Thursday, October 16, 2008

Mexican Rice


Rarely have I seen recipes that pair cabbage and rice,so when I saw this recipe in a vegetarian cookbook I was intrigued.I have had this cookbook with me for quite some years and refer to it from time to time when I am looking for new ideas but never really noticed this particular recipe until now.

I wanted to give this recipe a try and adapted it to suit our palate and to adjust for ingredients I had on hand. This was a very quick and flavorful rice and is probably going to cause me to look for cabbage at my grocery more often than I do now :-)

Mexican Rice 3



Click here for a printable view of this recipe


Ingredients and method to make the Mexican Rice
2 onions (1 cut fine and 1 sliced long)
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 small tomatoes (blanched and cut into small pieces)
1 1/4 cup long grain brown rice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp chilli powder (or according to taste)
handful cilantro for garnish cut fine
salt to taste
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil or any other oil

Blanch the tomatoes. (Blanching is a process where you soak the tomatoes in very hot water ( near boiling) water for a few minutes.When the skin on the tomatoes cracks carefully remove the tomatoes from the hot water using tongs and place in a bowl of cold water.When tomatoes cool remove the skin from the tomatoes and then cut into small pieces)

Wash the long grain brown rice and keep aside.

Heat a large pan add one teaspoon of oil, add the sliced onions(the long sliced onions) to this and saute for a few minutes on medium high heat until the onions are transparent.
Remove the onions from the pan and keep aside.

In the same pan add another teaspoon of oil and add the shredded cabbage and saute until the cabbage is cooked but still a bit crisp (do not make it very very soft) Remove the cabbage from the pan and keep aside.

In the same pan add the rest of the oil and add the fine cut onions and saute until transparent. Add the minced garlic to this and saute for a few seconds.Add chopped blanched tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes are soft.

Add brown rice to this saute for a minute, add water as required ( I used approximately 1 3/4 cup of water ) add salt to taste and close with a lid and cook on medium low until rice is cooked. Check while this is getting done and add water if required.The rice needs to be cooked until each grain is separate and not mushy.

Add soya sauce,chilli powder and mix well.

Add the sauteed onions and cabbage and mix well. Add cilantro for garnish and serve hot.

Serves about 2-3

Use this as a base for any mexican dish like burritos etc.

This is my entry into the Rice mela event being hosted by Srivalli (Thanks for letting me know about this Divya)


40 comments :

Unknown said...

Nice rice recipe..Like the addintion of cabbage..You can send this to Srivall's Rice Mela..

ST said...

Looks sooooooooo delicious and gr8..

anudivya said...

Never used cabbage and tomato together in a rice... maybe it is time to give it a try!

Vidhya said...

looks really yummy Usha

miss v said...

this sounds really good. i love tomatoes and rice, and i love tomatoes and cabbage. now i get to try them all together!

Cham said...

I love mexican rice but never had one with cabbage! Looks delicious

CurryLeaf said...

I love mexican rice.This is delicious.I loved the handcrafted bean recipe as well.Will give both a try.

Maria said...

Looks like a very flavorful rice. Yum!

Laavanya said...

You are right.. that is an unusual combination but sure looks delicious.

Unknown said...

looks good..will make this today

Pam said...

I love Mexican rice but have never found a recipe I liked. I am exicted to try this one Usha.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

everyday i see some unique recipes in your blog :) mexican rice sounds good.. i love it.. after knowing that it is cooked with chicken stock(in some restaurants), i stopped having it. but i love the taste though :)

aTxVegn said...

You know I love cabbage and Mexican food - this looks so good! I've made something called kullum before, with cabbage and rice and caramelized onions. It was delicious. I can't wait to try this chili and cilantro version!

Vibaas said...

Usha, you have a nice blog with nice collection of recipes. thx for stopping by my blog and your comment

Suganya said...

Rice looks good. Nice recipe. YUM!

Uma said...

lovely rice! looks so good Usha!

Indian Khana said...

Lovely rice...looks yummy and diff one

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Kewl, your recipe doesnt need anything out of the pantry shelf... looks tasty and awesome

Shreya said...

grt recipe! thanks:-)

Finla said...

Delicious rice.
I would be happy if you serve me this

Anonymous said...

Yum! I like the combinations!

raaji said...

hey usha i still havent tried any mexican food till now.....good that u have used cabbage in the rice.....atleast this could be a way of eating a smelly veggy usha....

Alexa said...

I love this recipe. I have never added cabbage to a rice dish but it actually sounds great together. I'll have to try it soon. Thank you, Usha!

karuna said...

i love mexican rice. i add corn and black beans to it, and then top it with sour cream. this recipe of urs, makes me hungry..........

Gita Jaishankar said...

Cabbage with rice sounds delicious. Love the recipe. Pls check my blog, I have a surprise for you:)

Srivalli said...

Thats a lovely dish..thanks for the entry!

Anonymous said...

We love any kind of fried rice and this version sounds flavorful! :)

she said...

Hi
Nice way to eat cabbage esp. if u dont prefer it too much. My name may sound new, but I've subscribed to ur blog and am a regular food blog stalker, if u can call me that. U have some really creative recipe.
BTW, in this mexican rice u dont mention where to add the tomatoes after blanching & chopping.
She

Raks said...

This is very new to me and sounds interesting! Thanx for sharing!

Unknown said...

Brown rice and cabbage sounds interesting..u have couple of recipes with brown rice right?

Usha said...

Thanks for visiting Divya and letting me know about the Rice mela, I sent it out to her as you suggested :-)


Thanks Sireesha :-)


Yes Divya maybe it is time...do give it a try :-)

Usha said...

Vidhya, Miss V and Cham, Thanks :-)


Thanks Curry Leaf,let me know when you do...


Maria and Laavanya, Thanks :-)

Usha said...

Sowmya and Pam, do let me know when you try it...


Thanks Mahimaa, I have never tasted Mexican Rice at a restaurant but will keep your warning in mind if I plan to do so...

Thanks AtxVegn...kullum sounds pretty interesting too will check it out soon...

Usha said...

Vibaas ,thanks for visiting and your comments :)


Sukanya,Uma,Priti,Ramya and Shreya Thanks :)


Happy cook and Candy,Thanks :)

Usha said...

Hey Raaji,I like Mexican food quite a bit,give it a try you may like it too :)


Thanks Alexa this was the first time I used cabbage in my rice too and was surprised how well it worked as a combination :)

Usha said...

Karuna,your idea of using corn and black beans sounds good,will try it with that the next time :)


Thanks Gita and thanks so much for your award :)

Thanks Srivalli...looking forward to the roundup :)

Usha said...

Thanks Ning :)

Usha said...

Hi SHE nice to "meet" you ,thanks for visiting my blog and subscribing to it.I missed out the part about tomatoes and have now corrected it,thanks for bringing it to my attention :-)

Usha said...

Thanks Raks :)

Thanks Ramya,I use brown rice almost all the time so almost all my rice recipes tend to be the brown rice version,you can make this with white rice too :)

vidhas said...

Your mexican rice is awesome. You have nice collection of recipes, Thanks for dropping in my blog and comment.Good Job

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