Warm and delicious homemade food has been on your priority list lately, but you don’t want to toss out of those PJ’s and put on your Master Chef cloak! Those extra nuggets grabbed on a tight schedule, aren’t helping much either? Don’t worry, we’ve got you here! Here’s how you can cook amazing and mouthwatering “Mexican rice” in your rice cooker!
Give your “cooking self-worth” a boost, by making this Master Chef level dinner without any hassle. It’s a dinner that will brew itself. A few magical flicks of your knife and one magical click will save you all the stress.
Did you always think that all you could do with that gadget occupying space in your pantry was to cook plain rice? That’s obviously a myth! Stop underestimating the superpowers of rice cookers and get ready to revisit your perception. If only one could be a little innovative with the ingredients, they can end up doing wonders with this machine!
These smart crock pots will be your best buddies on rainy days when you don’t have time and energy left for standing in front of the kitchen stove.
BENEFITS OF A RICE COOKER
When planning for a special dinner, just toss in some chicken or lamb with ginger, garlic,and basic spices to serve your diners with an amazing stew. You could add cubed vegetables to make it look grander! Trying to impress your guests at an occasion? Fix a quick curry by simmering some onions and garlic, followed by some meat, tomato puree, and Indian spices. You will end up with a huge fan club in no time!
If you are a mother and getting everyone ready in the morning leaves you with no time to broil that perfectly nutritious breakfast? That’s not even a problem! Just add some oats, milk raisins, and nuts to your rice cooker, lo and behold!! And if you’re under the weather and too tired to pamper yourself with comfort food, the red lentils soup is the perfect answer to your craving. Red lentils are one of the most nutritious beans and will give you an instant energy boost to fight the cold. Plus, your good old rice cooker will take away all the pain of boiling and simmering. Don’t forget to add some lemon juice to boost your vitamin C levels.
Apart from all these healthy options, we can use them to do what they are best at.. a variety of rice dishes. Be it Oriental vegetable rice, Lamb meat pilaf, garbanzo beans rice or our favorite fried rice, you name it, they make it! And did we forget to mention the famous rice cooker cakes that have been the talk in the town? Invest in a good rice cooker for your baking.
BEST RICE COOKER TO COOK MEXICAN RICE
There are a lot of rice cookers available in the market, which will meet all your requirements for wanting a firm, textured rice under a reasonable price of $100. But my first choice would always be Potastic rice cooker with its multi-functional ability to cook rice along with sautéing vegetable, could also be used as a slow cooker, and a pressure cooker. You can also steam food using its steamer, can bake cake, pancakes and prepare yogurt. It is a perfect device to cook eggs and warm food.
Coming back to rice dishes, Mexican rice is a rice dish that everyone loves. But why always visit a restaurant to address your cravings when you could make it feasibly at home in your best kitchen buddy?
To cook Mexican rice, just drop by the supermarket to buy a few spices and you’ll need nothing more!
MEXICAN RICE IN A RICE COOKER
Everyone loves Mexican food. Historically, Mexican food was more inclined towards corn
(maize) based recipes. Everyone is familiar with the name tortilla; a corn-based thin, unleavened flatbread. These corn tortillas are the basis for many traditional Mexican dishes like tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, quesadillas, and many more.
Rice-based dishes got their place in Mexican society under European influence and later Mexicans added tomatoes and chilies to have their own texture in these dishes. This is how our delectable Mexican rice evolved. But this recipe here is going to add a new favorite to your food palate.
It is one of the most versatile recipes which could be altered according to anyone’s diet preferences or taste buds. You can add in any meat of your preference, like Beef, Lamb, Chicken or even better Fish and shrimp! If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you could easily go with Vegetables, even then it will taste as good as anything.
So why cook Mexican rice in a rice cooker when you can as well do it on a stove? The answer is simple because no one likes to eat mushy and gooey Mexican rice. Rice cookers cannot get you wrong with this one, we bet! Your rice will be tender and yet not sticky.
You could make a healthier version of this recipe by replacing white rice with brown rice. All you will need to do is change the cooking time in your rice cooker or switch to the “brown rice” setting. You could add any other vegetables of your choice, or just replace the fresh vegetables with the frozen ones to make it super easy and quick. Similarly, you could skip the chicken part altogether and make it vegan according to your preference.
Total Time
This dish takes a total of 1 hour and 35 minutes.
40 minutes for marinating the chicken, 10 minutes for cutting the veggies and other preparations, 10 minutes to toast the rice and 35 minutes to cook the rice.
Serving Size
This deliciously rich recipe will easily cater 4 to 5 persons.
Kitchen Gadgets
- Rice cooker
- Chopping/ Cutting board
Marinating the Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ Kg Chicken thighs (bone-in, skinless)
- 2 tbsp. Chipotle peppers paste
- ¼ cup Tomato sauce
- Minced garlic 1 tsp. lemon juice
- ½ tsp Cumin powder
- ½ tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Chile powder
- Garlic salt as per taste
- 1tsp Olive Oil
- Cooking oil for shallow frying
Method
- Put Cumin seeds powder, Coriander powder, Chili powder, Chipotle peppers paste and Olive oil in a small microwave oven safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. (You can skip this step if you want).
- Add this spice mixture and all the other ingredients together in a mixing bowl and whisk properly.
- Add the chicken thighs and mix thoroughly so that all the meat is coated in the sauces.
- Take a fork or knife and prick the meat so that the sauce and spice mixture is absorbed more readily into the meat.
- Refrigerate for 40 minutes.
Preparing the Chicken
- Shallow fry in 1 tbsp. oil on medium flame, 5 minutes each side.
Preparing the Rice
Ingredients
- 500 g Long-grain White rice
- ¼ cup peas
- 1 tbsp. Sunflower Oil
- 3 Cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup carrot cubed
- 1 Onion, medium
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tbsp. chipotle paste
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- Salt as per taste
- ¼ cup corns
- 400 gram tin chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup cilantro leaves chopped
Method
- Finely chop the onions and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large non-stick pan on medium to low flame until shimmery and add the onions. Stir for 3 minutes.
- Mince the garlic and add it to the pan. Fry for 2 more minutes.
- Add the rice and sauté; keep stirring frequently until the rice change color to a slightly yellow or golden. This will take about 10 minutes. The rice will get a toasted flavor and fragrance after this step.
- Now transfer the rice, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, chipotle paste, black pepper, salt, and the vegetables, and the shallow fried chicken thighs to the rice cooker pot and close the lid. Select the “white rice” setting or if there’s a timer go for 35 minutes.
- Dish out in a serving dish and sprinkle the chopped cilantro on top.
Serving Suggestions
This super delicious and mouthwatering variation of Mexican rice can be served with super savory pineapple salsa and any other curry of your choice. You can quickly fill in a few Tacos with the filling of your choice as a perfect side for this one.
Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 medium fresh pineapple
- 1 red onion, small
- 2 jalapenos, (1 Red, 1 Green, if possible)
(You could replace jalapenos with chilies or 1 bell pepper) - ½ cup fresh Cilantro leaves
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
- ½ olive oil
- Salt as per taste
Method
- Cut the pineapple, remove the core and skin, and dice the flesh into very small chunks. Remember that canned pineapple is too soft and will lack the crunch needed for this recipe.
- Mince the onions and peppers. Remember, the finely you mince. The better your salsa gets.
- Mix all the ingredients with lime juice in a mixing bowl, drizzle some olive oil and let the flavors settle, for at least half an hour.
- Your crunchy, sweet and savory Pineapple salsa is ready to be served with Mexican rice with chicken and Vegetables.
Another perfect side for making it a complete dinner will be fixing some quick Nachos, and of course Nachos are the best part of Mexican food!
Final Words
You could fix some quick nachos by using tortilla chips and adding some salsa and spring onions on top. Whip up some sour cream or guacamole to serve with it and enjoy your restaurant style Mexican dinner at home!
