Spicy Tomato Mushroom Rice with Fresh Mint
From Lisa’s Kitchen!
The very first time I got introduced to Lisa’s blog was when I had participated in the Dec’s NCR, hosted by Holler. Lisa has the most amazing collection of recipes, very original, & with a variety of wonderful combination of flavors from around the world. I love the way she uses the spices… her passion just shows.
I have a picked quite a few things from her blog ( keep marking them), but this time it is going to be this flavorful rice. I share her passion for mushrooms:-D… & when I saw this irresistible combination here, I immediately made it for our lunch. My favorite part of this recipe was the use of the fennel seeds. I have never used fennel seeds in rice & had to try it out.
I did make some changes.. but almost negligible…I used onions too along with the green onions, used cilantro in place of parsely as I did not have it at hand, & cooked the rice the way I do…Sending this to Tried & Tasted, Hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen, the event started by Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen & the featured blog this time being Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen. The recipe below is as is from Lisa’s place except for the few changes I made…
Ingredients: (Serves 4 – 5 people)
- 1 cup of basmati rice
- 1.5 cups of water
- 1 – 2 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 Onion, sliced
- 2 – 3 jalapenos or chilies, finely chopped ( I used serrano)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
- 1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 3 green cardamom pods
- dash of cayenne and turmeric
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 5 large mushrooms, roughly chopped ( i used canned mushrooms, drained)
- juice from one lemon
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 2 tablespoons oil/butter/ghee
- 1 tablespoon of fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of fresh Cilantro/Coriander, finely chopped
Preparation:Soak the rice for a least an hour. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Let the rice air dry for 15 minutes.
Using a mortar and pestle, make a paste with the fresh chilies, ginger, garlic, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne and turmeric.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil, or a mixture of butter and oil, in a medium-large pot. When it is hot, add the onion, & green onion and stir and fry for a few minutes. Next add the chili paste and stir-fry for about a minute.
Add the tomato and mushrooms to the pan and cook for another few minutes. Now add the rice and stir and fry for another few minutes. I fried it till all the spices & tomatoes coats the rice & the the whole mix kind of starts to dry off.
Add the water, lemon juice and salt, bring to a boil. When the water disappears from the surface, ( u will still see the water in between the rice grains & there will be more water inside, Lower the heat to minimum & cover & cook for about 5 minutes. Switch off the heat after 5 minutes & keep it covered for another 10 minutes.
Let sit for a few minutes and then mix in the cilantro/coriander and mint.
Loved it! The fennel infused its wonderful flavor ever so subtly in the rice. It is quick & easy delicious recipe, whether it be for a lunch for 2 or for a party. I had mine with a bowl of plain yogurt & it was one satisfying meal. Looks like this is going to be pretty frequently done in my kitchen now. Thanks Lisa!
Related Posts:
Spicy Singapore Fried Rice
Spanish Rice
Zarda: Sweet Saffron Rice
Tags: cilantro rice, eggless cooking, eggless recipe, Fried rice, Mint, quick rice, Rice Dishes, rice with fresh herbs, rice with tomato & mushroom, tomato rice, vegan, vegan cooking, vegetable rice, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian recipe
Details 
April 18th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Wow, that looks so delish! gorgeous!
April 18th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Fennel sounds good Soma … try korbo.
Dekhte darun hoyeche … bowlta amaye pass korbe please? 
April 18th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Beautiful selection and i love Lisa’s blog too. Same here, Soma it is only recently that I am using fennel seeds in my cooking and now I love it. This is a beautiful variance of Tomato Rice as i know it.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Very pretty looking. love the addition of mint!
April 18th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Oh, I made this too!
I shall post something else. lol
I love the fact that you ate it with yogurt. That is pretty South Indian, I think ( I always eat mixed rices with yogurt, dunno why!)
April 18th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Thanks so much for your kind words. The rice appears to have worked out perfectly for you. I adore your blog and have bookmarked more than a few of your recipes to try too
April 18th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I know I am going to love this !! I love mushroom by itself and the combo looks great !!! as usual, yr blog is addictive n am gonna try this at the earlist !!
April 18th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
delicious tomato mushroom rice. love the combo. great for lunch.
April 18th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Would be a comfort food Soma, looks perfectly delicious!
April 18th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Mouthwatering rice… I have never air dried rice shall try it… Color is very tempting..
April 18th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
looking perfect..
April 19th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Rice and mushrooms are some of my favorite ingredients. In Colombia we cook rice with everything you can find in the refrigerator.
What a fantastic recipe! Thank you.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:47 am
A picture speaks a thousand words. Beautiful. Almost like a tomato biryani.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:40 am
This rice sounds delicious and so refreshing with mint!
April 19th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
oops,rice with mushroom is the one i simply adore..can imagine the flavour here with the tomatoes and mushrooms..great presentation and clicks ..makes me hungry..
April 19th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
You have reminded me that we have not made a ncie rice dish in ages. We would leae the mint out but otherwise, we are fans of all the other flavors.
April 19th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Beautifully served!
April 19th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
That is one flavor packed dish. Gorgeous too!
April 19th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Oh fennel, I love fennel seeds, they really add something special to a dish!
April 20th, 2009 at 12:19 am
The dish looks fabulous…. you presentation is fantastic. What’s not to love about rice… comfort food for sure!
April 20th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Fennel is not something I use on a regular basis, either, so whenever I come across it in something, it tastes really exotic, others’ dishes or mine.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Wah!This rice is a perfect comfort food..I love all the spices in it!
April 20th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Rice dekhlei khide pache tai recipe dekhchi na, chobio na
April 20th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Flavorsome rice.Thankfully I’ve abundant supply of mint in summer from one of my very few herbs in the pot,I see some new leaves sprouting from the dried up stems.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Great recipe, I like the colors in your dish.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Hi Soma,
good one yet again from u Soma. I love Lisa’s blog,her recipes turn out just perfect.
Great looking rice…from what I read it seems to be very aromatic and spiced up
Pls collect ur award from my blog dearie. I’ll be glad if u would..
TC
April 20th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
That looks super good Soma..:).Temptng one..Wonder why,but I have ner tried Tomato rice before..:D
April 21st, 2009 at 9:33 am
Looks and sounds exotic. Thanks for participating in this edition of T&T.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:19 am
Thanks Guys! But Thanks actually to Lisa! For those of yu who haven’t visited her blog yet, please do so!
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Looks very delicious Soma..I am craving for it..
hugs and smiles
April 28th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Wow.. looks so delicious, I love this rice
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:25 am
Loved your blog and your clicks! Everything looks so beautiful and delicious.. Nice blog.
May 9th, 2009 at 3:46 am
Hi SOma,
Thanks a lot for participating in T&T April. I hope you had fun and will take up the challenge again this month
what a great picture….
the rice looks fantastic