Day 220: Curried Rice "Vegged Up" ♥

Couldn't get enough of this rice!

It's a great example of how easy it is to transform a familiar dish -- anything really, an entrée, a soup and here a starchy side -- into something entirely new just by adding a few vegetables.

"Vegging up", I call it:

• Adding nutrients and fiber and volume to otherwise vegetable-free dishes
  
• Increasing the proportion of vegetables in a semi-veggie dish (done so often here on A Veggie Venture that it rarely warrants a mention anymore)

The principle can be applied to many dishes -- but this rice is spoon-lickin' good!

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OTHER 'VEGGED' UP RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ Tuna Salad ~
~ Summer Lentils ~
~ Spicy Thai Noodle Salad ~

~ more recipes with rice and vegetables ~

CURRIED RICE "VEGGED UP"
Hands-on time: 15 minutes (including cooking the rice, probably 10 minutes with leftover rice)
Time to table: 25 minutes (including cooking the rice, probably 15 minutes if using leftover rice)
Makes 3 cups

2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked rice (or 2 cups cooked rice)

1 tablespoon butter (Lisa uses 2 tablespoons, I found just one plenty rich and flavorful)
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup slivered almonds (Lisa uses toasted almonds sprinkled on top, I wanted to skip the toasting step/pan and so cooked them in the butter, first; I really liked the buttery crunch of the almonds throughout)
2 carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise, then sliced crosswise as thin as possible (this speeds up the cooking time)
1 sweet pepper, chopped (red would be pretty, I used up a green one tonight)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

COOK THE RICE
In a medium saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the rice, stir lightly, cover and reduce the heat to MEDIUM. Cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

COOK THE VEGETABLES
While the rice cooks, in a medium skillet (use a large skillet if using leftover rice), melt the butter over MEDIUM heat. Add the onion and almonds and saute til the onions begin to soften. Add the carrots and pepper as they're prepped and cook til cooked through but still firm. Stir in remaining ingredients.

COMBINE
Stir in the rice if it's done or reduce the heat to LOW to hold the vegetables until it is. Or if you're using cooked rice, stir it in now. Let the rice warm through, stirring occasionally. Enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 123 Cal (30% from Fat, 9% from Protein, 61% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 4 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 19 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 33 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 109 mg Sodium; 5 mg Cholesterol, Weight Watchers 2 points

ALANNA's TIPS

• It's just as fast to cook two cups of rice as one so make extra to use another night.
  
• Garlic and ginger would be delicious additions.
  
• Substitute other on-hand vegetables, even cooked veggies leftover from other meals.
• Add the vegetables that require longer cooking time first (tonight, for example, the carrots before the green pepper). Stir them often to distribute the heat but keep as much as possible directly on the pan rather than piled up on the side.
  

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
The recipe (before vegging up) comes from my long-time friend Lisa -- she calls it Betty Crocker's Curried Rice. How Lisa's recipes haven't shown up on A Veggie Venture until now is a mystery because we've traded favorites longer than any other person except my mother.