CRANBERRY RICE

This awesome recipe idea is from my hubby. With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, who doesn’t get tempted on seeing abundant fresh cranberries in the market? I bought a big packet of cranberries with the idea of trying out cranberry pickle and maybe a dhal dish. It was my hubby who suggested after tasting the pickle that these taste as sour as tomato and why don’t we substitute these for tomatoes in thakali sadam (tomato rice), so here goes the recipe. Here I have used just 4-5 cranberries for half a cup of rice since we don’t prefer that much sourness in rice dishes. The cranberries can be increased or decreased according to individual preferences. Try adding 3 cranberries initially and when the mixture is cooked, just before adding the rice taste it for sourness and then add more cranberries if more sourness is preferred.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Any rice variety preferably basmati rice, 1/2 cup.
2. Cranberries (fresh or frozen),4-5.
3. Red onions, medium-size, 2.
4. Ginger-garlic paste, 1teaspoon.
5. Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
6. Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
7. Garam masala (optional), ½ teaspoon.
8. Turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon.
9. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
10. Broken cashews, 1 tablespoon.
11. Fennel seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
12. Curry leaves and cilantro for garnishing.
13. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Cook the rice separately and let it cool. The rice should not be mushy. Dice the finely. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the fennel seeds and cashews and fry for a few seconds. Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Now add the ginger-garlic paste, all the powders, and salt. Mix everything well and cook for 5 minutes under low flame. Now add the cranberries and cook for a few more minutes until the cranberries get mushy and blend with the mixture. Add the cooked rice to this mixture and mix well. Garnish with curry leaves and chopped cilantro and enjoy.

CRANBERRY PICKLE







I tried cranberry pickle from my friend Malar’s blog and they turned out great. Thanks a lot Malar for this drool-worthy pickle recipe. I followed her recipe exactly here. For the original recipe, click here