This side dish is oh so yummy. Perfect to pair with a nice grilled steak. Eaten outside on a glorious warm evening. With a big glass of wine. Some smart funny friends. Where there are no bugs. Or whining children.

I guess you can say that if there was going to be a perfect, albeit imaginary, evening this side dish could be there.

You might notice something different about this post. “Where are the photos, Chris?” you might be asking.

They were lost in an unfortunate delete all images slip of thumb from the SD card. I had thought I could remake the dish and rephotograph it in all its glory. But this morning I was staring at my Blackberry, all the ingredients laid out before me on the counter. I scrolled past the rest of the week and weekend: 6 baseball practices, 5 baseball games, one art lesson, one afternoon of kayaking, tickets to a play, a doctor appointment, horse back riding lessons times three, a desperately needed hair appointment, tile that has to be ordered and picked up by tomorrow, a bathroom that needs to be painted before the tile is picked up but after the paint is bought, and well, I realized that it just was not going to happen.

Instead I will give you the recipe, just in case the stars align and you can have the perfect evening and need this dish.

You will need:

[Insert photo of artfully arrange ingredients on the kitchen table. Make sure breakfast dishes are strategically placed out of the view of the camera.]

1/2 cup dried mango
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup basmati rice (any kind will really do, but I love the way this one tastes with fruit)
14oz chicken broth, either from a can or if you saved some when making soup last week
3/4 cup water
1tsp basil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

This is the part I like, because it is SOOOOOOO easy.

Cut up the dried mango into 1/4 inch pieces.

[Insert obligatory photo of knife wielding child.]

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan that has a well fitting lid.

[Insert photo of pan. WITH a lid.]

Bring to a boil. Give it a quick stir.

[Insert photo of spoon inside of a pan. For really artsy fartsy look capture steam rising from pan.]

Cover. Turn the heat down as low as it can go.

[Insert photo of low flame on the stove. Make note to photoshop out spills on burners]

And let it cook until the rice is done. Just as if you were cooking rice regularly. If you have some toasted pine nuts, throw them on top. I never do so I just skip this. I bet it would make it even more delicious though.

[Insert photo of beautiful rice on a plate, smiling child with fork poised to eat it]

And that is the end. Really. That is it.

[Insert on least photo of rice with a half empty glass of wine in the background]

Enjoy!

Subscribe to blog via RSS