Cardamom Rice with Fried Egg and Yogurt

I like a good hearty breakfast so this dish is a great way to start my day. I am aware there are people who disapprove of my breakfast choices so eat it as lunch or dinner. Pair it with grilled chicken or shrimp if you like. Even if you go that route, make sure you eat it with a nice runny egg. The yolk brings an incredible richness to the rice.

This recipe was adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Ingredient alert: This dish has several ingredients you might not have on hand. See the notes at the bottom for substitutions. I don’t recommend buying a spice unless you use it in several dishes you cook. Otherwise, it just collects dust and loses its flavor.

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 T toasted sesame seed oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
6 fresh Curry leaves
3T ground cardamom
2 t ground turmeric
2 fresh green chiles, thinly sliced
1 t salt
2 c long grain brown rice
4 water
4 eggs
1 1/3 c chopped parsley leaves
5 cups chopped cilantro
6 T lime juice
½ c Greek yogurt
black pepper
sumac
sunflower seeds
pickled okra (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a 3.5 quart ovenproof saute pan. Sweat onions on medium low heat until clear.

Add garlic. Give it a quick stir and push the mixture to the sides of the pan (you want to see a circle of the bottom of the pan). Add curry leaves, cardamom, coriander, turmeric and chiles. Stir the spice mixture occasionally until the spices become fragrant and take on a little color.

Stir the spices into the onion mixture and stir in the rice. Add water. Put the lid on and slide it into the oven for about 25 minutes. Take a really quick peak, if there’s still water, put it back in the oven covered.

When it’s cooked, stir in the parsley, cilantro and lime juice. Watch the herbs dwindle to almost nothing! Fluff with a fork.

Fry an egg sunny side up. You want the white just set and the yolk still plenty runny. I like to fry my eggs in oil. I know I know I know, butter tastes better. I hear that every time I say I fry eggs in oil. I think the oil gives the egg a superior texture. Use your butter. I rather fight you to have a runny yolk. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the egg.

Put rice in the bowl, top it with the egg. Add 2 T of yogurt. Sprinkle sumac and sunflower seeds on top. Add a few pickled okras if you have them.

Notes
Tip: Only use the leaves of parsley because the stems are bitter. You can use the stems of cilantro.

If your saute pan isn’t oven proof, use an ovenproof Dutch oven. If neither option works for you, use a regular saute pan and transfer the mixture into a casserole dish and tightly cover it with aluminum foil

Ingredient Substitutions
Toasted sesame oil: Peanut oil works great or use the oil of your choice. Do not buy a special oil for this dish.

Curry leaves: Just omit them (I do)

Cardamom: 1 t of cinnamon and ¼ t of cloves

Cilantro: Parsley

Tumeric: 1 t allspice

Pickled okra: Almost any pickled vegetable. Now is not the time for dill pickles.

Green chiles: Jalepenos (raw) or serrano

Sumac: Lime zest (just a little)