2 large onions - chopped
1t turmeric
1t garam masala (see below)
1/2 t cardamom
4 whole cloves
1/2 t ground chilli
1t cumin
1t cinnamon
2t grated ginger
2 bay leaves
500g mixed veg - capsicum, tomato, peas, beans, corn, zucchini, whatever.
1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice - you can use white rice and it will cook faster, but brown rice is better for you and addictive once you start on it. If you think you don't like brown rice, you were probably served rice that was undercooked.
2 1/2 cups vege stock
150g natural yoghurt
Optional: chickpeas (extra protein! See note below)
Gently saute onions and garlic in a large heavy-bottomed pot until soft.
Add the spices, bay leaves and vegetables, then stir for a few seconds until spices are fragrant.
Stir in the rice and stock, bring to the boil then simmer, covered, over a low heat without stirring for 30-40 minutes until rice is cooked.
Stir through yoghurt and serve with naan, raita or dahl if desired.
To Cook Chickpeas –
Cover with boiling water and leave to soak overnight.
Change water and boil for one hour - the rice is boiled for 30-40 minutes in this recipe, so you could boil the chickpeas separately for 30 minutes, then add with the rice and stock. Obviously, if you choose to use white rice the timing will change. (it is important to change the water between soaking and cooking legumes because of the chemicals that leach out during soaking. The water used during cooking is fine to save and use as a stock though).
Raita
There a tons of different recipes for raita. The basic ingredients are natural yoghurt, mint and cucumber, but don’t stress about missing out ingredients, just add whatever you have (grated apple, carrot, cucumber, tomato, etc, be creative with spices…). Just make sure you squeeze the excess juice from any fruit or veg you use, or it ends up surprisingly watery.
250ml natural yoghurt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ t cayenne pepper
½ t cumin seeds – roasted briefly without oil in a pan and ground
1 tomato – seeded and finely chopped
1 medium cucumber – grated and juice squeezed out
2T fresh mint – finely chopped
Mix all ingredients.
