Curry Rice & Spinach

If you can boil water and operate a microwave, you can put dinner on the table with this one. A box of curry-flavored rice sets the seasoning baseline, and three cans-and-a-frozen-block round out a meal that punches well above its prep time. The rice cooks on the stovetop while everything else gets microwaved in parallel, so this is genuinely 30-minutes-from-cabinet-to-bowl.

Skipping the butter or oil packet that ships with most curry rice mixes is the smart move the original recipe makes. The dish gets fat from the black beans and umami from the canned tomatoes, so the added fat is unnecessary. The result is a bowl that lands closer to a curried Indian rice dish than a buttery pilaf.

Frozen spinach reheats and drains in minutes and brings real iron and fiber to the bowl. Toss everything together at the end and the residual heat from the rice warms the spinach and beans through.

Pro Tips

• Squeeze excess water out of the spinach with a clean kitchen towel before mixing in. Wet spinach turns the rice mushy.
• Don’t drain the canned tomatoes completely. A little tomato juice carries the curry flavor through the rice and keeps the bowl moist.
• Toast a teaspoon of curry powder in a dry pan and stir it into the finished bowl for an extra spice bump.
• Salt at the end, not at the start. Most boxed curry rice mixes are already plenty salty.

Variations

• Stir in a spoonful of mango chutney for sweet-tart contrast.
• Add a fried egg or a handful of toasted cashews on top for a more filling main.
• Swap black beans for lentils for a more traditional Indian pulse profile.