Achari Gongura Rice – an easy spicy Indian rice using homemade or store bought gongura Indian pickles/achaar; a quick and perfect lunch option!
Summers are upon us and everyone is scrambling to satiate their thirst and keep cool with fresh juices, fruits and refreshing salads! This is not the time to spend hours in the kitchen over a hot stove, cooking up a gourmet, elaborate meal!
South Indians are known for their quick one-pot meal options using a bowl of simple cooked rice! With just a few basic spices which all Indians (and even home cooks and chefs around the world!) today have in their pantry and some cooked rice, we churn out delicious and lip smacking dishes like lemon rice, tamarind rice, tomato rice etc. or even a simple mixed vegetable fried rice!
Today, another variation is this 2-ingredient rice dish (if you do not count basic everyday cooking spices as ‘ingredients”) using an Indian store-bought pickle and rice – Achaari Gongura Rice or rice flavored with a spicy store bought or if you have homemade Gongura or sorrel leaves pickle!
WHAT ARE GONGURA LEAVES?
Gongura or commonly known as sorrel leaves are highly nutritious, slightly tangy leaves which are high in iron, vitamins, folic acid, anti-oxidants, a wonderful coolant in summers, very useful in reducing inflammations; I can go on! You can find more information online in various websites.
This unique and healthy leaf is mostly indigenous to the southern regions of India and more popular in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh where you will see this special leaf in many meat, chicken and fish dishes, in pickles (the Indian variety), as an addition to stir fries or even added to dal curries.
USING GONGURA PICKLES WITH RICE:
We love pickles and most of us have bottles or jars of pickles (vegetables pickled in Indian spices which have a good shelf life) either homemade or store bought as an accompaniment to rice and dal or rotis, parathas, puris or any other flat breads with some curry!
Recently, I bought a small jar of gongura pickles from a local Indian store. My family loves Indian pickles (homemade or store bought) as an accompaniment for most meals. Well, I have so many varieties in my kitchen, it has a special corner in the house which we call ‘the pickle corner”!
This particular bottle had an amazing taste but was a bit too salty for our palate. Now, I had to finish it as I knew my family would use it sparingly because of its super saltiness! What better way than just mixing it with rice for a quick and easy no-cook option when we have leftover cooked rice! And it is healthy and tasty too!
Made it twice; once a bit more spicy with more pickles and once a bit less spicy, stirring in less! Both came out amazing!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR A QUICK AND LIP-SMACKING ACHARI GONGURA RICE:
- Of course, you need gongura pickles or use any other Indian pickle you have but make sure that is more on the pasty side instead of having chunky pieces of vegetables or any other ingredient.
- Some basic spices like mustard seeds, dry red or fresh green chilies, curry leaves, cumin seeds, lentils (urad and chana) and some haldi or turmeric powder along with oil of course. These can be adjusted to suit your palate.
- Some cooked rice; cooled, fluffy and separate. If you do not have it ready, cook ahead of time and let cool.
- Nuts like peanuts, cashew nuts etc. for added texture, crunch and of course nutrition (protein content).
- An optional ingredient which I love to add in most of my dishes – coconut, freshly grated, dry or even frozen! It gives an amazing flavor and a hint of sweetness to any dish, but if you do not have it you can totally leave it out.
That is it!
Just make a tempering or seasoning of the spices in some cooking oil, stir in the required amount of gongura pickles and rice, mix, heat through and enjoy! If you are in a hurry and have no time to make the tempering, just mix cooled, room temperature rice with any Indian pickle to combine thoroughly and enjoy!
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
The final dish was so, so lip-smackingly delicious, our whole family was spooning it up like there is no tomorrow! Enjoy it warm or even at room temperature –perfect as a summer meal option for lunch or even in your children’s or office tiffin/lunch box!
I COULD JUST ENJOY THIS DISH WITHOUT ANY SIDES BUT IF YOU HAVE TOO - a side of crisp poppadums/potato chips or some freshly chopped salad or a cooling raita is all you need to complete this healthy meal!
We had it with some carrot, tomato and onion raitha along with another lip smacking Konkani style karela/bitter gourd curry called "Karathe Kismuri".
IF YOU LIKE THIS QUICK AND EASY INDIAN STYLE RICE, YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN THESE OTHER RICE OPTIONS TOO:
to name some!
Lets check out how to make this quick and easy Achari Gongura Rice shall we?
An easy spicy Indian rice using homemade or store bought gongura Indian pickles/achaar; a quick and perfect lunch option!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 2 tbsp oil (coconut or any other cooking oil)
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp jeera/cumin seeds
- ½ tsp urad dal/split black gram dal
- 1 ½ tsp chana dal/split chickpea dal
- 2 to 3 dry red chilies, broken into 2 pieces (or use green chilies/jalapenos)
- Few curry leaves (about 8 to 10)
- ¼ cup to 1/3 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
- 1/3 to ¼ cup peanuts or cashew nuts (optional but adds a wonderful crunch to the dish!)
- ¼ tsp haldi/turmeric powder
- 2 to 3 tablespoons Gongura/Sorrel leaves pickle; I have used Mother’s pickles
- ¼ tsp hing/asafetida powder
Instructions
- If you do not have cooked rice, make that first and then proceed. Use cooled rice; assures for fluffy rice with separate grains.
- Heat oil and once hot, add mustard seeds.
- As soon as the seeds start to splutter and crackle, add jeera, urad dal, chana dal, red chilies, curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.
- Stir in grated coconut.
- Fry or saute on medium low heat, stirring often until the coconut is slightly roasted.
- Sprinkle peanuts and fry for a few seconds.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of Gongura pickle and mix well (you can add more if needed, so start with 2 tablespoons first).
- Sprinkle cooked rice over the mixture and mix to combine thoroughly. Do a taste test and add more pickles or salt if needed.
- Heat through, stirring often on medium heat. Sprinkle hing powder (optional), mix well and remove from heat.
- Serve hot, spicy and jhatpat Achaari Gongura Rice hot or at room temperature. It is best enjoyed with some raita or plain curd on the side. A few crisp papads/potato chips or a fresh and crunchy salad on the side and your soul comforting Indian meal is ready to dig into!
- ENJOY AND HAPPY COOKING!
Notes
Adjust the amount of spices according to personal taste.
Use as much or as little as the pickle depending upon the taste of the brand of pickle.
The same recipe can be made using any other pickle but make sure it does not have big chunks and is mostly in a paste form!
STEP-WISE INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE ACHARI GONGURA RICE:
If you do not have cooked rice, make that first and then proceed. Use cooled rice; assures for fluffy rice with separate grains.
TO MAKE ACHAARI GONGURA RICE:
Heat oil and once hot, add mustard seeds.
As soon as the seeds start to splutter and crackle, add jeera, urad dal, chana dal, dry red chilies, curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.
Stir in dry grated coconut.
Fry or saute on medium low heat, stirring often until the coconut is slightly roasted.
Stir in peanuts (or cashews if using) and mix well. If the nuts are not roasted, fry for a while other wise proceed with the other ingredients.
Add haldi powder and 2 to 3 tablespoons of Gongura pickle; mix well (you can add more if needed, so start with 2 tablespoons first).
Sprinkle cooked rice over the mixture and mix to combine thoroughly. Do a taste test and add more pickles or salt if needed.
Heat through, stirring often on medium heat. Sprinkle hing powder (optional), mix well and remove from heat.
Serve hot, spicy and jhatpat Achaari Gongura Rice hot or at room temperature. It is best enjoyed with some raita or plain curd on the side. A few crisp papads/potato chips or a fresh and crunchy salad on the side and your soul comforting Indian meal is ready to dig into!
We enjoyed it with some carrot, onions and tomato raitha and another lip smacking Konkani style karela/bitter gourd curry called Karathe Kismuri!
ENJOY AND HAPPY COOKING!
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Have fun cooking, eating and sharing!!!
Thank you! I am not a fan of gongura pachadi, but visiting relatives always bring some. This will be a nice way to use up the pachadis.
I've never heard of Gongura, how interesting! I love the flavors in this dish, it looks wonderful! Thank you for sharing your delicious dish at Fiesta Friday!
This rice dish looks and sounds amazing! I can only imagine how good it makes your home smell! YUM!
Looks so delicious and healthy! Perfect for a balanced dinner or lunch ♥
This is a flavorful and healthy rice. Love the combinations to making it.
I need these in my life STAT!
This is so full of flavor!
This has me craving some gongura pickle and rice! One of my favorite meals to have when we were living in Bangalore. Absolutely tempting!