As a vegetarian you always have to try new things to keep yourself from getting into a rut. I took a chance on a new type of rice from Bengal; and to my enjoyment found another new vegetarian food favorite. It's called Kalijira Rice and here's what I did with it.

Kalijira rice is a beautiful super tiny rice that is full of flavor, aroma and a pleasing texture that lends itself to versatility. We had some family stop by two weekends and were in the explorative mood, so I popped over to my local Whole Foods market and picked up a couple packages of Kalijira rice and decided to turn one of them into some coconut rice. Here's how I did it.

Equipment
3 quart covered pot
wooden spatula
fork

Ingredients
15 oz of Kalijira rice
1/2 cup of minced red onions
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt [to taste]
3 cloves of garlic [mashed]
14 oz coconut milk [Thai Kitchen or Trader Joe's brand]
enough water to take liquid level 1 1/8 inches above rice

Step 1. Wash your rice, drain and set aside.
Step 2. Heat your pot and add your oil, onions and salt, caramelize, add garlic and stir.
Step 3. Add rice and stir until it gives off its nutty aroma.
Step 4. Stir in coconut milk and water, check levels, bring to a boil and reduce to low.
Step 5. Simmer until liquid is absorbed [a little more than 10 minutes - I like to simmer a little longer to develop a little golden crust on the bottom of the pot], turn off and let stand for 5 - 10 minutes.
Step 6. Fluff with a fork and plate alongside a great vegetable side and a protein.
Step 7. Garnish and bon appetit!

This was such a great addition to our meal! It was fast, fun, because of the smallness of the rice and best of all... extremely tasty. We got rave reviews from our family and now we have another food item that we've added to our vegetarian culinary repertoire. The beautiful thing is that we had leftovers to make more rice dishes with. Some dishes take leftovers to make them taste right.

As always, it's been my pleasure sharing with you new vegetarian recipes to make your breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and desserts a delight to eat. Until next time...