Curried Rice Salad

This curried rice salad is an explosion of bold flavors and textures from around the world. Easy to make, gluten free, and very refreshing!

Course Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Cook Time 45

Total Time 43

Servings people

Calories 396

Author Timothy Pakron

Ingredients

Curried Baked Rice

2 cups white basmati rice
2 ½ cups water
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 heaping tablespoons fresh ginger finely chopped or grated
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon avocado or coconut oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 bay leaves fresh or dried

Roasted Chickpeas

1 13.5-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Drizzle avocado oil
3 teaspoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Big pinch sea salt
Few cracks black pepper

Lime Dressing

3 limes juiced, plus 1 sliced to garnish
4 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon tamari
1-3 Thai chilies thinly sliced (or a pinch crushed red pepper flakes)
⅓ cup red onions or scallions/chives, finely chopped

Toasted Coconut & Garlic

3 tablespoons avocado or coconut oil
1 heaping cup shredded coconut or coconut flakes
6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
Pinch sea salt

Final Garnishes

1 ½ cups lettuce or cabbage thinly sliced (optional)
¾ cup fresh mint roughly chopped
¾ cup fresh parsley or cilantro roughly chopped
1 3.5-oz container crispy onions (about 1 ½ cups)

Instructions

Prepare the oven and rice: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450°F (230°C). Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water is mostly clear. Drain well and transfer to a baking dish.
Combine the ingredients and bake: To the dish with the rinsed rice, add the water, curry powder, ginger, rice vinegar, avocado or coconut oil, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves. Mix well and tightly place the lid (or foil) on top. Bake for 30 minutes, then give it a taste for doneness. (If it’s not done, return it to the oven for 5-10 minutes.) Once it’s cooked, gently fluff the rice and crack the lid (or foil) over top. Let it steam, partially covered, for 10 minutes, then transfer the rice to a large serving dish (pick a beautiful one!) and fluff it up again to help it cool slightly. While the rice bakes and cools, continue on to the next steps.
Prepare the chickpeas: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, then transfer the rinsed chickpeas to the baking sheet. Add a generous drizzle of avocado oil, then sprinkle over the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper and mix well. (For best results, wait until the rice is out of the oven to bake the chickpeas.) Once the rice is out of the oven, keep it at 450°F and bake the chickpeas for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly crispy and golden all over. Once done, transfer the chickpeas to the serving dish over the rice. (While the rice and chickpeas cook, you can continue on to the next steps.)
Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine the juice of 3 limes with the agave nectar, tamari, sliced chilies (or red pepper flakes), and red onions (or scallions/shallots/chives). Mix well and set aside. Once the rice and chickpeas have been transferred to the serving dish, spoon the dressing over top.
Toast the coconut and garlic: Add the avocado or coconut oil to a medium skillet and place over slightly above medium heat. Immediately add the coconut and sliced garlic, along with a pinch of salt, so they begin to fry as the oil heats up. Cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the heat, and spread the toasted coconut and garlic over the dressed rice and chickpeas.
Garnish: If using, add the lettuce or cabbage over the dressed rice and chickpeas, then top with the chopped herbs and crispy fried onions.
Serve: Once ready to eat, gently toss all the layered ingredients together. Transfer to serving dishes and enjoy with a lime wedge to squeeze over top.

Notes

If you'd like to make this in advance, you can bake the rice and make the chickpeas earlier and keep them tightly-sealed in the fridge for a few days. To serve, you can warm them up in a hot skillet with a splash of water to steam everything and transfer them both to a serving platter. Then add the remaining ingredients. As for the add-ins, I would try to prepare them the same day as serving to make sure that they taste as fresh as possible. The dressing could be made in advance.

If serving this to a crowd, I would wait to add the crispy onions until right before serving. You want them to be super crunchy!

Nutrition