Vegetable Rice for Festivals
De Arbol (Capsicum Annuum) means tree like in Spanish. The plant has thick, upright, woody stems and the chile itself is narrow, curved and bright red in color. Believed to be closely related to the pequin, the De Arbol is thin fleshed, with tannic, smoky, grassy flavor and searing heat. This chile has a heat range of 7.5 on the heat scale of 1-10. De Arbol Chiles are comparable to a Cayenne Pepper. Scoville heat units 15,000 to 30,000.
Ingredients: Serves 2~3
Rice – 1 cup (I used Sona Masoori rice)
Eggplant – 3 medium round (or 1 long Japanese eggplant), chopped
Potato – 1 medium, peeled and diced
Carrot – 1 small, peeled and diced
Cauliflower florets – ½ cup
Green Beans – ½ cup, chopped
Green chiles – 4~6, very finely chopped (adjust as per taste preference)
Ginger – 2″ piece, grated
Coconut Milk – ½ cup (optional)
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Chana Dal – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Peanuts – 2 tbsp
Cashews – 1 tbsp
Dry red chiles – 2~3 (adjust as per taste)
Curry Leaves – 8~10
Cilantro – 2tbsp, chopped
Salt – to taste
Method:
Cook rice along with a pinch of turmeric, salt and few drops of oil. Once done, set aside to cool.
Precooking the veggies makes making this dish really fast. I microwaved potatoes, green beans, carrots and cauliflower until fork tender.
Heat 2~3tbsp oil in a big saute pan. Saute peanuts and cashews until golden, remove using a slotted spoon into a small bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal and dry red chiles. Once the seeds start to splutter add the ginger, green chiles and curry leaves. Cook for 1~2 minutes.
Now add eggplant and turmeric. Cover and cook for 6~7 minutes. If using raw veggies add them all together, cover and cook for 10~12 minutes.
If using precooked veggies, add them after eggplant is more than half cooked. Saute till all the veggies are cooked through.
Add coconut milk (if using) and cook for 2~3 minutes.
Next add the cooked rice and salt. Mix well to combine and cook for 2~3 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.
From cookshideout.com