It’s been a while since we have stepped into the new year. Though the days are short but with the bright sunlight, they are perfect for an outing. When you go out, seeing the bright-colored veggies you feel like grabbing them all. And there is so much you can make with them. In fact, it is the perfect time to have a variety of fried, spiced food but then suddenly my son, Siddharth, announces that he needs to go on diet as he has piled on a lot. So, very often, nowadays, our dinner is a salad with some soup and/or homebaked bread.
Again, as it is chilly, we ought to go for warm salads. Warm salads, with multicolored veggies, not only look great but tastes awesome too. Some of the warm salads we often have are
Chickpeas Salad and
Brown Rice Salad.
Today I am sharing the recipe of Brown Rice Salad. Brown Rice Salad is one salad that is a meal in itself. You can have it cold as well warm. If made in summers then we add veggies like cucumber, tomatoes and some fruits also like apple, pears or pomegranate. But in winters, all these are replaced by carrots, peppers, broccoli, etc.
Why Brown Rice? Is Brown Rice Good for us?
- So, Yes! Brown rice is good for us.
- Unlike white rice, brown rice is packed with bran and germ and is thus full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
- These are low in carbs and calories.
- It is full of fibre, which in turn keeps you full for a longer period of time thus avoiding the urge to have frequent meals. For example, one cup (158 grams) of brown rice contains 3.5 grams of fibre, while white rice contains less than 1 gram. Therefore it is highly recommended it helps in losing weight. To know more about the benefits of Brown rice, read here.
How To Cook Brown Rice?
- Brown rice is slightly hard to cook. For making this salad, we need boiled brown rice.
- But before boiling, it needs to be soaked for at least 3 to 4 hours. Soaking makes it easier to cook the rice.
- We use the boil and drain method and thus get rid of the excess starch in the rice.
- This method is the same as of boiling Pasta or white rice.
- Boil water in a large vessel, when the water starts boiling, throw in the presoaked rice.
- Let the rice boil for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Check by pressing a grain between your fingers. when it becomes tender, the rice is boiled.
- Put the rice in the colander and all the excess starch drains out.
- You are left with boiled and drained brown rice.
- Then these boiled rice are tossed with veggies and dressing and ready to be served.
Also, some other interesting salads are:
Step By Step Recipe
A. Boil Brown Rice
- Wash brown rice thoroughly in running water and soak them at least for 3 to 4 hours.
- Boil plenty of water in a large vessel. When the water starts boiling, add the soaked rice (after removing the water in which they are soaked). Let it boil on medium heat till tender.
- Once boiled, put the rice in the colander so that all excess water is drained out. This way, you get rid of unwanted starch and therefore the calories.
B. Make Salad
- While the rice is getting boiled, you prepare veggies. Chop green onions, peppers, broccoli, carrots, baby corns and corn kernels.
- In a pan, heat oil. Put oregano, Italian seasoning and chilli flakes. Add very little water, say 1 tablespoon and saute for a minute so that they swell up nicely. Water is added so that the seasonings swell properly.
- Add veggies, saute on high flame so that they are slightly cooked retaining their crunchiness.
- Toss in boiled and drained brown rice.
- Season with salt.
- At this stage, you can keep it like this till the time of serving.
- At the time of serving, heat the salad and mix in lemon juice, parsley (or spring onion greens) and almonds/pine nuts.
- Serve with love, soup optional.
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