- Brown Rice Pilaf
Prep Time: 30 min; Cooking Time: 40 min; Total Time: 70 min; Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 1 cup soaked and drained brown rice
- 1 ¼ cups chopped mixed vegetables
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 3 slit green chilies
- 2 cups water
- Salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons clarified butter
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 cloves
- 3 cardamom
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
How To Prepare
- Grind ginger, garlic, and cinnamon with a little water to make a smooth paste. Keep it aside.
- Heat oil and clarified butter in a deep pan on medium to high heat.
- Add bay leaf, cloves, and crushed cardamom and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Mix in the ground paste and sauté until the raw flavor fades away.
- Add onions and green chilies and sauté until the onions turn golden brown.
- Mix in the chopped veggies.
- Add the drained rice and give a quick mix.
- Add water and salt and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Cover and cook on low to medium heat, stirring intermittently, until the rice is soft, the vegetables are crispy tender, and the water is completely absorbed.
- Serve hot with onion raita.
- Brown Rice Salad
Prep Time: 20 min; Cooking Time: 5 min; Total Time: 25 min; Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1/3 cup chopped carrots
- 1/3 cup chopped cucumber
- 1/3 cup chopped celery
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion
- 1 cup fresh peas
- A handful of basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
How To Prepare
- Add Dijon mustard with salt, oil, lemon juice, black pepper powder, and red paprika flakes in a small mixing bowl. Whisk well to ensure even blending.
- Mix in the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss slowly to ensure even coating.
- Chill and serve.
- Sweet Brown Rice Recipe (Puliyogare)
Prep Time: 20 min; Cooking Time: 15 min; Total Time: 35 min; Serves: 2
Ingredients
- ½ cup tamarind
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon grated jaggery
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons peanuts
- 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
- 2 teaspoon mustard
- 2 tablespoons chana dal
- 4 roughly broken red chilies
- 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- ¼ cup sesame oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons chana dal
- 4 red chilies
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
How To Prepare
- Heat one teaspoon of oil in a sautéing pan placed on medium to high heat and roast the ingredients until they turn golden. Wait until the mixture cools down. Finely powder the ingredients and keep it aside.
- Soak the tamarind in hot water for 40 minutes. Extract the pulp and discard the fiber. Keep it aside.
- Place a heavy-bottomed, wide-mouthed frying pan on medium to high heat.
- Add the rest of the sesame seed oil and heat it.
- Add the seasoning and fry for about 3 minutes.
- Mix in the extracted tamarind and cook for 20 minutes or until the pulp loses the raw aroma and becomes half.
- Mix in powdered ingredients and grated jaggery and salt to the mixture and keep stirring until the mixture thickens.
- Remove from fire and keep aside.
- Place a sautéing pan on medium to high heat and roast the peanuts until crispy.
- Mix in the puliyogare gravy and keep aside. Store it and use it when desired.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked rice.
- Mix in 2 tablespoons of the gravy, and using a flat back spoon, mix carefully without breaking and mashing the rice.
- Serve hot with deep-fried appalam (fried papad) or curd.
- Chicken Brown Rice Soup
Prep Time: 20 min; Cooking Time: 30 min; Total Time: 50 min; Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 finely chopped red onion
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 2 finely chopped Celery stalks
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup brown rice
- 3 oz chicken breast
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 bunch, stems discarded, leaves finely chopped collard greens
How To Prepare
- Place a large pot filled with half a cup of chicken broth on medium to high heat. Simmer for a while.
- Add in the bay leaf, onions, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring now and then until the onions turn translucent.
- Mix in the rice, chicken breast pieces, water, and the rest of the broth.
- Let the mixture come to a boil.
- Lower the heat, cover the pot, and let the mixture simmer for about 40 minutes or until chicken is soft, and the rice is tender.
- Discard the bay leaves and mix in collard greens.
- Simmer for about 5 more minutes or until collard greens wilt and turn tender.
- Turn off the heat.
- Spoon into soup bowls and sprinkle a little pepper powder and serve hot.
- Thai Red Curry With Vegetables And Brown Rice
Prep Time: 10 min; Cook Time: 30 min; Total Time: 40 min; Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups brown jasmine rice or long-grain brown rice, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 small white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (about a 1-inch nub of ginger)
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin 2-inch long strips
- 1 yellow, orange or green bell pepper, sliced into thin 2-inch long strips
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into ¼-inch thick rounds (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 can (14 ounces) regular coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups thinly sliced kale (tough ribs removed first), preferably the Tuscan/lacinato/dinosaur variety
- 1 ½ teaspoons coconut sugar or turbinado (raw) sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
- Garnishes/sides: A handful of chopped fresh basil or cilantro, red pepper flakes, sriracha, or chili garlic sauce
How To Prepare
- Cook brown rice in a pot, and just before serving, season it with salt.
- To make the curry, add onion and a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and turns translucent. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds while stirring continuously.
- Add the bell peppers and carrots. Cook until the bell peppers are fork-tender, for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, water, kale, and sugar, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat.
- Add salt (add ¼ teaspoon for optimal flavor) to taste. If the curry needs a little more punch, add ½ teaspoon tamari, or for more acidity, add ½ teaspoon rice vinegar.
- Vegetarian Brown Fried Rice
Prep Time: 20 min; Cooking Time: 15 min; Total Time: 35 min; Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 3 ½ tablespoons avocado or olive oil
- 2 eggs, whisked together
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 2 cups additional veggies, cut into very small pieces
- 1 tablespoon grated or finely minced fresh ginger
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- A pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (*see notes!)
- 1 cup greens (optional), such as spinach, baby kale or tatsoi
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Chili-garlic sauce or sriracha, for serving (optional)
How To Prepare
- Heat a teaspoon of oil, add scrambled eggs, and cook until they are done.
- Heat two tablespoons of oil to fry onions and carrots, stirring often, until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender. This will take 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining veggies and salt. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are cooked through and turn golden. This may take 3 to 5 minutes.
- To remaining oil, add ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant while stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Add the cooked brown rice and mix it all together. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is hot and starting to turn golden on the edges.
- Add the greens (if using) and green onions, and stir to combine. Add the cooked veggies and eggs and stir to combine.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the tamari and sesame oil.
- Serve hot.