5 Authentic Yummy Rice Dishes You Must Try!

1. Spanish Rice :-

Ingredients :

1-1/2 cups cooked rice

1 cup packed, chopped spinach

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1/2 cup pureed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon homemade sambar powder or store bought

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

2 tablespoons ghee or sesame oil,salt to taste

Directions :

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan on medium heat; add then cumin seeds, grated ginger and sauté for a few seconds.

Stir in the tomatoes and turmeric powder and saute for a few seocnds. Stir in the chopped spinach and salt. Cover the pan and allow the spinach to cook until soft. When you open the pan you will notice that the spinach has released  a lot of water. Turn the heat to high and allow the water to evaporate. Stir in the cooked rice and sambar powder and combine well.

Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for a few minutes. After a few minutes you will notice that the rice is full of aromas. Serve warm along with tomato onion raita or plain yogurt.

2. Paneer Rice :-

Ingredients :

2 cups of cooked rice

1 clove of finely mashed garlic

1-2 slit green chillies (optional)

1/4 cup of finely sliced onions

1/2 cup finely diced red bell peppers

1 cup of paneer cubes

1/4 cup of peas, steamed

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon freshly pounded cardamom powder

1/2 teaspoon dried mint powder (or freshly chopped mint leaves)

1 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon ghee, Salt to taste

Directions :

Heat oil in medium heat in a pan; add cumin seeds, onions, green chilies(optional) and red pepper; saute until soft and tender and the onions are turning caramel. Stir in the garlic and saute for a few more seconds until the rawness of garlic reduces.

At this stage, stir in the cubed paneer, peas, cardamom powder, mint powder/leaves and salt to taste. Finally add in the cooked rice and stir gently until all the ingredients are well combined. With heat on low, cover the pan and allow all the flavors to release into the rice.

3. Spicy Tomato Rice :-

Ingredients :

1 cup of rice, washed and cooked – make sure the rice is grainy

1 large onion, finely chopped or 10 pearl onion chopped fine

1 clove of finely chopped garlic

an inch piece of garted ginger

3 large tomatoes, finely chopped

2 carrots, grated

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

5 to 6 curry leaves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon homemade sambar powder or store bought

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

a small bunch of mint leaves, finely chopped

oil for cooking

1 tablespoon ghee or sesame oil,Salt to taste

Directions :

Heat oil in medium heat in a pan; add cumin seeds and mustard seeds; allow it to crackle. Then add onions, ginger and garlic and sauté until the onions are tender and golden. Add chopped tomatoes and grated carrots; sauté until the tomatoes and carrots are tender and water has evaporated and has formed a semi thick paste. Stir in the chopped curry leaves at this point.

Next add in the sambar powder, cardamom powder, salt and mix well. Add mint leaves and sauté for a few more minutes. Gradually stir in the cooked rice to the tomato mixture and fold the rice gently so all ingredients get well combined. Finally add a tablespoon of ghee or sesame oil and stir it into the rice.

4. Spicy Pudina Rice :-

Ingredients :

1 cup rice (long or short grained)

2-1/2 cups Pudina leaves (without any stem)

3 green chillies, slit

2 inch piece fresh tamarind

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon halfed white uraddal,salt to taste

Directions :

Cook the Rice with 2 cups of water along with a little salt and a tablespoon of oil until all the water is absorbed. Allow the cooked rice to rest for a while and use it to make the Pudina Rice only after it has completely cooled down.Wash the pudina leaves. Using a food processor, gring the pudina leaves along with the green chillies and tamarind into a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat; add the mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. Stir in the urad dal and roast it until it turns light golden brown. Add the onions and saute until the onions turn translucent.

Now add the ground pudina mixture and salt. Give it a stir and let it cook for 5 minutes until the mixture turns a little thick. Turn off the heat and finally stir in the cooked rice to this mixture until well combined. Serve the Pudina Rice hot with raita and papad.

5. Healthy Coconut Rice :-

Ingredients :

1 cup coconut, grated

2.5 cups rice, cooked

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 teaspoon urad dal

2 teaspoon channa dal

a fistful of peanuts

1 sprig curry leaves

3 or 4 green chillies

1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped or grated (optional)

1 + 1 tablespoon coconut oil,Salt (as required)

Directions :

To begin cooking, start with heating 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds to the oil, and once it begins to crackle, add in the urad dal, channa dal and the peanuts separately.Once the dals start to brown, add in the green chillies, curry leaves and ginger and stir them together for a few minutes.

Next, add in the coconut to the kadai and mix them all together. Care should be taken to avoid any moisture remaining in the mixture, therefore keep stirring it properly until all the water in the coconut evaporates. At this stage, add in the required quantity of salt and stir again.Now, take the cooked rice that is to be added. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil to it to separate the grains of the rice.

Add the cooked rice to the coconut mixture in the wok. Stir fry gently to combine all the ingredient taking care and ensuring that the rice does not get mashed in the process. Once combined, turn the heat to low and simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and serve the coconut rice hot with a potato roast and papad.

– Pratiksha Trivedi