Mexican Green Rice with Spicy Fried Potatoes

Work has been very stressful lately. All I want to do is get home and start blogging. But at the end of the day I have literally no energy left. In fact, hubby dearest has been cooking dinners too. It’s been raining outside, and I have no time to enjoy it :( . I’m missing watching MasterChef on TV :( . I am craving for my end of the month vacation. I hope for it to be my much needed relief. Until then, my blog will have to be my only source of relaxation. *End of ranting*

Now, back to my sane self. Forgive me, sometimes “Hyper-Stressed out-Worried Anu” makes an appearance here. This post is going to cater to those with lack of time – like me. One pot meal. The answer to a busy night. I know the name sounds simply Exotic. I’ll let you in on a secret *hush* it is only coriander rice *hush*. Yup, you heard it right. Coriander/Cilantro is abundantly available in India, albeit it’s gotten really costly off late. I pay Rs.40 for a bunch :( in Bangalore. I did try growing it. It grew too, though not enough to suffice and the heavy rains killed almost half of my saplings :( . Too many sad smileys. Isn’t that an oxymoron? Sad smiley. Or is there a more appropriate name for it?

For a lot of communities, rice is a side dish and the main is something else. But for us Indians, especially South Indians, rice is the star. Everything else is a side dish. I have seen a lot of friends for whom a meal isn’t complete if they don’t have a spoonful  of curd rice at the end. If you have never seen a paddy field, I suggest you do see one, especially in or after the monsoons. That is probably the brightest green nature can throw at you. It really relaxes the eyes and the mind.

The original Mexican rice obviously uses Mexican chillies, I had no time to find exotic chillies, so I just used the regular desi chillies. They are probably a little spicier than their Mexican counterparts, so use it carefully to match your taste buds.

I toyed with the idea of different accompaniments and finally settled on the spicy potato fry. I did seriously consider the raita, but gave it to my greediness of having some fried potatoes *feeling guilty*

So on a slightly free weeknight, we enjoyed a part Mexican and part Indian meal of Green rice with spicy fried potatoes watching another exciting episode of MasterChef. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Mexican Green Rice with Spicy Fried Potatoes

Rice flavored with Coriander and Spinach served with spicy fried potatoes 

Recipe Type:  Main Course
Cuisine:          Mexican
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     60 minutes
Yield:              2 servings

Ingredients:

Mexican Green Rice:

3/4 cup Basmati Rice
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup spinach leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic
1-2 green chillies
4 tsp oil
1 Onion
1 tsp Lemon juice
1.5 cups Water
Salt

Spicy Fried Potatoes:

2 Potatoes
3 tsp oil
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
4-5 Curry leaves
Salt

Method:

Mexican Green Rice:

• Wash and drain the rice.
• Lay it out on a towel to dry.
• Grind the spinach, coriander, garlic. onion and green chillies into a coarse paste
• Heat oil in a pan/kadhai and add the rice
• On a medium flame fry the rice until it is slightly golden appx. 5 mins
• Add the green paste, water and salt
• Cover and cook on low flame until the rice is cooked
• Add lime juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot

Spicy Fried Potatoes:

• Peel and chop the potatoes
• Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds
• Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and the potatoes
• Add the spices and salt and mix well
• Cover and cook until the potatoes are done
• You can have this with roti/chapati also