Carrot Rice

This is a recipe we've been enjoying lately. It's a great way to enliven your rice side-dish. We've had it with fish, it would be good with Indian food, and I've even used it as a pseudo main dish with a huge salad and a bunch of other cooked veggies from the garden.

The ginger is not a strong flavor, and the onions can be chopped however finely you'd like. I slice them and like the texture they add. My little boy likes onions, but for those who have to hide them a bit more, just chop them smaller. The original recipe called for cilantro as a garnish, so garnish away if you like that.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 2 1/4 cups water (for cooking rice)
  
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds* ( or roasted peanuts, cashews, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 3/4 cup grated carrots (thin or thick side of grater, your choice)
• salt to taste
• cayenne pepper to taste (optional, of course)

Directions

1. Cook your brown rice however you so choose.
2. While rice is cooking, pulse nuts in a blender (or chop by hand) and set aside. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in ginger, carrots, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and nuts. When rice is done, add it to skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients.

*You can click the link to try soaking and dehydrating your nuts beforehand (to improve digestibility), but you can use any kind of nut, soaked or unsoaked.

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings