Curried Brown Rice Salad
This is a yummy salad with a little bite. If you do not like food too spicy, leave out the jalapeño pepper. This nicely replaces potatoes, for a change in taste and texture, and is great for outdoor picnics. The nice thing about this salad is that it can be made one-to-two days in advance, so it saves on last minute preparation, and leads to (hopefully) a more relaxed host or hostess. Refer to my blog on rice to review rinsing and cooking recommendations that decrease the amount of arsenic contamination normally found in rice.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup raisins golden or regular or currents
- 1/4 cup lime juice 2 limes, or lemon juice, or flavored vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups brown long-grained rice
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño chili pepper seeded with the inner membrane cut-away finely minced
- 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2-3 Tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Combine juice or vinegar with the raisins/currents in a bowl and set aside.
- Rinse rice well by soaking in water and rubbing the grains between your fingers, until the water runs clear. This usually takes me about 5 rinses.
- Fill a Dutch oven with water and bring it to a boil. Add the rice and cook in gently boiling water until the rice is tender. When cooked, drain and rinse with warm water.
- Spread the rice on a rimmed cookie sheet and allow to dry. This will keep the rice from clumping together.
- Water or broth sauté the onion and jalapeño (if using) until the onion is softened. You do this by putting about 3-4 teaspoonfuls of water or vegetable broth into the frying pan, bringing it to a boil, adding the vegetables, turning down the heat to medium, and cooking, stirring occasionally. Add more water or broth in small amounts to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan.
- Add the ginger, curry powder, and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the raisin mixture, and allow to cool.
- When the raisin mixture has cooled, add to the rice, and toss to to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill the salad until ready to serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley prior to serving.
