This recipe is a staple side dish of mine that I’ve adapted and modified at length through the years. Both colorful and flavourful I think it creates a texturally interesting background for spicy curries and other East Indian flavoured entrees.

Coconut Rice with Lentils and Cashews
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. basmati rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
1 teaspoon urad dhal or brown lentils
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon madras curry powder
2 ounces fresh coconut, grated
1 ounce unsalted roasted cashews
salt and pepper
METHOD:
1. Put the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold …

This dish of pigeon peas and rice was the perfect accompaniment to the Crispy Lemon Chicken that I made earlier this year. The rice and peas are cooked together in a rich combination of fresh thyme and coconut milk with wedges of tomatoes and (if desired) a scotch bonnet pepper. The final result is quite similar to the scent and flavour of Jamaican peas and rice, a sentimental fave of mine, and should be a little less daunting in execution especially for new cooks.

Sarina’s Pigeon Peas and Rice
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups …

This concoction came up on a whim. I’m always looking for ways to invent and reinvent rice-based side dishes. Sauteed garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and sweet peppers create a hot and savoury medley. The piece de resistance however is the inclusion of fresh thyme which makes each mouthful unexpectedly fragrant. It made a wonderful complement to this year’s Emancipation Day menu. Give it a try!

From About.com:
Origin, History, and Mythology: Gaius Plinius Secundus, (circa 23 – 79 A.C.E.), better known as Pliny the Elder, said that when thyme …

Fried rice. It’s something that I’ve grown up on as my mother usually makes it at least once a week. Sometimes as a side dish, other times as the main occasion. It is really interesting to me how versatile it is and how it never tastes the same from cook to cook. Even when my mother and I approach the same recipes the results are slightly different I have posted various Fried Rice recipes on here before, but like many things in life I think one can never …

This colorful and aromatic form of fried rice makes an exciting alternative to plain rice or Asian fried rices. The addition of ras-al-hanout makes it highly aromatic, and caramelized onion slices add just the right hint of sweetness.
There’s nothing like having access to fresh home-grown ingredients. Case in point, our bayleaf tree (see left). Bayleaf is one of those flavours that I find hard to describe but I can always identify it in a dish. We use the leaves both fresh and dried, e.g. in my ras-al-hanout, in chilis …

This recipe was the first one that my mother decided to try from my copy of The Good Home Cookbook: More Than 1000 Classic American Recipes. Since then she’s made it at least twice a month and I never tire of it. Smoky, spicy, and heavily herbed it is almost a main dish by itself
From The Good Home Cookbook: More Than 1000 Classic American Recipes:
“Arroz verde, “ or green rice, is not as well known as Spanish rice, but it is an equally good choice to accompany …

I have no idea why coconut and curry go together so well, but I’m sooo glad that they do
This rice recipe leaves the rice grains moist and creamy

The genesis of this recipe came about when Nandita at Saffron Trail asked me to come up with a dish that could theoretically represent the West Indies Cricket Team at this year’s Cricket World Cup, for an article she is developing. Caribbean cooking is so varied and nuanced that I struggled for a while to find a piece that really brought us together. The best I could come up with was Rice and Peas. However not wanting to impose what may have been a decidedly Trinidad-biased opinion I decided to …

This dish came up as a whim on my part. I quite like it and think it makes an attractive side to a meat entree. It’s also great all by itself (as I sometimes have it) Because it’s vegetarian in nature I think it may also be a great addition to the menus of any of you who may be planning Tu B’Shevat seders. I’ll be featuring more vegetarian dishes in the run-up to this fun and super-healthy Jewish holiday!

What do you do when your pantry is nearing critical shortages and you only have a little bit of chicken in the fridge? Cook up a quick, filling, and EXTREMELY tasty fried rice! The mushrooms, chicken, and rice can all be prepared the night before or in advance to speed things along. It goes together -very- quickly and is a favorite in my home!