Indian Curried Fried Rice
frozen cauliflower / peas / carrots
We're doubling down on curry this week, but even though we use similar flavors, this Indian curried fried rice is totally different from last night's meal. It's light and fragrant with spices - plus, it comes together super fast!
Smarts: Using all frozen veggies for fried rice makes it one of the quickest weeknight meals!
Ingredients
- Cauliflower florets, frozen (sub fresh) - 1 lb
- Carrots and peas, frozen - 2 cups
- Chicken breasts, boneless & skinless - 1 lb, chopped
- Ginger - 1 inch, grated
- Green onions - 3 stalks, chopped, white and green parts separated
- Leftover rice (from Monday) - 2 cups
- Curry powder - 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp
- Turmeric - 2 tsp
- Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
- Coriander - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin - 1/2 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Cooking oil or ghee - 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
- Raisins, golden - 1/3 cup
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Thaw frozen veggies - Measure out cauliflower and peas / carrots.
- Chicken - Chop into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper and then tenderize with a fork. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
- Ginger / Green onions - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
- Prep rice - Transfer leftover rice from Monday into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add first part of curry powder, turmeric, chili powder, coriander, cumin, and salt to bowl but don’t mix just yet.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
- Heat a wok or saute pan over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with second part of curry powder.
- Add first part of oil / ghee and then chicken to heated fat. Saute until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan and add to bowl with rice and spices.
- Return pan to medium-high heat and add second part of oil / ghee to pan. Add ginger and white parts of green onions to the heated fat.
- Once you can smell the aromatics, add cauliflower, peas, carrots, and raisins to the pan (it’s fine if they’re not fully defrosted - they’ll defrost in the pan). Toss and saute until thawed and warmed through, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix chicken with rice and spices.
- Once veggies are cooked, fold in chicken and rice mixture. Toss until rice is warmed through.
- Season to taste with more spices and / or salt and pepper. Finish with green parts of the green onions and serve hot!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
60 reviews
I made this for the 17 people who came to my book club meeting. They all loved it. I downloaded the version that serves 8 and doubled it. I also had cashews and raisins for people to sprinkle on top.
Yum! We made with paneer instead of chicken, and had with some other sides as well to make it feel more of a meal. I tossed the seasonings and rice in with the stir fried paneer to let the spices all get toasted a bit, and also added a little broth to the veggies cooking to help them get cooked and add a little moisture per other reviews.