Recipe: Curried Coconut Rice

Whenever I'm alone for supper, I like to cook with ingredients Pat wouldn't eat - in this case, coconut milk. Although filling enough to be a main course as I had it, it could also easily serve as a side. I used hot curry powder, but the coconut milk really cancels out the bite - I could definitely have used a lot more without overpowering the dish.

Curried Coconut Rice

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tsp curry powder

1 cup jasmine rice

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

bay leaf

1 small can of sliced water chestnuts

1/2 cup unsalted cashews

Methods:

1. Chop the onion & garlic. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat & throw in the veggies. Fry the onion & garlic for a few minutes, until tender.

2. Add in the rice and curry powder.

As I mentioned above, I used hot curry powder - next time, I'll up it to 4 tsp though as I didn't find it spicy enough. Err on the side of caution though - start with 2 tsp & add more if you feel you need it.

Cook for a couple of minutes.

3. Stir in the liquids, salt & pepper & the bay leaf.
Bring to a boil.

4. Once boiling, add the water chestnuts. Reduce heat, cover & simmer until all the liquid is absorbed.

5. Meanwhile, toast the cashews lightly. To do so, simply throw them into a small frying pan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Toast them until they start to get a bit darker where they touch the pan.

6. Once the rice is done, serve topped with cashews.

Enjoy!