Rice Pilaf with Lime and Cashews

By Bostoncook

Essential Eating Well

Ingredients

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons cashews, chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (2 to 3)
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, or 12 fresh kari leaves; chopped
• 2 cayenne or serrano chiles, or 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (2 to 3)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1. Place rice in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Gently swish grains in the pan with your fingertips until the water becomes cloudy; drain. Repeat 3 or 4 times, until the water remains almost clear. Cover with 1 1/2 cups cold water; let soak for 30 minutes.

2. Bring the rice and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates from the surface, 4 to 6 minutes.

3. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to the lowest setting; cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat; add mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to pop, cover the skillet until the popping stops.

5. Reduce heat to medium; add cashews; cook, stirring, until golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat; add lime juice, cilantro, chiles, turmeric and salt. Add the mixture to the cooked rice; mix well.

Brown-Rice Variation: If using brown basmati rice, rinse as directed in Step 1 then soak in 2 cups water. In Step 2, bring rice and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Proceed with Step 3.

My notes: Essential Eating Well - Yummm! This was easy and just different enough to be unusually wonderful. My changes: Used brown basmati rice instead of white, black mustard seeds, cilantro, and 1 jalapeno. Also used pine nuts instead of cashews, just because I didn't have any cashews. I used the 3 tbsp lime juice and David thought it was a bit too tart - although I thought it was perfect. A definite repeater - again and again and again!