I came across this dirty rice recipe by accident when I was scouring Pinterest for easy meals to make that could last in the fridge longer than a day or two and were filling. The name is what caught my attention – I had never heard of dirty rice before. I had everything on hand to make it, except for the turkey mince so I substituted that with quorn and have used that ever since!
This is such a quick, healthy and filling meal – the kids love it, and it’s super versatile – you could add in more veggies if you’d like to or use chicken or fish or just leave it meatless.
Serves 4 (and you’ll have leftovers!)
You will need:
1.25 cups of brown rice
500 grams of quorn mince (or whatever other meat you’re using)
1 red onion chopped finely
Half a red bell pepper and half a yellow or orange bell pepper chopped (you could just use one bell pepper but that’s boring)
A handful of chopped spring onions
1 tbsp of chopped garlic or garlic paste
1 tbsp of paprika powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 lemon – juiced
Coriander
Salt
Method:
Measure out your brown rice with 2.5 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a medium pot. Bring the pot to a boil and once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer (without opening) for 40 minutes, making sure the water hasn’t all evaporated.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil in a large pan (I like using a wok for this) over medium heat. Toss in your red onion, garlic and spring onions and cook until softened. Add your quorn or whatever other meat you’re using, along with the paprika and cumin and cook that for about 10 minutes until browned, breaking up any large chunks as you go. I like to keep a bag of frozen quorn handy for when I make this – it means it takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish to throw it all together.
Add in your diced bell peppers and a large handful of chopped coriander (we love our coriander in this house!) and any other vegetables you’d like to use. Squeeze in the lemon juice, season and add any other spices you’d like – thyme, cayenne powder and chilli powder work great here too but because we’re eating with young children, I tend not to go overboard with the heat.
Once you’re happy with the seasoning, turn the heat off and serve this hot. It keeps great in the fridge for up to 3 days in a sealed container. I love to drizzle tamarind sauce or pomegranate molasses over mine – it really complements the flavours.
Try it and let me know how you get on!
Recipe adapted from: http://runawayapricot.com/2014/01/mealprep-expert-tips-for-easy-healthy-and-affordable-meals-all-week-long.html/#sthash.lW3RLU7i.dpuf
9 Comments
Sofia Syed
April 11, 2016 at 4:05 pmI shall try this one out but will be definately adding the chilli as i love spicy food! It would be good to have a heading for overall preparation time; im always on the lookout for quick fixes so prep time gives me an indication of if i could do this on a busy day lol. Was 15 minutes the time it took to make the whole thing?
Rabia S.
April 11, 2016 at 6:09 pmSister, I have to confess: I did your dirty rice already when I came across this post maybe one week ago. I added two different types of pepper, little hot ones and big red peppers. As I had no spring onion, it had to be done with normal onions what works too. There were much left, so I warmed it up the next day and putted eggs over it. Was delicious too. And perfect for busy bees like me being rather lazy when it comes to the household 😀
Fatima
April 11, 2016 at 10:16 pmThis sounds like a great idea. I was just wondering how did it get this name. I always make salad and eat any rice dish with raita (yoghurt mixed with mint chutney/sauce). Thanks for the inspiration for tomorrow’s meal. It’s really very hard deciding what to cook.
Myda Tahir
April 12, 2016 at 12:35 amAsalamoalikum Eiman, Great that you find what you are looking for but forgive me I would not like to recommend rice to keep in the fridge for the next 3 days (espec not for the Kids). but the recipe seems great for the instant use.
Haya
April 12, 2016 at 12:41 pmSounds tastey,filling and nutritious. I guess this would make great Suhoor meal in Ramadan. And I cook it for 2 days at a time ;)- Shhhhhhhh! Let this be our little secret. 🙂
Fozia S
April 12, 2016 at 5:25 pmOh my! I wonder who picked that name! The title made me go ‘huh’ lol
Sounds simple to make! Will have to give it a go.
hafsa
April 13, 2016 at 5:46 pmEven though i don’t cook this looks mouthwatering will definitely want my mom to make this for mee
Najmah
April 15, 2016 at 10:15 amMy tribe has a recipe that looks like this but we use left over rice. I love spices so this is something I’d really like. I’m also curious why it is called Dirty Rice.
Have you heard about dirty Ice cream? It’s popular in the Philippines, specifically in Manila city. It is called dirty ice cream cause it is being sold in the street via push cart. I tasted it few times and I admit it’s delicious! Lol.
So I thought this one is called Dirty Rice because it is being sold in the street.
kenz
April 18, 2016 at 11:07 amThe recipe seems easy and delicious…Would love to try at the moment but no ingredients.Will try it soon inshaAllah ..Thank u for introducing to a recipe with a strange name 🙂