Regional Cuisine, Rice Recipes

Traditional Polish holiday side dishes: golden fried cabbage with split peas, pearl barley, buckwheat, baked rice, breadcrumb-coated potatoes, and seasoned beans. A complete Wigilia spread.

General Tao's chicken with crispy water chestnut flour coating, Thai chili peppers, ginger, and orange peel in a sweet-sour sesame sauce. Restaurant-style Chinese takeout at home.

Chicken and andouille sausage gumbo with a dark lard roux, okra, the holy trinity, and a seven-spice seasoning mix. Authentic Louisiana gumbo served over rice.

All-purpose Mediterranean meat and rice stuffing with fresh mint, parsley, and dill. Fills vine leaves, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers for dolma-style dishes.

Vegetarian chickpeas sauteed with garlic, celery, and bell pepper in an olive-tahini sauce with wheat germ, tamari, and marjoram. Serve over rice or grains.

Egyptian lentils (koshari) with rice and elbow macaroni topped with spicy tomato-vinegar sauce and crispy caramelized onions. A hearty vegan comfort dish.

Kesari bhaat (sweet saffron rice): Indian basmati rice perfumed with saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove, sweetened with jaggery, and finished with almonds and currants. Traditional festival dessert.

Traditional Persian tahdig rice with saffron, cinnamon, pistachios, golden raisins, and candied orange zest. Fluffy basmati on top, shatteringly crisp golden crust on the bottom.

Perfumed wtih Benali 5-spice (panch puran), this tasty melange of vegetables is wonderful with basmati rice.

Hidatsa stuffed sugar pumpkin: a Plains Native American dish with ground bison or venison, wild rice, and sage filling baked inside a whole sugar pumpkin until tender. Harvest feast main course.

Laufabrauð (Icelandic snowflake bread): paper-thin rounds of dough decorated with intricate cut-outs, fried crispy in hot lard. A Christmas tradition from the Westfjords going back generations.

Ukrainian potato-cheese filling for varenyky made with mashed potatoes, cheddar, bryndzia, and butter-fried onions. A traditional pierogi filling with real depth.

Saag vali khichri is a soothing Indian rice and mung bean porridge stirred with fresh spinach, cumin, coriander, and ghee. Nourishing comfort food with Ayurvedic roots, gentle on the stomach and big on warming spice.

Shahi dal is a royal Indian lentil dish with pigeon peas simmered in whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves, then finished with a ghee-fried onion tadka. Vegetarian comfort food served over rice.

Thai chicken soup with lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, fresh chili, cilantro, and mint. A light, aromatic broth inspired by tom yum, served with rice.

Sanbaizu is a classic Japanese dipping sauce made with rice vinegar, dashi, soy sauce, and sugar. A light, tangy all-purpose condiment for dumplings, sashimi, and sunomono.