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christmas rice with fork and towel
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5 from 1 vote

Christmas rice with cranberries

This Trinidad Christmas rice is a wonderful side dish for the holidays. It has all the basic ingredients of a simple fried rice plus cranberries to add wonderful pops of sweetness.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time16 minutes
Cooling Time15 minutes
Total Time46 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Caribbean
Keyword: Christmas rice
Servings: 6
Calories: 209kcal
Author: Ros Singh

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rice (like white jasmine rice)
  • 4 cups water
  • 5 cloves
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • tbsp ginger
  • 1 pimento pepper (or pepper of choice)
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 2 medium bell peppers
  • ¼ cup cranberries
  • ¼ cup cilantro or celery
  • cup culantro or chadon beni
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • pinch of sugar (optional)

Instructions

  • Place a large pot on medium heat.
  • Add water, 1 tsp salt and cloves. Bring to a boil.
  • Rinse rice at least 3 times until the water runs clear.
  • Add the washed rice to the boiling water.
  • Boil until the rice is completely cooked (about 12 minutes).
  • Strain any excess water. Set aside to cool (about 15 minutes).
  • Wash, peel and chop the onion and garlic.
  • Scrape the ginger peel. Grate.
  • Rinse, scrape and dice the carrots.
  • Wash, de-seed and dice the bell peppers and pimento pepper.
  • Wash and chop the cranberries (optional).
  • Wash and finely chop the fresh herbs like celery and chadon beni.
  • Place a large skillet on medium heat. Leave to heat up.
  • Add oil and butter.
  • Mix in the prepped onion, garlic, ginger and pimento.
  • Stir. Cook for 30 seconds.
  • Toss in the carrots and 1 tsp of salt. Cool for 1 minute.
  • Mix in the sweet peppers, celery and chadon beni.
  • Sauté for 1 minute.
  • Stir in the cranberries.
  • Fluff rice with a fork. Remove cloves (optional).
  • Add rice to the sauteed vegetables. Mix thoroughly.
  • Taste test and adjust salt and pepper. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar (optional) for a sweeter dish.
  • Turn off the heat. Serve hot.