Oil-Free Vegan Mexican Brown Rice

Oil-Free Vegan Mexican Brown Rice

Last weekend at a party I tried some vegan Mexican rice that the host had kindly put together for me. I loved the depth of flavours and the mix of corn, Capsicum and green onions with the rice. Of course I left with the recipe!! Turns out there are several variations of this popular recipe, eaten widely by itself, with fresh salsa, and as stuffing in burritos.

I promptly got to making my own version as I wanted something that was oil free to align with my current whole food plant based eating patterns. Using pre-soaked brown Basmati rice makes this recipe perfect to cook quickly once the veggies have been sliced and prepped.

This oil free version of vegan Mexican Brown Rice is,

• oil free
• gluten free
• nut free
• soy free
• full of vegetable goodness

We need,

• 1.5 cups brown Basmati Rice, soaked for at least an hour & rinsed.
• 2 – 3 cups of water
• 1/4 cup Tomato Paste
• 2 cubes of Vegetable Broth
• 1 large Carrot, grated coarsely
• 3/4 cup Corn (I used frozen)
• 3/4 cup Green Peas ( also frozen)
• 1 large Red Capsicum/ Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 medium Onion, peeled and chopped roughly.
• 3 – 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 Jalapeño Chili, (omit if not wanting a hot flavour)
• 4 tablespoons Coriander Leaves & Stalks, minced finely
• 4 tablespoons Shallots/ Spring Onions, green and white bits, sliced thinly
• 1 large truss Tomato, deseeded and diced
• Salt, to taste

Directions,

1. Grind the onion, garlic and the jalapeño (if using) together to a fine paste.
2. In a large stone ware pan, dump the onion garlic paste and tomato paste and cook until the raw smell goes off. Add tablespoonfuls of water if the mixture appears too dry.
3. Add all the vegetables and stir well.
4. Cover vegetables with a cup of water & mix in the stock cubes and salt.
5. Stir in the drained brown Basmati rice.
6. Mix well and cover with more water until the rice and vegetables are covered with an inch of water on top. Cover with a lid and cook on full heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes check it rice is cooked and the broth has dried, if not turn heat down and cook for a further 5 minutes keeping a close eye on the pan.
7. Take off the heat and stir the coriander, spring onions, tomato pieces and mix well.

Serve warm with fresh salsa or, cool and use for lunch boxes the next day. Even better throw in some beans and lettuce and wrap up in a large lettuce leaf or burrito for lunch the next day.

If you enjoyed this Oil-Free Vegan Mexican Brown Rice recipe, please see here for another quick brown Basmati rice recipe.