Recipe: Gingered rice and fruit salad

Total time: 40 minutes

Servings: 8 to 10

1 1/2 cups basmati rice

Salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Juice of up to 2 limes, divided

1 stalk celery, trimmed and finely diced

6 scallions, green part and 1 inch of the white, sliced

1/2 cup diced dried apricots

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger

1 cup roasted, salted cashews, roughly chopped

1. Cook the rice with salt according to package directions. Fluff it with a fork. Turn it out onto a baking sheet in a thin layer and let it stand 15 minutes to dry slightly.

2. While the rice cooks, combine the mayonnaise, curry powder, ginger and juice of 1 lime in a small bowl and mix well. Let the mixture stand 10 minutes.

3. Transfer the rice to a large mixing bowl. Add the celery, scallions, apricots, cranberries, crystallized ginger and cashews and toss to mix. Add the mayonnaise mixture and blend with a rubber spatula until well-coated and thoroughly mixed. Add more lime juice if needed. Season with salt to taste. Serve at once or cover tightly and chill until needed up to several hours.

Each of 10 servings: 336 calories; 5 grams protein; 46 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 7 mg. cholesterol; 160 mg. sodium.