Image Source: Bawarchi

New Year is the time for joy and celebrations. It instills a feeling of hope in our hearts and gifts us an opportunity to start things on a clean slate. It is the time of resolutions and makeovers, aimed at making our lives better and blissful bit by bit. And one of the integral parts of the New Year spirit is great food, there’s no doubt about it. But if you could make mouth-watering dishes that are completely healthy it would be great, wouldn’t it? This New Year, try organic recipes for your family, which will help a great deal in keeping the body and mind healthy and happy. Here are six delicious organic rice recipes that will let you have a healthy as well as savoury New Year.

1. Brown Rice And Vegetable Sauté

Ingredients:

• Brown rice
• Vegetable broth of your choice
• Olive oil
• Chopped onion
• Broccoli florets
• Mushrooms of your choice
• Minced garlic
• Thyme
• Salt and pepper for taste

Directions:

Prepare the rice using the broth so that it becomes soft and flavoursome. In a non-stick pan sauté the chopped onion in olive oil for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Stir it often and stop when the onion turns golden brown. Add broccoli to the pan and cover it for about 3 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and rest of the ingredients to the pan and sauté until the mushrooms become juicy. This would take around 5 minutes. Serve the sautéed vegetables with the brown rice prepared earlier.

2. Creamy brown rice pudding

Ingredients:

• Whole grain brown rice
• Milk
• Maple syrup/Honey
• Raisins (optional)
• Unsalted butter
• Ground cinnamon/nutmeg/allspice
• Coriander leaves (optional)

Directions:

Combine rice, milk, maple syrup or honey, and raisins in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to boil in medium heat. As soon as it boils reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes. Make sure you stir the mixture frequently. Remove the pan from the stove, add butter and cinnamon and stir well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

3. Brown rice and carrot pilaf

Ingredients:

• Butter/margarine
• Finely chopped onion
• Grated carrot
• Long grain brown rice
• Vegetable stock
• Chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper for taste
• Bean sprouts (optional)

Directions:

Melt the butter or margarine in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot to it and sauté for about 5-6 minutes. Pour the rice in and cook until the rice becomes a light brown colour. Add the vegetable stock along with seasonings. Cover the mixture, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Once the rice becomes nice and tender, add parsley and sprouts. Serve hot for best taste.

4. Lentil and brown rice soup

Ingredients:

• Chicken broth or vegetable broth
• Fresh lentils
• Brown rice
• Chopped tomatoes
• Carrots, cut lengthwise
• Chopped onion
• Chopped celery
• Minced garlic
• Crumbled dried basil, oregano, dried thyme
• Bay leaves
• Minced parsley
• Cider vinegar
• Smoked sausage (optional)

Directions:

Combine the broth, rice, lentils, tomatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and sausage in 3 cups of water and bring to boil over medium heat. Once the mixture boils, simmer it until the rice and lentils are tender. This would take about 45-55 minutes and remember to stir it occasionally. Add parseley and vinegar along with seasonings. The soup can be kept in the freezer for later use. It is perfect for microwave defrosting.

5. Parmesan lemon herb brown rice

Ingredients:

• Brown rice
• Finely chopped onions
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper for taste
• Chicken broth
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Minced parsley
• Minced basil leaves
• Juice and zest of lemon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to around 373 degrees. Spread the rice in a baking dish. In a saucepan, combine onion, oil, and salt and cook until onion becomes soft over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally. Add the broth and boil the mixture. Immediately add it to the rice in the baking dish and cover it tight with foil. Bake it for about 1 hour 10 minutes, until the rice gets tender. After it’s done, add the parmesan, basil, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and pepper. Mix well. Cover the dish using a clean towel and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Remove the towel and wait for 5 minutes before serving.

6. Brown rice and lentil casserole

Ingredients:

• Chicken broth or vegetable broth
• Brown rice
• Chopped onion
• Lentils
• Italian seasoning
• Grated cheese of your choice
• Garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to around 300 degrees. In a baking dish, combine all the ingredients except the cheese. Cover the dish using foil and bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes. When it’s done, remove the foil, sprinkle the cheese over the dish and bake for around 20 minutes more.