Yemen -- Carrot Rice

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: Y for Yemen

Dish: Yemeni Carrot Rice

Today we are going to Yemen, an Arab country in Southwest Asia. We are only a day way from our final destination tomorrow and I can't believe how fast the month passed.
The first dish I made for Yemen was a colossal failure -- the first and last failure in my entire A-Z International series. I was quite upset since I planned to make it at the very end and didn't have enough time to remake it. So I picked a very quick and simple (no-fail) recipe for Yemeni Carrot rice from the blog Queen of Sheba. This is an awesome Yemeni food blog that has a ton of authentic Yemeni recipes.

The Carrot rice recipe I picked was, as I said, very simple to make and it is a one-pot dish that makes it even more perfect for a week night meal. I was worried with just 1 green chili and some pepper the rice would taste sweet, but the addition of whole spices made the dish have a nice spicy kick to it. Rice turned beautiful yellow after mixing it with carrots -- almost like turmeric was added to the dish.

Recipe adapted from here:
Ingredients: Serves 2~3
Basmati Rice - 1 cup, soaked for at least 10 minutes
Carrot - 2 medium, grated
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Green Pepper - 1 small, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Green Chili - 1, slit
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon Stick - 1" piece
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a saute pan; add onions and green peppers, cook till the onions are trnaslucent and peppers are tender.
• Add the garlic and cook for 1~2 minutes.
• Next add green chili, carrot, clove, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Mix well and cook for 8~10 or until the carrots are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the rice and 2 cups of water; bring the mixture to a boil. Then cover and cook till all water is absorbed and rice is cooked through. Serve hot!!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44.

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