This is no ordinary fried rice! It’s fluffy, coconut-ey, cashew-ing amazingness. I love this rice as a side or as a quick lunch on it’s own. Generally I serve this rice with Indian and Thai curries, it works just as well with either. Delicious!
My husband took an Indian cooking course and came home with the fruits of his labour, a couple of curries and some rice.
I’ve never been a huge fan of white rice, I just always opt for a brown rice or a rice substitute like couscous instead. Rice, for me is always a bit of an empty calorie dish, as in, bland and high in carbs. So when hubby presented me with the bowl of rice he had made in the class I politely declined.
‘But you have to try it’ he protested, ‘It has coconut in it’!
Interest suddenly piqued!
So I tried the rice and loved it, it had all sorts of other ingredients mixed into it, some nuts, some coconut all combining to create absolute deliciousness!
So, I have come up with my own version and presented it to you. If you are a ghee eater then it will give you a slightly more rich and creamy version, no denying it. But I don’t really eat ghee, so I make it with olive oil spread instead (‘Olivio’) and it is delicious!
Serve this up with any Asian dish as it pretty much goes with anything and don’t skip my step of washing your rice first!
Enjoy!
- 220 g basmati rice
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp olive oil spread (or butter or ghee if you have it and are not making vegan)
- 2 Tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 handful of cashew nuts, lightly crushed
- ½ bunch fresh coriander, chopped
- Put your basmati rice in a sieve/colander and wash the rice under running water so that the water runs clear, this is important so don't miss this step out.
- Put your basmati rice in warm water to soak. This will cut down the cooking time and ensure that your rice cooks nice and fluffy. If you have time let it soak for at least 20 minutes.
- When ready to cook the rice, remove it from the water it has been soaking in and put into a pot with 1 litre of fresh water and some salt and bring to the boil.
- Cook the rice on a high heat until it is cooked, but watch it as you do not want to over cook it. it should take about 5 minutes.
- Drain the rice in a sieve, and then sit the sieve on top of the hot pot so that only the steam rises through the rice. If you leave it to steam off for 5 minutes you should have perfect, fluffy rice.
- In a large frying pan add the olive oil and the olive oil spread (or butter or ghee if using it (and not making vegan)).
- Add the cumin seeds and stir for 10 seconds on a medium heat.
- Add all of the ingredients to the pan and place a lid over the pan (as the sesame seeds can jump out and may burn you).
- Allow everything to brown and then stir in the rice and mix thoroughly.
- Serve hot, topped with some freshly chopped coriander leaves.
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