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One Pot Spinach Brown Rice with Chickpeas

The plant-based bowl of your dreams…

Everyone loves an efficient one-pot meal. But a great plant-based recipe is hard to come by. Food Impromptu’s recipe for a one pot spinach brown rice with chickpeas recipe is inspired by Greek spinach rice also known as Spanakorizo. It’s not just loaded with nutrition but also packs in a lot of flavour at once.

 

Ingredients: 

1 cup / 200g Brown rice - medium grain (if you are using long grain brown rice, adjust the cooking time accordingly, as it cooks faster than the medium grain rice) 
2 to 3 Tablespoon Olive Oil 
1+ 1/2 cup / 200g Onion - one medium size onion 
2 Tablespoon Garlic - 5 to 6 Garlic approx
1+1/2 cup / 350ml Strained tomatoes/Passata 
300g / 8 to 9 cups approx - Fresh Spinach - chopped 
4 cups / 1 Liter Water 1/4 Teaspoon Chilli flake (Optional)
2 cups / 1 Can (540 ml) Cooked chickpeas 3/4 cup / 20g Fresh Dill (If you like mild dill flavor add 1/2 cup) 
Salt to taste (I have added total 1+1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt) 

 

For the garnish

1/3 cup / 15g Parsley - finely chopped (Optional) 
Lemon juice to taste 
Black pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon) 
Drizzle of Olive oil - 1 to 2 Tbsp (organic cold pressed olive oil) 

 

Recipe

• Wash thoroughly and soak 1 cup of brown rice for 1 hour. 
• Heat a deep cooking. Add olive oil, onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fry the onion on medium-high heat until it just starts to caramelize, while stirring frequently. Adding salt to onion will release it's moisture and help it cook faster so please don’t skip it. 
• Once the onion has started to caramelize, reduce the heat to medium low (depending on the heat of your stove). Add the finely chopped garlic, chilli flakes and continue to fry for another 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant, while stirring frequently.
• Now add the strained tomatoes, spinach and mix well. Now drain the brown rice. Transfer the soaked rice, cooked chickpeas, salt, water and fresh dill to the pot and bring it to a vigorous boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked but still sightly firm. (We don't want mushy rice).
•  Uncover and turn the heat to medium high and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Garnish with Parsley, lemon juice and a good quality olive oil. The garnish will enhance the taste of this dish, so I highly recommend it. Serve hot
   

Important pointers:

• Thoroughly wash/soak the brown rice, this will get rid of any impurities/gunk 
• If you are using long grain brown rice adjust the cooking time accordingly, as it cooks faster than the medium grain rice
• Adding salt to onion will release it's moisture and will help it cook faster so please don’t skip it
• Turn the heat to medium-low to low before adding the garlic and spices, this will prevent it from burning
• Chop the spinach to prevent long strings of stem - To prevent the rice from getting mushy, check in about 20 to 25 minutes of cooking, to see if the rice is cooked, if not cover and cook a bit longer. We don't want to over cook the rice
• The garnish enhances the taste of this dish, so I highly recommend it 
• If you are using a different type of rice adjust the water and cooking time accordingly

^{[Recipe courtesy: Food Impromptu]}