How badly wrong could this go...

[Kewcumber]

if I make this using basmati rice (don't have any risotto rice)

I think you need arborio rice.
Go to shop on way home.
Purchase.
Cook.
Eat.

no no no - I need you to tell me it will be fine.

It'll probably taste quite nice, but it won't be risotto as it won't go creamy. It'll be more like a pilaf or a non-curry biriyani.

No, sorry, I don't think it will work either. I doubt it'll absorb enough of the liquid, and it won't make it all creamy, like risotto is supposed to be. Adapt it - cook the rice separately and the other bits, and mix at the end?

It won't work -- do something else with basmati rice.

Or, alternatively, it will be fine. For a given value of "fine"...

non creamy isn't a problem - just don't want it top go stuck togteher and stodgy - I wonder if brown basmati would be better I have some of that.

has anyone tried baking basmati rice [hopeful emoticon]

I don't want to cook ti all separately - the whole point is nice easy one dish supper... [sulky emoticon]

Lemon - as you're on maternity leave (ie dossing around doing nothing), could you pop out and buy some arborio rice for me and pop it through the letter box - there's a love.

You can make a pilaf type thing with basmati, just stick it in the oven with the veg ect, add a decent stock, cover and bake, stirring occasionally. Brown basmati will take about 35-40 minutes.

If you don't actually want risotto then what you're doing should be fine. Reduce the amount of stock a bit and allow a bit of time at the end to either add more stock or boil off an excess.

I often make a cheat's Hainanese chicken rice using a good chicken stock and it comes out fine. I use a rice cooker rather than the oven but the principle is the same.

Actually, I have just been watching a SkyPlussed episode of Heston Blumenthal (in my dossing around on maternity leave-y kind of way) and it features a Milanese chef with two Michelin stars who makes risotto using basmati rice. So you may be onto something...

How did it turn out Kewcumber?

surprisingly well actually though I didn;t put enough liquid in (should have used the amount the recipe said) and the basmati swelled up a lot more than I think risotto rice would have so I have gallons of the stuff.

Think I would buy some risotto rice and try it though - its a good recipe for easy dinner. Throw a pile more veg in though (I added baby leeks and mushrooms) and chopping the cheery tomatoes in half wasn;t a good idea they virtually disintegrated - better off leaving them whole. No doubt would be good with chicken too.

I also knew I was an avent garde chef - I was just testing you lot - you're sooo yesterday....

what is hainanese chicken rice?

Wiki entry for Hainanese rice.

DH's version is to simmer a whole chicken with 'secret' ingredients for about an hour. He then uses the resulting stock to cook the rice in. The chicken is chopped into pieces and served with the rice and sliced cucumber with chili sauce on the side. It's hugely popular in Malaysia (where dh is from) and Singapore.

My cheat's version is to buy good quality stock and use it to poach a couple of chicken breasts, I add a little ginger and garlic (crushed and fried). Then I cook rice with the stock. My super-lazy cheat's version is to just cook rice with the stock without poaching any chicken first, and serve the rice with cucumber. DS loves both the real deal and the cheat's version and eats a massive amount of it.