Basmati & Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Currants & Herbs

Directions

1Start by putting the wild rice in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and leave to simmer for about 40 minutes, until the rice is cooked but still quite firm.  Drain and set aside.

2To cook the basmati rice, pour 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a medium saucepan with a tightly fitting lid and place over high heat.  Add the rice and ¼ teaspoon salt and stir as you warm up the rice.  Carefully add the boiling water, decrease the heat to very low, cover the pan with the lid, and leave to cook for 15 minutes.

3Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a clean tea towel and then the lid, and leave off the heat for 10 minutes.

4While the rice is cooking, prepare the chickpeas.  Heat the remaining 1½ tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan over high heat.  Add the cumin seeds and curry powder, wait for a couple seconds, and then add the chickpeas and ¼ teaspoon salt; make sure you do this quickly or the spices may burn in the oil.  Stir over the heat for a minute or two, just to heat the chickpeas, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

5Wipe the saucepan clean, pour in the sunflower oil, and place over high heat.  Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously.  Use your hands to mix the onion with the flour to coat it slightly.  Take some of the onion and carefully (it may spit!) place it in the oil.  Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown, then transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt.  Repeat in batches until all the onion is fried.

6Finally, add both types of rice to the chickpeas and then add the currants, herbs, and fried onion.  Stir, taste, and add salt and pepper as you like.  Serve warm or at room temperature.