Tadka Rice (stir-fried rice) with crunchy potato topping

Do you have leftover rice sitting in your fridge? Try out this stir-fried rice recipe to transform your humble white rice into a spectacular one pot rice dish! It is packed with colourful vegetables, warming spices, and finished with a generous handful of crispy golden potatoes on top. It is comforting, satisfying, and full of texture and flavour in every bite.

Serves: 2 persons as a side dish

Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• ¼ cup ghee

• ¼ tsp cumin seeds

• 100 grams diced onions

• 150 grams diced yellow/red/orange bell peppers (or 2 small bell peppers)

• 50 grams boiled corn

• 150 grams diced tomatoes (or 2 medium tomatoes)

• 350 grams boiled rice

• 1 + 1/8 tsp salt

• 1 tsp coriander powder

• ½ tsp garam masala

• ¼ tsp pav bhaji masala

• ¼ tsp red chilli powder

• 1/8 tsp white peppercorn powder or cracked black pepper

• 1 medium potato, diced

• Neutral oil (for frying the potatoes)

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Instructions

1. Place frozen corn in a small bowl with water and microwave for 5 minutes. Set aside and cover with a heatproof plate until ready to use.

2. In the meantime, dice all vegetables: onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes. Keep diced potatoes in water until use.

3. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the ghee. Once hot (about 30 seconds), add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.

4. Add onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add bell peppers and sauté for 4 minutes.

5. Drain the water from the corn and add them to the pan and sauté for another 2 minutes. Then add tomatoes and salt.

6. Cover the pan and let tomatoes cook for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the crunchy potato topping. Drain and rinse the diced potatoes, then pat them completely dry. Heat about ½ inch of oil in a wide, shallow pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the potatoes and pan-fry for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and cooked through. Since the oil was used on medium heat, it can be saved and reused for cooking.

8. Remove the potatoes and place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the excess oil. While hot, season with salt and red chilli powder.

9. Uncover the pan in which the vegetables have been cooking and add coriander powder, garam masala, pav bhaji masala, red chilli powder. Sauté for 2 minutes.

10. Add 1 tbsp water to loosen the gravy. Stir in the white rice and mix well.

11. Taste for salt and adjust if needed. Add white pepper powder or cracked black pepper for heat. Cover again and let sit for 5 minutes, allowing the rice to absorb all the spice flavours.

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Notes

• Pav bhaji masala is available at all Indian grocery stores, and any brand works well. It’s a spice blend traditionally used to make the popular Indian street food pav bhaji, though it can also be used in other recipes. If you don’t have it, you can simply skip it.

• It is best to use a day old rice (from the fridge) for this recipe just so that the rice holds its shape.