Rice - Jambaya-ish Spicy Rice and Veggies

"This simple vegan jambalaya is a super tasty, satisfying and nutritious dish. It’s a delicious dinner recipe, which is also oil-free and very low in fat."


Inspiration Source: Simple Vegan Blog


The veggies were cooked separate from the beans and rice which made for a more colorful presentation.
In this photo, the beans had just been added.  Also, the beans were cooked with a bit of tahini, which was in the original recipe.  Lots of reviewers loved that addition.  I wasn't a fan of it and it's been dropped from my recipe.

VEGGIES

  • garlic 
  • onion, - sweet, red, spring, whatever 
  • bell pepper - red, yellow, purple or orange 
  • 1 carrot 
  • fresh tomatoes (could also use canned) 
  • squash and zucchini (optional) 
  • finely chopped kale or spinach (optional) 
* Rotels or canned fire-roasted tomatoes could also work, but the amount of spices would need to be adjusted.



HERBS SPICES

  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce - Add salt instead of the tamari or soy sauce if you want. 
  • 2 tsp dried oregano 
  • 1 tsp dried thyme 
  • 1 tsp garlic powder 
  • 1 tsp onion powder 
  • 1 tsp cumin powder 
  • 1 tsp paprika 
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper 
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne powder - Maybe more! 


RICE

  • 1 cup uncooked rice - cook in Instant Pot   - Might as well cook extra and freeze the leftovers!


BEANS - Use any legumes you like.

  • 1 cup canned or cooked beans - black beans, chickpeas, whatever - drained and rinsed!


GARNISH

  • Chopped fresh parsley for garnish


Instructions:


Note: This method messes up 3 pans, but it's worth it to keep the meal more colorful. (see photo below)
  1. Cook rice - in the Instant Pot.
  2. Cook beans - in separate pan.
  3. Sauté onions in a skillet - once the onions are well on their way, add in carrots, and bell pepper.
  4. Add faster cooking veggies - squash, zucchini, greens and tomatoes and herbs and spices to skillet and cook for a bit more. Careful! Don't overcook and turn it all to mush!
  5. Stir in beans just before serving.
  6. Rice can be stirred in or kept separate.
  7. Serve with some chopped fresh parsley on top (optional). 


READER COMMENT - Cooking Everything Together in Pressure Cooker:

  • This was great. I cooked everything together in a pressure cooker.  I set the cook time to how I normally pressure cook rice I am using. 

The original recipe calls for the beans and rice to be cooked together.  Then it's all added to the veggies.  Everything ended up this brownish color and it looks like mush.  It was still good, but I made changes in the recipe to keep the color.  On the other hand, if I were making it just for me and nobody else would see it, I'd probably throw everything in the Instant Pot and cook it together.  


NOTE ABOUT RICE:

My first time with this recipe, I had a box of Zatarains Jambalaya Rice on hand so I skipped making the spicy rice myself. I'll make my own from now on.  Some of those ingredients are not nice!

Here are the ingredients in Zatarains:
Enriched Long Grain Parboiled Rice (Iron Phosphate, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate and Folic Acid), Dehydrated Vegetables (Onion, Bell Pepper), Salt, Yeast Extract] Soy Sauce (100%, Soybean), Dextrose, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Soybean Oil (Tbhq Added As A Preservative), Paprika, Garlic, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Chili Powder, Caramel Color, Silicon Dioxide (Flow Agent).
Labels: , ,