Nutty pulao

Nutty pulao..This is my own innovation/discovery/experiment..whatever you call it.Honestly i did not know what to call this dish and hence this post was in the draft for sometime.Was wondering whether it  should it be a nut pulao,a nut fried rice or nutty tawa pulao or something else..??Finally decided that i will call it nutty pulao.Any other suggestions???(this reminds me of a malayalam film called nutty professor, a movie which i cud not tolerate for more than 5 minutes).This  nutty pulao is something which is a result of something suddenly clicking in my brain the moment i entered the kitchen. I had  lost of nuts in stock and i did not have the time for elaborate cooking.Little Shanaya has started crawling around and so i cannot leave her unattended..Moreover she sleeps just for about half an hour at a stretch.So it is dishes like these which i end up making before Navin comes from office for lunch.

Tawa Pulao

Tawa Pulao, i suppose is a popular street food in Mumbai.I remember watching Sanjeev Kapoor's video long back where he was saying that it is sad that pulaos are being made this way.But moving with time he had also shown the tawa pulao recipe on his programme. I did not refer to the recipe and so this is my version of a tawa pulao(if you can call it that ).

This tawa pulao recipe is for those days when you do not want to spend a long time in the kitchen but yet you want to have a tasty dish which is attractive and delicious.And this recipe may make another person think that you toiled in the kitchen for a long time;)
Also i decided to post this recipe cos recently i got a big boost  ..i had almost thought that i am going to scrap my blog as i was not able to find time to improve my photography skills or cook elaborately.For that matter i mostly click the pics in a bit of a hurry so i hardly get time to use props .. also i am still building up my collection..But then my relative visited us and a topic about my blog came up and she complimented me for the blog. She liked my writing and her daughter said that she keeps checking out the blog.Aruna aunty and Anju .. a bigggg thank you to you both.. U made my day and gave me that timely encouragement  to keep this going ... a big boost...:) ..so now going to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Cooked rice- 1 cup( i used jasmine rice.This is a product of Thailand.Our good old basmati rice is good enough)
Boiled peas- 3/4th cup
1 medium sized carrot boiled and cut into cubes.
1 small tomato chopped
pomegranate seeds-2-3 tbspn(depending on personal preference)
Desi ghee(clarified butter)- 4 tbspn
Cumin seeds-1tspn
Pav bhaji masala 2 tbsp
Arabic spice masala- 1tspn(one can use garam masala)
Salt as required
Cashew and raisins for garnish
Fresh Coriander leaves,again for garnish.


How i made it?

Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a heavy bottomed pan.Add the cumin and let it splutter.Now add the tomato,followed by the spice powders and salt and mix well.
Now add in the boiled vegetables.
Toss in the pomegranate seeds.
Once the veggies have taken in the flavour of the spices add in the rice and mix well.
Add chopped coriander leaves to this and lower the heat , close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.
Garnish with cashew and raisins sauteed in  desi ghee.
Serve hot with raita of your choice.

Note:You can use potatoes, cauliflower , broccoli etc also  in this pulao.Spice levels may also be adjusted according to  your preference.

Tawa Pulao

Capsicum Rice

Whenever i go to supermarkets i am attracted to the  coloured capsicums..the red, yellow and orange.
Recently i got a mix pack. Four capsicums in all one green,one orange,one yellow and one deep red.. i picked it not thinking what i will make ..anyway most of the times its an on the spur of the moment decision .. so went ahead and bought it.somewhere deep inside my mind i had a capsicum rice spinning!!! :)

Pudina Rice/(Mint flavoured rice)

Why did i make pudina rice??  :-?
 I actually have a truckload ,ok  2 ziploc medium size bags full of pudina leaves and I had to put them to good use.
N did not know that i had them in stock and bought more !!!! Now i am thinking of ways to use up all the Pudina.So it is going to be a pudina filled week ahead- mint and lemon juice, pudina chaas, pudina paratha,pudina chammanthi,pudina sandwich.. hmmm...what else can I think of… do let me know other options if u have!!

Ingredients


Basmati Rice-1 cup,soaked in water for 1/2 an hour)
Water-2 cups
Black cardamom-1(optional)
Mace- 1piece (optional)
Bay leaf-1
Cloves –4
Pepper corns 4-5
Cinnamon –1 inch piece or if using powder-1/2 tspn
Onion-1 finely chopped
Clarified butter/Ghee 2 tbspn
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons  broken cashew for garnish(fried in ghee )

To be ground to  paste
Pudina leaves(mint leaves)-almost 1 cup 
Grated fresh coconut- 1/4 th cup
Green chilli-1( according to your preference)
Garlic- 3big cloves
Ginger  an inch piece or say 1tablespoon chopped

How i made it?

Heat the ghee in a deep pan or kadai(wok).Put in cloves,pepper,black cardamom(open it),cinnamon stickand mace.Saute for 30 seconds.
Then put in the onion and mix well. If you are using cinnamon powder , you can tip it in now.
Let the onions become translucent.
Then add in the ground paste and mix well for a minute. ( I don’t make it a fine paste, just a course paste so that u can see very small bits of the mint leaves)
Next add in the rice.Stir well and pour the water.Adjust salt.
Close and let it boil.
Give it a stir in between so that the flavours are evenly spread.
When the water drains off completely and the rice is ready turn off the stove , garnish with fried cashewnuts and serve with raita of your choice.
I served with plain simple jeera raita garnished with ,y favourite ingredient-dhania leaves(cilantro).. sorry just can't do without that!!!!

To make jeera raita(cumin raita)
Beat 2-3 big spoons of curd with water(depending on how thick or thin you want the raita to be)
Add salt and roasted jeera powder.(I don’t use the packet cumin powder, I roast the cumin and crush it coarsely with my mini mortar and pestle)


Note:

My kadai(wok) was a non stick one and the rice came out extremely well without sticking to the pan or to each other.
Since it was cooked in with paste it had a good flavour.

Mutter Pulao

The simple and humble mutter pulao.....  Is  a detailed recipe required for something as simple as mutter pulao...ohhh yessss.... i had not eaten mutter pulao till i went to Delhi...unbelievable????actually mine is a very pucca Kerala household where the lunch menu was rice, a curry ( sambaar or moru curry or rasam or  kaalan or avial etc ) 2 side dishes( cabbage thoran, kowaka upperi ,chena kaya upperi etc ) and of course curd,pickles and pappadam.Sometimes there used to be an occasional fried rice.. that used to be mixed vegetable... so the poor mutter pulao had no place.So there may be someone else like me who may not have made  a mutter pulao till date... this is specially dedicated for them ;)

Seekh Kebab Pulao

Does it happen to you that you enter the kitchen and suddenly your brain is bombarded with ideas of how to make   a dish????!!!! :-?
This happened to me yesterday.In the morning i was feeling sooooo lazy ( i usually do on Fridays cos its our weekend).Then i have bath and come to the kitchen thinking of making something which will not keep me in the kitchen for more than 10-15 minutes...then bangggg!!! Something happens and my brain  is all excited and keeps on bombarding with ideas.. *-:)  What was supposed to a be a plain simple mutter pulao finally became a seekh kababa pulao ( and the rice being boiled in coconut milk)... never even thought that this will be the lunch on my lazy Friday!!! I surprised myself ..hehehhe and N too!!!

I was watching Sanjeev Kapoor's recipes on youtube( we have not bought a TV and are not planning to buy one).N and i have been married for 6 years and we have never owned a TV , first it was because we were sailing most of the time and then we got so used to not having the tv that we do not miss it anymore. So for enteratinment i watch some videos, cookery shows, etc on youtube.
In one of those shows i heard Sanjeev Kapoor mention that it is a very good  practice to  boil the rice for pulao in coconut milk!! This idea struck me first and then  my mom's fried  rice recipe came into my mind in which she used a ginger garlic green chilli paste. It gives a wonderful flavour to the rice. So now i had two things which i had to incorporate- coconut milk and the paste.
Then suddenly i remembered i have some seekh kababs in the fridge.. Ok now that was also going into the pulao.Tak tak tak the idea came coming .. god knows from where!!! I dint want to boil the kabas with the rice so i kept it for the end..

Anyway what resulted was a different pulao- the vegetable +kabak pulao which i am going to call seekh kabab pulao.

So here is how i went about it.


Ingredients:


Basmati Rice- 1 cup( soaked for 1/2 an hour)
Coconut milk-1 and 1/2 if making in pressure cooker, 2 if making in deep pan. ( refer notes)
Ghee-2 tbspn
Bay leaf-1torn into 2-3 pcs
Cloves-3
Cinnamon-1 inch piece
Peas-1/2 a cup
Carrot,cut into small pieces-1/2 cup
salt to taste
Mint leaves-3-4
Seekh Kababs-3
Oil for shallow frying seekh kabab-1-2 tbspn(refer notes)



For the paste

3 pods garlic
1to 1 1/2 inch ginger piece
1 green chilli( if u like it hot add one more green chilly)
Crush these together to form a paste.

For garnish

Cashewnuts-6-7 (chop each piece into 4)

Raisins-8-9
Ghee 1 tbsp for frying
Coriander /dhania leaves



Method:

Heat the ghee on pressure cooker and add following- bay leaf,cinnamon, cloves,Saute for a minute.
Then add in the peas and carrots.Stir well.

Now add in the paste.Saute for 2-3 minutes till you get a nice smell from it.

Add the rice into it and mix well.Pour the coconut milk and add salt.


Put in the mint leaves.Close the pressure cooker and keep the whistle when steam comes out.It should be ready in 3 whistles.In the mean time you can fry your seekh kabas and cut int small cubes.

Now after the rice is cooked in the pressure cooker and the steam escapes,take the rice out into a  big bowl and mix in the kabab pieces.



Fry teh cashews and raisns in the ghee and pour over rice.Also garnish with chopped dhania leaves Serve hot with raita/salad of your choice

In Kerala a common salad is tomato , onion and dhania leaves in beaten curd and i made that .
Beat some curd diluting it with a little water..add one chopped tomato and one chopped oinion.Add salt and some dhania leaves.Thats it.

Notes:

I made the coconut milk with Maggi coconut powder.You can 2-4 tablespoons f the powder.

The kababs may be deep fried, shallow fried or made in microwave.Follow package instructions.

I did not want the rice to be yellow so i did not add turmeric(haldi).

My first guest post -Nut Bolt Lime Rice

As i learn new things in the blogosphere i have my first guest post  published today.Lavanya of"Tickle your tastebuds and make your life delicious"  was inviting guest posts for a giveaway.I would not qualify for the giveaways but still wanted to send  in a recipe - Nut bolt lime rice.

There is a very special reason for this name and you can check it out on my post in her blog.Click here

Fortunately for me, i had tried a different lime rice and the same day i saw this guest post..so i decided to send that particular recipe .Could 

I sat down to write it down and emailed it ASAP..Thank you for that Lavanya.

She also sent me this..thanks for this too:)

Check out my  guest post here and tell me what you think about it.You may leave your comment on the  guest post :)

Thank you.

Coconut Rice

A new item on my menu!-coconut rice!!!:) Till yesterday i had never eaten coconut rice nor made it. But i had heard about it and had come across it in many cooking websites .But i never made it.Yesterday  2 Ls- Laziness and Leftover -made me do it.I was feeling lazy to make the normal rice ,curry , vegetable etc  and I had leftover rice in my fridge .So the laziness factor and leftover factor finally made me try  it and also the sudden flash of  grated coconut stashed away in my fridge!!

 I  found the coconut rice to be easy , quick and yummy.Of course it has a wonderful aroma too.The smell of slightly fried coconut  wafts from it and i  saw N sniffing as he came inside our apartment!!!!:)

Ingredients

Coconut oil-1 tbspn( can use refined oil  also )

Mustard seeds- 2tspn

Coriander seeds- 1tspn
Channa dal -2 tbspn
Peanuts- 1 tbspn

Split Urad Dal(split black gram) -1 tspn

Dried red chillies- 1or 2

Curry leaves- 1 stem

Cashewnuts-8-9 

Coriander leaves- for garnish

Grated coconut-1/2 to 3/4 th cup

 Rice- 1 1/2 cups ( i used leftover rice the day before)

Sugar- 1 tspn (optional)

Salt to taste.

(these quantities are roughly what  i used. please adjust according to taste.There are no hard and fast rules)

Method

Soak chana dal for 10-15 minutes.
Heat a non stick pan and pour the oil into it.Then splutter the mustard seeds followed by coriander seeds ,dry red chillis,curry leaves,chana dal ,urad dal,peanuts  and cashewnuts.

Then add the grated coconut.Add in the sugar and salt . Mix well say for a minute( or till a nice aroma fills your kitchen and your apartment, floor....;) )

Add in the rice followed by dhania leaves.Mix well.

Your aromatic ,easy and quick coconut rice is ready to serve.

This is a very good lunch option for kids.

Cucumber Pomegranate Curd Rice

Curd Rice is a very simple and easy lunch option.It is very good for the summer months as it cools your body.
Bland and boring ..yes that's what i used to think of curd rice or thairu saadam.
But yesterday it changed.

Yesterday i wanted to prepare a quick lunch and go out shopping( well had to prepare lunch as Navin would come home for lunch from office..advantage of having rented a house just next to office)..so cos of this quick lunch thing i decided on curd rice.But i did not want to make the ordinary curd rice as i honestly don't like it so much.. So i checked out on the blog that i am totally in love with - Edible Garden . I was sure there will be some different recipe there and of course , the blog did not disappoint me.There were two different recipes.Since i had most of the ingredients of both recipes  i decided to combine the two.
It came out very well and Navin also liked it. Was a little apprehensive of that .

Ingredients

Boiled basmati or ponni rice-1 cup( i used ponni rice)
Curd/Yoghurt - almost 1 1/2 to 2 cups
Pomegranate- i used seeds from half a pomegranate
Cucumber grated - 1 small size cucumber/ around 5 tablespoons
Green Chilli - 2
Ginger grated-1 tablespoon
Coriander leaves- a bunch
Salt to taste
1 tablesppon oil
1 tablespoon mustard seeds



Method

Mash the boiled rice a  little and add all ingredients except oil and mustard seeds.Mix well.Keep aside.

In a small pan or kadai splutter the mustard seeds and add to rice and mix.

Your curd rice is ready to serve. Now isn't that quick ?

Well it was fast  and easy to jot it down here too!!!
So enjoy !!!!

Recipe Source: Edible Garden

Rice Cooker Vegetable Biriyani

I love Biriyani...totally totally love it.I specially love the nice Kozhikode Biriyani.(Kerala style).I never tried the Biriyani as I always had the impression that it is tough.But today I had to make a Biriyani and when I discussed with my mom ,she suggested that we try in our rice cooker .So I went ahead and did that.
Well I realized that making Biriyani is not tough!

Cooking time:30 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

Basmati rice -2cups
Water-4 1/2 cups
Mixed vegetables(beans,peas,carrots)- 1/2kg
Onions(sliced)-4
Bay leaf-1
Shah jeers-1/2tspn
Mint and coriander leaves(chopped)-2tbsp each
Ghee-5tbsp
Salt to taste

To be ground to paste

Ginger-3cms
Garlic-8flakes
Green chillies-4
Poppy seeds-2 tsp
Fennel- 2tsp
Coriander powder-2tsp
Chilli powder-1/2 tspn
Cloves-4
Cardamom-4
Cinnamon-5cms

Method

Pour water over the cooking plate in the cooker pan.Add the cleaned rice.
Cover and let it soak for 15minutes.
Switch on the cooker to rice cooking.
Add salt and diced vegetables.Cover lid.
Heat ghee in a Kadai.Add shah jeera and bay leaf.
Add sliced onion and fry till brown.Add the ground masala.Fry for 2minutes.
Add mint and coriander leaves.
Remove from fire and add contents to cooker pan.
Stir gently and replace ld.
When the Biriyani is cooked ,the switch will automatically move to keep war position.
Let thebiriyani steam for 10-15minutes.

Biriyani can be garnished with fried nuts raisins and boiled eggs(I dint)

Note:stir the Biriyani half way through cooking,that will distribute the flavors uniformly.

I used national rice cooker.

Lime Rice

Lime  rice is a very easy and quick lunch option.Its a popular lunch item in the South specially in Tamil Nadu.Lime rice has a very tangy taste and is normally not made very spicy. It has the typical south indian tempering of mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.

Lime rice was never ever made in my   house.. or rather i should say it  does not have  a presence in Malayalee homes. We are always used to the proper rice, curry, a side vegetable etc.. its almost like such simple food items are never considered for lunch.

Anyway i make lime rice often as it is simple, easy and  can be made quickly.. when i am not in a mood for elaborate cooking ,lime rice is my savior.
For other quick and easy lunch options you may check these- Coconut Rice,Cucumber Pomegranate Curd Rice, Tawa pulao.

So here is how i make lime rice.

Ingredients:

Boiled Raw rice-1 cup(i use basmati rice at times)

Refined oil-1 and 1/2tbsp

Mustard Seeds -1 tspn
Dry red chilli- 2,broken

Channa Dal- 2tbspn(soaked for 15 -20 minutes.)
Urad Dal-1 tspn
Curry Leaves-  7-8

Peanuts-2 tbsp( i love  to bite into the peanuts and so i always add peanuts lavishly)

Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tspn (can add more if  you want more colour ..but make sure that the taste of haldi does not become too prominent)

Salt - to taste

Lime juice-1 and 1/2 tbspn

Coriander leaves - a few sprigs, chopped

Method:

Heat oil in thick bottomed non stick pan(preferably).
Splutter the mustard  seeds and then add urad dal.
 When Urad dal turns golden , add in the dry red chillies and curry leaves.

Then add the chana dal and the peanuts.

When these change colour to brown, add the turmeric powder and salt.
Mix well for a minute. Then add the rice.

Mix well till there is a uniformity in colour. 

Add the lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
You can serve lime rice with curd,pickle,and pappadum.

Alternate way:When the rice is boiled add 1 tablespoon of oil and the lime juice and mix well.This rice can be added  to saucepan once thetempering is done.Then you may skip the lime juice added directly on stove top.

Sometimes i add half of an onion and tomato chopped finely.

Note:You can soak chana dal in hot water..it will soften faster.
Sometimes i skip soaking the urad dal.