Basil Mint Rice

My theory - all herbs have love-hate relation with people.  Number of people who like an herb is almost equal to number of people who hate it. This doesn't apply to just cilantro. It applies to all herbs and it is so true for basil in my place. My husband doesn't like basil and I do.

 I have few herb, vegetable plants in my yard. One of them is basil. I sometimes make pasta with it but I either end up eating it for couple of days by myself or I have to give it away to one of my neighbors. I wanted to use up that basil and come up with something which I won't be eating for days. I should say it was a success since all of what I made was used up within 30 minutes of making it.

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup cooked and cooled. (I used Sona masoori, but basmati works better for this recipe)
Red Onions - 3 small or 2 medium or 1 large sliced
Tomato - 1 big cut into chunks
Basil - chopped roughly and measured 1/2 cup
Mint - 1/2 cup (remove the fibrous stalk part)
Green chillies - 8 or as per taste
Salt - to taste
Vegetable Oil - 3 TBSP
Bay Leaf - 1 (dry)
Cinnamon - 1" stick
Black Pepper - 10 corns
Cloves - 6
Garlic - 2 pods chopped finely
Carrot - 3 medium ones peeled and sliced into discs
Zucchini - 1 medium sliced thin
Edamame - 1/2 - 3/4 cup (optional - frozen or you could use green peas or corn)

Method:
In a skillet, heat oil. When hot, add bay leaf followed by cinnamon, pepper, cloves, garlic. When garlic is wilted, add chopped onions. Sprinkle some salt and stir. Let the onions cook. When the onions are almost done, add the carrots, edamame or peas if using. Let them all cook. Meanwhile, take the basil, mint, tomato, green chillies and grind into a paste. You will not need any water so don't add any. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add thinly sliced zucchini and saute. Pour the ground paste to the pot and let it cook. When the zucchini is also cooked, adjust the salt and add cooked rice. Mix well and cover and leave it on very low flame for about 3 - 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Serve as is or with some raita or plain yogurt.

Notes:
You do not have to use rice. Pasta works very well here. Cook pasta till al-dente and add. You can use brown rice, bulgar, couscous, broken wheat in place of rice. You can use any vegetable of your choice. If you don't want it to be spicy, you can leave out green chillies completely or add a little bit of cayanne to the vegetable mixture while sauteing.You can use only basil if you like. I did not have too much basil so I paired with the mint in my garden.

Enjoy!!