I was introduced to brown rice a while back now – don’t knock it, this stuff is tasty! Nowadays, I even prefer it to the more familiar white rice. Brown rice has a lovely nutty taste & texture. It’s also very healthy & nutritious – combine it with vegetables & you’ve got one healthy meal. Brown rice is a rich source of dietary fiber, iron & protein since both the bran & germ are still intact. You can easily substitute brown rice for regular white rice in most dishes. Brown rice is now widely available in most large supermarkets & grocery stores. In general, brown rice takes a little longer to cook, so do plan accordingly.

My Curried Brown Rice Risotto is a healthy meal that really comes together with absolutely delicious results! I highly recommend using short grain brown rice for this recipe. Also, feel free to use your favorite fresh seasonal vegetables or whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand for this dish.

You can either use a high quality store bought curry powder or try my home made version! My homemade, all-purpose, basic curry powder recipe:
Home Made Curry Powder


CURRIED BROWN RICE RISOTTO

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked short grain brown rice
1 medium onion, finely chopped 

2-3 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1” piece of ginger, peeled & finely minced
5-6 fresh curry leaves

½ tsp ground cumin powder
½ tsp ground coriander powder
½ tsp red chili powder, to taste
1 tbsp all purpose curry powder, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
5-6 mushrooms, halved (I used brown Cremini mushrooms or baby portabellas)
1 large carrot, peeled & diced
1 small zucchini, peeled & diced
5-6 baby corn spears, cut into ½” pieces
½ cup green peas (frozen is fine, just thaw before use)
6+ cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp oil
(olive, vegetable or canola)
juice of ½ lemon or lime
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional
1 tsp of ghee or butter, optional
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1½-2 tbsp toasted pine nuts for garnish
freshly chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

METHOD:

To reduce the overall cooking time of this dish, very lightly steam the vegetables before use.

In a small soup pot on high heat, bring the vegetable stock to a gentle boil and allow to simmer. You will need this hot stock to make the risotto.

In another large deep pan on medium high heat, add the oil. When hot, add the onions along with the garlic, ginger & curry leaves. Sauté until the onions have just softened and then add in the spices (ground cumin powder, ground coriander powder, red chili powder, curry powder, salt & pepper). Let the spices fry for about a minute until fragrant.

Next, add the brown rice & mix well to combine. Let the rice toast for a few minutes until nutty & fragrant. Then add 1 cup of the hot stock & stir into the rice. They key to a good risotto is just stirring to make sure that the vegetable stock is evenly absorbed by all of the rice grains. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, add another ½ cup of stock & repeat. This process is a little tedious but well worth the results. If you happen to run out of vegetable stock, simply add water. After about 30 minutes or so, the rice should be creamy & just tender. At this point, add in your vegetables & let cook for another 5-6 minutes. When the rice is fully cooked & the vegetables are tender – simply finish the dish with the lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, a little drizzle of ghee & some freshly grated nutmeg. Garnish with the toasted pine nuts & cilantro leaves. Serve as a complete vegetarian meal or alongside some grilled chicken or seafood.

VARIATIONS:

Feel free to use tender young asparagus, green beans, roasted red bell peppers, sweet potatoes, baby spinach leaves, broccoli florets, pumpkin, butternut/acorn squash…..

If you wish to omit the Parmesan cheese, feel free to add some finely ground almonds to the dish instead. You could also add a little coconut milk in place of the lemon juice & garnish the risotto with a little smoked Spanish paprika instead of the nutmeg.



NEWSLETTER: I invite you to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter. This gives you all of the updates for the Indian Food site. Sometimes, this newsletter has additional information on recipes that are not in the articles. Fill in the blank just below the article with your email address - which is never passed on beyond this site. We will never sell or trade your personal information.