Arroz Con Verduras ~ Peruvian Cilantro Rice

Arroz Con Verduras is a Peruvian rice dish with vegetables & cooked with cilantro paste . This dish is mildly flavored & served with a Peruvian Green Aji Sauce as a side.
Peruvian dishes are one of our {me & hubby} favorite foods.The near by Peruvian restaurant made us hooked to their food. Oh.. They have a live music on weekends & it's just awesome. My hubby is totally in to this Peruvian Green Aji Sauce & the fried rice they make. So I decided to make them at home for this marathon & we loved the outcome.
Cilantro green paste is heart of this dish. The recipe I followed, suggested adding few spinach leaves to control cilantro taste. I added few basil leaves to make it much tastier though it is not authentic to add them. 
Peruvian Green Aji Sauce is a special sauce made of lettuce, garlic & cilantro. The taste of this sauce is heavenly & very addictive. I made it as a side dish, but felt it needs some improvement & hence I skipped posting it here.
To know what my other friends are cooking, check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44. 

Adapted from here.
Prep Time-15mins | Cook Time-25mins | Serves-2People
Ingredients 
1&1/2Cups short grained rice {uncooked}
2&1/2Cups water 
For the gravy 
2Cups cilantro
8Leaves spinach 
8Leaves basil 
5Green chili's 
1Big onion chopped 
3Garlic minced
1Yellow bell pepper
2Carrots finely chopped
1Cup fresh corn 
2Tbs tomato paste {optional}
2Habanero chili deseeded & chopped {Very spicy} {Optional}
3Tbs oil
Salt to taste
Directions
- Heat pan with oil, to that add onions & minced garlic. Cook on low heat till onions are translucent.
- Meanwhile grind cilantro, spinach, basil, tomato paste & green chili's to a smooth paste. If needed, add a little water to grind.
1.Stove Top Method
- Add in carrots, bell pepper, corn & chili to pan along with the grind paste. 
- Add in rice & enough water to cook rice. Add salt & cook it with a closed lid. Once the rice is done adjust salt if needed & switch off heat. 
2.Electric Cooker  
- In electric cooker add water, vegetables, rice & green paste we made along with salt. Mix well & cook according the cooker instructions. Once rice is cooked puff up & serve warm.
3.The Third Way

- Cook rice separately & cool it off. 

- Now to the onion pan  add in carrots, bell pepper, corn, salt & chili along with the grind paste. 

- Mix well & cook veggies with a closed lid.

- Once the veggies are cooked, switch off heat & allow it to cool. 

- Now mix in cooled off rice with the gravy & adjust salt if needed. 

- Allow it to sit for 30mins before serving. 

Note

- Exclude habanero chili's, basil leaves & tomato paste from the recipe for a authentic dish. 

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