This colorful and beautiful dish was created during the Life Chef "What's Cooking? Whole Grains for Heart Health" class at Sevananda Natural Foods Market. It was hearty, delicious and very flavorful. A wonderful vegetarian entree or a hearty side dish. If you haven't had the Japonica Rice Blend before please try to find it. You'll never eat boring old generic brown rice again!
Serves 6-8
Mahogany Rice with Curried Butternut Squash and Kale
½ butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp masala curry powder
1 Tbsp agave nectar
¼ cup water
2 cups mahogany rice (see picture)
½ tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs sun dried tomato slices
2 cups kale, stemmed and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
In a small pan, heat 1 Tbs of oil over medium high heat and saute the butternut squash for about 3-4 minutes. Add the cinnamon and curry powder and stir occasionally until the squash starts to brown. Add the water and agave nectar and cook until the squash is tender.
Meanwhile in a large pot bring 4 cups of water up to a boil and add the rice. Stir in the sun dried tomatoes, cayenne and garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until rice is tender, about 20-30 minutes. Stir in the kale in the last five minutes of cooking.
To serve, stir the rice and the squash together and garnish with fresh herbs.
