Did you know that brown rice is one of the healthiest foods you can find at your home? And, believe it or not, it is much better than the white rice you generally eat. If you want to stay healthy and live long, then make sure you eat dishes made out of brown rice on a regular basis.
Oh yes, coming to the dishes – if you are not aware of the variety of foods you can prepare with brown rice, this post has you covered!
Ready to go? 3…2…1… and here you go…!
1. Brown Rice Dosa:
A healthy variant of the traditional South Indian breakfast delicacy, the brown rice dosa can be prepared just like the normal dosa. Pair it up with a chutney of your choice, sambar, or add some finely chopped onions, tomatoes, grated carrots, and coriander leaves for a heavy, nutritious morning meal.
Ingredients:
For The Batter:
- Brown rice – 2 cups
- Para boiled rice – 1 cup
- Urad dal – 1 cup
- Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
- Salt – to taste
For The Dosa:
- Sesame seed oil – as required
- How To Prepare:
- Wash both the rice variants together two or three times. Soak the rice for about 8 to 10 hours or overnight.
- Wash the urad dal thoroughly. Wash fenugreek seeds and soak them with urad dal for 8 to 10 hours or overnight.
- Grind urad dal with fenugreek seeds until light and fluffy, adding a little water at a time. Transfer to a deep vessel and keep aside.
- Grind soaked rice variants until smooth.
- Mix urad dal batter to rice and add salt as desired.
- Transfer to a vessel and keep aside for the batter to ferment for about 8 hours.
How To Prepare Dosa:- Place a non-stick tava on medium to high heat and coat it with a little sesame seed oil.
- Pour about 1/8 cups of dosa batter on the tava using a ladle and spread the batter into concentric circles.
- Add about ½ tsp oil and wait until the bottom portion gets cooked.
- Flip over to the other side and add more oil if required. Wait for a couple of minutes.
- Flip once more and fold the dosa.
- Serve hot with chutney and sambar.
Tips:- You can use any cooking oil or clarified butter for preparing the dosa.
- You can also use mashed potatoes as a filling to prepare masala dosa.
2. Chakkara Pongal:
Chakkara Pongal or sweet Pongal is a traditional Tamil Nadu delicacy prepared during the harvest festival, Pongal. A mixture of rice and split green gram lentils is cooked to perfection in milk, and then simmered in melted jaggery. This particular recipe has used brown rice in the place of raw rice.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 1 cup
- Split green gram dal – ½ cup
- Jaggery – ¾ cup to 1 cup, adjust according to sweetness
- Clarified butter – 2 tbsp + 3 tbsp
- Cashews – 1 tbsp, roughly broken
- Golden raisins – ½ tbsp
- Powdered cardamom – 1 tsp
- Milk – 3 cups
How To Prepare:- Wash brown rice thoroughly under running water and soak for about 40 minutes.
- Wash split green gram dal and drain well.
- In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of clarified butter.
- Add drained green gram dal and roast until golden brown.
- Add rice and dal to a large vessel and add milk. Cover the vessel.
- Pressure cook for 6 to 7 whistles so that the mixture can be mashed easily.
- Once the pressure subsides, remove the rice and dal mixture from the cooker and keep aside.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, melt jaggery with a little water.
- Add 2 tbsp clarified butter to the melted jaggery. Let the mixture boil for a minute.
- Mash the rice and dal mixture thoroughly.
- Add the rice and dal to the melted jaggery and simmer until mixture turns semi-solid.
- Meanwhile, in a small sautéing pan, heat rest of the clarified butter and roast cashews and raisins.
- Mix in cardamom powder and roasted cashews and raisins to the Pongal and serve hot.
3. Brown Rice Khichdi:
You need not be sick to taste khichdi. There is nothing to beat this comfort food of all time. Just sprinkle a little black pepper powder and mix in a teaspoon of clarified butter and relish it hot. Yummy!Ingredients:- Brown rice – 1 cup
- Split green gram dal – 1/3 cup
- Water – 3 cups
- Salt – to taste
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
For Seasoning:- Clarified butter – 2 tbsp
- Cashews – 1 tbsp, roughly broken
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder – to taste
How To Prepare:- Wash brown rice thoroughly under running water and soak for about 40 minutes.
- Wash split green gram dal and drain well.
- Mix rice and green gram dal and add water.
- Add turmeric powder and salt, and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles.
- Take out after the pressure subsides and keep aside.
- In a small sautéing pan, heat clarified butter.
- Add cumin seeds and allow to splutter.
- Add cashews and roast until golden.
- Mix in black pepper powder.
- Turn off the heat and pour this mixture over khichdi.
- Serve hot.
4. Brown Rice Adai:
Adai – a Tamil Nadu special delight – is packed with protein and is served alongside Avial [vegetables simmered in coconut milk-green chili base]. Lentils also can be used. The classical recipe uses raw rice and parboiled rice in equal proportions, but this recipe uses brown rice.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 1/3 cup
- Parboiled rice – 1/3 cup
- Black Urad dal – 1/3 cup
- Tuvar dal – 1/3 cup
- Chana dal – ¼ cup
- Moong dal – ¼ cup
- Green chilies – 4, finely chopped
- Red chilies – 4
- Black peppercorns – ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Curry leaves – 2 sprigs, leaves separated, finely chopped
- Asafetida – ¼ tsp
- Sesame seed oil – enough for preparing dosa
How To Prepare:- Wash rice thoroughly under running water.
- Mix all the dals in a small vessel and wash well.
- Soak the washed dals with rice and chilies overnight or for about 6 hours.
- Drain the excess water next day.
- Add chilies, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, salt and asafetida to the blender and crush.
- Mix in rice and dal, and grind to a slightly coarse mixture, adding rice as and when needed till you get a batter that is slightly thicker than that of a dosa.
- Mix in curry leaves and adjust seasoning.
- Place a non-stick tawa on medium to high flame and grease it lightly with sesame seed oil.
- Pour a ladle full batter on the center of the tawa and spread into concentric circles.
- Add the oil to the batter and wait for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the bottom turns slightly golden.
- Flip the dosa over and add more oil, if required. Cook for a couple of minutes more or until you notice brown spots on that side.
- Serve hot with avial or fresh curd.
5. Brown Rice Egg Biryani:
Sizzle up your lunch this weekend with this healthy, yet tasty egg biryani prepared using brown rice. Flavored richly with spices and cooked under pressure, this recipe is sure to wow the hearts of food aficionados.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 2 cups, washed, soaked for 30 minutes, drained
- Eggs – 2 + 4 [hard boiled, peeled, halved]
- Onion – 3, large, finely sliced
- Green chilies – 7, slit lengthways
- Tomatoes – 2, large, finely sliced
- Cloves – 10
- Bay leaf – 2
- Cinnamon – 2, 1-inch sticks
- Black peppercorns – 1 tbsp
- Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
- Garam masala – 2 tsp
- Curd – 2 tbsp
- Cooking oil – 1/4 cup
- Salt – to taste
- Coriander leaves – for garnishing
How To Prepare:- Heat oil in a frying pan placed on high flame.
- Add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and cardamom and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Mix in ginger garlic paste and sauté until golden.
- Add onions and slit green chilies and sauté until onions turn golden brown.
- Mix in tomatoes and sauté until tomatoes are slightly soft.
- Meanwhile, crack the two raw eggs into a small bowl and beat well.
- Mix in the beaten egg to the onion-tomato mixture and wait until the egg scrambles completely.
- Mix in curd and cook for a couple of minutes or until the mixture turns dry.
- Mix in garam masala powder.
- Add drained rice and salt to the mixture.
- Mix in boiled eggs.
- Meanwhile, boil 4 cups of water.
- Add water to the rice and egg mixture, cover the pan, and cook until rice is half cooked.
- Remove the lid and give a quick mix.
- Cover and cook for some more time or until rice is soft, and water is completely absorbed.
- Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.
6. Brown Rice Kheer:
Prepared by simmering cooked rice in milk, this traditional Indian pudding is a must for all festive occasions. There are countless ways of preparing this kheer and this one is the simplest. The soaked rice is cooked in the pressure cooker to simplify the efforts involved.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 1 cup, washed thoroughly and soaked for 30 minutes
- Milk – 3 ½ cups
- Sugar – 3 cups
- Powdered cardamom – ½ tsp
- Clarified butter – 2 tbsp
- Cashews – 2 tbsp, broken
- Raisins – 1 tbsp
How To Prepare:- Drain the soaked rice and add to a large vessel. Add milk to the rice.
- Cover the vessel and pressure cook for 3 whistles on high flame.
- Reduce the flame to low to medium and simmer the mixture for 40 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and keep aside. Wait until the pressure completely subsides.
- Take out the cooked rice mixture and mix in powdered cardamom.
- In a small frying pan, heat clarified butter. Add crushed cashews and roast until golden. Mix in raisins.
- Pour over the kheer and give a quick mix.
- Garnish with crushed pistachios and serve hot or cold.
7. Chicken Brown Rice Soup:
Warm up the cold winter nights with this fabulously simple and filling one pot meal option. It is a wonderful entr̩e recipe for your potluck too. So, what are your thoughts?Ingredients:- Low-sodium chicken broth Р4 cups, divided
- Red Onion – 1, medium, finely chopped
- Carrots – 4, medium, finely chopped
- Celery – 2 stalks, finely chopped
- Water – 2 cups
- Brown rice – 1 cup
- Chicken breast – 1 small, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
- Bay leaf – 1
- Collard Greens – 1 bunch, stems discarded, leaves finely chopped
How To Prepare:- Place a large pot filled with ½ cup chicken broth on medium to high heat. Simmer for a while.
- Mix in bay leaf, onions, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring now and then until onion turns translucent.
- Mix in rice, chicken breast pieces, water, and the rest of the broth.
- Let the mixture come to a boil.
- Lower the heat, cover the pot, and let the mixture simmer for about 40 minutes or until chicken is soft, and rice is tender.
- Discard the bay leaves and mix in collard greens.
- Simmer for about 5 more minutes or until collard greens wilt and turn tender.
- Turn off the heat.
- Spoon into soup bowls and sprinkle a little pepper powder and serve hot.
8. Brown Rice Salad:
Crispy and crunchy carrots, soft tofu, succulent tomatoes, green peas, red onions, and brown rice! The perfect and ultimate lunch delight!Ingredients:- Brown rice – 2 cups, cooked
- Carrots – 1/3 cup, chopped
- Cucumber – 1/3 cup, deseeded, chopped
- Celery – 1/3 cup, chopped
- Red Onion – 1/3 cup, chopped
- Fresh peas – 1 cup
- Basil – 1/8 cups, chopped
For Dressing:- Olive oil – 2 tbsp
- Lemon juice – 3 tbsp
- Salt – to taste
- Black pepper – to taste
- Red paprika – 1 tsp
- Dijon mustard – 1 tsp
How To Prepare:- In a small mixing bowl, add Dijon mustard with salt, oil, lemon juice, black pepper powder, and red paprika flakes. Whisk well to ensure even blending.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix in salad ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss slowly to ensure even coating.
- Chill and serve.
9. Brown Rice Pulav:
Pulav is one the simplest and easiest way to enjoy the goodness of veggies in a tasty way. When you use brown rice in the place of traditional Basmati rice, it ups the health quotient.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 1 cup, washed, soaked for 60 minutes, drained
- Mixed vegetables – 1 ¼ cup, chopped
- Onion – 1, large, finely sliced
- Green chili – 3, slit lengthwise
- Water – 2 cups
- Salt – to taste
- Clarified butter – 2 tsp
- Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
- Cloves – 3
- Cardamom – 3
- Cinnamon – 1 1-inch stick
- Bay leaf – 1
- Ginger – 1 tsp, peeled, finely chopped
- Garlic – 5 cloves, minced
How To Prepare:- Grind ginger, garlic, and cinnamon with a little water to make a smooth paste. Keep aside.
- In a deep pan, heat oil and clarified butter on medium to high heat.
- Add bay leaf, cloves, and crushed cardamom and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Mix in ground pastes and sauté until raw flavor fades away.
- Add onions and green chilies and sauté until onions turn golden brown.
- Mix in chopped veggies.
- Add drained rice and give a quick mix.
- Add water and salt and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Cover and cook on low to medium heat, stirring intermittently, until rice is soft and vegetables are crispy tender and water is completely absorbed.
- Serve hot with onion raita.
10. Brown Rice Pumpkin Risotto:
This creamy delicacy from the Italian cuisine is made using vegetable broth in this particular recipe. The pureed pumpkins add a sweet note to the delicacy. A low-fat delicacy, it adds a health quotient to the traditional one.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 1 ½ cups
- Extra virgin olive oil – 2 tbsp
- Garlic – 5 cloves, minced
- Shallots – 2, minced
- Dry white wine – ½ cup
- Low sodium vegetable broth – 2 ½ cups
- Nutmeg – ¼ tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Black pepper powder – to taste
- Pumpkin puree – 1 ¾ cups
- Cinnamon powder – ¼ tsp
- Sage leaves – 2 tsp, finely chopped + 5 leaves, whole, for garnishing
- Pecorino Romano cheese – 1 cup, finely shredded, divided
How To Prepare:- In a large saucepan placed on medium to high heat, heat oil.
- Saute shallots and garlic until both soften and turn brown.
- Add rice and cook for 3 minutes or until rice starts turning partially translucent.
- Mix in wine and stirring intermittently, cook until wine completely evaporates.
- Add the broth, pepper powder, salt, and nutmeg and cook on high until mixture starts boiling.
- Lower the heat to minimum, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until all the broth is absorbed.
- Mix in pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and sage, simmer, stirring, until rice becomes tender and mixture thickens.
- Remove from the heat and mix in 3/4th of the cheese and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serve hot garnished with the rest of the cheese, black pepper, and sage leaves.
11. Brown Rice Pradhaman:
Kerala is a South Indian state that is replete with assorted variants of puddings. Pradhaman is one among them. The grain or lentil used is cooked and then simmered in melted jaggery. Coconut milk is then mixed into the dish flavored subtly with ground dried ginger and powdered green cardamom. You can even mix in slices of roasted coconut and banana to Pradhaman to enrich its taste.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 1 cup, washed, soaked for 60 minutes, drained
- Clarified butter – 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp
- Jaggery – 1 cup, grated
- Water – 3 cups + ¼ cup
- Coconut milk – 1/2 cup [1st extract]
- Coconut milk- 3/4 cup [2nd extract]
- Coconut milk – 1 cup [3rd extract]
- Cardamom, powdered – ½ tsp
- Dry ginger, powdered – ¼ tsp
For Garnishing:- Coconut pieces – ¼ cup, finely chopped
- Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp, roughly chopped
- Raisins – 1 tbsp
How To Make:- Add the rice to a vessel and add 3 cups of water.
- Pressure cook rice for 4 to 5 whistles or until rice is well cooked and can be mashed.
- In a large, heavy bottom pan, melt grated jaggery with 1/4 cup water. Mix in clarified butter. Allow to thicken. Strain using a fine mesh and keep aside the melted syrup.
- Take the cooked rice after the pressure subsides and mash coarsely and transfer to the heavy bottom pan.
- Mix in melted jaggery and cook on medium to high flame until the mixture thickens. Keep stirring intermittently to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom.
- Mix in the third extract of coconut milk and simmer until mixture thickens.
- Mix the second extract of the coconut milk and simmer for a thick mixture.
- Mix in the first milk extract and cook until mixture starts bubbling.
- Remove from heat and add dried ginger powder and powdered cardamom.
- Roast coconut pieces and cashews in the rest of the clarified butter. Mix in raisins and sauté for a couple of minutes more.
- Mix with the Pradhaman.
- Serve hot or cold.
12. Brown Rice Brownies:
Give your favorite brownies a dose of good health by using the gluten free brown rice flour in the place of the all purpose flour. The taste does not differ. You can pick brown rice flour from your nearby grocery store or online grocery dealer.Ingredients:- Brown rice flour – 1 ½ cups
- Baking soda – ¾ tsp
- Instant coffee – 1 tsp
- Butter – ¾ cup, salted, melted
- Coconut sugar – 1 ¼ cups
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – 1 cup
- Eggs – 4, medium sized
- Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
How To Prepare:- Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
- Grease an 8 X 8 inch square baking pan with clarified butter slightly and keep aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with instant coffee and baking soda and keep aside.
- Melt butter in a saucepan placed on medium heat.
- Mix in sugar and whisk until both blend well.
- Remove the mixture from heat and stir in cocoa powder and vanilla.
- Add eggs, one each, whisking thoroughly after each addition to ensure even blending.
- Pour the mixture into dry flour mixture.
- Transfer the batter into greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Take out and allow to cool.
- Serve garnished with chocolate shavings or whipped cream.
13. Japanese Fried Rice:
This is one the simplest and tastiest ways to enjoy brown rice. Loaded with the goodness of green peas and vegetables, this fried rice is sure to be adored by kids. You can omit bacon if you want a complete vegetarian fried rice.Ingredients:- Brown rice – 2 cups, cooked
- Egg – 1
- Green onions – 4, chopped
- Bacon – ½ cup, cut into thin slices
- Carrots – 2, medium, chopped
- Fresh peas – ¼ cup
- Soy sauce – 1 tbsp
- Sake – 1 tbsp
- Salt – to taste
- White pepper powder – to taste
- Olive oil – 3 tbsp
How To Prepare:- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan kept on medium to high heat.
- Stir in onions and carrots and sauté until soft.
- Mix in bacon and peas and allow to cook well. Keep the mixture aside.
- Add the rest of the olive oil to the same pan and allow to heat.
- Crack in the eggs and cook until eggs are almost cooked.
- Mix in cooked rice and cook for a couple of minutes more.
- Mix in the carrot-bacon mixture.
- Add in soy sauce and sake and mix well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot.
14. Puliyogare:
To put it in simple words, this is a rice delicacy rich with the flavors of tamarind and assorted spices. There are instant puliyogare mixes available in the market that you can just mix with the rice and enjoy. This recipe mentioned here makes the pulikkachal gravy from the base.Ingredients:- Tamarind – 1 big lemon sized
- Turmeric – ½ tsp
- Asafetida – ¼ tsp
- Jaggery – 1 tsp, grated
- Salt – to taste
- Peanuts – 2 tbsp
- Brown rice – 1 ½ cups, cooked
For Seasoning:- Mustard – 2 tsp
- Channa dal – 2 tbsp
- Red chilies – 4, roughly broken
- Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
- Asafetida – 1/2 tsp
- Sesame oil – ¼ cup
For Grinding:- Channa dal – 1 ½ tbsp
- Red chilies – 4
- Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
How To Prepare:- Heat 1 tsp oil in a sautéing pan placed on medium to high heat and roast the ingredients mentioned till they turn golden. Wait until the mixture cools down. Finely powder the ingredients and keep aside.
- Soak tamarind placed in a small mixing bowl in hot water for 40 minutes. Extract the pulp and discard the fiber. Keep aside.
- Place a heavy bottomed, wide mouthed frying pan on medium to high heat.
- Add rest of the sesame seed oil and heat it.
- Add the ingredients mentioned under seasoning in the order outlined and fry for about 3 minutes.
- Mix in the extracted tamarind and cook for 20 minutes or until the pulp loses the raw aroma and becomes half.
- Mix in powdered ingredients and grated jaggery and salt to the mixture and keep stirring until mixture thickens.
- Remove from fire and keep aside.
- Place a sautéing pan on medium to high heat and roast peanuts until crispy.
- Mix in the puliyogare gravy and keep aside. Store it and use it when desired.
How To Make The Puliyogare Rice:- In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked rice.
- Mix in 2 tbsp of the gravy and using a flat back spoon, mix carefully without breaking and mashing the rice.
- Serve hot with deep-fried Appalam or potato wafers.
15. Brown Rice Pudding With Berry Compote:
This is a lip smacking delicacy where rice is simmered in milk to a creamy consistency and then chilled thoroughly. Served with hot berry compote, this is a sweet way to warm up the chilling winter, or a cooling treat to beat the summer heat. What is your view?Ingredients:For The Berry Compote:- Red wine – 2 ½ cups
- Castor sugar – 1 cup
- Cinnamon – ½ inch stick
- Cranberries – ½ kg
For The Pudding:- Brown rice – 1 ½ cups, washed and soaked in water for 60 minutes
- Milk – 6 cups
- Castor sugar – ½ cup
- Vanilla extract – 1 tbsp
- Almonds – ½ cup, slivered
- Heavy cream – 2 cups, slightly whipped
How To Prepare:The Berry Compote:- Add red wine, sugar and cinnamon to a saucepan placed on medium to high flame.
- Keep stirring intermittently until sugar dissolves.
- Add cranberries and increase the heat to maximum.
- Simmer the mixture and poach gently for 20 minutes or till cranberries become soft.
- Take out the poached cranberries and place it in a flat dish.
- Now simmer the liquid until the entire liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Discard the cinnamon stick and pour the mixture over the poached cranberries. Keep aside.
For The Pudding:- You can prepare the pudding while poaching the berries.
- In a heavy bottomed pan, mix rice with sugar and milk.
- Place it on medium to heavy flame and allow to come to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to minimum, cover, and cook until rice is soft and milk has completely been absorbed.
- Mix in almonds and vanilla.
- Allow the mixture to cool.
- Refrigerate the mixture until well-chilled or ready to be served.
How To Serve:- Fold whipped cream into chilled rice.
- Spoon the pudding into a flat dish, top with a compote, and serve.
So, what is your pick when it comes to brown rice recipes? Share your views with us in the comments section below.
