Sharing an office with a 20-month old is anything but dull. Extreme vigilance is required if you don’t want to trip over a ball (or 5), books, pieces of Lego and wooden bricks, an old telephone, plastic trucks, a tub of Play-Doh and a xylophone. Just when I think he’s busy amusing himself with building Lego towers, I sneak off and place my bum on the swivel chair. Unfortunately, as soon I start navigating the PC with my mouse, the cursor suddenly jerks 180 degrees in the other direction as my right arm gets tugged by a little hand.
“Bajeljahljada.”
Don’t ask me what it means, because I swear the boy has devised his own language, called Afrish. While I speak Afrikaans to him and Neil English, neither of us understand him as yet. He’s on planet Gabriel.
Before I know it I’ll be sitting with him on the floor watching him play, because that’s what he wants me to do. As much as I would like to participate in NaBloPoMo one day, for now I can only cheer on the +10 000 insane bloggers like Jeanne from Cook Sister for doing it.
Don’t forget that November is also Vegan month, hence I present you this very filling and nutty Pilaf, which will also be entered into My Legume Love Affair and Vegan Ventures events.
Spiced Chickpea, Carrot, Raisin & Cashew Rice Pilaf
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 35 minutes
Servings 4
Author: Michelle Minnaar
Ingredients
- 225g (8 oz) basmati rice
- seeds from 4-5 cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick, bruised
- 10ml (2 tsp) cumin seeds
- 2 bay leaves, bruised
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 5ml (1 tsp) grated fresh root ginger
- 5ml (1 tsp) turmeric
- 5ml (1 tsp) ground coriander
- 1.25ml (¼ tsp) cayenne pepper
- 400g (14 oz) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
- 50g (2 oz) raisins
- 750ml (1¼ pints) vegetable stock
- 30ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice
- 5ml (1 tsp) salt
- 50g (2 oz) cashew nuts, toasted
- 30ml (2 tbsp) chopped fresh coriander
- pepper
- fresh coriander sprigs, to garnish
Instructions
- Wash the rice in a sieve under cold running water until it runs clear; set aside.
- Dry-fry the whole spices and bay leaves in a small frying pan for about 2 minutes until they start to pop and release their aroma.
- Peel and finely chop the onion; peel and dice the carrots. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrots and ground spices and fry for 10 minutes until the vegetables are golden. Add the dry-fried spice mixture to the pan with the rice and stir-fry for 1 minute until all the rice grains are glossy.
- Add the chick peas, raisins, stock, lemon juice and salt to the pan. Bring to the boil, stir once and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, then take off the heat and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Fork through the cashew nuts and coriander. Check the seasoning and serve at once, garnished with fresh coriander sprigs.
Recipe Notes
- Personally I enjoyed a generous dollop of plain yoghurt with this vegetarian meal.
- Instead of using canned chickpeas you can soak 200g (7 oz) of dried chickpeas overnight and boil them for about an hour or so until they are tender. Simply follow the rest of the recipe.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 serving
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 541 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 18.5g | 28% | |
Saturated Fat 4g | 20% | |
Sodium 608mg | 25% | |
Total Carbohydrates 83.3g | 28% | |
Dietary Fiber 7.6g | 30% | |
Sugars 11.9g | ||
Protein 14.7g | 6% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
I envy children who are raised bilingual: it must be a fascinating experience. I can imagine how not-dull your daily life is. Your recipe looks delicious. Thanks for participating.
Michelle, the food you make is really right up my alley! I love your blog and am grateful for discovering it! Thanks!