fourservings‘Dump and Bake rice (quick and easy)’- this is as easy as dumping everything into a casserole or cast iron pan and bake. Being a wife and mother, multi tasking is very important. Therefore, I always go for quick and easy recipes or those meals which give me room to attend to other things while preparing them. This is one of those.
‘You can never sow rice and expect to harvest maize’
An African Proverb
What type of rice should you use?
This recipe is best made with long grain rice or Basmati rice; they remain fluffy when cooked. More often, I always go for the long grain rice because, I do not like the aroma of Basmati rice.
Most importantly, do not use Jasmine rice. It gets sticky when cooked. Also, brown rice, paella rice, wild rice, risotto rice will not work for this recipe.
Stock/Broth:
For this recipe, I used chicken stock. Vegetable or beef stock are also good options. If you cook very often, then it is easy to always have home made stock at home. Boil your vegetables, beef, chicken and preserve the stock. If not, it is okay to use store bought stock.
Vegetables: Am I the only one who does not use frozen vegetables? I love the crunch I get when I cook fresh vegetables and unfortunately, I do not get that with frozen vegetables. If frozen vegetables is what you have available, please go ahead and use them. Plus, it saves time.
Mushrooms:
White button, Crimini, Portobello, Shiitake, Chanterelle, Wild ear etc. You can use any mushroom of choice in this recipe.It is also a great option to use a variety of mushrooms.
What kind of Beef or Chicken can be added to this recipe?
Tender beef cuts, like sirloin,rib-eye and tenderloin, are great for this recipe because, they can be diced or cut into strips and stir-fried. If chicken is your preference, then boneless chicken thighs or boneless chicken breast should be your cut.
Watch detailed recipe video below:
Baked rice
Equipment
- 1 cast iron pot or a casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups long grain rice
- 3 cups stock (vegetable, chicken or beef)
- 2 cups coconut water
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 garlic cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 2 cups water (use only if all the liquid in your rice dries off and it is still uncooked)
Sauteed vegetables
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1½ cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced green beans
- ½ cup diced onions
- 1 cup mu-err or wild ear mushrooms
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vegetable seasoning
Instructions
- In a cast iron pot with a lid, add washed rice, stock, coconut water, curry powder, black pepper, salt, garlic, bay leaves and thyme.Mix everything together.
- For a faster bake: Place in the oven with lid off and bake at 200°c for 15 minutes. Then cover and bake for another 10 minutes. Add water in intervals if the liquid has been absorbed and it is still uncooked.
- For a slower bake: Place in the oven with lid on and bake for 40 minutes. Add water in intervals if the liquid has been absorbed and it is still uncooked.
Preparing vegetables:
- While rice is baking, add oil to a hot skillet. Then add all vegetables, salt and seasoning. Toss for 5 minutes on high heat. Make sure to not let it overcook.
- Add vegetables to cook rice, mix to incorporate.
- Enjoyyy.
