There are two things that are staple foods in the Iranian cuisine: rice and bread. They eat rice with different kinds of meat stews or vegetable dishes. In North of Iran, near the Caspian Sea, there are beautiful rice fields which are widely famous for cultivation of different kinds of Persian rice.
You can make 10s of gorgeous dishes with white/brown or wild rice. You can make rice with stew, curry, beautiful green herbs and vegetables or spices. You can cook rice in a rice cooker, in microwave or on the stove.
Anyway, what led me to talk about rice was that sometimes after a party we have leftover rice on hand, so instead of wasting it, you would be better to turn your leftover plain rice into a fabulous new rice dish 🙂
I have three easy- quick and tasty recipes for turning your rice into lentils rice, herbed rice and potato rice.
Ingredients for lentils rice
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one cup lentils
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1 cube meat or vegetable stock
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½ tsp cumin powder
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Pinch of black pepper
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Butter
How to make it?????
Bring to a boil, add lentils, one vegetable or meat stock, pepper and cumin. Reduce heat and simmer until they are tender but not mushy( it takes typically 20-20 minutes) and usually it depends on the age of your lentils. Once it is cooked, add it to the rice and gently mix. Spread some melted butter all over the rice and serve it.
Ingredients for herbed rice
- small bunch of chives or spring onions, finely chopped
- small bunch of dill, finely chopped
- small bunch of coriander, finely chopped
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
How to make it?????
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped herbs, seasoning with salt, pepper, cinnamon and cumin. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, and stir in sautéed herbs and gently combine and allow it up for few minutes and serve it.
Ingredients for rice and potatoes
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5 baby potatoes
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Pinch of chilli flakes
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butter
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Salt to taste
How to make it?????
Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Salt the water. Bring it to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender. Drain and add melted butter and sprinkle chilli flakes on them. Serve the rice in a plate and top it with buttery potatoes.
