Riz Casimir With A Twist

Fall inspired Riz Casimir, a typical swiss dish with a twist! Instead of the typical fruit mix this recipe uses fresh apples! The recipe is super quick and easy to make and will be a family favorite in no time.

What is Riz Casimir?

Riz Casimir basically is a curry dish with fruits. While it might look like an exotic dish at first glance the Riz Casimirs origin is actually in Switzerland. Mövenpick, a culinary company, invented the dish in 1952.

Originally the recipe was made with strips of veal in a curry sauce made with curry powder and cream, served with rice and a variety of fruits (back then it was pineapple, banana and heart-cherries out of the can).

Riz Casimir is a mixture between the European and Asian kitchen which made it possible for the Swiss to have a foreign countries flavors in their own kitchen but with there available ingredients. The curry is the dominant flavor in this dish and is the Asian part in the recipe together with the rice. While the cream and cherries would not be part of any Asian dish nor would you ever find veal in for example an Indian dish! In Asian dishes you would probably find coconut milk more often than cream which changes the flavor a lot and probably was more for the European tastebuds.

Over the years the recipe got super popular among the Swiss households and many different versions started to pop up. For the fruits people started to use premade fruit mixes out of the can and the meat got changed up with chicken or pork. On top of that people started to switch out the cream with milk. What always stayed and is very popular in most Swiss households are the cooked banana slices!

These days you can even find so many different versions of this recipe, there really is no limit.

The Inspiration:

As a kid I never liked Riz Casimir cause I hated those fruit mixes from then can. Then I found out that I am allergic to pineapple. My mom started keeping the fruits separate and I just ate the dish without any fruits which made it rather boring as the sweet part of the dish was missing. So, last year I decided I had to find a way to make this dish enjoyable for me and started brainstorming and recipe testing.

This Riz Casimir with apples recipe was the result.

What makes this recipe so good?

• Easy: This recipe is so easy to make that you can prepare it with your kids.
• Delicious: Even tough this recipe got developed in the 50s it is still super popular in Switzerland as it is so good!
• Simple ingredients: This recipe only uses simple ingredients you can easily get at the store.
• International: This dish is a marriage of flavors from different cultures turned into a whole new flavor experience. The dish is very popular in Switzerland but not many other countries know it yet. It is my mission to change that and bring this special dish to your kitchen all around the world.

Ingredients for this fall inspired riz casimir:

The ingredients for this recipe are easy to get at your normal store and you might even have everything in your pantry already. You will need:

• Rice: Use your favorite rice to pair with this recipe. My favorite is basmati rice.
• Butter: Butter is used to cook the chicken
• Chicken Breasts: This recipe uses chicken cut into pieces for the meat part in the dish. The original used veal but you can use whatever your preferred meat source is or replace it with a vegetarian substitute.
• Onion: Gives the dish some flavor.
• Apples: Instead of the canned fruits like you usually use this recipe uses fresh apples.
• Curry Powder: The main flavor in this dish comes from the curry powder.
• Flour: The flour thickens the sauce.
• Broth: The sauce is based on the broth. You can use both vegetable broth as well as a meat based one.
• Cream: Traditionally you use cream to turn the broth into a creamy sauce. Instead of cream many use milk for this step.
• Banana: This dish typically is being served with a side of caramelizes bananas.

How to make this riz casimir with a twist:

Before you start cooking prepare all the ingredients. Dice the onion, cut the apples, cut the chicken into cubes and get all the needed ingredients out.

Make the rice:

Start by washing your rice.

Add the rice to a pot and fill it up with water. With your hand keep moving the rice around. The water will start to turn white. Let the water flow out of the pot without the rice falling out. I like to use a sieve for this step. Keep repeating those steps till the water no longer turns white. Fill the pot with double the amount of water as you used for the rice.

Now you can season your rice with salt, anise, cumin or other spices you may like.

Cover the pot and start cooking the rice on medium heat.

Once the water fully evaporated and the rice is cooked (after about 20 minutes of cooking) turn off the heat and let the rice sit for another 20 minutes.

Cook the chicken:

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a big pan and melt it on medium heat.

Add the chicken and cook it trough.

Season with salt and pepper and add the cooked chicken to a bowl. Put it aside and continue making the sauce.

Make the sauce:

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan.

On medium heat melt the butter.

Add the diced onion and apples slices to the pan and cook till soft.

Then add the curry powder and flour and let everything cook for 1 minute.

Poor in the broth and bring it to a boil. Let it cook till the sauce slightly thickens.

Next pour in the cream (or milk) and let it cook for 1-2 minutes.

Reduce the heat and add the previously cooked chicken to the sauce. Let everything cook for 5 more minutes so the sauce finishes thickening, the chicken gets warmed up and soaks up all the flavors.

Make the caramelized banana slices:

This is an additional step you do not have to make. However, caramelized bananas are a very popular choice to serve with a riz casimir.

Slice your banana in half and cut the 2 slices in half again.

Add the 2 tablespoons of butter to a small pan. Melt the butter on medium heat.

Add the banana quarters to the pan and let them cook.

Once the bottom is brown turn the slices and cook them on the other side till they are nicely caramelized and soft.

Remove them from the pan and serve them together with the riz casimir

Serve:

Add the rice to a bowl or plate and put the sauce on top. Sprinkle some chive over it if you want and serve together with the bananas.

How do you make the classic riz casimir?

Classic riz casimir does not use apples but a fruit mix, usually out of the can. To make the classic version simply omit adding the apple and add the drained fruit mix to the dish together with the cooked chicken.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: Can I replace the chicken with other meat?

A: Yes you can! The original recipe used veal stripes. You can simply switch out the chicken with veal, beef, pork or whatever else you like.

Q: Can I make riz casimir recipe vegan / vegetarian?

A: Yes you can, simply replace the butter with plant based butter and use any kind of meat substitution you like. I usually use a plant based chicken that gets produced here in Switzerland. For the cream I recommend a substitute that does not have a very strong flavor. Coconut cream for example completely changes the flavor of the dish and turns it more into a Thai curry.

My friend Karen from Sweeter With Dates was so kind to test this recipe in a vegan version. She used tofu as the protein and pressed it for a few hours to make sure it is firm. For the cream she used a homemade cashew cream

Q: Can I replace the curry powder with curry paste?

A: No, I do not recommend this. Some recipes out there do use curry paste but the paste contains many other ingredients next to the typical spices used to make a curry mix. Using the paste would change the flavor of this dish a lot.

Storage:

Once everything is cooked you can keep your Riz Casimir in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend keeping the rice and the sauce with the chicken in separate containers so the rice does not get completely soaked and mushy in the sauce.

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