Chili Mango Rice

In Southern Queensland you know its summer, and Christmas is just around the corner when you can find fresh mangos at the markets. This recipe is sweet and spicy and great for a light afternoon lunch or as a side dish to accompany fish or chicken. Enjoy with a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, NZ on a hot summer afternoon.

 

2 cups cold, cooked brown rice

Juice of one lime
2 vine ripe or heirloom tomatoes
1 red chili (hot variety- I used Asian red chili)
1 small red onion
1 cucumber
2-3 garlic cloves
1 mango
Handful of coriander (cilantro)
Pinch of rock salt
Dash of ground coriander seed
Dash of cumin
1-2 tbsp extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

Dice tomatoes and put into a metal bowl, sprinkle with salt and add juice of lime, toss to coat and let sweat while dicing the remains ingredients.

 

Remove the seeds from the chili and chop, add to tomatoes and lime. Adding the chili to the lime helps bring out the heat of the chili.

Dice the red onion, cucumber and garlic and add to top of tomatoes

Chop coriander, I use the stalks and all. Grab a small handful and fold in half, begin chopping down, then across, add to bowl and sprinkle with ground coriander seed and cumin, mix all ingredients together.

In a larger bowl drizzle the cold rice with olive oil, toss to coat. I used garlic and red chili infused olive oil for an extra kick, but regular olive oil is fine. Add the tomato, chili, mango mixture to the rice and mix.

Enjoy!

To boost the protein in this dish you can use mixed quinoa instead of rice. Quinoa has 6 times the amount of protein then brown rice, is energy boosting, an antioxidant and is good for the heart by lowering cholesterol and increasing circulation.

Chilis stimulate blood flow, are a natural decongestant and excite the nervous system, and not to forget, they increase your body’s fat burning ability!

Tomatoes, onion and garlic are all good for your heart, lowering cholesterol. Helps protect against cancer, natural immunity booster and are a natural antibacterial, antiviral and antibiotic.

Mangos stimulate the immune system, energy boosting and detoxifying. They also contain papain which is a protein-digesting enzyme that may help with gluten intolerance.

Extra virgin cold pressed olive oil is high in antioxidants that help protect against heart disease, reduces bad cholesterol and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It is low in omega 6 fatty acids which are pro-inflammatory. To obtain all the benefits of this oil, it should be consumed at room temperature. Olive oil has a low smoking point at which it turns rancid, releasing free radicals in the body and losing its antioxidant effect.