How to use the online timer
Seventeen minutes is the absorption window for a pan of long-grain or basmati rice on a low flame with the lid on. It is the everyday version rather than the biryani version: a pot that sits quietly at the back of the hob while everything else is being finished, and comes out as separate grains if it is left alone and as a solid block if it is not.
The whole method depends on not interfering. Bring it to the boil, drop the heat as low as the ring goes, put the lid on and leave it. Every lift of the lid lets out the steam that is doing the cooking. Keep this tab open so the count carries on while you are busy elsewhere, and let the sound tell you rather than curiosity.
Rinsing basmati under cold water until the water runs clear takes off surface starch and is the single biggest improvement most people can make. Soaking it for twenty minutes first shortens the cook and lengthens the grains. And the rest at the end matters as much as the cooking: ten minutes off the heat with the lid on, then fork it through rather than stirring.
Common questions
Why does my rice come out sticky?
Usually surface starch and too much stirring. Rinsing until the water runs clear, keeping the lid on and leaving it to rest off the heat before forking it through gives separate grains far more reliably.
Can I check it partway through?
Better not to. Every lift of the lid releases the steam doing the cooking and extends the time unpredictably. Leave it alone for the full count, then rest it with the lid on before looking.
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