This pilaf-style recipe pairs this quick and easy curry rice with fluffy basmati rice served with warming spices, coconut milk and hearty vegetables. What the whole family loves is the perfect comfortable side dish or main.
My go-to recipe for making simple curry rice recipes that pack serious punches with delicious nutritious ingredients. Please read more!
Maven’s simple tips:
Use one pot. This curry rice can be made in one pot. This means minimal cooking and easy cleaning!
Customize the ingredients. In this recipe, we use 10 simple ingredients that you probably already have in your home, but I’m talking about how to customize this recipe based on what you already have We share many suggestions below!
Combine with protein. This curry rice tastes delicious in itself, but it is recommended to pair it with protein for a complete meal. Check out the suggestions below!
A simple meal preparation. I like to make this curry rice in advance. You can also freeze and pull out this recipe when it’s on time and short!
Curry rice ingredients
Olive oil – for cooking vegetables. Shallots + Garlic – aromatics that add a large amount of flavor. Carrots – I like to shred carrots, but can be sliced instead if necessary. Broccoli – Broccoli is well tolerated throughout the cooking process, but can be dived in with another vegetable if necessary. Peas – Frozen peas are more accessible than fresh peas, so we use frozen peas, but you can use fresh ones if you like. Curry Powder – See notes on the spice levels in curry powder. Basmati Rice – You can see that basmati rice leads to fluffy, pilaf-style rice, but you can sink with another rice. Note that cooking times and liquid ratios differ. Light Coconut Milk – Uses canned versions of coconut milk. With this curry rice, the light coconut milk is not too heavy, but I think light coconut milk is better as the full fat works in a pinch. Water – You can use stock here too. Salt + Pepper – These are just suggestions. Feel free to reduce taste and sodium preferences. Optional Coriander – If you like to add fresh coriander, but don’t like the cilantro flavor, feel free to skip it!
How to make curry rice
Step 1: Cook the vegetables
Heat a large pot or cook over medium heat and add olive oil. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots, broccoli and peas and cook for another 2 minutes.
Step 2: Add rice + cook
Stir in the curry powder and basmati rice and cook for another minute, covering the curry powder with the rice and vegetables. Simmer the mixture, served with coconut milk, water, salt and pepper. It becomes a tightly fitted stew cover pot, which reduces heat. Cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes (do not remove the lid – do not peep!). After 10 minutes, cover and use a spatula to remove any fuzz.
Step 3: Decoration + Serve
Top with chopped cilantro and eat immediately.
What would you pair with this curry rice?
This curry rice is tasty in itself, but can be balanced with additional proteins. Rice, vegetables, and coconut milk are a great source of carbohydrates, fats and additional nutrition from vegetables, but to optimize your diet, try adding one of the following:
Fried or scrambled eggs – Add one or two eggs and turn this into fried rice! Roasted or Grilled Chicken – These chicken marinades will be tasty. Pan-fried or roasted chickpeas – these sriracha lime chickpeas will make a great addition. Baked or Air Fry Tofu – To keep this completely vegan, you can bake tofu or cook it in an air fryer. Baked Salmon – This flavored salmon pairs perfectly with this curry and rice!
Simple swaps and replacements
Swap vegetables – I like to use carrots, broccoli and peas in this curry rice, but I’m happy to be there to wait for a variety of vegetables of your choice. Approximately 3 cups of vegetables should be used.
Add protein – I love topping this curry rice with fried egg or roasted tofu, but you can add any protein you want.
FAQ
Yes, you can! Depending on the type of rice you use, you may need to adjust the amount of liquid and cooking time. Basmati rice can be easily replaced with jasmine rice or another long grain white rice. Brown rice requires longer cooking time.
absolutely! I prefer to add protein to make this curry rice a little more pleasant, but you can certainly eat this as a vegetarian main. Adding protein makes both tofu and chickpeas a great vegan/vegetarian addition. If you eat animal products, I love combining this with roast chicken.
Instead of light coconut milk, you can easily replace full fat coconut milk. Please note that if leftovers are stored in the fridge, the rice is not fluffy and the coconut milk may harden. It becomes soft when heated.
Yes – This recipe is easy to double.
This depends on the curry powder. The curry powder I use is very mild, but some can be spicy so feel free to dial down if you don’t want a kick!
yes. Frozen peas are easy to find, so I use frozen peas, but feel free to use all frozen vegetables whenever I need them.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: Place leftovers in the fridge and store leftovers for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or stove.
Freezer: If you want to eat it later, you can easily store curry rice in the freezer! Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at the counter for several hours or overnight in the fridge. Reheat in a microwave or stove top.
More delicious rice recipes:
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Vegetables and coconut curry rice
This pilaf-style recipe pairs this quick and easy curry rice with fluffy basmati rice served with warming spices, coconut milk and hearty vegetables. What the whole family loves is the perfect comfortable side dish or main.
Author: Davida Lederle Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: half an hour
Total time: 40 minutes
yield: 4 Serving 1x
category: side
method: Cook
cooking: India
diet: Gluten-free
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Big shallots, slices
1 Garlic cloves, chopped
1 Big carrots, peeled and shredded
2 cups Broccoli flower
1/2 cup Frozen peas
1 1/2 tablespoons Curry powder
1 cup Basmati Rice
1 15 oz can illuminate coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper options: 1/4 cup chopped coriander
Heat a large pot or cook over medium heat and add olive oil. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots, broccoli and peas and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and basmati rice and cook for another minute, covering the curry powder with the rice and vegetables. Simmer the mixture, served with coconut milk, water, salt and pepper. It becomes a stewed cover pot with a tightly fitted lid, lowering the heat. Cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes (do not remove the lid – do not peep!). After 10 minutes, cover and use a spatula to remove any fuzz. Top with chopped cilantro and eat immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days (see note above for freezing).
