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Jewelled rice pilaf

If you're making some Middle-Eastern or North-African style grilled chicken, fish or lamb chops, this Jewelled rice pilaf will make an excellent side dish. To be honest I normally make it with leftover rice (I just fry the onion & garlic, then add the cooked rice, spices, dried fruits & nuts and stir to warm through) but you can make it from scratch following the recipe below.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Cuisine: Middle Eastern, North African
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g basmati rice
  • about 250 ml boiling water
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon or 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 1 pinch of saffron or turmeric
  • 50 g dried cherries
  • 50 g dried cranberries or raisins
  • 50 g pistachios chopped
  • 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses optional
  • salt & pepper

Method
 

  1. Finely chop the onion, mince the garlic.
  2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until soft. Add the garlic, stir for a few second, then add the rice and coat. Add the cinnamon and saffron, stir to combine. Pour in the water, to about an inch above the rice.
  3. Steam under a lid for about 15-20 minutes, until the water is almost completely absorbed.
  4. Add the pomegranate molasses, dried fruits & pistachios. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir for a few seconds. Cover the pan with a lid and turn off the heat, then set aside for 10 minutes to steam and cool.
  5. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  6. You can add some chopped fresh parsley, mint or coriander just before serving.
  7. I sometimes add a small teaspoonful of coriander seeds/powder and/or cumin seeds/powder to the fried onion, depending on the main course. Also, instead of pistachios toasted almond flakes are nice too!