3 Legume Rice

Very often ..I have quite a few items in my pantry that lurk for days and months ..and yes I will be honest..some of them go up to a year too. Raise your hand if this happens to you.

- I have atleast 4 kinds of sugar.. demerara ..muscovado, light brown..castor ..vanilla..and jaggery and some of them have been used just once.
- all kinds of sprinkles one could ever find ..for a cake decorating emergency
- the whole batch of papads and fryums we bought from our last trip to India and havent even consumed half of it.
- the golden syrup can that was an impulse purchase thinking what if I never find it when I need it
- 3 different brands of malted chocolate ..dark, white and semisweet?!!!
and I could go on..

They are all bought with good intention but eventually I forget they exist only to be discovered by me past their expiration date. Or buy 5 kinds of legumes because I believe we should be eating more of them but fall short of ways(and time) to use them up. Sadly most of them end up in the bin.





But In spite of this we go in an autopilot mode every weekend and go grocery shopping. Of course we need our fresh veggies, fruits and dairy but we still manage to get a few items which might end up on a list like the one above.
So since past few months, every 2-3 months I have been trying to review and really use up what we have before filling up the pantry. This legume rice is one such dish. I have used black chickpeas and green peas but any legume should work. The peanuts add an interesting flavour. The method of preparing this rice is similar to that of upma(a south indian savoury porridge using roasted semolina) where the rice is roasted before being boiled and is called akki usali in Karnataka. This is a mild rice dish with no spices and goes well with dal or any curry or raita.

This concept of an `eat down` was inspired by Nupur`s Whats lurking in your kitchen series. Nupur`s One hot Stove(OHS) is one of my favourite blogs and I have been following it for years. It has been an immense resource for me and I see it nothing less than an encyclopaedia. From the best Pav Bhaji recipe to Flylady ..from to some wonderful books to some great baby food recipes …they were all introduced to me via OHS. I was also introduced to MLLA(My Legume Love Affair) through her website and I have been participating every month since I started my blog. MLLA was started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook and is now run by Lisa of Lisas kitchen. I am thrilled that this months edition of MLLA is being hosted at One Hot Stove and this recipe is my entry for it.

3 Legume rice

Yield – serves 4

Things you need -

1.5 cups rice, preferably basmati
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup green peas
1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked in water overnight and boiled. Alternatively use canned ones.
1/4 cup grated carrots. finely chopped potatoes, green beans, grated cabbage etc all work well
1 medium red onion, sliced
juice of half a lemon
2-3 green chillies, slit lengthwise
1 inch ginger, grated
salt as per taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
half tsp mustard seeds
handful curry leaves
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 to 4.5 cups hot water
coriander for garnish
grated or shredded coconut for garnish, optional.

How its done -

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, roast the rice on medium heat until it starts to turn slightly brown. Take off from heat and keep aside for later.
2. In the same pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Once they start to splutter, add curry leaves, onions, ginger, peanuts and green chillies and sauté for a minute.
3. Add about 4 cups of hot water, salt, vegetables like carrots etc, chickpeas and bring it to boil. Now reduce the heat and add the roasted rice and mix well. Increase the heat to medium-high, cover with a plate or lid and allow the rice to cook. Half way through, add the green peas and stir. Add more water if required.
4. Once rice is cooked, switch off heat and add the lemon juice and fluff the rice. Garnish with coriander and coconut.
5. Serve hot/warm with any curry or dal, raita or just plain yoghurt.

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