This recipe has been lingering in my head for a while. It is inspired from a popular local breakfast call “nasi lemak” in Malay language meaning creamy rice. “Nasi lemak” is cooked with coconut cream and pandan leaves (a plant that releases soothing mild fragrance) to go along with fried fish, anchovies, peanuts, thin omelet, cucumber and lots of tasty chili paste.
Honestly, I was quite afraid that this creation may not work but the compliments I received from my guests made me smile. I would love to turn it into a risotto soon.
Rice
Half an onion, finely chopped
Pumpkin, cut into small cubes
Coconut cream
Curry leaves (I still can’t think of an alternative herb that is close to it)
Prawns, cut into small pieces (optional)
Chicken or vegetable stock
White wine,
Olive oil
Sea salt
Crushed black pepper
Heat up a good amount of olive oil over high heat and cook prawns till tender. Remove and set aside for later use. Reduce to medium heat and using the same oil, sauté chopped onions till translucent then add in rice. Coat rice with oil and season with salt and pepper follow by white wine just enough for the rice to soak it up. Add enough stock and coconut cream. Stir and cover for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin and curry leaves. Stir and cover for another 15 minutes (most rice should be cooked by now. If not, continue cooking till it’s done). Add prawns, stir and serve immediately.
gotasté 
This looks divine! In fact, I’d like some now!
Thank you very much! Happy you like it.
Danny this looks just beautiful…i’ve never had pumpkin rice, but it sounds amazing..lovely post..sarah
Thank you very much for your nice comment Sarah. It’s a refreshing taste with the addition of coconut milk. I’m glad it works!
This looks very delcious! Love the color that the pumpkin brings to the dish!
Thank you very much. Glad you like it. The color of pumpkin always brightens up the dish. One of my favorite ingredient.
Danny, this is absolutely gorgeous and looks delicious! I love the pumpkin 🙂
Thank you very much Judy. Pumpkin is my current target ingredient. It is inexpensive and has all the good things for our diet. I am eager to explore more recipes with it. 🙂
The texture almost looks like risotto. I like a taste of that please. 🙂
Just that it is not flowy enough to be a risotto. But I’ll want to try making it into that soon 🙂 Thank you for stopping by.
This is gorgeous Danny! Everything you do is always beautiful, elegant and just right. It’s never overdone. Your dishes are so amazing and I thoroughly enjoy coming to your blog to see your creations. This looks so creamy and delicious.
Aw…Thank you for your very very nice comment Brandi. I am thoroughly flattered and overjoyed hearing from you. This is the most lovely compliment ever and you have created a happy moment in my life. And the same goes to your recipes. I love all the clever touch you put in to your creations. For example to use frozen fruits for smoothies instead of ice cubes. I’ll remember that tip forever. Your posts has that magic to make me happy every time. Love seeing them.
Sincerely
Danny
This looks great! You food always looks so elegant.
Thank you very much. That is a big compliment and I truly appreciate it.
Hi Danny! Another inspired recipe… love the flavour combination of the pumpkin and coconut. I’ll definitely be trying this out… maybe with some toasted pine nuts or fried crisp sage leaves as a topping. Or can you think of another nut that’s more suited? Thanks as always for sharing your creativity with us 🙂
Hi Laura, thank you for stopping by with your very nice comment. I am so happy you like it. 🙂 If you try do let me know how it worked for you. I realized this recipe lacks a level of texture to the bite. Your idea of adding roasted pine nuts is very clever. It will make it complete. Another I can think of is maybe cashew nuts if you want a little more crunch but pine nuts should be perfect. I will want to add that in as well next time. Don’t laugh at me but I have not taste sage before. There are a lot of herbs which cannot be found here. I know sage is one of the best herb around. How does it taste like? Just try and see if it works. It’s so enjoyable exchanging ideas with you. 🙂
Hi Danny… haha, I am sure you’ve tasted things that I’ve never tried before also! As a herb, sage is a little difficult to describe. It’s quite savoury, earthy, quite delicious. I have put sage with roasted potatoes and pumpkin before so I think it might work. I’ll give it a go and let you know! 🙂
Looking forward to hear from you. 🙂
Oh wow, this makes my mouth water! I love the combination of pumpkin with coconut milk. And with rice? Heaven!
Thanks Marisa! Pumpkin and coconut milk does go well together. I am surprised too. Will try to make it into a risotto soon 🙂
Wow, that looks too yummy!!
Thank you for stopping by and your nice comment. I’m glad you like it!
ooh this looks so good and comforting. would love to try the pumpkin/coconut flavour combination, it sounds heavenly!
Thank you very much! I am surprised they work so well too. I got to admit that the coconut was a little too heavy this time.
YUMMY! Just thought I’d mention with the carrot and rosemary. I have a big rosemary bush in the garden and I’ve been thinking about frying the rosemary so that it’s crispy and then sprinkling on top of the soup. What do you think?
Thanks Gabriela! You are making me too jealous of your rosemary bush in the garden 🙂 I have not tried frying rosemary on its own for such usage but do try and let me know how it goes. It might just work perfectly. As rosemary is a woody herb, I thought you might want to pick just the young shoots for frying.
I love coconut rice and adding pumpkin for more sweetness? Genius! This must taste wonderful.
Hey! Thank you so much for stopping by with such a nice comment. I’m flattered. I got to admit the coconut cream was a little too heavy this time. Next time, I should cut it down so that the taste of pumpkin can take the lead.
Danny
I love the flavor combination of the coconut and pumpkin, looks so fresh and bright!
Congrats Danny!
Thank you Anto. The two ingredients did combined really well with those curry leaves binding the taste together. I am lucky.
I’ve read through several of your recipes and am so happy to have come across your blog. This rice dish looks absolutely delicious. Your photos are fantastic! I am looking forward to reading more.
Hi Danielle, that is such a nice comment. I truly appreciate it. Thank you very much for stopping by and liking my blog so that I can discover your wonderful creations. Expect me to drop by your site often….danny