Short grain brown rice - 1 to 1 1/2 cup, best is organic
One large yellow onion - chopped.
Curry paste or curry powder - red or yellow Indian (not Thai)
Olive oil
Cumin
Chili pepper
Sesame oil
Cilantro - chopped
Raisins - one cup
One apple - cored and chopped (not peeled)
Honey
Salt
Celery - chopped
Snow peas - stringy ends chopped off, then chopped
Bell pepper, red, green, or yellow - chopped
Green onions - chopped
Italics = optional ingredients
1 Prepare the brown rice.
Put rice in a big pot, add 1 3/4 cups of water for every cup of rice, bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat on very low, let simmer for 45 minutes, take off heat and keep covered for at least another 10 minutes.
2 Prepare onions and curry oil.
In a large saucepan put 1/4 cup of olive oil on medium high heat. Add a couple heaping tablespoons of curry paste (if it is mild) or add a couple of tablespoons of mild curry powder. Add a dash of chili pepper and cumin and a few drops of sesame oil if you have it. Let the curry simmer for a minute. Add the chopped yellow onion and cook until translucent.
3 Mix rice and onions.
In a large mixing bowl, put in the hot rice and then fold in the onions with the curry infused oil in which they were cooked. You'll need to use a strong wooden spoon to mix. Taste test the rice at this point. If it needs more curry flavor, heat some more curry powder, chili, and cumin in olive oil for a few minutes and add to the rice to desired spiciness.
4 Add other ingredients to taste - cilantro, raisins, apple, celery, snow peas, bell pepper, green onions. Add a couple tablespoons of honey. Add a dash of salt to taste.
5 Chill and serve. Serves 4 to 6.
The secret to this recipe is the cilantro, raisins, and chopped apple. Sesame oil is a nice touch.
You can also add shrimp, large or small, to it to make it more of a cold main salad dish.
The salad gets better the longer it sits in the fridge (to a point) because of the absorption of the curry oil. So it is a good idea to make a big batch because the leftovers are even better than the firsts!
