Chimichurri Rice - My Take On Trader Joes's Peruivan Chimichurri Rice

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
Peas - 1/2 cup
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, peas, 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.