Rice with vegetables and coconut milk

This rice with vegetables and coconut milk is extremely quick to make, using leftover rice, and makes a great side dish for a range of dishes (as well as perfect as a toddler meal!).

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Most of the time our son eats exactly the same as us for dinner, or at least a couple of the components of it, and always has done. It probably helped he started eating solids in winter so we kept a steady supply of roast vegetables for him if what we were having didn't quite work. But those occasions have become less frequent.

Now and again, though, we have a hankering for a spicy curry (like a Goan fish curry or Thai red curry) and we haven't quite got him on to those yet (although he does like non-spicy curries so I expect at some point). On these occasions I break from the norm and give him something different.

That said, I hate the thought of spending much time preparing a separate meal but I still want him to have something tasty and good for him. I also prefer that it isn't so different from our meal as he does like the idea of having the same plus I don't want him thinking he can opt out of what he is offered too much.

Since in many cases when it might happen, it's a meal where I'm making rice for us anyway, a great quick and easy side dish of rice with vegetables and coconut milk is my default toddler version. Plus I enjoy it too, myself.

The exact contents of this dish vary depending on what I have, but usually it's basmati rice, carrot, zucchini/courgette and a little spinach if I have some, but I have swapped in pumpkin, arugula/rocket and finely chopped broccoli.

To both add flavor and give a better consistently I add a little coconut milk but if I don't have any open or am not putting some in our dish, I always have creamed coconut in the house so use a little of that plus a little water.

The coconut helps save the vegetables clumping too much and makes it easier to eat as it sticks together a bit, as well as giving it a great taste. 

It's maybe worth pointing out this isn't a traditional coconut rice as you would find in Sri Lankan cuisine, for example. In that dish you cook the rice in coconut milk and it doesn't have vegetables added.

However this is still delicious and arguably healthier with both less coconut and the added veg. Plus, it's a handy, different way to use leftover rice rather than a fallback vegetable egg fried rice (much as that's tasty, too).

Rice with vegetables is something he has eaten since before he was a year old and it remains a favorite. It is also good as a quick lunch using leftover rice and works well even out and about as the coconut and vegetables help it hold together to not go everywhere too much.

Anyway enough of how good it is as a toddler food, it's also great for adults, too. You could add a bit of leftover chicken or beef to bulk it out a bit, or possibly some chick peas for a vegetarian version. It makes a great side dish as well - it would work well alongside an Asian curry, especially Thai/Malaysian style cuisine. 

Whoever gets to enjoy this, this rice with vegetables and coconut milk is perfect for leftover rice. It's a delicious side, so much so you may want to make the rice especially for it. It's quick, versatile, comforting and relatively healthy, too - so much to enjoy.

Get more side dish recipes in the archives.

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