Pilaf rice flavored with spices

I served this rice together with the pork curry. The taste is very delicate, lightly sweet with a wonderful scent of butter and spices ( I used cinnamon, cloves and star anise). Moreover, the aroma is enriched with toasted almonds and  raisins (you can also add some chopped pistachios). The rice I chose is a very fragrant Jasmin long grain rice from Thailand, but you can use a Indian Basmati too. As for the wine, I suggest a aromatic or semiaromatic white wine, with a good freshness and smoothness, like a Gewurtztraminer from Alto Adige, a Malvasia di Candia aromatica from Colli Piacentini or a Zibibbo from Sicily (dry version). 

Pilaf rice flavored with spices

(the recipe is taken from Telesette magazine, makes 8 servings)

350 gr Indian rice

700 g vegetable stock

30 g butter

40 gr almond flakes

30 g raisins

2 tablespoons honey

1 cinnamon stick

4/5 cloves

1 teaspoon star anise

5 chives 

salt

Heat the broth (already salted) and dissolve the honey. Melt 30 g butter in a pan, add rice and toast it for a few minutes till it gets shiny. Move  rice in a baking dish, add broth, cinnamon, cloves and star anise and cook covered in the oven at 180 C for about 18 minutes, until rice absorbs all the broth. In the meantime toast almonds in a buttered pan for a few minutes, add raisins and cook for one minute more. When the rice is cooked, add almonds, raisins and chives, cut with scissors. Adjust with salt if necessary, cover the rice and let it flavor with all aromas for some minutes, then serve.