Vegan Kabuli Palau

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 300 g basmati rice
• 100 g tomato paste
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable stock powder
• 1 tsp salt and pepper
• 4 tsp garam masala
• 400 g carrot(s)
• 120 g raisins
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp sugar, brown or white
• 100 g almond sticks
• 800 g leaf spinach, frozen
• 200 g leek
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• 1 pinch of cumin powder
• 1 pinch of chili flakes or more
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Halve the leek and slice into thin rings. Chop the garlic. Let the spinach thaw slightly so you can chop it up a bit smaller. Peel the carrots and slice into thin strips. Lightly toast the almond slivers in a pan without oil for about 4 minutes until fragrant. Since the following steps take place in parallel, I measure out the necessary ingredients for the rice, e.g. tomato paste, oil, stock powder and spices, and mix them in small bowls, but that’s a matter of taste and experience. Prepare the rice according to the package instructions. As soon as the rice is almost ready, stir in the tomato paste, oil, vegetable stock, garam masala, salt and pepper and let it marinate for a while. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry the prepared leek for about 10 minutes over medium heat, add the chopped garlic and sauté briefly. Then add the spinach, thaw and let it warm through. Season with the spices. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry the raisins until they have expanded in volume. Remove from the pan. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary and fry the prepared carrots for about 5 minutes. Return the raisins to the pan and sprinkle the carrots and raisins with the sugar, allowing them to caramelize. Mix the toasted almonds with the carrots. Serve the rice either with the carrot, raisin, and almond topping, with the spinach on the side, or serve everything in separate bowls. For our meat-eating companions, we served these kofte (https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/581581157189559/Koefte.html).