Easy And Tasty: Basic Mexican Rice

This basic Mexican rice tastes great and couldn't be easier to make.

These days my main agenda when coming up with new recipes is to make something good and healthy that will appeal to all members of the family.

The not so traditional mexican rice ingredients of turmeric and kidney beans are for color-appeal and nutrition respectively.

I can't say I never do it, but I really hate the notion of separate meals for the kids both in principle and because making one dish per mealtime is enough work for anyone.

This one surprised me. The 3 year old tucked in enthusiastically, temporarily forgetting that she's in her fussy phase...!

If you are serving this basic Mexican rice to kids, you might want to serve theirs up before adding the jalapenos and lime juice, depending how old or adventurous they are.

This mexican rice will serve 2 as a main course, more as a side dish. It's also one of the quickest easy vegan recipes you can make.

Ingredients:

150g/5oz/¾ cup long grain rice, rinsed
1 tablespoon of olive oil (This is a low cholesterol recipe)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 large tomato, chopped
1 400g/14oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
300mls/10½ fl.oz/1¼ cups of water
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
2 tablespoons of chopped jalapenos
Juice of half a lime

Method:

Using a medium size pot, gently fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft but not brown.

Stir in the cumin and turmeric, followed by the rice. Stir for a minute, then add the tomato and kidney beans. Next add the water and salt.

Bring to the boil then turn the heat down very low, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes.

Fluff the rice up with a fork, then stir in the coriander (cilantro), jalapenos and lime juice.

 

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