Vegetable Fried Rice ~ Spicy Gingery & Garlicky

What would you do with leftover rice? I usually end up having it with some pickle and yogurt. Sometimes i try to use leftover rice to make a complete sumptuous nutritional meal. What could be more nutritious than loading up simple rice with tons of vegetables anf flavoring it up with ginger, garlic and cilantro? I exactly did the same thing with my leftover rice, added an array of vegetables on hand like Carrots, Napa Cabbage, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Beans, Peppers, Onions, Green Peas etc and jazz it up with Green chillies, Ginger and Garlic.

Usually i find it hard cooking up Indian curries with carrots, but i like to have carrots raw or in fried rice or noodles. Using carrots in this fried rice adds a burst of color, crunch and never forget the nutrition. Coming to cabbage, i usually use regular green cabbage, last week my husband accidentally brought Napa Cabbage and i wasn't sure what to cook with it. I found Napa Cabbage to be more delicate in texture and flavor than its stronger sturdier cousins.This cabbage is perfect for stir-fries, soups or in salads or coleslaw. From now on i would like to use Napa cabbage instead of Green Cabbage in my stir fries for noodles and rice. Adding tomatoes gives that sourness, cucumber for crunch and black pepper for that little extra spice..

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Basmati rice( i used leftovers )
• 1 tomato chopped
• 2 Carrots cut as discs
• 15 Green beans - french cut
• 1/4 Napa cabbage cut lengthwise
• 1 small Onion - chopped length wise
  
• 1 medium Green Pepper
• 1/2 Red Pepper( i didn't have on hand though, optional )
• 3-4 Green Chillies - chopped
  
• 1 inch Ginger root - chopped
  
• 2 Garlic cloves - chopped
  
• 1/4 cup Green Peas
• 2 tsp Soya Sauce
• 1-2 tbsp oil
  
• Half cucumber( English cucumber )
• Black pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Wash the basmati rice and cook according to package instructions. You can use any rice on hand, i like this basmati long grain rice better though
• Prep all the vegetables, wash, clean. chop and keep aside
• In a kadai / stir fry saute pan heat oil on high heat. Add onions ans saute for 30 sec
• Now add ginger, garlic, green chillies, carrots and beans, stir in some salt too, as salt speeds up the process of cooking
  
• After stir frying for 2 mins, add green pepper and green peas
• Once the veggies are half cooked i.e, veggies should still be crispy yet without the raw smell, add Napa cabbage, tomato, cucumber  and stir fry for a min or so.
• Lower the heat and add cooked rice, ground black pepper and soy sauce
• Add cilantro and adjust salt to taste

My vegetable fried rice is so versatile you can mix and match the veggies you like. Go ahead and add tofu for that extra protein boost. Have it steaming hot with some Spicy Maggi Sauce or Sri Racha hot Sauce.

My simple spicy vegetable fried rice is on its way to:

• Single Serving event hosted by Spicy Rasam
• Think Spice - Think Pepper hosted by Divya Vikram
• AFAM: Cucumber hosted by Resh
• Garnishing tips and techiniques for Indian food
• FIC event hosted by Neha