Rice side dishes are a staple that often find their way to my table and I always like it when you can incorporate some vegetables in them. This cauliflower rice pilaf inspired by Food & Drink magazine is a perfect example of a rice dish that includes a vegetable and the cauliflower and rice combination is an excellent one. When I first read this recipe I noted that it seemed to be very similar to a lot of curry dishes starting out with some garlic, ginger and green chilies. I then used a touch of garam masala to add some warmth and aromatics. I particularly like the use of the coconut milk in this dish as it always adds a really nice flavour to rice and it pairs well with the cauliflower. The mint finishes off the rice nicely adding an amazing freshness to the dish and the toasted almond garnish adds a change in texture.
Curried Cauliflower Rice
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 small onion (finely diced)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
- 2 small green chilies (finely diced)
- 1 1/2 cups cauliflower (cut into small pieces)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup water (or vegetable broth)
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 handful mint (chopped)
- 1/4 cup almond slivers (toasted)
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger and green chilies and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the rice, coconut milk, water, garam masala, and salt and simmer covered until the rice is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
- Mix in the garam masala and mint and remove from the heat.
- Serve garnished with the toasted almond slivers.
Jennifer says
January 2, 2011 at 4:22 pmYummmm! I make curried cauliflower "rice" but havent made it any other way yet! thanks for the inspiration as always <3
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons
Jennifer and Jaclyn @ sketch-free vegan says
January 2, 2011 at 4:33 pmyummy vegan fare! I'm bookmarking this one 🙂
Gauri Gharpure says
January 2, 2011 at 5:06 pmThis looks so good. And it's nice to see you using Indian ingredients / styles in your cooking, garam masala for one.
Lauren says
January 2, 2011 at 5:27 pmI could make a meal out of this! Delicious, Kevin… I can't wait to make it :).
Lisa says
January 2, 2011 at 5:39 pmLovely dish Kevin. Best wishes for the New Year. The theme for No Croutons Required this month is rice, and I would love to get a submission from you.
Amy says
January 2, 2011 at 5:40 pmYum! This looks really tasty!
Blog is the New Black says
January 2, 2011 at 8:29 pmI thought I hated curry until I made a butternut squash soup using it and I changed my mind! This rice dish looks wonderful.
Polwig says
January 2, 2011 at 10:00 pmCoconut and Rice plus almonds looks amazing. My kids love rice which means this could easily become a staple side dishb at our house
Les rêves d'une boulangère (Brittany) says
January 3, 2011 at 7:35 amWhat a unique recipe. I really like the white on white in fact.
Jeanette says
January 3, 2011 at 11:42 amI love the idea of cooking cauliflower right in with the rice, and curry is wonderful with cauliflower. I might try brown rice just to make it even more healthy.
shipleypowell says
January 3, 2011 at 4:25 pmYour ingredient list calls for two separate additions of Garam Masala. The directions also call for two separate times it's added. (step 5 and 6). I'd just like to make sure before I run out for supplies. It looks amazing and I'm sure it will be a hit.
Kevin says
January 3, 2011 at 11:22 pmshipleypowell: Yes that is correct. I often like to split the garam masala in half and add some at the beginning to cook in the sauce and some near the end to retain as much of the aroma as possible.
Lisa says
January 11, 2011 at 1:58 pmWow! Just came across your blog via Anne's Food and what a treat to discover. I love to cook and eat Thai and Indian food and see loads of luscious looking dishes to try, thank you.
Betty says
January 17, 2011 at 5:28 amI found your site today, and made this recipe tonight. I started with basic Indian spices, sizzling them in the oil the way so many Indian recipes call for. All the rest was cooked as written, and served as our main (only) dish. It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe. I'm looking forward to trying more of them! Betty in Los Angeles
NiTT says
February 15, 2011 at 12:38 pmThanks for the recipe Kevin, I'm going to modify it a little today (as some ingredients are near impossible to find on my city). I will swap garam masala with regular curry powder, green chillies with pickled chinese red chillies, mint for cilantro and almonds with pistachio, let's see how this ends out!
Amy says
March 23, 2011 at 4:43 pmI made this for dinner last night and it was delcious!! I added in some chickpeas and it turned out great!