If you want to eat rice in a different way, you will love these stuffed rice balls. The baked rice balls are crispy on the outside with the eggless batter that we are going to make, and juicy and with a lot of flavor on the inside. We are going to fill the rice balls or croquettes with mushrooms, olives and vegan cheese, but you can use your imagination and prepare the filling that you like the most. These baked rice balls are good as an appetizer or a snack, so go ahead and follow the instructions to make it.
Ingredients to make Baked Rice Balls:
• 2 cups of cooked rice (350 grams)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 150 mushrooms
• 5 black
• 5 green
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 5 basil leaves
• 1 splash of white wine
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• ¼ cup grated vegan cheese
• ¼ cup chickpea flour
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs
How to make Baked Rice Balls:
Chop the onion and garlic, cut the mushrooms into small pieces and cut the olives into slices. Heat a pan with oil and fry the onion and garlic. Add the mushrooms and olives and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the thyme, basil, salt and a splash of wine. Cook the mushrooms over medium-high heat until they are done and the wine has evaporated.
Take a handful of cooked rice with your hands. For this recipe, it is better to let the boiled rice overcook a little so that it sticks well. Form a ball and flatten it a bit making a hole in the center.
Put a tablespoon or two of filling, a pinch of grated vegan cheese and make the ball again. You may need a little more rice to close the ball. Repeat this step until the ingredients are gone.
Tip: If you can’t find any vegan cheese you can prepare it yourself, on my profile you can find several vegan cheese recipes.
To coat the eggless stuffed rice balls, mix the chickpea flour with a little water in a bowl. Add the water little by little, continuously beating with a fork until it forms a liquid mixture with the consistency of a beaten egg.
Roll each of the stuffed rice sandwiches through the chickpea flour mixture and then through the breadcrumbs.
Heat the oven to 180ºC and bake the battered rice balls for 30 minutes (or heat a pan with oil and fry the balls until golden brown). Serve the freshly made vegan baked rice balls.
