Crispy lemon rice & quick fresh red onion pickles


The following two mini-recipes complement the cauliflower curry feast, which is based on the recipe for a vegan version of murgh makhani also known as butter chicken.

The background text and the recipe for the main course can be found here: click

I love oven-baked rice. The crunchy layer on the bottom of the pan, sides and the entire top of the rice turns a simple dish into the true comfort food. I appreciate baked rice even more, especially when my dinner plans already include preheating the oven: I put this rice bake lower down in the oven (e.g. when cauliflower is baked in the upper part of the oven for the already mentioned curry) and after 30 minutes the entire dinner is ready.

A few more words about the onion-lemon romance: this is probably the healthiest and quite smart way to prepare quick pickles. The trick is very universal and is mostly to make the onion spiciness bit weaker & lighter while keeping its full flavour. If I decide to add onion to any kind of salad, I like to sprinkle it with lemon or lime and massage the juice into the onion. Then the taste of it is more …elegant? So, the juice from one lemon, a little salt and a bit of any sweetener and in a few minutes we can prepare beautiful pink pickles made of red onion, which go very well with sandwiches, salads or creamy curry dishes.

• 1 cup of rice
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 3 tbsp of oil
• Zest of a whole lemon
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• A good pinch of pepper
• 2 cups of boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. In a large frying pan (preferably one that you can put in the oven), heat the oil, add chopped garlic cloves and lemon zest. Fry for a minute, then add turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix everything.

2. Take the pan off the heat. Add a cup of raw rice and mix it thoroughly in the aromatic oil.

3. Boil water in a kettle. Just before placing the pan in the oven, pour boiling water over the rice.

4. Bake at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. You can bake the rice at the same time as the cauliflower for vegan butter chicken curry.

• 2 red onions
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• Juice from a half of lemon

1. Peel the onions and cut them in half lengthwise. Then, cut them into very thin slices.

2. Put the chopped onions in a bowl or a small jar, add the remaining ingredients. Mix everything thoroughly.

3. Serve after a few minutes. They taste great with freshly ground pepper and coriander leaves. Store in a closed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.