open burrito

So I've lived a very sheltered life until undergrad. Among many other awesome eateries, for the first time in 2005, I was also introduced to Chipotle (back then, I pronounced it chip-ottle like in "bottle"). Seemed to be the place most Indians went for vegetarian meals, so slowly, I grew to love the taste of the guacomole-laden veggie burrito. I only ate out when I was at the point of starvation (which in college was often). The crispy spiced fajita veggies with the soft black beans and perky lime-cilantro rice gave my rumbling stomach acids something to pounce on immediately. Of course, I'm proud to be one of the customers that always asks for more rice and more veggies.
It was, and still is, one of the best combinations of carbs and protein! Tortillas aren't my favorite part of a burrito, so in this recipe, I've eliminated it.

Ingredients           Serves 2
1 cup cooked basmati rice - this will be 2x the amount you need!
Juice of a 1/2 of a lemon
Lots of chopped cilantro - no measurements here! You can never have too much cilantro! :-)

1/2 cup Fat-Free Refried beans (Casa Mamita) - I wish I had the time to boil real beans! :-(

1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion sliced length-wise
1/2 bell pepper sliced length-wise
Taco seasoning to taste


Steps

1. Mix the 1 cup boiled rice with the juice of a half a lemon, salt, and chopped cilantro. This will be more than you need for two servings, but I'm including the measurements I used to keep it accurate. You can always use your leftover rice to make traditional South Indian lemon rice.
2. Cut open your avocado and scoop out all the goodness into a bowl. Add chopped onions and tomatoes and mash well. Add salt, pepper, and chopped coriander to that and mix!
3. In a hot pan, pour some vegetable oil and sauté the onions and bell peppers sliced length-wise, with some taco seasoning, for 5-6 minutes.
4. Open your can of Fat-Free Refried Beans and thoroughly warm up about 1/2 cup of that, on the stove-top (or the microwave if you prefer).
5. Construct your open burrito. Add 1/4 cup (or more if you want) of rice to your serving dish, then layer on 1/4 cup of the beans, then half the cooked veggies, and top it off with guacamole. Lunch for today!