Bhutanese Red Rice Pilaf With Cranberries

In a 1 quart sauce pan heat the oil over medium flame, add onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes, making sure not to color. Add the cranberries and orange zest to the onions for the last minute. Stir in rice and coat with oil until rice is hot. Stir in water, add salt and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes before fluffing; add the chopped walnuts on top and serve.

If made in a rice cooker, sauté onions in the oil directly in the rice cooker. When onions are translucent stir in the cranberries, zest and cook for a minute. Stir in the rice and coat with oil. Pour in the water, cover and let the rice cooker do the rest.

*The dried cranberries used in this recipe were dried with sugar added. If the dried cranberries you use are very tart and do not have any sugar already in them, you may want to add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup when cooking the rice.