Broccoli Rice with corn and peanuts - a quick and easy dinner

I know a lot of people who don't like broccoli including yours truly. I actually quite like cauliflower which is a similar vegetable? No?. It took a decade and half but I have finally crossed over. If you like broccoli then this recipe is not to be missed.

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The kids have always liked broccoli and it is an easy and good as an evening snack par-boiled or roasted. It serves as a tasty filling in a quesadilla which is a well liked lunch box item and these broccoli quesadillas if you want to know are far more tastier than I expected them to be.

Crunchy and perfectly spiced the broccoli are tasty in this very lightly spiced rice dish. I now think that broccoli tastes just fine when cooked right, getting unpleasant only when it gets mushy and overcooked.

It was Friday evening, the refrigerator was running on empty save for a bag of broccoli. With some frozen corn and raw peanuts plans for a broccoli rice were born. If you do not have peanuts use black chickpeas or black eyed peas instead.

Broccoli Rice with corn and peanuts
Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 Cups of rice (any long grain rice will work)
2. 3-4 cups of broccoli separated into florets, the woody portions peeled and cut into inch sized pieces
3. 1 cup of raw peanuts
4. 1 cup of corn (frozen corn kernels)
5. 1/2 tbsp of black pepper powder + 1/2 tbsp of cayenne pepper
6. 2 cups of sliced onions
7. 5 garlic cloves minced
8. 1 tbsp ginger grated
9. salt to taste
10. 2 tsp of oil + 2 tsp of sesame oil
11. Feta cheese
12. Sliced lemons

Method
1. Cook the rice with the sesame oil and a pinch of salt such that the grains are separate
2. Cook the raw peanuts (I use a pressure cooker to cook them), substitute with roasted unsalted peanuts
3. Heat a pot of water and blanch the broccoli florets for a minute or two and set aside
4. In a wide mouthed pan, heat the oil and add the onions and saute till they are translucent, add the garlic and ginger and saute for a few more minutes
5. Add the frozen corn and the cooked peanuts along with the pepper and cayenne pepper, salt (if using roasted peanuts add them along with the rice)
6. Add in the broccoli florets and saute for 4-5 minutes mixing it into the spices
7. Add in the cooked rice and gently toss so everything is mixed in well
8. Serve with feat cheese sprinkled on top and a squeeze of lemon juice