Coconut Cashew Basmati Rice Salad

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

All summer long I had these visions of all of the fun stuff I was going to get caught up with when the kids were back in school. I was going to get my butt in gear exercising, cook up all these fun new recipes, and best of all I was going to blog like crazy.

Well, school has been in session for a week now and I am having a major reality check! With five kids in four different schools (including high school for the first time), not only am I up to my eyeballs in filling out emergency care forms, packing lunches, waking up an hour and a half earlier than we're used to, but I'm SO dog tired exhausted that I haven't made a new recipe all week. Seven days in, and I'm already beginning to long for the lazy days of hanging out at the pool again.

This recipe was one I made during the summer and LOVED. It's a little more time consuming than my normal fare (especially for a side dish), but it was so yummy I ended up eating it cold for a tasty, but super healthy lunch for the next few days. The recipe says that you can substitute the unsweetened coconut with cilantro or mint, but I have to say that the flavor of the coconut would be really hard to beat.



The ingredients:

Click for printable recipe.


4 Tbs. oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cups Basmati rice, dry
1 can (13.5-oz.) unsweetened coconut milk
2-1/4 cups water
salt, pepper
1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped
8-12 scallions, thinly sliced (~1 cup)
1/2 cup shredded UNsweetened dried coconut (or freshly grated coconut--I found some already grated at Whole Foods)

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a medium, heavy saucepan with a tight fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger, sprinkle with salt, and cook stirring, until soft for 4-5 minutes. Do not brown. Add the rice and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile add the coconut milk and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the hot liquid to the rice and onion mixture; season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low; cover tightly and let cook undisturbed for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is soft and has absorbed all of the liquid.

While the rice is cooking, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the cashews and cook, stirring, until light golden brown. Drain on paper towels and season with salt. When the rice is cooked, transfer it to a large serving bowl and fold in the scallions and coconut, fluffing the rice and breaking up any clumps. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with cashews and serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 6-8.

Enjoy!

7 comments:

Jessie September 15, 2009 at 10:07 AM  

that looks so yummy!! I love coconut and rice together. Those peanut butter cookies you made also look delicious. I am definitely going to have to try these recipes sometime.

Redkathy September 15, 2009 at 12:28 PM  

Basmati rice is my favorite! This sounds wonderful. I've added it to my must prepare recipe list! Thanks for sharing.

Bonny September 15, 2009 at 2:00 PM  

Hi Lara! We've never met, but I'm a friend of Matt and Karey's. Ever since Karey told me about your recipe blog, I've really been enjoying checking out all your delicious creations. I thought your Peanut Butter Cup Cookies recipe looked so good, but didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so instead I tried your Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. They turned out so well! My whole family loved them. I have my own recipe blog (not nearly as awesome as yours): bonnysbakery.blogspot.com, which I use mainly to keep track of recipes I've enjoyed. Is it okay if I post this recipe on my blog? (Of course I would say where I got it and link back to yours.) Just wanted to check with you before I posted it. Thanks for all your inspiring recipes! --Bonny

Bonny September 15, 2009 at 2:01 PM  

Sorry, you can email me at webber13@juno.com. If you'd prefer I didn't use it, that's totally fine. Thanks!

Melody September 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM  

I'm so with you! It has been really hard for me to get up the energy to make anything new to blog about! Hopefully things will level off soon for you. The salad looks great BTW.

Katy ~ September 16, 2009 at 5:10 AM  

Lara, this looks elegant and delicious! Would love to try this one!

teresa September 16, 2009 at 2:03 PM  

i started the school year with all sort of goals too, and i'm finding myself in the exact same situation. it's so exhausting!

this salad looks incredible!

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About This Blog

My name is Lara and while I'm definitely not a gourmet cook, I do love preparing tasty, healthy meals for my family. Finding new recipes to try and sharing the ones we've already fallen in love with is a passion I've had since college and the reason why I've started this blog! With five kids, I'm usually in a hurry, so you'll find most of these recipes kid friendly and simple to make.

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