Cranberry Rice - Another Version

First time I ever tasted anything with cranberries was 11+ years ago. I was new to this country and I had met a nice lady Sumathi who lived in the same apartment complex as we did. She had made cranberry Thokku which I haven't yet blogged, but will be soon. I liked the tartness of it and that is how my experiments with cranberries started.

Apart from making the same thokku, the first experiment I did with these berries was by making rice. Check out my another version of Cranberry Rice which is based on South Indian Flavor. I have made chutney, gojju out of it. And this is another version of rice but an easier one. No roasting and grinding the spices are involved in it.

One Year Back -  Gobi Manchurian
Ingredients:
Rice - 1 1/2 cups uncooked (I used Basmati, you could use any long grain rice)
Frozen/Fresh green peas/ mixed vegetables - 2 cups (I used frozen mixed vegetables)
Cranberries - 2 cups rinsed and picked (Fresh)
Red Onion - 2 medium chopped into 1/2" strips (optional)
Oil - 4 TBSP
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red gram dal/Chana dal - 1 TBSP
Urad dal - 1/2 TBSP
Peanuts - 1/4 - 1/3 cup (You can use cashews instead)
Green Chillies - 15 chopped fine or slit lengthwise (It wasn't hot at all, but use as per your taste)
Curry leaves - few
Cilantro - chopped about 1/4 cup
Sugar or Jaggery - 2 TBSP (optional but recommended - See Notes)
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - a big pinch

Method:
Cook rice with frozen vegetables with a pinch of salt added to it. Spread on a plate to cool down. Separate the grains with a fork. Set aside to cool completely. (You could skip this if you have left over rice and separate the grains and use and add vegetables directly to the oil)

In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add curry leaves, green chillies. Let them toast. Add red gram dal, urad dal and peanuts. Keep stirring to avoid over browning. When all of these are toasted, add onions. Sprinkle some salt, turmeric and let it wilt. When onions are cooked, add cranberries and let them pop or burst. If there are any un popped berries, stir so that they are directly on the pan surface and the heat will pop them up. You could aid by pressing on them with a spatula too.
When all the berries have popped, add sugar and stir and let them stay on low heat for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and veggie mixture and mix gently. Add cilantro, adjust the seasonings and mix everything well and turn off the heat. Serve warm, at room temperature.

Notes:
You could add any vegetable of your choice. All I had was a bag of half used mixed vegetables which I used. Even though some people might think sugar is not good in the savory dishes, it has a very important role in this dish. It mellows the raw tartness of the cranberries but doesn't reduce the effect of it.

To make this dish in a non-Indian kitchen:
Heat oil and when hot, add some nuts of your choice and  toast them. Add  onions and saute them. Add hot sauce or red chilli flakes to taste. Add frozen mixed vegetables or just green peas, cranberries, sugar as per the above explanation and add cooked rice. Mix them and garnish with herb of your choice. You could add some garlic along with onions if you like garlic. A one pot healthy vegetarian meal can't be any easier than this.

Enjoy!! Pin It