Cauliflower Stalk and Carrot Fried Rice
I knew I was hungry, but I did not know what to cook with the combination of vegetables and staples I had. There were some carrots, greens, and a big cauliflower that were leftover in my fridge. What now? I did not have the patience to make a main dish and a vegetable curry. A salad might be too light when I am hungry, so what else could I cook? Okay, the good old fried rice it shall be for lunch!
Nothing new here. I have seen several people using leftover vegetables to make fried rice or adding them in biryanis. And I remember, it usually tastes good.
Ingredients:
Cauliflower Stalk and Cauliflower Leaves , chopped — 1/2 a cup
Carrots, chopped — 1/2 a cup
Rice — 1.5 cups
Soya chunks, boiled — 1/2 a cup
Cooking oil — 1 tbsp
Salt — 0.75 spoons
Pepper powder — 0.5 spoons
Water — 2.5 to 3 cups
Optional:
Fried Cashew nuts — 10 numbers
Steps to Cook:
First, cut the vegetables. The cauliflower I had was pretty big, with the stalk and the leaves occupying some of the space/weight, so I decided to save the actual vegetable part for another dish, and to use the stalk and the leaves for this fried rice today. Yes, often, people throw away the stalk portion of vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, but I would like to use them, too. One, they are edible, and two, I remember reading somewhere that the leaves and stalks are nutritious and good for health, too.
Next, the carrots the way you’d like. I don’t like to chop vegetables into tiny pieces.
But then, what about protein??? The one question non-vegans often like to throw at vegans. I did not have tofu at home, can’t cook raw chickpeas in such a hurry, then I remembered that I had soya chunks. First, wash them and then boil them.
Next, place your cooker on the stove and add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the vegetables in the order of thickest ones first and then the lighter ones. In my case, that would be carrots first, which I cooked for say about 5 minutes. Next the cauliflower stalk pieces, which, again, I let cook for a few minutes.
Once the vegetables get sauted, you can add the rice, then the soya chunks. I had added 1.5 cups of rice, so I added 2.5 to 3 cups of water. Add 3/4th of a spoon of salt and 1/2 a spoon of pepper powder. I had some cashew nuts, too, so just for the sake of taste (I like cashews!), I added a few cashew nuts, too.
Mix well, close the cooker, and let it cook for up to 3 whistles. Since we have added a lot of hard vegetables like carrots and vegetable stalk, it will take some extra time to cook.
Once done, I opened the cooker, and trust me, it came out to be really well, and tasted nice, too — it was better than what I had expected!
The carrots will add a kind of sweet taste, the soya chunks would taste like cooked meat, and I don’t want to spoil it by telling you what the cauliflower leaves taste like. It’s delicious, trust me!
Try it out for yourself, and let me know how you liked it!
If you still have questions on whether cauliflower stem and leaves are edible, you can read this article.
