Rice with turmeric and dried fruits
This vegetarian recipe has the exotic flavour of turmeric and dried fruit. It is colourful and tasty and can be enjoyed cold or warm as a first course. With its delicious sweet and sour flavour it also is a rich complement to light chicken dishes.
The undisputed protagonist of this dish is turmeric, a spice that has been introduced to the Sicilian cuisine by the Arabs in the 9th century. More recently it received some attention under the label of superfood, due to its important properties as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic. Its intense warm colour, slightly pungent flavour and fragrance give dishes an extremely pleasant exotic touch. See also our Cauliflower and chickpea soup with turmeric, as another demonstration of this.
Ingredients
- 300 g basmati rice
- 1 shallot
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder, e.g. from The Good Spice
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 50 g grated coconut
- 100 g roasted cashews
- 35 g sultanas
- 200 g fresh or deep frozen peas, or chickpeas
- 50 g dried apricots
- fresh mint
- some fresh chili pepper (optional)
- 3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, e.g. from il circolo
- salt
- black pepper
Method
- First, soak the sultanas in a cup of water. Do the same with the dried apricots if they are not soft already.
- Use a deep frying pan to fry the chopped shallot in two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the rice, the turmeric and a pinch of salt and let it season for a couple of minutes.
- Add the vegetable stock, and when boiling, lower the heat, cover and cook for 11-13 minutes. Withdraw from the heat and leave to stand for about 10 minutes. Uncover, and loosen the rice well with a fork.
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, add the cumin, curry, freshly grated ginger, coconut, wet and squeezed sultanas and cashews. Stir-fry over a low flame for a few minutes. Add the peas and continue stir-frying for one more minute. Add rice, another two tablespoons of olive oil, diced apricots, finely cut chili and a few mint leaves. Stir well and leave to stand for about an hour.
- After this time, transfer the turmeric and dried fruit rice to a serving dish, garnish to taste with a few more mint leaves, a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper and serve.
