Dovecote Academy - Indian Fried Rice

Aug. 10, 2009 - Indian Fried Rice - a taste of nostalgia

I had to use up the leftovers tonight. But, as is so often the case, there wasn’t enough of anything to make a meal. I had some carrot soup to use up (easy because the kids all love it) and some rice. I have no onions (forgot to put them on the grocery list last week) and very little else to add. I didn’t want to cook hot dogs because the kids had those yesterday for lunch.

Then I got an idea. As Dr. Suess would say, I got a horrible, awful idea! When I was growing up we occasionally had a meal from a box. Today the only box meal we keep in the cupboard is Kraft Dinner, but back in my day there was Kraft Dinner, pizza mix, and Indian fried rice. Guess which one was my favourite?

I looked at the rice and decided to fry it. I dumped it into the wok and turned it on. It would be better with onions, but I’d have to make do. Then I went to the internet to look for a recipe. I typed “Indian fried rice” into my google search field and got a whole list of options!

The one I used ended up tasting EXACTLY like the rice I had all those many years ago. It was a little taste of nostalgia for me. Unfortunately, my husband wasn’t thrilled and my son, who had to eat some because he had complained as soon as he saw the raisins in the rice, really didn’t like it, although he didn’t complain again. One problem was that I was distracted half way through the cooking, so I didn’t turn the burner down when I should have, so too much of the water boiled off, leaving the fresh rice I had added a little on the chewy side. Cooking the rice better next time will make this dish that much better.

But I still enjoyed it. And in a pinch I will use it again. Only in a pinch because I seem to be the only one who’s particularly excited about this recipe! But in case there are others out there who want Indian fried rice in a box without the box, I thought I’d share the recipe. It comes from a website called cooks.com.

I did not have almonds, so added some ground almonds for a hint of flavour. Other than that, I made it pretty much as written, except I used leftover rice with a little fresh brown rice added in.

Indian Fried Rice

1 cup uncooked rice
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup butter
½ cup raisins (light or dark – I like light in this recipe)
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon
1 tsp curry powder (I accidentally added 2 and it was good.)
½ tsp salt
2 ¼ cup boiling water
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds

Cook and stir the rice and onion in the butter in a large skillet. Cook until the rice is yellow and the onion is tender. Stir in the raisins, bouillon, curry powder, and salt. Add the water and stir. Cook over low heat until the liquid is absorbed. This can be put in a casserole dish and put in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes to absorb the liquid. The almonds can be toasted on a paper plate in the microwave. Stir in the almonds when ready to serve. This is tasty with chicken or lamb.

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