A pot meal of brown rice in a soupy concoction of veggies…
There is a slight mist in the air tonight and I can already smell winters. A lot of things conjure up to make the winter memories special and one of them is steamy hot, piping food. Somehow there is more colour and flavour in whatever you cook which makes the whole eating experience more enjoyable. And unlike summers, you really like spending more time in the kitchen, closer to the heat and warmth that cooking alone bestows on you.
Later in the evening, while I was sipping my tea in the balcony, I could feel the slender chill in the air and I immediately thought of treating myself to a bowl full of soupy goodness. I have seen a lot of my health conscious friends who opt for only soup in the dinner and before the hunger pangs could start manipulating their mind into eating something more substantial, they crash on their beds to sleep. I also consider myself as a moderately health conscious person, but somehow I always need something more than just the soup, and hence, I developed my own little dish.
It’s a concoction of brown rice, which is cooked in vegetable broth, along with chunks of a lot of greens and carrots and potatoes and onions. Since brown rice takes more time than the normal rice to cook, I always half cook it in a pressure cooker. Meanwhile, I chop all the veggies I could lay my hands on in as many colours as possible – beans, sprouts, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, radish and everything else. Chop them finely. Heat some olive oil in a pan and toss all veggies until they turn just a bit soft. Add vegetable stock and half-boiled brown rice and cook until the rice and veggies turn tender. The concoction should look soupy, so leave some water. Season with salt, pepper, red chilli powder, soya sauce and vinegar and bring everything to a boil.
Since it has brown rice, along with veggies, it is quite a filling meal in itself. I usually have for dinner because it is comforting to just sit with a piping hot pot meal and enjoy it while watching television. I am going to prepare myself a bowl. Bon appetite!
