Rice with Peas and Cilantro

My dear friend Carrie turned me on to this awesome rice dish a couple of years ago and now it has become one of my go to sides. I love the flavor that the aromatics and spices bring to the rice and I must say that I am a sucker for cilantro so this dish has my name all over it. It is a perfect dish to feed a crowd because its cheap and relatively easy. I often take it to tailgates, and picnics because it doesn’t have any mayo or dairy so it holds up well in the heat. Additionally, you can see (below) that it pairs nicely with tomorrows post- TACOS! Carrie, thanks so much for your delicious contribution to my kitchen!

Rice with Peas and Cilantro

1 cup fresh cilantro
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 t. chili powder
coarse salt and pepper
1 cup long-grain rice (I use brown) 
1 1/2 cup water (or chicken stock if you want extra flavor)
1 ½ C frozen peas

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add chili powder, 1 tsp of salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute. Add rice, and stir to coat. Add water or stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and gently simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and add peas (do not mix.) Cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper. Stir in cilantro leaves.

A few tips:
- This dish actually needs a decent amount of salt. If you use stock you wont need as much as if you need water but definitely salt to taste as you mix it at the end. 
- The original recipe called for 1 garlic clove and half the amount of chili powder but I love the strong flavors so I doubled both.