Coriander Rice | Cilantro rice

ABOUT

Coriander rice is a flavorful variety rice with fresh coriander leaves and mild spices, tossed in cooked rice. Coriander is an Indian cilantro which is used in most of the Indian recipes. Coriander rice are super easy to make and is a great option if you are looking for lunch box recipes. It tastes great with potato fry, chips, some fry yum or even raita.

Coriander leaves are great source of antioxidants and it is a fragrant herb which has lot of health benefits. There are many ways of doing coriander rice. My recipe will have a simple pulao feel with whole spices, crunchy cashews and lots of fresh coriander. This is a kid’s friendly and for me it is an any day comfort food.

MAJOR INGREDIENTS

Coriander leaves

Use fresh coriander leaves. I use both the coriander leaves & it’s stems. Stems tastes awesome and the wastage is also minimum. If you don’t like the taste of stem, you can use only the leaves of coriander.

Whole spices

My recipe has a mild pulao touch, making it super flavorful. Bay leaf, cloves, fennel seeds and cinnamon gives it a subtle flavor of spices without over powering the flavors. Add these spices and you can feel the difference in taste. You will love it 🙂

Coconut

Coconut gives a nutty and creamy taste to the rice. You can use either fresh coconut or desiccated coconut .

Rice

Use Basmati rice if you want it to be more aromatic. You can also use normal rice or even left over rice.

TIPS AND NOTES

1. Coriander leaves must be fresh and feel free to use the stem along with coriander leaves which adds more flavor.
2. If you are using pre cooked rice, make sure it is non sticky and cooled before it is added. Hot rice might turn mushy while mixing.
3. In alternate to pre cooked rice, you can directly add soaked rice and water to the masala and cook along.
4. Cashews gives richness and crunchiness to the rice. In alternate , use peanuts which adds same kind of crunchiness and taste.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS WITH PHOTOS

To a mixer jar, add bunch of coriander leaves, and fresh ginger .

Add green chilli according to your spice level. First give it a grind and make a paste.

Now add coconut in small quantity. This gives a nutty and creamy flavor. It acts as a binder for the paste.

Now grind everything to a fine paste. Add minimum amount of water while grinding. It has to be slightly thicker like chutney.

To a pan, add oil and ghee. Once the oil is hot, add the bay leaf , cloves , cinnamon and fennel seeds. Let the fennel seeds crackle in oil.

Add curry leaves and cashews and saute till cashews turn golden. You can also add peanuts in place of cashews.

Add the onions which are thinly sliced and saute till it turns translucent.

Add the grounded paste and saute till the raw smell completely goes.

Once it turns aromatic , keep flame in low and add the cooled boiled rice. Add salt as required for the rice and mix well. I have taken 1 cup of basmati rice (soaked 30 minutes) , cooked in 2 cups of water. You can also boil in open pot with more water and strain the water at the end.

Make sure it is non sticky. You can use normal ponni rice or even the left over cooked rice. Adding hot rice might turn it mushy while you mix.

Another way of doing this is, adding soaked rice to the sauteed paste and mix. Add 2 cups of water , add salt as required. Close the lid once it starts to boil. Cook for 10 minutes. You can even pressure cook for 2 whistles. So the rice is cooked along with the coriander masala. This is one of the method to do. You can choose whichever is easier for you to make.

Mix well with the masala evenly. Check for salt and adjust if necessary. Flavorful coriander rice is ready to serve with raita or sides of your choice.

Happy Eating!!!