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Spiced Chickpea, Carrot, Raisin & Cashew Rice Pilaf


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 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 (1/4 tsp) cayenne pepper
  • 400g (14 oz) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
  • 50g (2 oz) raisins
  • 750ml (1 1/4 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

  1. Wash the rice in a sieve under cold running water until it runs clear; set aside.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Fork through the cashew nuts and coriander. Check the seasoning and serve at once, garnished with fresh coriander sprigs.

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.
  • Feel free to use any of these bay leaf substitutes instead if you're struggling to find any.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 541
  • Sugar: 11.9 g
  • Sodium: 608 mg
  • Fat: 18.5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 83.3 g
  • Fiber: 7.6 g
  • Protein: 14.7 g