Insalata di riso
This delicious rice salad is to Italian family meals what the cucumber-tomato-onion salad is to traditional Indian meals. It is best prepared using long-grain rice and allows for ingredients of your choice, although cured meat and cheese chunks are the most popular add-ons. Here comes the best part – the longer this salad sits, the better it tastes, thus making it a hit dish for picnics and outings.
Nasi Goreng
Nasi Goreng means ‘fried rice’ in Malay and Indonesian, and is touted as the national dish of Indonesia. It has a distinguished taste, owing to the generous amounts of sweet soy sauce used in its preparation.
Biryani
Did someone say spices? Well, the Indian cuisine is known for its aromatic and spicy preparations and the biryani is certainly a national favourite. The Hyderabadi biryani undoubtedly finishes on top in terms of spiciness, but even the simplest of biryanis cooked in Indian households is a treat to the tastebuds.
Hoppin’ John
This rather quirkily named dish is a popular household preparation in southern United States. In fact, the locals believes that eating this dish on New Year’s Eve brings good luck. Interestingly, when this dish is eaten on the day after New Year’s, it is called ‘Skippin’ Jenny’, and is considered to bring even more luck and prosperity.
Risotto
Risotto is a popular north Italian dish that requires rice to be cooked in a broth until a creamy consistency is achieved. It is a delicious comfort food straight from the kitchens of Italy and allows for countless variations to suit your fancy.
Sushi
Sushi is the most popular Japanese dish outside the country of Japan. It consists of vinegared rice, seafood, veggies, seeds and various sauces. With a zillion possible variations, it is not a surprise that the sushi industry is a 14 billion dollar (USD) one in Japan itself!
Paella
Paella is a mouth-watering Spanish preparation that is often referred to as the national dish of Spain. It is characterised by its beautiful colour and unique flavour owing to the use of saffron. Moreover, all Paella recipes use olive oil, thus making it a healthier food choice too.
Jambalaya
Jambalaya is a popular dish from the Louisiana creole cuisine and consists of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. This dish traces its origin to New Orleans, where the inhabitants wanted to prepare Spanish paella but wanted a cheaper alternative to saffron and thus turned to tomatoes, leading to an entirely new dish.
Suman
No! We are not talking about your distant relative’s mother! Suman is actually a popular dish from Philippines, made with rice, milk, sugar and coconuts. The mix is wrapped in banana or coconut leaves and served.
So peeps, it’s time to change the phrase to ‘sugar, spice and everything rice’!