Recipes: Rice to the occasion

T-Mag Thursday 05/September/2019 07:18 AM
By: Times News Service
Recipes: Rice to the occasion

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BEETROOT RISOTTO

A comforting rice dish with the twist of beetroot makes an elegant meal for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups beetroot, peeled and diced
• 1 and 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Preparations
• Heat oil in a sauce pan. Sauté onion, garlic and beetroot until softened. Add 2 cups of the stock and bring it to a simmer.
• Add rice and stir well until the grains are well coated.
• Simmer, stirring all the time until the stock has been absorbed.
• Continue to add the remaining stock at intervals and cook until the rice is tender but firm.
• Add butter and cheese and stir gently.
• Season with a dash of black pepper and salt as per taste and serve hot.

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MEXICAN RICE
Full of flavour and made with few ingredients, Mexican rice is a must-try rice preparation.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic , minced
• 1medium onion , finely chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato puree
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 carrot , diced
• 1/2 cup peas
• 3 1/4 cups water
Preparations
• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add oil. Add rice and stir to combine.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly golden brown all over for about 10 minutes.
• Add tomato puree, garlic, and diced onion to the pan. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add salt, carrots, peas and water. Stir well.
• Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes or until the water is completely absorbed.
• Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

THAI FRIED RICE
With authentic flavours of Thai ginger and fish sauce and quick to make, Thai fried rice recipe comes to your rescue on busy weekdays.
Ingredients
• 4 cup of leftover Jasmine rice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 spring onion greens, finely chopped
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated Thai ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
Preparations
• Add oil to a wok or large frying pan and heat over medium-high.
• When the oil is hot, add garlic and fresh ginger and saute for a few seconds.
• Add rice and stir.
• Saute the rice for a minute and season with soy sauce and fish sauce.
• Move the rice mixture out of the centre of the pan, making a little well for the eggs.
• Pour the beaten eggs into the center and let them cook for a few seconds undisturbed.
• Scramble the eggs and stir into the rice and mix well.
• Add spring onions greens and coriander leaves and stir well.
• Serve hot.

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CURD RICE
Also known as yoghurt rice, is soft cooked rice mixed with yoghurt and tempered with spices. It’s ideal for summer months.
Ingredients
• 1-1/2 cups cooked rice( soft texture)
• 3 cups yoghurt
• 1 green chilli,finely chopped
• Salt to taste
Ingredients for tempering
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon ghee
Preparations
• Place the rice in a large mixing bowl.
• Add 1 cup yoghurt to the rice. Using your hands or back of a spoon, mash the rice to combine well with the yogurt.
• Once the rice is mashed well, add the remaining yoghurt, green chillies and salt and mix well.
• Heat a small tadka(tempering) pan with a teaspoon of ghee.
• Once hot, add the mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. Once it crackles, add curry leaves and turn off the flame.
• Pour the tempering over the prepared curd rice and give it a gentle stir.
• Serve chilled.

Oneza Tabish is a food blogger, consultant, and columnist based in Oman. She is also the owner of Oman’s popular Facebook group ‘What’s Cooking Oman.’