Grains

Grains

When humans first began farming around 10,000 years ago, a variety of grains were among the first plants to come under the plow. Wheat, rice and corn are the big three used around the world these days. But barley, oats, rye, millet, spelt, quinoa, teff and amaranth are just some of the other grains used in in the world's different cultures and cuisines.

Image by Meanest Indian

Grain Recipes

Arroz a la Mexicana

(Mexican rice with tomatoes)

Also known as Spanish rice, arroz a la mexicana is one of the most popular ways to prepare rice in Mexico and the American Southwest. The tomatoes give it a rich, ruddy hue and a deep, rounded flavor. Read more »

Arroz con Gandules

(Puerto Rican rice and pigeon peas)

If you're going to cook Puerto Rican, you better know how to make arroz con gandules. No holiday dinner or family get together is complete without this hearty side dish of rice and pigeon peas. Infused with the flavor of sofrito and sazón, a well-cooked pot will form a much-desired crust on bottom called the pegao. Read more »

Arroz con Pato

(Peruvian duck with rice)

Arroz con pato is the tasty Peruvian version of the chicken and rice dish arroz con pollo that is found in many Latin cuisines. In Peru, duck is preferred and cilantro and dark beer are essential to the earthy taste of the dish. Read more »

Arroz con Pollo

(Latin chicken with rice)

Arroz con pollo, or "rice with chicken," originated in the Andalusia region of Spain. It shares similarities with several West African dishes such as jollof rice, and may in fact have origins there. The Spanish version as was introduced to the New World colonies, and arroz con pollo is very popular in the Caribbean, especially in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Read more »

Bibimbap

(Korean mixed rice bowl with toppings)

Koreans love bibimbap, and this simple rice dish is often used as a tasty way of using up leftovers. A generous helping of steamed rice is placed in serving bowls, topped with a variety of meat and vegetables and topped with a strong fermented soybean paste called gochujang. Read more »

Ceebu Jen

(Senegalese fish with rice and vegetables)

Ceebu jen (cheh-boo jen) is one of the most popular dishes in Senegal, especially along the coast. A Wolof term meaning "rice and fish," ceebu jen is a tomatoey mix of fish, rice and cooked vegetables that shows a strong resemblance to Spanish paella and Creole jambalaya. Read more »

Coo-Coo

(Bajan cornmeal mush with okra)

Coo-coo, or cou-cou, is one half of "coo-coo and flying fish," the Bajan national dish. This cornmeal porridge is similar to Italy's polenta or Africa's fufu and ugali. Okra goes by the name "ochro" on Barbados. Read more »

Gallo Pinto

(Costa Rican, Nicaraguan red beans and rice)

If there is one meal that everyone in Nicaragua and Costa Rica eats, it's gallo pinto. This hearty, healthy and filling dish is your basic rice and beans. The beans in this case are red, and the color of the beans on the rice gives gallo pinto, or "painted rooster," its name. Costa Ricans especially are fond of serving gallo pinto with scrambled eggs for breakfast. Read more »

Geelrys

(South African yellow rice with raisins)

Geelrys is one of many South African dishes with roots in the Dutch East Indies. This sunny yellow side dish is the traditional accompaniment to bobotie. Read more »

Hoppin' John

(American rice and black-eyed peas)

Hoppin' John is an old Southern dish, especially popular in South Carolina. No one really knows how it came by its name, but its culinary roots seem to stretch back to Africa. It is traditionally eaten as part of a New Year's Day meal, as black-eyed peas supposedly bring good luck. For maximum luck, eat Hoppin' John immediately after midnight along with a side of greens. Read more »

Jambalaya

(American Cajun-Creole rice with chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage)

A classic of Cajun-Creole cuisine, jambalaya got its start in the French Quarter of New Orleans when Spanish immigrants cooked up a dish similar to their beloved paella from home. The name probably comes from a French Provencal word meaning "mix up" or "mash up." Read more »

Jollof Rice

(West African chicken with rice)

Jollof rice probably originated from rice dishes eaten by the Wolof people of Senegal and Gambia, but its popularity has spread to most of West Africa, especially Nigeria and Ghana. Based on rice, tomatoes and usually meat or fish, it is believed by some to be the origin of Cajun jambalaya. Read more »

Kabsa, or Machboos

(Gulf States aromatic chicken with rice)

Kabsa — chicken or meat served on a bed of steaming rice and redolent of exotic spices — is a national dish of Saudi Arabia. Variations are also popular in Yemen and the Gulf States of the Arabian peninsula, where it is known as machboos. Read more »

Kalam Polo

(Persian rice with meat and cabbage)

Kalam polo is a hearty, filling pilaf scented with cinnamon and saffron. Sometimes spelled kalam polow, or kalam pollo. Kalam is Farsi for cabbage. Read more »

Kasha

(East European buckwheat groats)

Although kasha is a word used to describe a wide variety of grain porridges in Russia, it has come to be most closely linked to this particular buckwheat (gretchka) dish. Kasha is a nutritious and excellent substitute for rice, especially when paired with beef or lamb. Read more »

Kushari

(Egyptian pasta, rice and lentils with tomato sauce)

Kushari is a simple yet healthful dish of pasta, rice and lentils widely sold in small Egyptian restaurants and roadside stands. With its full complement of protein, a spicy topping of tomato sauce and crispy fried onions, kushari is often considered the Egyptian national dish. Read more »

Maki Sushi

(Japanese seasoned rice rolls)

Maki sushi is what most people think of when they hear the word "sushi"—filled rice rolls wrapped in nori seaweed. Many types of maki sushi are vegetarian. When making sushi with raw fish or seafood, it is important to use the freshest, highest grade you can find, often helpfully labeled "sushi-grade." Read more »

Maqluba

(Palestinian rice and eggplant casserole)

Maqluba (مقلوبة) is Arabic for "upside-down," which is how this popular Palestinian dish of rice, eggplant and meat is served. Read more »

Moros y Cristianos

(Cuban black beans and rice)

Moros y cristianos is Spanish for "Moors and Christians," and it refers to the dark black beans against the whiteness of the rice. The combination of rice and beans is a popular one throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Read more »

Muesli

(Swiss oats and fruit breakfast)

Muesli, or müsli, is a breakfast cereal developed at the turn of 20th century by the Dr. Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a Swiss nutritionist. He introduced a dish of raw grains, nut, milk, cream and honey for the patients at his sanitorium The original recipe, called Birchermüsli, is widely popular in Europe and has since spread around the world. Variations on the basic theme are endless. Read more »

Oyako Don

(Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl)

In Japan, oyako don is probably the most popular of all donburi, or rice bowl dishes. The term literally means "parent and child bowl," and is a reference to using chicken and egg in the same dish. With its comforting ingredients simmered in a sweet sauce, oyako don is a perfect, quick meal for hungry children. Read more »

Paella Valenciana

(Spanish meat, vegetable and rice dish)

At once both rustic and elegant, this exquisite rice dish originated in the Valencia region of Spain and is typically made outdoors in large, shallow pan called a paella, or paellera. Making paella is a man's activity in Spain. He builds a fire of orange and pine wood, and the paella is cooked over the fragrant flames. Read more »

Pulao

(Indian aromatic rice pilaf)

Pulaos form a wide variety of spiced rice dishes in India. It is a method of cooking rice that was adopted from the Persians with their rice polows. The style of first sautéing and then boiling rice is also known as the pilaf, or pilav, method. Pulao is also popular in East Africa given past Indian immigration to the area. Read more »

Red Beans and Rice

(American Creole bean and rice dish)

This deeply satisfying, yet simple dish is an old staple in Louisiana Creole kitchens. Based on the bean and rice dishes of the Caribbean, red beans and rice formed the perfect Monday supper. Monday was traditionally wash day, and the beans could simmer on the stove with little attention, richly flavored with the addition of leftovers from the Sunday meal. Read more »

Reshteh Polo

(Persian aromatic rice and noodle pilaf layered with meat)

Reshteh polo is a pilaf made with a mixture of rice and toasted that is traditionally served in many Iranian homes on the night before the spring festival of Nowruz. Parcooked rice and noodles are layered with an bewitchingly aromatic meat mixture and gently steamed in the traditional polo manner. The result is fluffy, fragrant and incomparably delicious. Read more »