Start · Week 2

Rice and Soup

The lid closes and the work goes on. This is where real patience begins.

This week you will learn ratio and demleme in rice pilaf, and the aromatic base in soup. Demleme means resting a covered pot off the heat so the steam finishes the cooking. An aromatic base is onion cooked in fat before any liquid goes in. Most dishes cooked in a pot rest on these three skills.

Weekly progress0 / 6

Red lentil soup in a white bowl, topped with chili flakes and dried mint, with a lemon wedge on the side

5 days · about 40 min a day

What you will learn this week

Three skills, two plates

Ratio

Rice cooks by absorbing water. With too little water the rice stays hard, and with too much it turns to mush. That is why you measure the water and do not guess.

Demleme (steam rest)

After the heat goes off, the steam in the pot finishes the cooking. That is why the pilaf rests with the lid closed.

Aromatic base

Onion cooked in fat loses its sharpness and turns sweet. The onion's flavor then spreads through the whole dish. This is why you cook the onion before the liquid.

This week's plates

Pilaf first, then soup

Ratio · Demleme

Rice Pilaf

Four ingredients: rice, water, butter, salt. Measuring and waiting decide how the pilaf turns out.

Go to recipe →

Aromatic base · Puree

Red Lentil Soup

Your first pot dish that starts from onion.

Go to recipe →

Week plan

Five days, six tasks

Check off each task as you finish it. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Day 1Onion lessonCut an onion into 0.5 cm cubes. Cook it in about 10 g of butter over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, until translucent but without color. Every 2 minutes, smell the onion and look at its color. During this time the sizzle drops from high to low, and the smell turns from sharp to sweet. Day 2Your first pilafMake the recipe for 4. Wash the rice until the water runs clear. The ratio is 1 glass rice : 1.5 glasses hot water, same glass, so 2 glasses of rice take 3 glasses of water. When the rice has absorbed the water, turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes without opening the lid. Day 3Your first red lentil soupCook the onion first, then add the washed lentils and the water. When the lentils fall apart, blend the soup. Finish the salt at the end and serve with lemon. Day 4Two pilafs, two ratiosMake two small pilafs with 1 glass of the same rice each: give one 1.5 glasses of water and the other 1.8 glasses. Put them side by side, look at the difference, and taste. Write down the ratio that suits your rice. Day 5Soup + pilaf, on the table togetherCount back from serving time. Make the soup first. Start the pilaf for 4 so that its 10-minute rest ends at serving time. WeekendPalate task: the half-ladle testReheat the soup you cooked on day 5 and refrigerated within 2 hours. Put half a ladle of soup into each of 4 small bowls. Leave one as it is. Add a pinch of salt to one, a few drops of lemon to one, and a drop of olive oil to one. Add to the main pot whichever brought out the flavor most.

You earned a badge

Ratio and Patience

Two weeks done. You are starting to hear what the pot wants.

Toolkit

A heavy-bottomed pot with a tight lid. Food sticks in a thin pot, and a loose lid lets steam escape.
A 200 ml glass. Measure the rice and the water with the same glass. The ratio does not change with the size of the glass. A US cup holds 240 ml, so glass counts in these recipes are not cups.
A strainer, for washing the rice and lentils.
An immersion blender or a whisk, for the soup.

Shopping list

Baldo rice 1020 g (a medium-grain rice from a Middle Eastern grocery or online; Calrose works), red lentils 400 g
Yellow onions 330 g (about 3), 2 lemons
Butter 200 g
Salt, Aleppo-style chili flakes (from the same grocery; sweet paprika with a little crushed red pepper works), dried mint, a little olive oil

This list covers two pilafs for 4, the two small pilafs on day 4, two soups for 4, and the onion lesson.

Keep pilaf safe

Bacteria can grow in cooked rice at room temperature. That is why leftover pilaf goes in the refrigerator within 2 hours.

If your pilaf turned out mushy or hard, see the Rescue page.