avocado-cilantro rice

The name sounds slightly awkward. The way the two main ingredients rhyme together, but there is nothing awkward about the dish at all!

So there is this nice young girl I once knew a couple of years ago. All cute and fashionable and living the Indian graduate-student life near my place. Then one day she decided to get married. Then the switch turns on like it turns on in all newly-weds and she decided that she would conquer the kitchen and the man’s heart. Not that the man needed any conquering, but this is making for a very nice story, so let’s stick to the flow. (You do realize this is part-fiction in the way I write this don’t you? You do?Good! Keep reading!)

So now, here she was cutting, chopping and cooking away all known vegetables to mankind and then some more. This is obviously hearsay coz she lives across the country now, and I can only conjecture all this from what facebook allows me. So I smiled and did a flashback on my own kitchen adventures a few (decades) ago. Then one day she decided to show off. Like any self-respecting child on technology and social media, she unleashes upon one too many unsuspecting friends a URL that would be the ultimate word if Scrabble allowed it. And then she started taking all these gorgeous pictures of all the gorgeous foods she was dishing out.

Suddenly, we are all awakened to the hidden talent she housed dormant (to the world) so long.

So here we are. Like my story? Good. I enjoyed scribbling it too. Just come to my rescue as gleefully when she decides to murder me and stash me away thus showcasing her other talent. Okay, I’ll stop. The poor thing.

She apparently made this rice a full year ago. I have no idea why Facebook does what it does and pulls up skeletons from our very crowded online closets and displays it for all to see. I mean, If I created something wild and crazy and was proud, that’s another matter, which it was in her case.

I read it – Avocado Rice –  and went, well, this is mighty easy. Let’s do it.

In my defense, this kind of a reaction is rare. I am a strong example of Newtons law. A body in rest will continue to be at rest etc.. law.

So I got up and got these three together.

I blended the 3 green chillies and handful of fresh Cilantro well. Then added in the Avocado and gave it a spin. It was still chunky.

Then I added it to 1 cup of Basmati rice. Added in 1 cup of water and the green paste.

In a pan, I added some olive oil, half an (red) onion and jeera. I did not have tomatoes, so I skipped that and instead added a chopped carrot. Cooked it a few minutes, added the cooked rice, salted it and then squeezed half a lemon.

Since I did want it to be tangy and spicy, it was perfect and I had this plate with some some curds. Raita could be made, but I didn’t have the patience.

Avocado is good for you. I totally loved the mild taste and the spices all came together well!

Little tweaks and likes:

1. Substitute brown rice instead of white
2. Add not more than 2 vegetables. You still want to taste the avocado. Carrots and peas re always fun.
3. You could add nuts to boost in some protein value. Though just almonds could work well, peanuts may not, but try!
4. Have it with raita – that’s a true-blooded desi recipe for you!
5. Or use a beans salad or some salsa for keeping it Mexican.
6. Your choice, am out of ideas.

This blog is slowly becoming a cooking/recipe blog. This is truly shocking of me and what I have become. Blame Pinterest and my own obsession with health and fitness, which by the way is going on just fine. Will update soon.

If you aren’t on Pinterest, this is where I am, and you must get on too. It’s a great site and hardly social in the chatty way, which is why I love it!

Happy eating! Thanks Ne. 🙂