Feb 283 min read

Carrot Rice Recipe

Updated: Jun 13

Carrot rice, well, there's a novel idea? Most people will think of 'plain old vegetable rice' served up somewhere, with chips and "today's special." Well I have to say this one is just a little different. Carrot rice is a brilliant way to use up plain leftover rice that's been sitting in your freezer. But with this carrot rice recipe we will begin from scratch!

So whats different, I hear you say?

We will be using grated carrots, frozen peas, chunky onions and a few whole spices along with garam masala. We'll start with frying the onions in butter until they are lightly brown then throw in the peas and whole spices, (this will make sure that they are not raw) the ground spices will be added along with the carrots, cooked just enough to capture their flavour, with the rice added at the end. This truly is a great rice dish that will go with pretty much any curry.

Leftover frozen plain rice can be used, but remember to defrost it first.

Serves 4 people

Preparation time 10minutes, cooking time 30 minutes,

Recipe Difficulty level - Beginner-Friendly

Special equipment - none

"Carrot rice in a glass bowl" — Carrot Rice

"I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I always do." - Steve

Carrot rice recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of basmati or long grain rice
1 ¼ cups of water
A knob of butter
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
4 cardamon pods split open
2 cinnamon sticks broken
1 teaspoon of garam masala or a mixed spice
½ onion thinly sliced or chunky chopped
1 carrot peeled and grated
A handful of frozen peas (no need to defrost)
A hand full of sultanas ( if you wish)
1 tsp Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
Fresh chopped mint or coriander leaves for garnish

How to cook carrot rice

Click here for Kitchen Timer

Step 1:

Wash the rice in cold water to wash out most of the starch and any impurities, then cover the rice with water and soak for at least half an hour. Once the rice has soaked rinse again until the water runs clear, then give a final rinse with boiling water.

Step 2:

In a pan with tight-fitting lid melt the butter . Now add the rice and stir so that all the butter coats the rice grains.

Step 3:

Now add the water and and salt and bring to the boil for a minute or two give one last good stir.

Step 4:

Place the tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to the lowest level possible. Set a timer for 15 minutes, when this has passed turn off the heat and set a second timer again for another 15 minutes try not to lift the lid during the cooking process.

Step 5:

Now remove the lid and using a fork gently lift the rice from the bottom of the pan to separate the grains. Leave to rest if you can in a warm place.

Step 6:

In a Chinese wok or something similar melt the coconut oil or butter and add sliced onions and fry until lightly brown, then add the cumin seeds followed by the whole spices and stir fry.

Step 7:

Add the carrots, frozen peas and garam masala, cook until the peas are cooked through finally add the rice and fully combine, sprinkle the sultanas and garnish with coriander leaves.