Carrot rice recipe | How to make carrot rice recipe

Carrot rice – Simple, healthy, delicious & quick carrot rice recipe for the busy days. It can be made for lunch, dinner or for lunch box. This carrot rice can be made using grated carrots or finely chopped carrots to suit your liking or your convenience.

This rice can be made in 2 ways, sharing both the versions. The second method can be made in a pressure cooker. You can also use green peas or corn to make this and skip cashews. More details mentioned below.

Carrot rice can be served alone or with some curd, raita or papads. You can find more Carrot recipes here

I make this carrot rice at least a week for my kids’ lunch box. They love it and finish up most times.

Get creative and try with different spice powders like garam masala, pav bhaji masala, vangi bath or bisi bele bath powder.

For more Rice recipes, do check
Corn pulao
Fried rice
Veg pulao
Dal khichdi
Beetroot pulao

Carrot rice recipe

Carrot rice

Carrot rice recipe – This simple carrot rice is delicious, healthy and quick to make any time. It can be served with yogurt or raita. Carrot rice goes very well in school and office lunch boxes.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Total Time35 minutes

Servings2

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

Ingredients for carrot rice

• 1 cup rice (uncooked)
• 1 tablespoon oil or ghee

spices

• 1 small bay leaf or curry leaves
• ½ teaspoon cumin or jeera
• 2 green cardamoms or ½ tsp mustard (optional)
• 1 inch cinnamon or 1 tsp urad dal (optional)

other ingredients

• 1 medium onion (sliced)
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste or grated ginger
• 2 carrots grated or 1 cup chopped finely
• 1 handful coriander leaves or pudina (mint) chopped
• ¾ teaspoon garam masala or any spice powder as needed
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder or paprika (optional)
• 12 cashews or roasted peanuts (optional)
• salt as needed

How to make the recipe

Preparation for carrot rice

• Wash and soak rice for about 20 minutes.
• Cook it to grainy and not mushy. Fluff with a fork and cool completely.
• If cooking in a pot you can add 2 cups water, bring it to a boil and cook covered on a low flame.

How to make carrot rice

• Heat a pan with oil and fry all the dry spices until they crackle.
• Add onions and saute until transparent or golden.
• Saute ginger garlic paste till the raw smell vanishes. Add carrots and saute for one to two minutes. Sprinkle salt and Cook till carrot is cooked to your liking.
• Add spice powders – chili powder, garam masala and mint or coriander leaves. Stir and saute for a minute for the raw smell of chili powder to go off.
• Cover and cook on a low heat if using chopped carrots and not grated.
• Add cooked and cooled rice and sprinkle very little salt.  
• Mix everything well and squeeze in some lemon if desired.
• Garnish carrot rice with toasted cashews. Serve with a Raita.

NUTRITION

Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 404mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 203.8% | Vitamin C: 9.8% | Calcium: 8.4% | Iron: 8.1%

method 1 – How to make carrot rice

1. Heat oil in a pan. If using cashews, golden fry them and set aside. Saute dry spices. I used bay leaf, shahi jeera, cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves. You can also replace them with curry leaves, mustard, cumin and urad dal. I have made several times that way too, the rice has more of curry leaves flavor.

2. Add chopped or sliced onions and fry until they turn lightly golden or brown.

3. Next add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes off.

4. Add grated or finely chopped carrots and saute for a while. If using green peas or corn you can add them now. If using corn from the cob they need to be boiled first until tender and then use here. If using frozen corn or peas, just rinse them and use.

5. Sprinkle salt and cook on a low flame until done.

Adding spice powders to make carrot rice

6. Then add red chili powder, garam masala and pudina leaves or coriander leaves.  If making for young kids, you can skip red chili powder. Mix  everything well and fry for a minute.

7. If using grated carrots, skip this step. Cover the pan and cook on a low flame for 1 to 2 minutes. This helps the veggies to absorb the flavors well. The mixture is slightly moist now, this prevents the rice from becoming dry even when stored in lunch box for few hours.

8. Switch off the stove. Add cooked and cooled rice, sprinkle salt. I also use little extra virgin olive oil.

9. Mix everything well. I usually add hot rice to the pan and sprinkle salt and oil. Set aside to cool completely. I mix it later when cooled. Add cashews if using.  If using corn or peas, you can skip cashews.

Carrot rice can also be served with a simple raita or a bowl of plain curd. For the lunch box, i pack with a simple vegetable stir fry. This time it was the baby corn capsicum stir fry.

You can find method 2, a one pot method after the recipe card.

METHOD 2 – carrot rice in cooker

one pot method. Can make in pressure cooker or in a pot
This method works good with only chopped carrots. You can also use peas and corn. Same Instructions to follow till step 6 from the step by step instructions.

7. Add 1 and a ¾ cups water and bring it to a boil.

8. Adjust salt as needed. Add soaked and drained rice to the boiling water.

9. Cook until rice is done. If cooking in pressure cooker, cook until water is almost evaporated.

10. While the rice is still soggy, cover the cooker with a lid and cook on a very low flame for 3 to 4 minutes.

11. When the pressure goes off, open the lid .Carrot rice is ready, sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves.