Easy Hearty Indian Rice Bowl

As a South Indian, I have undying love for- you guessed it, RICE. The fact that I can probably go through a kilo of it without blinking, the switch from white to brown rice was really necessary for me. Brown rice is rich in vitamins and minerals and is a great source of dietary fibre apart from being gluten-free. My family switched to brown rice a couple of years ago, and I must say, I love it. I cannot go back to feeling bloated and full with white rice again.

A concept that I loved from my travels is- Burrito bowls (and rice bowls in general). I'd say this recipe is a fusion of both. I'm excited for you guys to try this, it's super quick, easy and super yum. It is also perfect for the summer because of the mint raita. Do let me know what you guys would like me to make next. If I can, I most certainly will. Also, If you make this, be sure to share your pictures on Instagram with the #thatgoodlifethough or tag me. I would love to see your creations. Aand Let's get started:

Serves Uno

You will need:

Brown rice- 1 cup cooked

Onion-1 sliced vertically (quarter of which should be very thin slices)

Broccoli(8-10 florets)

Carrot- 1 (julienned)

Yellow pepper- Half (sliced vertically)

Red pepper- Half (sliced vertically)

Green pepper- 1 (sliced vertically)

Baby corn- 3 (halved and sliced vertically)

Zucchini- 4cm long piece (sliced horizontally and halved)

Tomato- 1 medium sized chopped

Hot sauce/ Red Chilli Sauce- 1 tsp

Indian curd- 1 tbsp

Mint chutney- 1/2 tsp

Coriander- 8-10 stalks (stems removed, washed well and finely chopped)

Peanuts- A handful

Cooking olive oil (I use OLEEV)- 2 tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Italian seasoning- 1 tsp

Salt and pepper to taste.

A cooking pan and a grill pan

POA:

Begin by making the raita. Whip up the curd in a small bowl roughly using a spoon and add the mint chutney, followed by the chopped tomatoes. Mix and refrigerate this while you make the rice and veggies.

Take half a tbsp of oil and coat the grill pan and dump the broccoli, peppers, carrot, zucchini, babycorn, thick cut onions. Coat the veggies with half a tbsp oil. Add on the salt, pepper and italian seasoning and grill on each side for about 5 minutes on a low flame till each side is slightly browned ( you may even grill in an oven on a baking tray/ sauté in another pan)

Next, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a small pan and add the thinly sliced onions. Sauté for a minute and add in the peanuts( TIP: Use preroasted to make it speedy). Cook for half a minute more, till onions and peanuts are browned. Add in the turmeric, coriander, chilli powders followed by salt to taste. Cook for about half a minute and add in the rice. Fold well so that all the rice is coated in the spices. Add in the lemon juice and chopped coriander. Cook for another minute, stir this up well once and take the pan off the flame.

Plating:

To a deep bowl, first add in the rice as the bottom layer. Add the vegetables on top of this, on one side and the yogurt on the other. Garnish with coriander and hot sauce and make sure you get all the layers in each spoon and devour! Rich, crunchy and refreshing :)