Cooking It Up with Amira Basmati Rice! Great Recipes for Holiday Cooking!

Have you heard about the “2016 Dish of the Year”? Offered at a modest Los Angeles eatery, Baroo’s Kimchi Fried Rice is this year’s title-holder. So, what exactly makes up the award-winning dish? For starters, Amira Basmati Rice. Check out Baroo’s website to see the image of the Kimchi Fried Rice!

The award-winning dish, the Kimchi Fried Rice is made with Amira Basmati rice. Sourced from the foothills of the Himalayas, Amira has established and maintained its position as one of the world’s leading Basmati rice brands, and is a protected product of equivalent status to other foods with a GI tag, such as champagne. Amira Basmati rice is all natural, kosher, gluten-free and non-GMO. The brand has established and maintained its position as one of the world’s leading basmati rice brands.

Though long-grain basmati rice is an unlikely base for traditional kimchi fried rice dishes, Amira basmati rice is the foundation of Baroo’s prized plate, which includes fermented pineapple kimchi, sous vide egg, gremolata, pineapple jalapeno salsa, purple potato chips, roasted seaweed, toasted buckwheat, quinoa and microgreens. Amira Basmati rice is also featured in another popular Baroo option, the “Asian Fever” dish.

While I couldn’t get Amira rice’s people or PR to divulge the recipe for either dish (and I didn’t expect them to, but one does want to ask about it), they did offer to share with me a variety of recipes that I am sharing with you right now.

Amira Paella with Peppers, Chorizo & Chicken

Prep Time: 25 Mins Cooking Time: 35 Mins Serves: 6

What You Need: INGREDIENTS:

• Pinch Saffron Threads
• 6 Large Chicken Thighs
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 Links of Chorizo Sausage, Diced
• 2 Medium Onions, Chopped
• 2 Peppers, Chopped
• 12 Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
• 1/2 Tsp Spanish Smoked Paprika
• 1 1/3 Cup Amira Natural Basmati or Amira Smoked Basmati (for Extra Smokey Flavor)
• 300 ml Chicken stock
• 200 ml Dry White Wine (or stock)
• 1 Cup Frozen Peas
• Chopped Bunch Flatleaf Parsley
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Lemon in Wedges, to Serve

What To Do: Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Sprinkle the saffron threads into a small heatproof glass or bowl and pour over 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Set aside to infuse.
3. Add the oil to a large heavy-based heatproof casserole and set over a medium-high heat.
When it is hot, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and fry without turning for 5 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden.
Turn the chicken over and add the chorizo, and fry together for a further 5 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat a little before adding the onions and peppers and frying for a further 10 minutes before stirring through the tomatoes, garlic and smoked paprika and Amira Natural Basmati Rice.
Fry for another minute or two making sure all the rice grains are well coated in the juices in the pan.
Pour in the stock and wine, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stirring well and making sure the rice is completely submerged.
Cover with a tight fitting lid or snuggly tucked piece of foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
5. Remove, stir through the peas and most of the parsley, recover and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Serve immediately, with a little extra parsley scattered on top and lemon wedges to squeeze over.

The excellent grain separation of Amira Natural Basmati makes it the perfect choice for this easy but delicious baked paella dish. Perfect for informal entertaining this colorful dish is packed full of Mediterranean sunshine flavors

Amira Vietnamese Rice and Prawn Cucumber Salad

Prep Time: 10 Mins Cooking Time: 20 Mins Serves: 6
What You Need: INGREDIENTS:
For the Rice
• 1 1/2 Cup Amira Natural Basmati
• 1 tsp Vegetable Oil

For the Dressing
• 2 Limes, Juiced
• 2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 tsp Granulated Sugar
• 2 Shallots, Finely Chopped
• 1-2 Small Chilis, Finely Sliced
• 1 Bunch Coriander, Chopped
• 1 Bunch Chives, Snipped
• Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Salad
• 1/2 Cup Cashews
• 1 Lb, Shelled King Prawns
• 2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup of Snow Peas, finely sliced
• Half Julienned Large Cucumber
• 1 Red Pepper, finely diced

What To Do: Preparation:
1. Rinse the Amira Basmati under running cold water and add to a bowl.
Cover well with cold water and set aside to soak for 30 minutes. Drain well.
Heat a little oil in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid.
Once it is hot, pour in the drained rice and stir fry for 30 seconds to coat each grain lightly in oil.
Pour in boiling water from the kettle so that it comes just 1 centimeter above the level of the rice.
Stir well and bring up to the boil. Cover with the lid and set the timer to boil for just one minute.
Turn off the heat and, without removing the lid, reset the timer for 13 minutes.
Remove the lid and fork through the rice grains which will have absorbed all the water and become light and fluffy.

2. While the basmati rice is cooking, prepare the dressing.
Add the lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
Stir through the shallots, chilis, coriander, and chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Set a small frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the cashew nuts.
Fry for a few minutes to toast, then roughly chop, and add to the dressing.
Reduce the heat a little and add a little oil to the frying pan.
Add the garlic and prawns and stir fry until the prawns are cooked through, then pour into the dressing stirring well to mix.
4. Add the snow peas, cucumber and pepper to the bowl and mix well.
Finally, add the cooked basmati, still hot, and fork through gently.
Eat while still warm, or allow to cool and eat chilled.

These two recipes look — and sound– absolutely yummy! I can’t wait to try the rice, prawn and cucumber salad. I imagine it would be phenomenal hot during the winter and have an even more exotic taste when served chilled during the summer! The paella sounds downright luscious. Wow!!

For all you foodies and cooks out there, if you make one or both of these recipes, let me know how it worked out. Would love to see any photos or hear about your results!!

Find out more about Amira Basmati Rice and the entire collection of rice products that the brand has HERE:
http://www.amira.net/

AMIRA is an international producer of Packaged Food, Indian Specialty Basmati Rice with over 200 SKU’s, with sales in over 60 countries. AMIRA offers an extensive portfolio of brands that have been carefully developed to appeal to local markets around the world.

Thanks to Amira Basmati Rice for the great recipes and the tip-off to Baroo winning the “2016 Dish of the Year” competition!!

Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEALS and STEALS(Affiliate Links)
I am an “affiliate” with these brands. I curate deals that offer bonuses, bargains and great products –and some are very specifically for this site to feature to YOU!
If you purchase via my link, I make a very small percentage for that purchase. I pick the best products, vendors and deals I can find!

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:
Powered by FeedBurner

If you are going to feature content from LA-Story.com including images, podcasts or videos including the accompanying text, please respect copyright provisions. We require a notation of content origination (meaning credit tag), a linkback to the specific page & please email the link to stevie@la-story.com before the piece goes live. LA-Story.com, LA-Story Recessionista, Celebrity Stylescope, Celebrity Style Slam Trademark/Copyright KBP Inc, 2019