Mexican Rice

I use store-bought salsa and enchilada sauce for this hence I call it Mexican rice. In the above picture, I have used cooked brown rice and quinoa, you can substitute with cooked white rice. This is a good way to use up leftover rice, salsa and enchilada sauce.

Here's how I make it:

Heat veg. oil in a pan. Fry some chopped onions and green bell peppers in it. Add the salsa and enchilada sauce. Latter can be omitted, in which case increase the amount of salsa used. For 2 cups cooked rice, I use abt 1 cup salsa depending on how chunky or smooth it is and the heat level. Add seasoning to taste - salt, sugar, cumin pwd and paprika. Stir well. Add the cooked rice (see note). Add drained canned black beans and upto 1 tbsp soy sauce. Stir gently to coat rice well. Cover and heat on medium low heat for 5 mins. Adjust seasonings to taste if needed. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro, red bell pepper and even some shredded Mexican cheese blend if desired.

Note - You can use uncooked rice, in which case probably better to go with white rice as it cooks faster. Add water or veg. broth and cook till almost done before proceeding to add the canned beans and soy sauce.

This Mexican rice goes well by itself as a one-pot meal or served along with tortilla soup/quesadilla, enchiladas etc.

Leftover rice cutlets

Leftover rice is often given a new life by turning it into fried rice (phodnicha bhaat), dahi bhaat or these easy, accomodating cutlets. These make for a quick snack or lunchbox fix.

Here's how I made them today:

1/2 cup cooked rice (I had leftover white rice, brown will also work)

1 medium potato - boiled, peeled and grated

1/3 cup leftover peas, carrots subji (or other leftover dry subji, if any)

salt to taste

1/4 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp cumin-coriander pwd

1/4 tsp red chilli pwd or to taste

1/4 tsp chaat masala (or garam masala)

Mix all the above ingredients together. Divide into ten balls. Flatten slightly between oiled palms. Shallow fry on flat non-stick pan till crisp and golden on both sides, about 5 mins on medium heat. I used just a few drops of olive oil to fry.

Serve with ketchup or chutney or pack for lunch.

Until then, these cutlets are off to the Saas, Bahu aur Sensex Contest at the Edible Garden.

Here is the official movie website.