My first recipe - "Golden Indian Pilaf"

My first recipe on here is one I used tonight for dinner. It is one called "Golden Indian Pilaf" from Food in a Minute and I have adapted it to suit what I had in the kitchen. You can find the original recipe here.


This is a really quick, easy, DELICIOUS recipe which also costs very little to make. It makes a LOT of food too; can feed four fairly hungry people for dinner, plus have extra for lunch the next day! At least, that's how it is in my house... This is quite spicy, so if you don't really like things too spicy, either add less curry powder and ginger, or use plain tuna.


Ingredients:

• 1 chopped onion (peeled, of course)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• half a teaspoon of ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 2 cups basmati rice (I have also used jasmine rice; both work well)
• 3 cups chicken stock (I have used vegetable stock; it tastes great either way)
• 1 cup of frozen veges (I used McCain's frozen peas/corn/carrots mix)
• 1x 185g tin of tuna with lemon and black pepper (we didn't have lime, like the original recipe suggests)

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan with a lid, heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil, to coat the bottom of the pot. Put the chopped onion in the pot with the minced garlic and ground ginger, and stir over a medium-low heat (e.g. on a heat setting from 1-9, a 4 is ideal) until the onion is soft.
2. Take the pot off the heat and put in the curry powder and the rice. Return to the heat and cook for one minute, stirring the whole time so that the mixture does not stick to the pan.
3. Take off the heat, and add the stock (mix it up with hot water just before this if it is stock from cubes or powdered). Stir it all together and return it to the heat. Put the heat up to medium (again, a heat setting of 1-9, turn it up to 5) and let the mixture simmer for one minute. Turn it back down to medium-low, cover with the lid, and simmer for 7 minutes, stirring every so often. You may need to add more hot water if it begins sticking to the bottom. If you notice it sticking, take it off the heat and add half a cup of hot water, stirring it through before putting it back on the heat.
4. After the mixture has simmered for 7 minutes, add the cup of frozen vegetables and stir them in. Re-cover with the lid and simmer for a further 5 minutes, making sure to stir every so often, and add more hot water if necessary. The idea is for the mixture to be a thick liquid, but not watery.
5. Once those 5 minutes are up, lower the heat to very low (1 on a scale of 1-9), and then drain the tin of tuna to remove the excess oil. Stir the tuna through the mixture, and serve in individual bowls.

There you go! A cheap, quick, easy dinner. If you are making it for one or two people, you could halve the ingredients, or bring the leftovers with you to share with friends for lunch.

If I remember, the next time I make it I'll take a photo to show you how mine turned out.

Enjoy!

L.