Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Spicy Indian Cilantro Rice

I was as usual too lazy to cook and wanted to make a quick but healthy and tasty dish. I got reminded of my Mom's Cilantro rice which she used to make for lunch when I used to go to school. So I asked her for the cilantro rice recipe. This was wonderful and tasted so good. I felt like comfort food. This is my Mom's recipe and she is the best cook in the world according to me. After eating this I felt so good and decided to see the nutritional value and was surprised. Looks like cilantro helps in regulating your blood sugar levels, rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. No wonder I felt energetic after eating this.




Serves : 2
Approximate Total Cost : $2.00
Approximate Cost per person : $1.00

Ingredients
Cilantro - 1.5 bunches
Rice - 1.5 cups (I used brown basmati rice - hardly any starch in it and tastes like white rice)
Canola Oil - 1 tablespoon
Ghee or Butter - 1 tablespoon
Salt - to taste

For Tempering

Dry Red Chilli -3
Cumin seeds -1/4 tablespoon
Urad dal - 1/4 tablespoon
Tamarind - a small piece

Method

1. Wash the rice and boil it in a pan with lots of water(around 5 to 6 cups - need not be accurate). Add a pinch of salt. After 30 minutes check if the rice is cooked. If so strain the rice using a sieve mesh. That's why the amount of water does not matter. Let the rice sit in the sieve for 20 minutes so that all the water is drained completely.  You can cook the rice however you want but this is how I do it generally. I like this method because the starch is removed from  the rice and it feels lighter. The rice still stays fresh and maintains its texture even after you keep it in the fridge.
2. In a  hot pan, Add a tablespoon of canola oil and add the ingredients for tempering. Once it starts to splutter add the cilantro and salt. Cook for 3 minutes until the cilantro slightly sweats down.
3. Now cool the contents in the pan and transfer it into a blender and blend to form a coarse paste.

4. In the same pan add a tablespoon of ghee and add the blended mixture and cook for two minutes. Now add the rice and mix well and cook for a minute. Serve hot with any vegetable side dish or lightly salted potato chips.

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