Baked Rice (Beram Roz Ma’amar)

The exact translation of “Roz Ma’amar” is Loaded Rice, referring to its richness in taste.

In this recipe, the rice is cooked in a traditional Egyptian clay pot called “Beram”. It is slow cooked in the oven using milk and cream as the cooking liquid, instead of water. This recipe can be simply made with just Rice, or we can turn it into a one-pot-meal by adding meat or chicken.

Ingredients:

2 cups short grain rice
3 cups full fat milk
1 cup cream
2 1/2 tablespoons ghee, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper
1 bouillon cube
1 pound veal, cut in small cubes

Wash the rice 3 times, until the water runs clear. Drain it well and transfer it to a bowl. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper to the rice and mix well. Set it aside.

In a separate bowl, season the veal cubes with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a pot, bring the milk, cream, 2 tablespoons ghee, salt and pepper and one bouillon cube to a boil. Take them off the heat and set them aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Brush the clay pot (Beram) with ghee – if you do not own a “Beram”, a Pyrex dish will work.

Start assembling the casserole. Put 1/3 of the rice in the bottom, then arrange the veal cubes in one layer on top and drizzle a little ghee on top. Add the remaining 2/3 of the rice and lastly add the hot milk and cream mixture.

Bake on 400 F until the liquid starts to boil, then lower heat to 350 F and bake until the rice has completely absorbed all the liquid and the top has turned golden brown in color. Take it out of the oven, put a lid on top and wrap it all around in a kitchen towel. Let it rest, covered and wrapped in the towel