Grape and Walnut Fried Rice

Grape and walnut fried rice – a treat to the senses! Revel in the flavors of tart-sweet grapes, toasted walnuts, caramelized onions studding fried rice.

This dish is really easy to put together when you have boiled rice handy. It’s as convenient to carry around as it is to cook: pack grape and walnut fried rice into a lunchbox for work, school or picnic.

You Need:

[Serves 2]

• Boiled white rice – 2 packed cups
• Black grapes – 1 cup
• Walnuts – 1/3 cup, shelled and broken
• Onions – 1 large or 2 medium
• Fennel powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Sugar – 1/3 teaspoon (optional)
• Salt – to taste
• Pepper – to taste
• Olive oil – 2 teaspoons
• Butter – 1 teaspoon

How To Make Grape and Walnut Fried Rice:

1. Roast the walnuts

Dry roast the broken walnuts on low heat, till aromatic.

Take the roasted walnuts off the heat and keep aside.

2. Brown the onions

Peel and slice the onions thinly.

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of butter in a wide pan. Spread the onions in a thin layer on the pan.

Let the onions turn golden-brown leisurely on low-medium heat. The trick to doing this well is to not stir around too much – let the onions heat side down turn a dark hue, then stir before they char.

This process would take around 20 minutes.

Remove the onions from the pan.

3. Saute the grapes

Slice the grapes into halves or quarters if they are large.

Deseed the grape halves if required.

In the same pan used for frying onions, heat another teaspoon of olive oil. Add to it the grape halves.

Sauté the grapes on medium-high heat along with a pinch of salt and sugar (if using – adjust the quantity depending on the tartness of the grapes).

Continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, or till the grapes take on a shiny-brown hue and ooze out their juices.

4. Put it all together

Once the grapes are ready, add to the pan 1/3 teaspoon of fennel powder, 2 cups of cool boiled rice and salt to taste.

Mix gently, making sure the delicate rice grains do not crumble.

Continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat, or till the rice has taken on the flavors from the grape and fennel.

Add pepper to taste, the fried onions and roasted walnuts.

Mix well and take the pan off the heat.

Grape and walnut fried rice is ready.

Enjoy hot….

…or pack it in the lunchbox for later.

Notes:

Looking for other interesting walnut recipes? Check out adzuki bean salad with walnuts and pears, brown rice with basil walnut pesto, eggless coffee pudding.

You might also like these rice dishes: mint rice, beetroot rice, coconut rice, and a roundup of one-pot rice meals.