Homemade Easy Fried Rice Recipe – Long grain rice cooked with veggies and whole spices. You can customize this with eggs, meat, shrimp, tofu, beef and any other veggies you like.
For that traditional Fried rice taste, I have added some roasted cashews and soaked raisins. I have made this fried rice in a microwave oven. But you can also make this in skillet.
One of the most popular accompaniments of any exotic Indian recipe is Fried Rice. Whether you're having Chicken Tikka Masala or Chickpea Tikka Masala if there is no fried rice then, believe me, it won't taste good!
Fried Rice Recipe
To be honest with you, when I see those fresh, sharp long grain rice with small green peas and cilantro flanking them on the side, I just want to keep starring at them. I want to smell their freshness. I want to take all those steaming hot vapors down through my senses and keep that with me until I cook fried rice for the next time.
As I take the bite of that soft and delicate long grain basmati rice, I experience what we call - pure bliss. Soft basmati rice playing with some fresh green peas and veggies creates a perfect balance of flavors in my mouth.
Honestly, we don't make fried rice often. It's quite expensive. But, when I am having something exotic such as a delicious Indian Chicken Recipe, I cannot ignore fried rice. I will tell you what happened. So, I am a person of habit. I don't believe in change. Therefore I have a pre-planned idea about what I am gonna cook for the week. But, as you might know, things don't go the way we plan.
So, what happened was my husband decided that we are gonna have fried rice with Chicken today. I was not in a mood to make fried rice. Not that I don't like fried rice. But, as I said I am a person of habit. And I like my chicken with plain rice. So, I started making fried rice, telling myself - " Ok! But, I'm still gonna make a small amount of plain rice just for myself".
What happens next was an even bigger surprise for me! Honestly, it's a funny co-incidence rather than a surprise.
When my fried rice was ready, obviously I was dying to smell it, taste it and have it as it is. So, I started eating my chicken with fried rice and it tasted excellent. Until now, I had not touched my bowl of plain rice. I keep the good things for last. So, when I finish my fried rice I jump onto my bowl of plain rice. I am really happy that finally, I am back on track. Doing what the routine demands. But, the moment I tasted it, it was so boring that all my enthusiasm went down the drain. Seriously, who was I kidding? How can plain rice even compare to fried rice? Not in a million years!
Does this contain egg?
The answer is NO. I really don't prefer fried rice with eggs. I think eggs make it a little too heavy for me. Therefore, I make my fried rice without eggs. This is a vegetarian Fried Rice Recipe. Therefore I have not used eggs or chicken.
Some important tips to make the best-fried rice:
- The ratio of rice to water should always be 1: 2.
- Always use boiled water to add to your rice when you are putting it in the oven to get cooked.
- Always keep the lid of the vessel open while cooking rice.
- Add a tablespoon of lemon juice over your rice so that your grains look fresh once they get cooked.
- Use ghee or Clarified butter to make your fried rice. Nothing compares to the taste of a dollop of ghee. You can find ghee in grocery stores easily.
- Add a teaspoon of sugar while preparing the rice. I love the sweetness in fried rice because it balances out the sourness of the lemon juice and also tastes great with any curry or sauce.
How is this fried rice traditionally made?
If I have to tell you about traditionally, then I have to talk about my grandmom about the way it was done in the olden days.
During the early days, people used to use a lot of whole spices in fried rice. A particular method which is still stuck with me is, how she used to soak the rice in water and then while drying them out she used to mix it with dried whole spices and desiccated coconuts. Then, she used to put them in the pot over some hot ghee and used to fry the rice. After the rice got well fried and had a golden hue to it, she used to add the hot water to it. It used to taste so amazing!
Earlier, she used to cook in those heavy earthen pots and that too over coal. That gave it that wonderful smokiness. Also, it used to get cooked very slowly, as a result, there was no part which was overcooked or undercooked which is a common problem these days.
Also adding turmeric powder is very important for that gorgeous golden hue to your fried rice. It just makes it look so much more festive.
You must add fried Cashew nuts and soaked Raisins to your rice. This is an extremely important ingredient and you cannot skip this.
Easy Fried Rice Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Cup Long Grain Basmati Rice
- 4 Cup Boiled Water
- 2 medium-sized Onion chopped
- 10 cloves Garlic chopped
- 1 Cup Carrots chopped
- ½ Cup Green Beans chopped
- ½ Cup Ghee/Butter softened
- ¼ Cup Cashews halved
- ¼ Cup Raisins soaked in water
- 3-4 Pods Small Cardamom
- 3-4 Pieces Cloves
- 2-3 Sticks Cinnamon Stick broken
- 2 leaf Bay leaves
- ½ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- As Per Taste Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Brown Sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Wash long grain basmati rice and drain the water using a colander. Take out the rice on a parchment paper and allow it to dry out completely.
- Soak some raisins in a cup of water and keep it aside.
- Add some oil in a bowl. Chop the veggies and saute them in the microwave at full power for 5-10 minutes.
- In the same bowl add soaked rice, twice the amount of boiled water, some vegetable oil, salt, sugar, and some turmeric powder.
- Do not cover. Microwave it at full power for 15-minutes.
- In a non-stick pan pour some ghee or butter and add chopped cashews, bay leaves, cardamom pods, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. Saute them for about 30-45 seconds until fragrant.
- Take out your bowl of fried rice and add these fragrant spices along with ghee or butter in it. Add some freshly squeezed lime juice and mix it well in the rice.
- Let it microwave for another 3-minutes at full power.
- Garnish it with some freshly chopped cilantro or coriander. Serve!
Nutrition
Gina Smith says
An excellent recipe for fried rice. Simply the best ever