One day I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) and they were doing a piece on a Women who moved back to her family’s homeland of Iran and is was studying the food culture there…she had such a passionate way of describing food and culture and tradition, it was so fun to listen to! (I ❤️ passion in action) One of the dishes she mentioned was a spiced up colorful rice dish with raisins, which sounded really delicious, so I stored it in my mental bank.
Many days (actually it may have been weeks) later, I was making dinner and about to start the same old boring side of rice, ( I think I was making this as my main dish) when visions of yummy spices and raisins came into view. So, I just started tossing things into my rice pot and one thing led to anouther…and ta-dah!
And of course I had to share it with you! I hope you like it!
- 1½ cup of brown rice (you can use less if you are feeding people)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 cup onion (diced)
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ cup raisins
- 1tsp (heaping) cumin
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup of water
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- In a large sauce pan put the oil, onions and diced bell pepper and saute for 5ish minutes until they are soft. Add the minced garlic.
- Add the rice, raisins, cumin, cinnamon, parsley, and salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Add the water and broth.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until the rice is tender and water is ~40min. FYI - for some reason with brown rice, I always have to add a bit of extra water at the end to make sure it is tender.
- fluff with a fork and serve....of course and Enjoy too! 🙂
Now, I want to hear from you! What are some of your fav dishes that you have just thrown together? Share in the comments below!
