Tag: rice
Phirni- Indian Rice Pudding
Phirni is a rice pudding like dessert common in the Middle East. It is also popular in Kashmir and other parts of North India. I have known about it since I was tiny. My Mom would make it for us in individual bowls, especially when we had people over for dinner. It is a creamy concoction of milk and sugar. The milk is thickened with rice and flavored with crushed cardamom seeds. It can be topped with chopped almonds and pistachios.
- ½ cup rice
- ½ cup water
Soak rice in water for 2-3 hours. Blend the mixture in a blender by first adding the wet rice and ¼ cup water. Gradually add the rest of the water and blend till smooth. Keep aside.
- 4 cups milk (whole milk or low fat)
- ¾ cup sugar (adjust according to taste)
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 4-5 cardamom pods, ground
Garnish
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 3 cardamom pods, ground
- ¼ cup pistachios, ground
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer the milk. Add the sugar, almonds and cardamom. Gradually add the rice mixture while stirring constantly. Keep stirring till the mixture thickens up like a custard. Cook for another 3-4 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with almonds, ground cardamom and pistachios.
Aromatic Basmati Rice
It’s important to know how to make rice well- this is a simple recipe with some South Indian spices. I cook my rice with chicken broth but of course water or vegetable broth can be used…
- 1 Cup Basmati Rice
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth
- 2 tblsp Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 5 to 6 curry leaves
- 1 tsp Salt
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the spices heat up and get aromatic (careful not to burn). Add the rice and sauté in the oil and spices for a minute or so or until the rice becomes opaque. Add the chicken broth and the salt. Bring the rice to a boil and lower the flame to medium. Keep the rice half covered while it is still coming to a slow boil. Once most of the broth is evaporated, cover over very low heat.
Coconut Rice
The rice dish goes really well with the kumquat chicken I posted yesterday. Since it had so much flavor, I wasn’t looking for a starch that would compete with the protein. I knew I wanted to serve the chicken dish with rice and coconut kept coming to mind- especially because Spice Market in NYC serves Thai inspired food.. and when I think of Thai, coconut comes to mind.
I saved all the lemongrass stalks and kaffir lime mixture from the dressing for the chicken and added it to the coconut milk. I let the milk simmer with the aromatic herbs till it reduced down to two cups. This ensured tons of flavor… yum!! I added jasmine rice to the delicious broth and cooked the rice.
It is amazing how delicious the rice was- I could make a meal out of it- just the rice. I obviously tasted amazing with the chicken dish. Try this rice dish with any Asian inspired dish- you will never make plain rice again…
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Lime and Cilantro Rice
I made chicken quesadillas served with peach salsa and this delicious lime and cilantro rice. I love Mexican and Latin food. I love the bold flavors of this very vibrant cuisine. It reminds me of Indian food which is the cuisine I grew up with. I have always been attracted to strong flavors and love Thai, Indian, Mexican, Spanish.. I guess so far I have yet to meet a cuisine I haven’t liked.
I like eating salads and tacos at Qdobas. It is one of the few chains that actually has healthy and decent food. I am able to go on their website to inquire about calories and nutrition. They serve a cilantro rice with their burritos that is very delicious.
While making the quesadillas, I thought about making some rice and I immediately thought of the rice they serve at Qdobas. I started with jasmine rice and used a mixture of chicken broth and the juice and zest of a lime…. which is the key flavor to this delicious rice dish. I finished it with chopped cilantro. It complemented the quesadillas really well and completed the meal in a delicious way.
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Tomato Rice with Peas
This is my version of a South Indian rice dish my husband has all the time at restaurants. I have never made it before and thought it would be nice to try it at home. It is essentially cooked rice sauteed with a lot of spices, lentils and curry leaves. I decided to take it to another level and make a one pot meal out of it. How much do we love one pot meals?
In order to make this dish balanced I added frozen peas and shredded paneer which is an Indian style cheese. So now I had vegetables and protein in the rice dish. I guess if you wanted to be even more healthy, you can use brown rice instead of the white.
The rice dish was super flavorful with the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and a blend of spices. The crushed tomatoes and peanuts made this dish fabulous. My daughter is not into nuts- so all I did was take them out for her. She was very skeptical trying the rice- but once she had a bite, she was sold…
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Rice and Beans with Shredded Chicken
I have started the new year with yet another one pot meal. How great is a one pot meal??- I love them. With this particular one, I served a salad and some store bought green salsa and it was a huge success.
I love not having to clean multiple pots and pans and not spending extra time cooking side dishes. This is a perfect week night meal.
Since I talked about brown rice yesterday, this dish would be ideal with brown rice. I would increase the cooking time, of course- but the flavor won’t be compromised at all. Especially in this dish, since there are lots of strong flavors going on, this dish might be perfect to experiment with- your family may not be able to tell the difference at all.
As most of you know, I love shopping at Trader Joes- especially for the new and fabulous ingredients they keep coming out with. I found a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies recently. I picked it up immediately and decided to use it for a south western style dish. I loved the flavor in this dish- it brings a smoky kick to the rice dish- really delicious. Please try it…
- 1 pound chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 14.5 oz can of diced and fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies (Trader Joes)
- 1 15 oz can of pinto beans
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1½ cups chicken broth
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. In the meantime, sprinkle paprika and salt on both sides of the chicken pieces. Place the chicken pieces in the heated oil and brown both sides- about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Add the onions and garlic. Saute on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and add the rice and salt. Continue boiling till the broth begins to evaporate and bubbles form on the surface. Lower the heat to low and cover the saucepan half way. Once the all the broth has evaporated, cover all the way and cook for 20 minutes or till the rice is done.
Take the chicken pieces out and shred with a fork. Put back in the pan and mix with the rice and beans.
Serve with a green salad and freshly made guacamole.
Bok Choy and Fresh Corn Fried Rice
I served this rice with the salmon marinated with miso. When my husband and I ate at Ming Tsai’s restaurant, my lobster dish had the most delicious fried rice I have ever tasted. As I enjoyed and devoured the rice, I realized it had butter in it. Now, of course I am health conscious and don’t want to use extra fat but I realized that if I saute the rice in a mixture of butter and olive oil, I can get great flavor as well.
So that is what I did with this rice dish. I had farm fresh corn and bok choy and decided to combine the two in the dish- the more the merrier. Actually the two went really well together. The sweet corn was great with the earthy taste of the bok choy. I sauteed everything together and cooked the rice in chicken broth.
I love making fried rice as a side dish. You can put anything you want in there, really- no rules.. It’s easy to make and all sorts of vegetables can be added to make it healthy.
I was happy to serve a really healthy protein with this fried rice full of vegetables- it was a great combination. My daughter didn’t eat the fish but loved the rice. There was no mention of the strange green vegetable floating around- that is another reason to make fried rice- kids will eat it with whatever you add to it.
Overall it was a successful dinner- no complaints.
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, olive oil and add the rice. Saute for a minute on medium heat or till the grains begin to look opaque. Add the chicken broth and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium once bubbles begin to show on the surface. Cover the saucepan once the broth has evaporated and cook on low for 15 minutes or till rice is cooked. Take out and let cool.
- 1 large head of bok choy, cleaned and the white and green parts separated and chopped.
- 2 ears of corn, husked and kernels taken out
- 3 inch piece of ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon white miso
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons tamari
Mix the white miso, honey and tamari together and keep aside.
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
In a wide wok-like pan, heat the olive oil and add the ginger. Saute for a minute and add the chopped white parts of the bok choy. Saute on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Next, add the green part and the fresh corn kernels. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked rice and the miso mixture. Saute the rice on high heat for 5-6 minutes. Check for seasonings.