Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice)
I have never really eaten a lot of greens in my life. Its not like I hate ’em; but I just don’t eat ’em so much. I always manage to fool myself into eating the greens by blending and adding them to something or the other that I munch on. This rice happened to be discovered one day when I just had a lot of spinach & mint leaves and didn’t wanna eat the typical south Indian style spinach with lentils. Of course, later on I found out it wasn’t such a great invention myself. Such a dish already exists 😀 And that goes by the name Arroz Verde.
A little research I did told me that every Mexican family has its own version of the Green Rice. Some use spinach, some use arugula, some use a mix of the two, some add cilantro or mint and so on… So I have just come to the conclusion that you could add whatever edible green leafy vegetable you have on hand and it’ll still be called Arroz Verde. (correct me if I’m wrong 🙂) And since Corn is such a popular ingredient in so many Mexican dishes, I decided to add that too! 😉 Mint is my favorite edible leaf. So I was generous with the mint!! 🙂
Let’s get started.
You’ll need –
Start by washing the rice well and soaking in warm water for as much time as possible. I usually do that 30 minutes before. This helps the rice cook faster.
Wash your green leafy veggies extremely well.
Along with the chilli pepper & garlic, blend the greens (in batches, if you have to) to a really smooth juice.
Heat up oil in a large wok and add the onions
Sauté the onions until they are translucent
Add in the corn kernels and sauté for a minute or two.
Drain out the water from the rice.
Add it to the Wok.
Mix well and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the blended green juice + water & SALT
Bring it to a boil. Taste before closing with a lid
Close & cook for 15-20 minutes or until rice is done. Fluff up the rice with a fork.
Serve hot as is or with any of your favorite Mexican sides!
Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain Rice
- 1 cup Spinach leaves *
- 1 cup Mint leaves *
- 2 TBsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup sliced Onions
- 1/2 cup Corn Kernels
- 2–4 Green Chilli or Poblano peppers
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 TBsp Salt (or as required)
- Water **
* Green Leaves –
- use a total of 2 cups of any kind of green leafy veggies you have.
** Water –
- If the blended leaves don’t measure up to 2 cups of liquid, add enough water to the blended leaves to bring them to 2 cups. (Ratio of rice to liquid :: 1 cup rice : 2 cups liquid)
Instructions
- Wash & then Soak rice in warm water for around 20-30 minutes (optional)
- In a blender, add the clean leaves, chilli, garlic along with some water and blend it really well to form a smooth juice. If the total amount of blended juice isn’t 2 cups, Add enough water to make it to 2 cups of liquid.
- Heat oil on a pan and fry the onions until translucent. Add the corn kernels & sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Drain out the water from the rice & add it to the onions. Mix well.
- Add the green liquid and stir well.
- Add the salt & mix well. Taste the water. It should be as salty as you like.
- Let that come to a boil.
- Simmer it down, close the lid & cook for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
- Fluff up the rice with a fork or wooden spoon.
- Serve hot
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Mexican
Very healthy and delicious dish…
Thanks for sharing such wonderful post… 🙂
Hi Kavi, your this rice dish look awesome. With the mint leaves, I’m sure it’s very fragrant, I love the minty scent.
THanks for sharing the recipe. Have a nice week ahead.
good one kavi; liked the last pic especially – hand me the platter pretty please !
healthy n flavorful rice