Ever since I tasted the Peruvian Chimichurri Rice that Trader Joe's carries, I have been thinking of trying to make it at home. I love this rice because it tastes like tomato rice plus lemon rice with a whole lot of cilantro but without any of the seasoning like mustard seeds or dhals. It also had this silent sweetness and a tangy spice to it, that is so delicious and makes me crave for more. I have bought this rice a number of times from TJ's and simply did not get enough of it.
Deciding that I need to know how to make it I googled and found that they do not have a recipe for Peruvian rice. There was lot of mentions on chimichurri. sauce, rubs, paste etc which is very popular ingredient in the South American cuisines. They use it a lot to marinate meat. I even found chimichuri sauce and powder at World Market and decided to try the powder. It had a lot of dried parsley and had no cilantro flavor. So, I did the simple thing of buying a packet of the rice and checked out the ingredients. I found that they used panca Chillie, a chillie that is very commonly used in Peruvian cuisine. Went hunting for that chillie in the grocery stores but it was not commonly available.Came home and set to work. I heated portions of my store bought chimichurri rice and kept tasting it to add my own spices. I think it was close to the original, if anyone who reads this post knows how to make the chimichurri rice like the one at Trader Joe's please send me a mail. If you have not tasted it please grab a packet at TJ's and enjoy it. If you liked what you tasted then try the recipe and please send me your review. If you live in San Diego area and know where you can find panca peppers please let me know.
Gadgets:
Cutting Board
Knife
Bowl
Heavy Bottom Stock pot / pan
Spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Onion - 1 small ( 1 cup)
Shallots - 1/2 cup
Roma Tomato - 1(firm and large)
Ginger - 1 inch grated
Garlic - 3 big cloves
Lime juice - 1 1/2tsp
Cilantro - 1 cup finely chopped
Chili Powder - 1 tsp (add more if you want it spicy and substitute any kind of latin chillies that you have)
Salt - less than a tsp
Creme Fraiche- 1/4 cup ( Sour Cream/ fresh cream can also be substituted)
Fried Onions - 2 tbsp (optional)
Butter - 1 tbsp
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp ( not extra virgin)
Preparation:
1. Soak the rice for 20 to 30 minutes in 2 cups of water after washing it well.
2. In the stock pot add butter and oil together. When that heats up add onion, garlic and ginger with 1/4th tsp salt and cook it on medium heat.
3. When the onions change color add a roma tomato, chillie powder and cook with the onions, then add peas after the tomato is cooked a little. Add 1/4 cup creme fraiche and mix it well with the veggie mix. It will generate a lot of liquid. Cook until all the liquid disappears.
4. Add the water from the soaked rice and bring it to a boil. Then add the rice and mix well.Add 1/2 tsp of lime juice and allow the rice to cook until all the water is almost absorbed.
5. Lower the flame to simmer and cover the pot and cook the rice for 4 minutes. Then add the cilantro, fried onions and mix it gently and serve it hot with any side dish.
Gadgets:
Cutting Board
Knife
Bowl
Heavy Bottom Stock pot / pan
Spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Onion - 1 small ( 1 cup)
Shallots - 1/2 cup
Roma Tomato - 1(firm and large)
Ginger - 1 inch grated
Garlic - 3 big cloves
Lime juice - 1 1/2tsp
Cilantro - 1 cup finely chopped
Chili Powder - 1 tsp (add more if you want it spicy and substitute any kind of latin chillies that you have)
Salt - less than a tsp
Creme Fraiche- 1/4 cup ( Sour Cream/ fresh cream can also be substituted)
Fried Onions - 2 tbsp (optional)
Butter - 1 tbsp
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp ( not extra virgin)
Preparation:
1. Soak the rice for 20 to 30 minutes in 2 cups of water after washing it well.
2. In the stock pot add butter and oil together. When that heats up add onion, garlic and ginger with 1/4th tsp salt and cook it on medium heat.
3. When the onions change color add a roma tomato, chillie powder and cook with the onions, then add peas after the tomato is cooked a little. Add 1/4 cup creme fraiche and mix it well with the veggie mix. It will generate a lot of liquid. Cook until all the liquid disappears.
4. Add the water from the soaked rice and bring it to a boil. Then add the rice and mix well.Add 1/2 tsp of lime juice and allow the rice to cook until all the water is almost absorbed.
5. Lower the flame to simmer and cover the pot and cook the rice for 4 minutes. Then add the cilantro, fried onions and mix it gently and serve it hot with any side dish.
32 comments:
Superb dear...Looks so spicy n colorful...Loved your new version.
Sun May 02, 07:53:00 PMThis looks sooo tempting! like the rice is calling out to you to taste them :)Great pics!!
Sun May 02, 08:45:00 PMInteresting rice dish. Loved the color and looks very much Indian unless spelt out. Nice write-up.
Sun May 02, 08:52:00 PMThank you for your comments. Yes it looks very Indian, but the taste is very different. I think the panca peppers makes it taste different.
Sun May 02, 09:25:00 PMWonderful presentation.. mouth watering clicks dear!!
Sun May 02, 10:30:00 PMThe recipe is really unique and combination of my two favorite rice ?!! Cool :)
Sun May 02, 10:34:00 PMsounds very interesting dear!!!
Sun May 02, 10:40:00 PMNice clicks :-)
Thx. for sharing.
Thats a delectable rice dish, its looks quite similar like our vegetable rice for me..looks beautiful..
Sun May 02, 11:59:00 PMNice dish,i always look for rice variates,bookmarked it.
Mon May 03, 12:49:00 AMSrimathi looks very nice. A nice effort to remake the Peruvian rice. It just shows your interest in cooking and trying something new. Anyhow you invented a new dish now :)
Mon May 03, 01:50:00 AMNew rice dish, adding cream is a interesting twist... looks delish!!
Mon May 03, 02:05:00 AMAlthough your recipe shows red chilli powder you do not seem to have used it in the method. Please clarify. Thanks
Mon May 03, 04:19:00 AMNeville
Very nice recipe! Looks excellent!!
Mon May 03, 05:17:00 AMThank you for all the nice comments.
Mon May 03, 06:43:00 AMPriya, it is almost like our veggie rice, but the use of creme fraiche and panca peppers or latin chilles if you have makes it very different in taste and flavor. If you use the regular chilies it might taste like a regular rice.
Anonymous, Thanks for pointing out. I did miss out adding the chilli powder. I have now added that step to the recipe.
lovely rice! very tempting...superb.nice clicks
Mon May 03, 07:30:00 AMlooks so tempting..so delicious...
Mon May 03, 07:43:00 AMThis chimmichuri rice looks very delicious and interesting.Never had it before.Will get it from TJ and try it.I will be on the look for panca peppers.
Mon May 03, 08:04:00 AMLooks so beautiful..a new variety for me
Mon May 03, 09:25:00 AMGreat picture.. looks delicious.
Mon May 03, 11:06:00 AMLooks sooooooo yummy!!! Awesome click. I am craving for it now.
Mon May 03, 11:21:00 AMLooks delcious rice dish..
Mon May 03, 11:33:00 AMI have never tried lemon or lime in my rice before. How festive looking. I must try
Mon May 03, 04:02:00 PMI love chimichurri. Never thought of incorporating it in rice, but it is a fantastic idea!!
Mon May 03, 05:28:00 PMI love this version too.
Very creative way to flavor rice, it looks fabulous !
Tue May 04, 10:08:00 AMAfter I found your recipe I was inspired to track down aji panca peppers (dried) which I located on ebay. After seeding the whole peppers I soaked them in very hot water which softened them nicely and processed them into a paste using the mini-prep food processor, a tiny amount of olive oil and about a tablespoon of the soaking water. The panca chilis have a raisin-y aroma and a sweet hotness. That was today, tomorrow I will try your recipe. I'll let you know how it goes. I can't wait to taste this as I do love the Trader Joe's Chimichurri Rice but we live 150 miles from the nearest
Tue Nov 30, 07:58:00 PMTJ's and your recipe sounds terrific. - Lauren
I made your recipe yesterday and it was brilliant with authentic taste and character. I used about 3 teaspoons of aji pancha paste. Thank you for deciphering this one. Lauren
Sat Dec 04, 10:56:00 AMHi Lauren,
Tue Dec 07, 03:41:00 PMThank you so much for trying out my recipe. I am delighted indeed that it turned out well. That makes me feel so complete.
Thank you so much for doing all the hard work so I, too, can make my favorite TJ dish!
Thu Jan 20, 03:03:00 PM"Aji panca" (aji is any kind of pepper) brought up this link with a neat place to get panca chilies:
http://www.sandiegofoodstuff.com/2009/10/taking-heat-san-diegos-peruvian-markets.html
And as others mentioned, "aji panca" does find some online sources as well. I just really like the idea of a travel agency selling grocery items for homesick Peruvians.
Thanks! Laura
I am addicted to this rice from TJ too and yes its not very cheap either to eat it everyday.Thanks for recipe !
Fri Jan 21, 10:06:00 AMI really like the sweetness of the peas. I don't see that in your recipe. Is that optional in your opinion?
Sat Jul 30, 07:32:00 PMI've been wanting to re-create this dish, too! It's tasty, but kind of expensive.
Fri Aug 05, 07:34:00 PMBy the way, you left out the amount of peas to use. Once you've got that up, I think I'll try this and see what we get. I think you may have saved me a lot of work - Thanks!
I just tried the TJ version for the first time this Monday and was excited to find your recipe. I made it yesterday. Loved it! I used full fat yogurt instead of creme. Thanks a lot!
Thu Oct 06, 12:36:00 PM- SK
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