Last weekend was Cuban; this weekend was Asian! And when I say Asian I do not mean Chinese Panda Express (even though there is nothing wrong with their food). A few months ago I purchased a frozen rice Indian dish from Trader Joes. I thought it would be good as a sort of emergency meal type thing to keep in my freezer if I ever needed food. Low and behold, months rolled around and there came a week where I needed food! I cooked the first bit of the rice in a pot and it was amazing! The tangy curry mixed with the sweetness of raisins in the dish was so yummy. Afterward, I thought to myself: I want to make my own version!

This recipe is a concoction of many recipes I found online. Supposedly Biryani Rice is one of the most challenging dishes to make in the Indian culture. I will have to say I simplified it and made it a bit easier to cook so it wasn’t so much work (I found in some recipes it’s an all day cooking event!). Anyway, I hope you like it and remember to always leave out or add more of any ingredient you love to make it your own. That’s what cooking is all about, right?

Ingredients: basmati rice (1 cup), onion, red bell pepper, green chili peppers (canned minced), green beans (canned or fresh), shredded cabbage, cauliflower (half of a frozen bag), peas and corn (half of a frozen bag), 2 tomatoes, cooking oil. Spices: Garam Masala (1 tsp), cumin (1/4 tsp), turmeric (1 tsp), chili powder (1 tsp), ginger (1/4 tsp), cinnamon (1/4 tsp, cloves (1/4 tsp), garlic salt or garlic.

Instructions:

1. Cook the basmati rice until it’s halfway done. While cooking continue with main dish.

2. Grease a large pot with cooking oil and brown the chopped onions. While they cook add chopped tomatoes, green chilies, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, and garam masala. Everything that I said place 1/4 tsp I actually just dusted the onion and tomato mix with as much as I wanted. Ironically, this is not a science. ha

3. Once everything is cooked well, add all of the other veggies with chili powder, turmeric, and salt if you like a bit more. Allow this to cook until the cabbage and red bell peppers are soft. This may require some occasional stirring so one does not burn the veggies.

4. Add 1/2 cup of water (I used broth that I had from another recipe) to the pot along with the partially cooked basmati rice.

5. Cook until the rice is nice and fluffy. Some recipes also like to add a bit of whisked yogurt to the dish, or to give it the “classic” biryani coloring, a red/brown color during the last step. Do either of these if you want a more classic, thicker dish.

Hope this isn’t too much of a challenge for anyone. Honestly, the biggest hurdle is just having all of the required spices. Hope you enjoy, and remember, you can make delicious food on a budget!