Cilantro Rice

Photo: flickr user norwichnuts

Ingredients

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 garlic cloves

1 fresh jalapeno chili stemmed

cup vegetable broth

2 teaspoons olive oil

cup long-grain white rice

1 teaspoon onion powder

teaspoon ground cumin

cup grated carrot

Salt (optional), to taste

Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

Preparation

In a blender, whirl 1 cup cilantro, garlic, chili, and 1 cup broth until smooth.

In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium heat, stir oil, rice, onion powder, and cumin until rice is pale golden, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in cilantro mixture, remaining broth, and carrot. Cover, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 18 minutes.

If desired, season to taste with salt. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

This recipe yields 4 or 5 servings.

Comments: Sarojni Mehta-Lissak of Long Beach, California, comes from a family of passionate home cooks. "My dad is from India, and I was raised with Indian food. His whole side of the family loves cooking." From an early age, Mehta-Lissak also took an interest, watching her parents at the stove. By the time she was in high school, she was checking out cookbooks instead of novels from the library.

She married into a family that's equally enthusiastic about food. Her husband is a vegetarian, and they experiment with many ethnic dishes and flavorings, such as achiote, which she encountered in the Yucatan peninsula.

The same sense of adventure extends to Mehta-Lissak's low-fat cooking. Generous levels of seasonings, not oil, give her dishes their character.

A trip to a Mexican restaurant inspired this aromatic rice dish. She enjoys it with tacos or tostadas and a green salad livened up with jicama, cilantro, red onions, and red bell peppers.

At dinnertime Mehta-Lissak gets a hand from her daughter, Sumi, who at age 2 is already following in her mother's footsteps. "She loves being in the kitchen. She helps peel carrots to go in the rice - I put my hand over hers on the grater."