A round up of easy vegetarian rice dishes that you can whip up with little time and effort. The addition of vegetables, dals and condiments ensures that you get a range of flavors and nutrients with your meals.

Many of these recipes call for cool boiled rice. A tip for the busy ones among you: cook the rice en-masse one day and refrigerate for use in these recipes over the next couple of days.

Also keep accompaniments stocked. Plain yogurt, chutney, pickle, papad – all make an Indian one-pot meal more interesting.

On to the vegetarian rice recipes…

	Khichdi: Rice and Moong Medley
	Brown Rice with Basil Walnut Pesto
	Mushroom and Carrot Fried Rice
	Methi Moongphali Chawal: Fenugreek Peanut Rice
	Colorful Bell Pepper Almond Rice
	Spinach Rice with Coriander Pesto and Cashew Nuts
	Vegetable Pulao
	Quick Lemon Rice
	Curry Leaf Pulao
	Pineapple Sweet Corn Rice
	Peanut Sesame Rice: 3-Ingredient Podi Rice
	Peas and Cashew Fried Rice

Notes:

You might also be interested in 3 Makeahead Ideas for Weeknight Dinners.

Check out other round up posts on The Steaming Pot:

The post 12 Vegetarian Rice Dishes appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Grape and walnut fried rice – a treat to the senses! Revel in the flavors of tart-sweet grapes, toasted walnuts, caramelized onions studding fried rice.

This dish is really easy to put together when you have boiled rice handy. It’s as convenient to carry around as it is to cook: pack grape and walnut fried rice into a lunchbox for work, school or picnic.

You Need:

[Serves 2]

• Boiled white rice – 2 packed cups
• Black grapes – 1 cup
• Walnuts – 1/3 cup, shelled and broken
• Onions – 1 large or 2 medium
• Fennel powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Sugar – 1/3 teaspoon (optional)
• Salt – to taste
• Pepper – to taste
• Olive oil – 2 teaspoons
• Butter – 1 teaspoon

How To Make Grape and Walnut Fried Rice:

1. Roast the walnuts

Dry roast the broken walnuts on low heat, till aromatic.

Take the roasted walnuts off the heat and keep aside.

2. Brown the onions

Peel and slice the onions thinly.

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of butter in a wide pan. Spread the onions in a thin layer on the pan.

Let the onions turn golden-brown leisurely on low-medium heat. The trick to doing this well is to not stir around too much – let the onions heat side down turn a dark hue, then stir before they char.

This process would take around 20 minutes.

Remove the onions from the pan.

3. Saute the grapes

Slice the grapes into halves or quarters if they are large.

Deseed the grape halves if required.

In the same pan used for frying onions, heat another teaspoon of olive oil. Add to it the grape halves.

Sauté the grapes on medium-high heat along with a pinch of salt and sugar (if using – adjust the quantity depending on the tartness of the grapes).

Continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, or till the grapes take on a shiny-brown hue and ooze out their juices.

4. Put it all together

Once the grapes are ready, add to the pan 1/3 teaspoon of fennel powder, 2 cups of cool boiled rice and salt to taste.

Mix gently, making sure the delicate rice grains do not crumble.

Continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat, or till the rice has taken on the flavors from the grape and fennel.

Add pepper to taste, the fried onions and roasted walnuts.

Mix well and take the pan off the heat.

Grape and walnut fried rice is ready.

Enjoy hot….

…or pack it in the lunchbox for later.

Notes:

Looking for other interesting walnut recipes? Check out adzuki bean salad with walnuts and pears, brown rice with basil walnut pesto, eggless coffee pudding.

You might also like this round-up of one-pot rice meals.

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No fuss no spill – coconut rice is great in the lunchbox. Keep boiled and cooled rice handy to put this together easily on time-pressed mornings. Add a side of crispy spiced plantain or quick potato dry sabzi for some kick.

In many recipes , it’s quite done to substitute fresh coconut with dry without much loss (capsicum sesame curry is a case in point). Make an exception here – for coconut rice, try to procure fresh coconut. The primary flavor in this dish comes from coconut, and switching to dry doesn’t do full justice to it.

This recipe is adapted from Veg Recipes Of India – the key difference in the sequence of adding the ingredients and the optional kick of ginger. I prefer the rice to get a little fried and the coconut to taste fresh.

You Need:

[For 1 large / 2 small servings]

• • Boiled rice* – 3 cups
  • Salt – to taste
  • Fresh coconut – 1 cup of chunks
  • Ginger – 1/2 inch stick, finely chopped (optional)
  • Green chili – 1, sliced
  • Dry red chili – 1
  • Chana dal – 1 tablespoon
  • Urad dal – 1 teaspoon
  • Cashews – 6 to 8
  • Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Oil/ghee – 1 tablespoon
  • Fresh coriander leaves – for garnishing

  *I have used basmati rice here – other varieties such as sona masuri would work well too. 

  How To Make Coconut Rice:

  1. Prepare the coconut dressing

  Place the coconut chunks in a grinder, and grind.

  2. Temper and dress the rice

  Heat oil or ghee in a thick-bottomed pan.

  When the oil is hot, set the heat to low and add to it mustard seeds.

  As soon as the seeds splutter, add chana dal and urad dal.

  Note: For bringing out extra flavor in the dals, wash and soak them together in water for an hour before cooking. Then drain, pat dry and use for the tempering.

  After the dals have turned just a shade deeper, add cashew nuts to the pan.

  Sauté till the cashew nuts get a golden hue, make sure the dals don’t burn. Add the sliced green chili and ginger (if using).

  Throw in a dry red chili. Stir around for a few seconds.

  Tip in the boiled rice next along with salt. Blend with the tempering very gently, taking care not to break the delicate grains of rice. Cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes, or longer if the rice was cold when you added it to the pan.

  Now transfer the ground coconut dressing to the pan. Combine. Take the pan off the heat.

  Coconut rice is ready.

  Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve warm or pack it in the lunchbox with a spicy side such as tomato pickle or jhatpat aloo dry sabzi.

  Notes:

  Traditionally, curry leaves are also added to coconut rice during tempering. You could add a few curry leaves along with the chilies, if you wish.

  Also check out 12 Vegetarian Rice Recipes for other interesting one-pot rice meal ideas.

  For more recipes that use fresh coconut, see cabbage coconut stir fry, green beans and shredded coconut, coconut curry leaves chutney.

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Tomato rice – this vividly colored one-pot meal is just right for boxing up and carrying to school or office. Plan ahead for rushed mornings: boil some extra rice at dinnertime, stash it away in the fridge overnight and, when it’s time to pack your lunch the next morning, put together tomato rice.

This takes a while longer to cook than, say, coconut rice, but the good part is it does not need attentive watching.  You can let the tomatoes stew slowly while you go about getting ready.

You Need:

[for 1-2 servings]

• Boiled rice* – 2 cups   
• Tomatoes – 2
• Red chili powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Curry leaves – a few (optional)
• Green chili – 1
• Onion – 1 small
• Garlic – 4 small cloves
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Oil/ghee – 1 tablespoon
• Coriander leaves – for garnishing

*I have used basmati rice here; any other variety of rice will also do.

How To Make Tomato Rice:

1. Chop the veggies

Peel and chop ginger, garlic and onions finely.

Slit green chilies. Chop tomatoes.

2. Cook

Heat a tablespoon of oil or ghee in a pan.

When the oil is hot, set the heat to low add to it half a teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them splutter.

Follow with finely chopped ginger and garlic.

When the garlic turns slightly golden, add chopped onions.

Fry the onions on medium heat till they turn translucent.

At this stage, add the dry spice powders: turmeric powder, red chili powder.

Stir immediately to blend. Cook for a minute.

Transfer the chopped tomatoes, sliced green chili and curry leaves (if using) to the pan.

Add salt to taste. Mix well.

Set the heat to low. Cover the pan with a lid. Let the tomatoes stew in their own juices and soften.

This will take about ten minutes. Uncover the lid and stir once or twice in between, pressing the tomatoes gently. Make sure there is no charring – scrape the bottom of the pan if you see tomatoes sticking there and browning.

When the tomato base is well cooked, transfer the boiled rice to the pan.

Tip: Use cool rice for making tomato rice – this helps to keep the rice grains separate. Hot rice can easily turn to mush!

Stir gently, letting the cooked tomato base coat each grain of rice.

Cover and cook for another minute. Switch off the heat and let the rice rest covered for five minutes.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Tomato rice is ready.

Serve tomato rice its own, or along with accompaniments like raita and bhujiya.

Meal below: tomato rice, stuffed baby eggplant in peanut sesame sauce, cabbage coconut stir fry, plain homemade yogurt.

Notes:

Check out The Steaming Pot’s one-pot meal gallery.

Want more recipes with tomatoes as a prime ingredient? Try pasta in homemade tomato sauce, tomato carrot soup, stuffed tomato curry.

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Pudina rice – fragrant basmati with the freshness of mint leaves, some kick from chilies, ginger and lime, and nutty cashew goodness to top it all off.

This recipe is similar to cashew mint pulao in its key ingredients, but it distinguishes itself in the technique. Cashew mint pulao is a richer, more elaborate recipe: you cook the rice together with the mint and cashew nuts. Pudina rice on the other hand is quick and easy: you start off with made-ahead rice and do a final stir fry with mint masala.

This one’s also vegan-friendly and uses no onion or garlic.

You Need:

[Serves 1-2]

• Boiled basmati rice – 2 cups, cooked
• Mint leaves – small bunch (~1 packed cup of plucked leaves)
• Salt – to taste
• Green chilies – 2
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
• Lime juice – 1 teaspoon
• Cashew nuts – 1/4 cup
• Urad dal – 2/3 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Peanut oil – 1/2 tablespoon

In the picture above: urad dal, mustard seeds, cashew nuts.

How To Make Pudina Rice:

1. Chop and grind

Pluck and wash the mint leaves. Chop them roughly.

Peel and chop ginger. Slit green chilies.

Place the chopped mint leaves, ginger and green chilies in a grinder.

Grind to paste.

2. Cook

Keep the boiled basmati rice cool and ready to use.

Heat peanut oil in a wide non-stick pan.

To the hot oil, add urad dal, mustard seeds and cashew nuts. Set heat to low and stir around till the urad dal has darkened and the cashew nuts are flecked golden.

Transfer the ground mint paste to the pan.

Mix well. Continue to cook on low heat for another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle some water if the ground mint paste looks too dry.

Add salt to taste, and then transfer the cool boiled rice to the pan. Combine rice with the cooking mint paste – very carefully, don’t let the delicate rice grains mush.

Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring once in between.

Switch off the heat and stir in freshly squeezed lime juice.

Pudina rice (mint rice) is ready.

Serve warm.

Here it is with horsegram sprouts salad on the side:

Notes:

Tip: carry pudina rice in the lunchbox for a nutritious no-spill meal.

Try out other variety rice recipes from The Steaming Pot archives: 12 Vegetarian Rice Dishes.

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