Aren’t these colors stunning? Sunny turmeric-spiced rice and bright crisp vegetables, hello! Let’s eat this rainbow, this incredibly delicious curried brown rice and veggie salad!
Green edamame, red pepper, orange carrots, purple cabbage, and crunchy cashews, tossed with savory tamari dressing and Indian curry rice–this salad hits a home run in the healthy, vegan and gluten free departments!
Click here to PIN Curried Brown Rice Salad with Toasted Cashews!
Above and beyond pre-mixed blends, this curry is from scratch. For maximum flavor, garlic and fresh ginger, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and ground turmeric are sautéed in coconut oil first. The spices, along with a fragrant cinnamon stick, are then cooked into the rice.
Edamame and cashews for a measure of protein, gorgeous nutritious confetti vegetables for crunch, and chopped dates for a bit of sweet, all tied together with an aromatic tamari and toasted sesame oil vinaigrette. This curried brown rice and veggie salad has everything you want in a vegetable-rice salad!
Curried Brown Rice and Veggie Salad notes:
- Make ahead: Cook the rice, mix the dressing, and prep the veggies earlier in the day or the day before. For maximum crunch, toss everything together closer to serving time.
- No edamame? Substitute (thawed) frozen peas.
- Toasted sesame oil (affiliate link) with its rich distinctive taste is often used as a flavor accent in Asian dishes. You’ll want to try my Sesame Shiitake Vinaigrette with Asian radish salad. You’ll also love the toasted sesame oil essence in Hot and Sour Miso Soup. I buy the 5-ounce bottle because I might take 3 months to use it.
- Gluten-free: Check the label to make sure your tamari is fermented soybeans, no part wheat.
- This salad is one of the reasons I keep yellow mustard seeds in my spice cabinet. They’re also an essential spice for the Pickled Red Onions in this Fennel and Orange Salad.
- Adapted from May All Be Fed: Diet for a New World.
About brown rice:
- Nutritious high-fiber brown rice has a light tan color, nutlike flavor and chewy texture. All brown rice, regular, basmati, or jasmine, takes longer to cook than white rice—sometimes it feels like an eternity. I usually buy basmati brown rice from the bulk bins at our natural food store, though the other day, searching Amazon, I saw that Trader Joe’s sells a quick-cooking (15-minute) basmati brown rice. Interesting. I didn’t use the quick-cooking for this recipe but I’ll be trying it the next time I make this curried rice and veggie salad.
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Curried Brown Rice and Veggie Salad with Toasted Cashews
Ingredients
Rice:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup brown basmati rice
Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce gluten-free
Add-ins:
- ½ cup chopped pitted dates or raisins
- 1 cup cooked shelled edamame soybeans, or 1 cup thawed frozen peas
- ½ red bell pepper, diced in ¼-inch pieces (about ½ cup)
- 1 carrot, grated
- ½ cup shredded purple or green cabbage
- 4 green onions, including 3 inches of the greens, sliced (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup toasted cashews
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir and cook until the mustard seeds begin to pop, about 30 seconds.
- Add the water and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, and lower the heat to the lowest setting possible.
- Cook without stirring 35 to 45 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed. (To see if the water has been absorbed or not, tilt the pan to the side.) Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.
- Using a fork, gently fluff the rice. Transfer to a bowl and remove the cinnamon stick.
- Whisk the rice vinegar, olive oil, toasted sesame oil, and tamari together. Pour over the rice. Mix in the dates, edamame, red pepper, carrot, cabbage, green onions, and toasted cashews. Taste, adding salt if you think it’s needed.
- Refrigerate until well chilled.
Loved it! And my family is picky. Took it to a potluck, everyone enjoyed this. · 28 August, 2021
Thank you! I’m delighted to know the recipe was a success for you and yours! · 30 August, 2021