Easy Curry Rice – Pantry Meal

One of the many wonderful things about this delicious and aromatic Curry Rice is that it’s so versatile. It’s full of soooooo much flavor and warmth yet you can adjust the heat level to your family’s liking.

It’s adaptable and can be the perfect side dish for just about any main meal dish. You can’t go wrong with a pantry staple meal or side dish these days. Not having to spend more money or make a trip to the market is always a plus.

And whipping up this side dish in just 30 minutes with nothing but pantry staple ingredients is the icing on the cake.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS CURRY RICE RECIPE

• Packed with Flavor. Delicious flavoring from the onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder and other spices. Need I say more? Add in the crunch of some sweet peas and this Curry Rice is a total game-changer.  
• Better Than Takeout. While I do love the ease of takeout meals for the family on busy nights, takeout isn’t always an option. This Curried Rice can be tossed together in less time than it takes to call in the order, run to the restaurant and get back home with it. Plus, it’s still hot when you serve it- takeout isn’t always nice, fresh and hot.
• You Know the Ingredients. One of the downsides of takeout or prepackaged, premade food is that you don’t always know the ingredients. Making your own Curry Rice ensures that you know exactly what goes in your tasty dish.

• Meal Prep. This is an amazing dish to use for meal prep. Easy to prepare ahead, keeps well in the fridge and freezer. Keep reading to get make ahead and meal prep tips.
• Great Side Dish for Just About Anything. Curried Rice goes amazingly well with other kitchen staple meals, like Dahls, Curry recipes,  Roasted Chicken or Fish and even a quick and easy can of tuna or salmon. I’ve got more tasty recipe recommendations below.
• Adaptable. Remember, this is made with pantry ingredients. Don’t have a specific ingredient on hand, feel free to substitute it out for what you have on hand.

One of my favorite ways to make this Curry Rice is with roasted unsalted cashews, yogurt and a teaspoon of pickled eggplant (aubergine). It’s a complete and flavorful meal. #yougottatryit

Curried Rice Recipe Ingredients

• olive oil
• frozen diced onion (or a medium fresh onion)
• garlic
• ginger
• yellow curry powder
• coriander
• paprika
• basmati rice
• soft dried apricots
• vegetable broth
• frozen peas
• salt

How to Make Curried Rice on the Stovetop

1. Heat oil and sauté onions for about 5 mins until soft. Quickly stir in minced garlic and minced ginger for 30 secs until fragrant.
2. Stir in curry powder, coriander and paprika for another 30 secs.
3. Then add the drained rice, apricots and peas followed by broth and salt to taste.
4. Cover and cook on medium heat until water almost evaporates. This can take around 10 mins, depending on your heat setting.
5. Then reduce heat to the lowest setting on your stove and let cook (steam) for another 10 mins until fluffy and rice grains are soft.
6. Let stand for a couple more minutes then mix, and serve topped with roasted cashews and other toppings of choice, if desired.

How to Make Curried Rice Using Rice Cooker

1. Complete steps 1 and 2 as listed above.
2. Transfer everything, including ingredients in step 3, to the rice cooker and cook.

Chef’s Tip: Using a rice cooker to finish off the recipe can make this super flavorful, even-better-than-takeout rice curry even more amazing since you don’t have to keep an eye on it.

Recipe Tips

• If not vegan, add in a dash of butter, ghee or even use chicken broth in place of the vegetable broth.
• If you don’t have yellow curry powder, you can use about a ½ tsp or so of turmeric instead.
• Make sure your rice is dried well, otherwise your it will turn out soggy. See the section below to learn how to dry your rice properly.
• Make sure to use low-sodium vegetable broth, otherwise it will end up too salty with the combined salt in the recipe. If using broth with sodium, you may want to eliminate the salt from the recipe altogether.
• Don’t use a fork to fluff your rice as it will break the longer grains.

MAKE AHEAD AND MEAL PREP

Making time for meal prep is a great way to save time (and your sanity) when it reaaalllly counts. Preparing healthy and tasty meals that are ready to serve or eat on the go helps you stay on track with your healthy eating goals, and keeps your budget in check too.

And this recipe for Curry Rice is a great meal prep solution. It is fast and easy to make up a batch (or two) to use for meal prep throughout the week.

And since it will stay fresh and tasty stored in the fridge for several days you will have a tasty, satisfying meal ready to serve right when you need it most.

CAN YOU FREEZE THIS?

This Curry Rice recipe is a great meal prep solution. It’s sooooo easy to freeze to use later. Here’s how:

1. Make sure the curry rice is completely cooled.
2. Add to an airtight meal prep container or ziploc bag and label.
3. Place the bag or container flat in the freezer.
4. Your Curried Rice can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.

FAQs

What Kind of Curry Powder Should You Use?

There are many different kinds of curry powder. Depending on the overall flavoring you’re going for with your dish will determine which one you should use.

For this Curry Rice Recipe, I recommend using Yellow Curry Powder. It tends to be a more mild curry powder. If you’re looking for a bit more heat, you can add in other spices.

Chef’s Tip: Have you tried my Jamaican Curry Powder recipe? This super easy DIY seasoning blend adds an authentic Caribbean flavor to this rice dish.

What Kind of Rice Should You Use?

There are various kinds of rice you can use. For this recipe, I recommend using Basmati rice. It is the least sticky of all rice, which is what you want for this recipe. Rinsing the rice helps get rid of any of the excess starch that would usually try to stick together when cooking.

Basmati rice is long, slender-grained rice that originated from the Indian subcontinent. Basmati rice contains a good amount of a particular aroma compound that is also found in foods like fruits and cheese. It’s this compound that gives Basmati rice its lovely spicy and nutty aroma and flavor that we love in this Rice Curry.

Why Is It Soggy or Watery?

Curry Rice turned out soggy or too watery? Then you’ll need to make sure the rice is drained and dried properly. If you are unsure, try reducing the broth by a couple of tablespoons. You can also dry fry the rice to remove moisture.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

As a reminder, this is a recipe made with pantry staple ingredients. That’s another reason this recipe is so wonderful – it’s adaptable. If you find yourself out of anything needed or have a taste for something different, here are some substitutions or variations you can try:

• Vegetables: sweet corn, grated carrots or snap peas
• Nuts: toasted almonds or pine nuts
• Favorite Toppings: roasted unsalted cashews, yogurt and pickled eggplant.
• Frozen vs. Fresh Ingredients: substitute fresh ingredients if you have them on hand for the frozen onions, peas or any other added veggies you may choose.

Serving Suggestions

• Air Fryer Vegetable Kabobs.
• Garlic Mushroom Steaks.
• Jamaican Goat Curry (if not vegan).

More Rice Recipes

• Easy Greek Rice.
• 15-minute Pineapple Fried Rice.
• Instant Pot Rice – 4 Ways.

Weight Watchers Points

There are 9 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.

Thank you for reading my Curry Rice recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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