think the turmeric dissolved well and some bites were a bit chalky. This might of been my fault since I like my rice dry and only used 1.75 cups of water. It might of dissolved better in more water as the original recipe called for. Next time I will stir the spices in the water vigorously before adding the rice. My other changes was that I used only one tablespoon of sugar. Combined with the raisins it gave the dish a hint of sweetness without being overally sugary.
Helpful
(6)
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bsp09
Rating: 4 stars
09/26/2011
I recently attended a dinner party at a colleague's house. He is from South Africa and made this dish and was excellent. Compared to his version this was a bit sweeter but pretty close. It was great mixed with the Bobotie from this site as well. I did sub craisins as I don't like raisins.
Helpful
(5)
Sandi
Rating: 4 stars
07/20/2010
I made in in the rice cooker as a previous poster did. It turned out wonderful. This was delicious! This recipe is going into our regular rotation.
Helpful
(5)
eileen
Rating: 5 stars
09/08/2009
This was a cool rice recipe definitely different than the usual side of rice;) I followed other reviewers' tips and cut the sugar in half. Thanks!
Helpful
(5)
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