We are huge foodies in this house. We LOVE to eat! And we love to cook. If you’ve been following this blog you’ll know that we were doing a huge house renovation project which meant we haven’t had a kitchen for six months! But we do now and we’ve haven’t stopped cooking since. I am all for experiencing and eating different foods, foods from around the world but also food that is family friendly. In the past, I’ve often ended up cooking two meals in an evening – one for Anya and one for Richard and me. That just takes the joy out of cooking and it starts to feel like a chore. So I keep looking for new ideas and flavours that will feed us all and I thought I would share some of my favourties here too.
Even though Anya is a fussy eater, I’ve slowly been introducing her to new flavours and tastes and today I wanted to share my version of this delicious spiced Lebanese rice with mince lamb recipe. This recipe has lots of spices which are exactly what gives this rice dish so much flavour but these spices are in no way spicy. What’s more, this Lebanese rice is a one pot meal making it a convenient and quick mid-week meal without compromising on flavour.
Spiced Lebanese rice with minced lamb recipe:
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
500 gms minced lamb (I prefer 10% fat but up to 20% is fine)
basmati rice*
1 medium onion
¾ tsp all spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 black cardamom pods (or ½ tsp ground cardamom)
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground clove
¼ tsp ground cumin
beef or chicken stock
1 tbs olive oil
large knob of butter
couple of handfuls of frozen peas
handful of coriander (optional)
*I measure my rice in a measuring jug so I know exactly how much liquid to add. I put in rice up to the 300ml mark and then I put in a little over double the amount of water/stock – around 700-750ml.
Start by finely chopping the onion. Then measure out your spices and keep them aside.
Next heat the olive oil in a fairly deep pan and add the chopped onions. Stir the onions until they soften and turn a very light brown. Add in the minced lamb to brown making sure that any clumps of meat are broken down. (These steps can be done a few hours in advance so I usually do this in the afternoon making the dish even quicker to put together at dinner time.)
If you’ve browned the lamb mince in advance, just heat it up first. Add the knob of butter and once melted throw in all your spices and really mix it well so that they are spread through the lamb. Add the rice and peas and give it all another very good mix. Add your hot stock, bring to the boil and let it all boil for a minute or two, turn down heat to low, cover and simmer for around 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the rice as it’s done once the water has all evaporated. But make sure all the water has gone and it’s dry – if the rice is even a little wet it will be soggy and not as enjoyable. Often the rice at the bottom of the pan will burn a bit which makes that rice go crispy – this is the best bit of the dish so don’t throw it away, eat it!
I like to garnish with chopped coriander but that’s not essential. I usually have this with a simple red onion salad. Just thinly sliced red onions, sliced cucumbers and chopped coriander mixed together with a bit of salt, pepper and a ¾ teaspoon of vinegar.
This spiced Lebanese rice with mince lamb is a yummy little dish. If you give it a go, it may just become a weekly favourite as it’s become in our home. And the best bit is that not only is it a quick mid-week family dinner to put together, but you also have everything in one pot. This quantity comfortably feeds the three of us leaving a good amount leftover and this rice dish tastes even more delicious the next day.
P.S. If you want some more inspiration for tasty and easy mid-week family meals, take a look at my soba noodles recipe and my cheesy quesadillas.
*I’ve linked up to Honest Mum’s tasty Tuesday’s.
Love the combo of flavours in this. I will DEFINITELY be making this :). One pot meals are a life saver and they’re always so tasty. Off to the butcher tomorrow!
It is quite a mid-week favourite here so I hope you like it. Let me know what you thought.
We had a beef version tonight and loved it! Thank you so much for sharing this 🙂
Pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it. I am going to try beef next time – thanks for letting me know that it worked!
Looks yummy and I love your photos :p
Thank you! It is yummy and easy
Love this recipe Nomita, need to start making more effort with trying new recipes, and this looks very yummy. Off to write down all the ingredients down x
Thank you lovely. Do try it out and let me know how it was. One of my other readers used minced beef and she said it was really good with that too. x
This rice dish looks delicious. I love the picture of the ingredients, its a really nice way to visually capture this. My family and I are always keen to try new dishes and Im sure we will enjoy this one.
Thank you – I am trying to practice and improve both my photography and styling so keep trying different things. If you do make it, hope you enjoy!
Looks beautiful I love lamb. It would fit with my clean eating lifestyle if I switch the white rice for brown. Thanks so much for sharing #TastyTuesdays
Thank you! Great idea to use brown rice for anyone who prefers brown carbs. I might even try it myself.
Wow this looks stunning, yay for more foodie posts (you are a natural). I ended my vegan detox the other day so please make me this and pronto. Thanks for linking xx
Thank you – and it is delicious, so easy too. Come over anytime and I will make for you xxx
This sounds like my kind of thing. I love minced lamb. The recipe is quite like the filling I use for stuffed vine leaves, so I think I will be giving this one a go too.
#TastyTuesdays
Fionnuala from http://www.mykitchennotebook.blogspot.com
Do try it – it is yummy and quick. I am all about flavour (can’t do bland!) and this has bags of flavour. Thanks for stopping by.
Wow, this is a fab recipe. I’ve been looking for more things to do with meat and this is a perfect recipe.
Thank you! Do try it and I hope you like it. I love the flavours that the spices give.
How many cups of rice please :), plus the rice looks delectable..
So sorry, I can’t remember how much I use. But as mentioned on the recipe, I fill a measuring jug up to the 300ml mark – you can do the same and then weigh how much it is if that helps? Do make it, it’s yummy and so easy. 🙂
I love spicy dishes and your lamb looks delicious . Thanks fro sharing 🙂
Thank you – the spices really make this dish come alive.
I love this, I did add a lot of minced garlic and did add more of the spices, also garam masala, very nice will make again.
Thanks Lynda – it is yummy. I’m sure it was even better with more spices and garam masala. Might try that next time I make it. It’s also a great way to use up leftover roast lamb.
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband and I really liked it!
So glad you enjoyed it. It’s a favourite in our home too.
I have been eating this dish since I was 10 years old and now I make for my kids who are 11 and 14. My mum served it
with fresh yoghurt, mint and cucumber – try it !!!! Delicious condiment.
It is such a delicious dish and so simple. Will definitely try it with the yoghurt you suggested. I often eat it with an Indian style spiced yoghurt but the mint and cucumber sounds even more refreshing.
How many cups of rice please :), plus the rice looks delectable..