Purple Rice Chili

Purple Rice Chili

This past weekend I hosted a baby "sprinkle" shower for a dear friend of mine and since she is having a boy I tried to make many of the dishes on my menu (naturally) blue.  I had heard of red rice and black rice, but until I started searching online, I had never heard of purple rice.  Although not blue, I thought it might be something interesting to try for a vegan dish I wanted to make to have in a crock pot during the party.  Obviously, you could make this recipe using any type of rice you prefer, but I had fun experimenting with something new, and the color of the rice alone is pretty spectacular.  It did however turn my colorful bean mixture a deep dark purple, more like black bean soup, but it tasted better than it looked and piled high with simple toppings, it was visually appealing at the party as well.  

It is a very simple recipe to make, similar to a lot of my other bean and rice soups, but this recipe makes a lot.  I cooked it the day before the party, let it cool for awhile on my counter (since it has no meat it can sit out longer than the usual two hour limit), and then put it in the fridge overnight.  The next day I transferred it into my crock pot to have at the party and offered plain Greek yogurt, fresh salsa and shredded cheddar cheese to put on top.  Since it was a cold January day, the chili was definitely a hit and although there were only about 16 people at the party and enough food to feed an army, more than half of this was eaten. Which means that although everyone liked it, I also have left overs, which I love!

Purple Rice Chili

fresh ingredients
(didn't use red pepper)

1 lb. purple sticky rice, rinsed

7 C. water (or organic vegetable stock)

1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, diced

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

1 long hot green pepper, diced

1 organic green bell pepper, diced

10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 T. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. coriander

3 (4 ounce) cans of diced green chilies

2 cans of organic black beans

pantry ingredients

2 cans of organic cannellini beans

1 can of organic chick peas

4 C. organic vegetable stock

Salt, ground pepper and/or Adobo spice, to taste










Cook the rice according to package instructions (the bag I had used all 7 cups of water and about one hour to cook).  In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium low heat.  Add in the onion, peppers and garlic and let cook for at least ten minutes until softened and slightly caramelized.  Add in the chili powder, cumin and coriander and stir to combine well.  Cook for a couple more minutes.  Mix in the chilies, all the beans and the vegetable stock and let cook for at least 30 minutes.  Add in the cooked rice and season with salt, pepper and/or Adobo spice to taste.  

purple rice, all completed

bean mixture, ready to add rice

all done

left over chili a few nights later
(topped with Greek yogurt, salsa, avocado,
and 3 fried eggs!!- I was hungry!!)