Ingredients

• 200g basmati rice (4 cups cooked)
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 450ml soured cream
• 240g cottage cheese
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 jar (~200g) pickled sliced jalapeños
• 300g grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp paprika

Serves 6. Based on a recipe from my mother-in-law.

Method

1. Rince the rice, add water until it’s twice the depth of the rice.
2. Bring to boil and cook, covered for 5 mins until most of the water is gone.
3. Without lifting the lid, turn the rice off and let it sit for 5-10 mins.
4. Drain any remaining water and leave to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
6. Meanwhile, sauté onions ’til golden and then remove from the heat.
7. When the rice is done, spread it out on a large plate or tray for 5 minutes to let the intense steam escape. This drops the temperature just enough so it won’t split or curdle the soured cream and yoghurt.
8. Once cooled, stir the rice, sour cream, yoghurt, cottage cheese & seasonings into the cooked onions.
9. Layer ½ mixture in greased 30x20x5cm baking pan.
10. Then layer ½ of chillies & ½ of grated cheese.
11. Repeat the layering.
12. Sprinkle a little paprika over the top.
13. Bake uncovered for 25 min at 190°C.
14. Remove from the oven and let it rest for a minute or two before serving.

Nutritional information

Calories	557kcal
Fat	35g
(of which Saturates)	17g
Carbohydrate	41g
(of which Sugars)	8g
Fibre	1g
Protein	20g
Salt	1.9g

American-style ingredients

• 4 c cooked rice
• 1/4 c margarine
• 1 c chopped onion
• 2 c sour cream
• 1 c creamed cottage cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 cans green chillies
• 2 c grated cheese