Rice

Rice is good stuff. Where would we be without it? And it's really easy to cook.

I've tried a number of ways of cooking it over the years. Here's the one that works for me. No draining, no colanders, no pre-washing. soaking and rinsing, no faffing. No salt either.

I generally cook enough for 2 meals, and refrigerate half of it (if I can keep it out of the clutches of the ravening hordes), then I have something that I can rustle up a quick fried rice with, or microwave it as an accompaniment on an evening when I am really short of time.

You need:

Basmati rice (I've tried other cheaper rice over the years. Basmati is best. Trust me.)
boiling water
a large mug
a heavy-based pan with a close-fitting lid
about half an hour

Put the pan on the hob, and turn on the heat.
Measure a mugful of rice - the size of the mug will depend on how much you want to cook. Put the rice into the pan.
Add almost 2 mugfuls of boiling water (about 1 7/8 the volume of rice).
Bring it to a GENTLE simmer and put the lid on.
Leave it alone, turning the heat off after 15 mins. DON'T TAKE THE LID OFF UNTIL IT'S TIME TO SERVE IT.
30 mins after you started, the rice is done. (But it's still good and hot 45 mins or more after you started - it's very happy sitting with the lid on until you're ready to eat it.)