This is one of those recipes that my husband says I can "make anytime." (In other words, it’s high on the list of his favorite meals.) This version is an adaptation of a substantially more complicated recipe. You can find the original in a cookbook called Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons, which I hope is still in print. It’s a great book that’s filled with wonderful recipes and ideas, but they aren’t always easy and they aren’t necessarily vegan.
Don’t worry about the long list of ingredients: it’s mostly spices. Basically, you chuck everything into the pot in stages, leaving you lots of in-between time to do other things.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Canola oil
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground coriander
- 1 tsp Ground mustard
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 14-oz can Coconut milk (don’t to use the "light" version)
- 4 cups Water
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1 16-oz package Firm tofu
- 2 Carrots, peeled and sliced into half rounds
- 1 10-oz package Frozen spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil and add the spices. Saute spices for a few minutes until they are fragrant.
- Add the water and coconut milk and bring to a gentle boil (do not let this boil over, or you’ll have a big mess!)
- Add the basmati rice and tofu and reduce heat to simmer (i.e., whatever temperature you use to cook rice). Cook for 10 minutes
- Add the carrots and cook for 10 minutes more.
- Defrost the spinach and squeeze out the extra water.
- After 20 minutes of cooking the rice should be looking more or less done. If not, cook for a while longer.
- Add the spinach and cook for another 3-5 minutes to heat it up.
- Take the pot off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 minutes