This fragrant, turmeric-infused, Indian Fried Rice recipe is full of healthy veggies that can be made in under 30 minutes. Vegetarian, Gluten-free, and Vegan adaptable, it is a fast and easy weeknight meal- great for using up leftover rice or stray veggies in the fridge. Serve over a bed of spinach with optional Raita.
One morning in while in India, our lovely host made us the most fragrant Indian Fried Rice for breakfast with all the leftover rice from the night before. I kept thinking to myself that I would happily eat this any time – day or night!
What I love about this recipe is how you can take the basic idea and add whatever veggies you have in the fridge and incorporate them.
Ingredients in Indian Fried Rice
Quick-cooking veggies work easiest here- snap peas, snow peas, bell peppers, asparagus, green beans, shredded cabbage or burssels- but with a little planning other veggies would taste great too, as long as you cook them a bit first (like steamed broccoli or cauliflower, roasted carrots, etc.).
Just try to keep the proportions the same so the spices don’t get lost.
How to make Indian Fried Rice
It starts with the rice. It is best to use leftover basmati rice for this recipe, so plan ahead! I like this method of cooking it because it is fast and easy!
You’ll need 3 cups of cooked basmati rice – which is 1 cup uncooked. Start this first if you are not using leftover rice and I like to cook this up in a pot of salted water, like pasta. See this Basmati Rice post for more instructions.
Saute onion, garlic and any veggies you want to add. Here I’ve added snap peas and bell pepper. Set the veggies aside.
*Don’t be intimidated by the 3 serrano chilies. This dish is really only mildy spicy- because of the way they are cut- and they do impart a beautiful flavor. Slice them the long way, crisscrossing, leaving the stem side intact. This way they are easy to fish out of the final dish.
In the same pan, you’ll temper the serrano peppers, curry leaves, mustard seeds and cumin seeds in ghee. You can also keep this vegan with olive oil or peanut oil.
If you’ve been here a while, you’ll already know how much more flavorful ghee is- but do as you please. 🙂
If you can track down curry leaves, they really elevate the dish. They are usually available at Asian Markets and can often be found in the frozen food section. I always keep some in my freezer.
You can always leave them out and use a few bay leaves in a pinch.
Then you’ll add the cooked basmati rice to the skillet along with the veggies, tossing to combine. Add the turmeric, salt and other spices. It will smell amazing and turn a lovely golden color.
As a finishing touch I like to add some fried peanuts, sprinkled with chili flakes to the Indian Fried Rice. Soooooo tasty!
Variations
Feel free to add other veggies to the mix; steamed broccoli or cauliflower, shredded cabbage or Brussels sprouts, roasted carrots, sauteed green beans or asparagus. You get the idea!
Serving Suggestions
Serve the Indian Fried Rice with Raita or Cilantro Mint Chutney (or both!) or on its own over a bed of baby spinach.
Garnish with the peanuts, scallions and cilantro. A squeeze of lime is nice too. A fast and flavorful weeknight dinner that is full of healthy veggies.
The Indian Fried Rice will keep up to 4 days in the fridge or freeze for up to 3 months.
Have a happy, delicious weekend- xo
More Favorite Rice Recipes!
How to Make Indian Fried Rice! | 30-second video!
Indian Fried Rice
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: vegetarian, vegan, main
- Method: stirfry
- Cuisine: Indian
Description
This fragrant, turmeric infused, Indian Fried Rice is full of healthy veggies and can be made in under 30 minutes. Vegetarian, Gluten-free and Vegan adaptable, it is a fast and easy weeknight meal- great for using up leftover rice and veggies in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked basmati rice (1 cup uncooked)
- —–
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1–2 tablespoons ghee, or olive oil, or peanut oil.
- 4–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 bell pepper (red or yellow), diced (see notes for other veggies)
- 1 1/2 cups snap peas (or snow peas, asparagus or frozen peas)
- pinch salt and pepper
- ——
- 1–2 tablespoons ghee, or olive oil
- 3 serrano chilies, split lengthwise (see photo)
- 1/2 cup peanuts (or cashews)
- 10–15 curry leaves (these are really delicious, but if you must leave out, sub 3 bay leaves)
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (or regular)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- pinch chili falkes
- ——
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (optional)
- chili flakes to taste
- squeeze of lime (optional)
Instructions
Cook basmati rice, and drain well if using the pasta method.
In a large skillet, heat ghee over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender about 5 minutes. Add garlic and remaining veggies, cooking until just tender -don’t overdo it here- you want them bright, crisp and vibrant. Season with salt and pepper and set them aside in a bowl.
In the same skillet, over medium heat, add another 2 tablespoons of ghee, coating pan well. Add the 3 split serrano chilies and peanuts. Swirl or stir for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Add the curry leaves, stir for 1 minute. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and chili flakes, stir until mustard begins to pop, about 30-45 seconds.
Add the drained basmati rice to the same pan, and stir to combine, getting all those seeds and peanuts up from the bottom and edges. Sprinkle in the salt, turmeric, coriander and asafoetida. If you like heat, add more chili flakes. Fold in the sauteed veggies, and saute until heated through, scraping up any crispy browned bits- a metal spatula works well here.
Taste, adjust salt, chili flakes and add a squeeze of lime if you like.
Garnish with scallions, cilantro and lime.
Serve over a bed of spinach ( you can wilt it if you like) with optional raita or mint chutney.
Notes
Other veggies: asparagus, green beans, shredded cabbage, shredd brussel sprouts, steamed broccoli, diced carrot, etc. You’ll need 3 cups total.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 464
- Sugar: 8.2 g
- Sodium: 448.5 mg
- Fat: 21.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 58.7 g
- Fiber: 5.6 g
- Protein: 11.1 g
- Cholesterol: 30.5 mg
I’ve never cooked with curry leaves before. Do I use dried or fresh?
Fresh or frozen are best, but dried work in a pinch!
Thanks! Looking forward to making this recipe 🙂
Can you leave out the nuts and if so do you have an alternative?
Hemp hearts with give some richness but not crunch. You can also just leave off the peanuts.
Hubby and I are cutting carbs, so I used only one cup of leftover basmati rice, left out the curry leaves (didn’t have any in the pantry) and substituted a cup of frozen chopped spinach for the peas. Otherwise pretty much followed the recipe. Absolutely delicious. Wonderful combination of spices.
Great to hear Tracy, glad you improvised!
I didn’t read the recipe carefully and made my rice early in the morning thinking it needed to be drier rice like in Asian fried rice. Don’t do this. LOVE the pasta method for cooking rice. It was fluffy and perfect. Lifechanger. Followed the recipe and loved using some new ingredients. I had to add about 1/2 c. of stock because of me drying the rice out, but my husband literally said, “Thank you for dinner”, about five times tonight. Super amazing.
Love it Amy! Thanks for taking the time to review.
Wow, this was terrific! I added s9me jumbo prawns sautéed in chilli and garlic but otherwise followed exactly. I will definitely be making this again, so tasty!
Excellent Mike!
I love this recipe. It’s so flavorful
Thanks Denine!