Coconut Rice

Saturday (4/6) was Telugu New Year also known as Ugadi. It is usually celebrated with the reading of the New Years' almanac and traditional foods. 

You can read more about other years celebrations here:

 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.

This year, we celebrated Ugadi smaller than usual. We had Spinach Sambar, Coconut Rice, Green Bean Poriyal, Okra Curd Salad, Masala Vada and Onion Pakora, and of course a little Ugadi Pachadi.

This year it felt strange to have Mango Rice without Dad here, it was one of his favorite Indian dishes, so we opted instead for Coconut Rice for this year's celebration. This rice dish has just the right amount of warm savory, spiced coconut flavor, evoking thoughts of warmer and hopefully happier days to come.

Here is my recipe for Coconut Rice:

Coconut Rice By Cooking for Kishore

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Cooked Basmati Rice
• 3/4 cup flaked Coconut
• 3 Tbsp Raw Cashews
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 Red Chili, dried
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
• a few curry leaves
• 3 Tbsp Ghee
• 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds, roasted
• Bunch of Cilantro, chopped
• Salt to Taste

Instructions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp Ghee and sauté cashews till golden brown, then set aside for later.
2. In the same pan add another Tbsp of Ghee and sauté the coconut until light brown, then set aside.
3. Heat the final 1 Tbsp Ghee and add the mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves and red chili. When mustard seeds start to sputter add the cooked rice, coconut,
4. When mustard seeds start to sputter add the cooked rice, coconut, cashews, and asafoetida. Mix thoroughly. Serve hot and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.

Yield: Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 10 mins.

Cook time: 30 mins.
Total time: 40 mins.
Tags: coconut rice recipes, coconut rice, Indian Cooking, rice dishes, south indian recipes, telugu recipes ugadi, ugadi dishes, vegan, Vegetarian