Category: Rice Varieties.

Easy LunchBox Series. · Rice Varieties.

Delicious Tomato Rice – With a twist!!!

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Delicious Tomato Rice.
Delicious Tomato Rice.

Tomato Rice is an all time delicacy that we always enjoy. The ingredients required for this are available in our pantry and refridgerator everyday. It`s always a quick fix rice dish that I make quite often.  The tomato rice that amma used to make was more simple, but over the years, I have rehashed it to make it a lot more flavourful and ambient with multiple tastes. I am not sure if there is an official recipe for tomato rice, but this one works very well for me.

Ginger,Garlic & Chillies.
Ginger,Garlic & Chillies.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of Basmati Rice cooked in 31/2 cups of water and cooled.

Thinly sliced garlic out of 5 pods.

Thinly sliced ginger.

5-6 Vertically sliced green chillies.

5 ripe tomatoes sliced in to long pieces. (I gently scoop out the seeds and water from the tomatoes to keep it dry)

1 red onion sliced in to long pieces.

1/2 spoon of red chilli powder.

Salt

Turmeric & Hing a pinch.

Seasoning:

Mustard, Urad Dhal, 2 spoons of Jeera , Cashew pieces sliced, Curry Leaves.

PREPARATION:

  • I gently pry out the water and seeds from the tomatoes so it cooks faster without the excess water. Save the scoopings for rasam or soup.
  • In a wide mouthed kadai, add 2-3 spoons of oil and when hot, add urad dhal, jeera, cashew slices, mustard seeds and curry leaves.
  • Immediately add the chillies, garlic and ginger and saute for a few seconds. Now add the onions and saute for 3-4 mins till well done.
  • Now add the sliced tomatoes, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric and hing and saute well till all the water is cooked out and the mixture becomes homogenous.
  • Switch off the gas and after a few minutes, carefully add the cooked and cooled rice and mix gently so the rice does not break.
  • Garnish with lemon juice and dry coconut powder. Believe me, the seasonings will render a unique taste and aroma to your tomato rice.
Easy LunchBox Series. · Rice Varieties.

20 Minute Pudina Rice.

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This has been one of my all time favorites since the day I ate it for the first time. Pudina is one ingredient that my mom hardly used to cook with. I have seen two distinct groups as far as this herb is concerned – One that swears by the pudina, and one that will never venture to even try it. My mom was in the latter group, but nevertheless, whenever I used to go to the vegetable market, I used to to love to see freshly made bundles of green pudina leaves, gently sprayed with cold water, near fresh pudgy lemons and succulent gooseberries and mango ginger. Some  how vendors in Chennai, always used to group these things together. It would be a sight to watch them laid out fresh against the calming green of the banana leaf all riddled with moisture and water. There is a slow pleasure in watching baskets of fresh colorful vegetables, displayed to sell by street vendors, rather than seeing them packaged in a plastic cover, sealed and artificially preserved in refrigeration.

Pudina was one such lovely herb , I felt I had to cook with. I was looking for recipes to use this amazing leaf which has many ayurvedic curative properties.  My good friend S`s mom used to make Pudina Rice with tamarind and lots of powders, but that was a variant that was pretty strong in masalas and with no veggies. I learnt this variation also from another friend L, who makes it with peas and potatoes. I loved the colours of orange coming through the green rice so I also add carrots, bell peppers and some times cauliflower also if available. Try it, and you`ll love it. It`s an easy option for travel foods. On long drives, this could be made the previous night, and taken for a very filling lunch.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of basmati rice cooked and cooled.

1 bunch of Mint leaves cleaned.

1/4 cup  of coconut powder or dessicated coconut.

6 Green chillies.

1/3 cup of peas.

1/2 cup of diced carrots.

1/2 cup of diced potatoes.

1/3 cup of cauliflower florettes.

1/2 cup of diced green peppers.(Optional)

1/3 cup of cubed Paneer.

Seasoning Spices:

Bay Leaf, 2 Cloves, A piece of cinnamon stick, 1 1/2 spoons of powdered cardamom (elaichi),  6-7 halved cashew crescents.

1 spoon of urad dhal, 1 spoon of bengal gram, 2 spoons of Jeera, curry leaves.

PREPARATION:

  • In a mixer pulse  the pudina leaves, green chillies and coconut powder to a coarse mix. Do not add water.
  • In a wide mouthed kadai, add 2-3 spoons of ghee and when hot add the seasonings in the following order – Bay leaf, Cloves, cinnamon, elaichi, urad dhal, channa dhal, cashew, jeera and lastly curry leaves.
  • Allow the seasonings to get fried in the oil and now pop in the vegetables on by one – carrots, potatoes, cauliflowers, bell peppers, and finally the peas.
  • Add turmeric, salt and allow to get cooked in the oil. Optionally I precook the veggied in the microwave for 4 minutes, so my prep time on the stove is reduced by more than 60%.
  • When the vegetables are almost half cooked, add the coarse pudina paste and mix it in well. Allow to cook well till the raw smell of the pudina and the chillies leave.
  • Add the cooled rice to the kadai, add salt and mix well. Take care that when mixing the rice does not break.
  • Lastly add the cubed paneer slices and serve HOT garnished with coconut and sliced lemon and a side of Cucumber Raitha.
Easy LunchBox Series. · No Need of Onions!!! · Rice Varieties.

Quick Mushroom,Peas & Carrot Pulav.

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Mushroom Carrots and Peas Pulav.
Mushroom Carrots and Peas Pulav.

Mushrooms are my all time favourite and I add them to anything I make- Pulavs, side dishes, subzis, pastas, salads etc. Yesterday was an official not-too-much-time-in-the-kitchen-day. So I grabbed some vegetables and my leftover mushrooms and created this rice dish. There is a small difference in the way this dish is made, which makes its taste also different. There are no harsh masalas and heavy garnishing. Its an easy tasting pulav and has no onions or potatoes, so its easy o the waistline. It`s also a quick fix entree so here it goes.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of Daawat Basmati Rice cooked and cooled.

1/2 cup of Peas.

1/2 cup of diced carrots.

1/2 cup of cauliflower florets.

1/3 cup of diced mushrooms.

1/4 cup of chopped mint leaves.

1 tsp garam masala.

1 tsp of chilli powder.

Pinch of turmeric.

1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder.

2 spoons of powdered old fashioned oats.

Seasoning: Bay Leaf, Cloves (2), Somph and curry leaves.

PREPARATION:

  • Take a wide mouthed kadai and pour about 2 spoons of oil.  Add the cloves, somph, bay leaf, cinnamon powder and curry leaves in that order and allow them to fry in the oil for a couple of seconds.
  • Next, add the vegetables – carrots, cauliflowers, peas,turmeric and the required salt for the vegetables.
  • You could pre-cook the cauliflower and the diced carrots in the microwave so it lessens the time in front of the stove.
  • Stir in the chopped mushrooms and then sprinkle the chopped pudina, and red chilli powder over the vegetables and mix it in well.
  • After a few minutes, add the cooked rice to the vegetables. Add the garam masala and salt for the rice and mix it well. Take care that the mushrooms do not  break, so stir it carefully.
  • Garnish with coarsely powdered oats and cilantro.
  • Serve with Onion Tomato raita.
Kid Friendly Recipes. · Rice Varieties.

Quick Cook Khichdi – Heart Warming Comfort Foods.

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Steaming hot Khichdi with Channa.
Steaming hot Khichdi with Channa.

Weekends are always a time to sit back and laze, read  your favourite books, watch your favourite tv shows, listen to the music you`ve always wanted to, eat simple delicious home cooked food and enjoy a lazy siesta…I never prefer to spend a lot of time in the kitchen over the weekends as this would essentially take time away from my family. Weekends are, therefore Khichdi times…I would prepare easy khichdi and some subzi on the side to go with it. As one item is essentially easy and the process of cooking is done inside my pressure cooker, the subzi gets done along with the khichdi.

Sometimes, when its cold, and I want to have comfort food, Khichdi it is. My daughter loves it, as she helps me in the preparation. I dollop an extra spoon of ghee on her serving, so she is thrilled. It was this one time when she was three, and we had been to the Saravana Bhavan Gujarati Restaurant in T.Nagar. Chennai. They serve this amazing simple thali, and the main course would be some pulav and this khichdi. He would bring it steaming hot, in one of those heavy silver pots, and serve huge ladlefulls on our plate and top it generously with ghee. The taste is simply heavenly and combined with the fact that its piping hot – It was sweet heaven. Since then, this dish has been a regular in my weekend cooking.

Your kids and family would definitely love this mushy khichdi so, go ahead and try it out this weekend

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup raw rice.

1/2 cup toor dhal.

1/2 cup moong dhal.

Seasoning:

2-3 pods of garlic.

1 inch piece of ginger

5-6 green chillis

Curry Leaves.

2 spoons of jeera

3-4 spoons of ghee.

PREPARATION:

  • In a pressure cooker, add 1 cup of water and switch on the flame. Measure out the rice and the dhals together in a container. Wash the rice and dhals and add water in the ratio: 1 : 3 1/2. This means for the 2 cups ( 1 cup rice + One cup Dhals) we need to totally add about 7 cups of water. Add adequate salt.
  • Allow 3-4 whistles in the cooker and switch off.
  • Take the mortar and pestle and crush the ginger, garlic and chillis together to form a coarse mix. We don`t grind it in the mixer, as this would overpower the taste of the khichdi.
  • In the meantime, take a seasoning kadai and add 3 spoons of ghee. When the ghee begins to get hot, add jeera, the garlic-ginger-chillies mix, and the curry leaves.

Seasonings in ghee.
Seasonings in ghee.

  • Allow a few seconds for the seasonings to get fried in the ghee and then pop it over the cooked khichdi. Mix well. I
  • If you feel that the consistency is not “mushy” , you could add 1/2 cup of milk.
  • Serve Hot with a spoon of ghee and a side of Channa and Mango Thokku.

Sending steaming hot bowls of Khichdi and Pickle to Recipes for the rest of Us – Dinner, the brainchild of Ramki of One Page Cookbooks , and hosted by Siri of Siri`s Corner.

Khichdi, Channa and Mango Thokku.
Khichdi, Channa and Mango Thokku.

Rice Varieties.

Simple Peas Pulav. (Rice pilaf with spices and peas)

Shoba9 Comments

Simple Peas Pulav
Simple Peas Pulav

This simple recipe was an inspiration to me from Ritu…who makes this in a dash. Its a rice that can be made in literally a dash…Its wholesome, light and can be had on those days when you are really fed up of spicy masalas and heavily greasy dishes. The only suggestion is that this entree wholly depends on the lightness, flavour and aroma of the basmati rice, and the best one that brings out the covert essence of this simple delicacy is the Daawat Basmati Rice. No other basmati rice, is so aromatic in my opinion. I reserve the Daawat for special occasions and on other days use the other brand.

Here`s the minimalistic list of ingredients…and the modus operandi for this easy  entree`.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups basmati rice

1 cup peas

3 Green Chillis slit

2 tsp Coconut Milk

Chopped Cliantro to garnish.

Seasoning:

2 tsp Jeera

1 inch cinnamon

2 cloves.

1 star anise

2 bay leaves

curry leaves

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PREPARATION:

  • Measure out 2 cups of Daawat basmati rice and cook in the rice cooker with 31/2-4 cups of water. Add 2 tsp of coconut milk and a spoon of oil  to the  rice in the cooker, to bring out the richness. Optionally, you may skip this part, if you are watching your calories.
  • When rice is cooked, spread it on a  flat plate and allow to cool to avoid it from getting broken while stirring.
  • Take a flat bottomed pan, add 2 spoons of  ghee/oil and add the seasoning ingredients one by one, all the while stirring it in so the oil soaks up the flavors of the spices.
  • Add the slit green chillis and curry leaves and pour in the fresh peas.
  • With a spatula, mix in the peas, add salt  and allow to cook for 3-4 mins on a medium flame.
  • Finally, add the cooked rice, salt and  and mix well.
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro and a dash of lime juice.