Arroz Natalino
Arroz Natalino is a traditional rice dish served for Christmas throughout Brazil. It boasts a complex flavor that’s both savory and sweet, thanks to ingredients like raisins, nuts, garlic and onion. Some people also love to include bacon or shredded chicken in the mix, but we’ve kept things simple for this recipe to offer you a vegetarian/vegan option to pair with the main course.
Arroz Natalino
In Brazil you can’t call a meal a dinner if there is no rice. It is easy to cook, cheap, delicious, and nutritious.
Ingredients
- 3 cups rice washed and drained
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 6 cups warm water
- 1 cup black raisins seedless
- 1/2 cup yellow raisins seedless
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts chopped
- 1 cup Brazil nuts chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the minced garlic and fry it until it turns golden.
- Next add the rice and stir in the oil and garlic for about 3 minutes until coated with the flavor.
- Now, add the warm water and salt and bring to a boil. Half-cover the pan and simmer the rice until the water has mostly evaporated.
- Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Continue cooking until the rice has finished absorbing the liquid and has softened.
- Take off the heat, transfer to a serving platter and leave aside to cool.
- In another pan, add the remaining butter and oil and fry the chopped onion together with the raisins, the cashews and Brazil nuts for about 3 minutes, stirring well.
- Add the sautéed raisins and nuts over the rice. You can optionally decorate with carambola and more raw nuts, if you wish.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
