Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani Recipe | How to make Veg Biryani

Learn how to make Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani ~ Layered and dum cooked aromatic basmati rice with curried vegetables flavoured with saffron, ghee roasted nuts and fresh mint and coriander leaves

A very, very good pot of Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani is one of the top 5 favourite foods of mine. It is one dish that I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Yes, that’s how much I LOVE it. There is something quite magical about the whole process of making and eating it, right from carefully roasting the spices for Biryani Masala Powder to layering it. It is quite exceptional experience to open the sealed lid to reveal the perfectly cooked biryani with its heady aroma to finally eating a morsel of this heavenly meal where each grain of rice is kissed by the spices.

As a teenager, I had mastered 3 of my most favourite ‘fancy’ dishes; Malai Kofta, Gobi Manchurian, and Veg Cutlets. When I was in 11th, our science teacher Miss Maria who also happened to head exclusive ‘Ladie’s Club’ for the young ladies taught us to make Hyderabadi Vegetable and Chicken Dum Biryani. This is her recipe, Miss Maria’s Hyderabadi Veg Dum Biryani. 

Beetroot and Beet Green Pulao Recipe | Simple Pulav or Pilaf Recipe

Learn how to make Beetroot and Beet Green Pulao ~ Vegan recipe for beetroot and beet greens pulao cooked with coconut milk and delicately flavoured with freshly ground homemade pulao masala powder 

I stand next to the window with a cup of coffee warming my unusually cold palms. The steam rises from the hot cuppa and fogs my thick black rimmed glasses perched on my nose threatening to fall on my nose tip any time. I rub the glasses with the maroon woollen shawl with delicate Kashmiri floral prints that I am wearing, a gift from my Doddappa on my wedding. 

Toor Dal Kichidi Recipe | How to Make Simple Kichidi

Learn how to make Toor Dal Kichidi ~ Mildly spiced split pigeon peas or tuvar/toor dal and mixed vegetable rice porridge, traditional dish from Gujarat

It feels like a long time since I got a chance to sit down in my favourite spot in our home to write a blog post. After a week long break at one of the most scenic places in the UK, the Lake District, we are back to the daily grind and routine. After waking up to songs of birds twittering in the morning breeze and sun shining brightly on clear blue skies for whole of a week, we found ourselves waking to the shrilling noise of alarm clock and tumbling down the bed still trying to rubbing away the slumber weighing heavy on our eyelids! For the little fella whose day started with jumping on the bed and ending with running around the holiday cottage in merry, Lil Dumpling cried when he realised that the merry days of doing what he pleased at what ever times he pleased were over! Ah… why do holidays have to come to an end?!

Palak-Methi Pulao Recipe | How to Make Simple Veg Pulao/Pulav/Pilaf

Learn how to make Palak-Methi Pulao/Pulav/Pilaf ~ Basmati rice cooked with spinach, fresh fenugreek leaves, green peas, coconut milk and flavoured with whole spices and fresh herbs

I know it is bit late to talk about New Year’s resolution. I made one but never talked about with anyone as most of my New Year resolutions becomes things of past within a week’s time! So I kept quiet all this while thinking this year’s resolution too will vanish in thin air! It’s now almost a month and half since we welcomed 2013 and I felt I can share it with you all as I have successfully managed to stick to it and also enjoying it.

Pomegranate Rice - A Guest Post by Radhika @ Food for 7 Stages of Life

Light, Colourful and Packed with Flavours: Pomegranate Rice

It’s been more than 2 weeks since I came back from one month of fulfilled trip to India. All I did was eating-dozing, eating-napping and eating-sleeping… You know the drift! I am still getting over the fact that the holidays are over, I am not yet ready to post anything as of now… While the writer’s block is keeping away from penning my fabulous time at home, the cold winter kept me away from work and confined to bed with nasty chest infection! So while I recover from both cold and homesickness, a dear blogger friend Radhika has agreed to guest post in my absence. In spite of her busy schedule with a new and exciting job of parenting to beautiful baby girl, Radhika kindly agreed to share her favourite recipe of Pomegranate Rice with all of here in my virtual kitchen. Radhika’s gorgeous blog Food for 7 stages of Life is alive with her beautiful photography, exciting recipes, and lovely anecdotes. From simple home cooking to fusion cooking, her blog has everything and more. You can’t just help but marvel at her innovative and unique recipes and wonder how you didn’t think of cooking it before?! Thank you Radhika for gracing my virtual kitchen with yet another interesting and winning recipe. Please follow her on Twitter or join her fan club on Facebook to find more about her and her recipes.

Veg Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe | Indo-Chinese or Chindise Delight!

This is probably my last post on Monsoon Spice…. Well, what I meant was it is this year’s last post… I am not giving up blogging, yet. My passion for cooking, clicking and blogging is still burning as bright as the day one! After being away from blogging for more than a year, I resumed my blogging soon after Lil Dumpling turned a year old. From posting one post per week, this blog has been thriving and going strong with three posts a week!!! I think it’s time I slowed down a bit and smelled the roses, literally!

Spicy Tomato Rice: Lazy People's Version

Spicy Tomato Rice

“If life deals you lemons, make lemonade; if it deals you tomatoes, make Bloody Marys”
~Anonymous

Nah… The recipe for Bloody Marys is not you will find here but a bowl of Spicy Tomato Rice.

Capsicum Masala Rice: An Ode to Vibrant Spring!

Capsicum Masala Rice

At last my favourite weather is here to stay. Yes, I am talking about spring, the season of new beginning! It’s the season of bursting colours and heady fragrances.

Methi-Lilva-Nariyal Pulao: Bitter is Better!

Methi-Lilva-Nariyal Pulao

I can imagine most of you either rolling your eyes or twisting your nose when I say “Bitter is Better” :). Yes, bitter is definitely better when taken in moderation just like sweets!

Capsicum Bhath: Spring Colours in my Blog!

Capsicum Bhath

Yes, it’s still blank. Did you just ask me what is blank? Arrey, my mind yaar!!! Remember this rant? It’s been close to a week and still the story remains the same. What story? The tragic story of my life, no stories to share! Yes, no rants, no stories and not even gibberish to write as my brain seemed to have frozen my creative corner (?!). Although I have kept my small creative corner to thaw, I am clueless as how long it will take to defrost!

While it’s till on long, extended vacation I will continue to write posts with just recipes which are the important bit of this blog. After all Monsoon Spice is a food blog and somewhere down the line I seem to have deviated a bit and concentrating more on writing my biography than food itself. So this might be the only chance for me to write just about food. And come to think of it, this might be the only chance for my readers to save themselves from unnecessary pain in finger tips and eyes due to excessive scrolling and reading my life saga! So dear reader friend, enjoy this golden opportunity while it lasts because opportunity like this doesn’t come very often ;)

Capsicum Bhath

So what do we have today? Well, we have another plate of delicious flavoured Rice, Capsicum Bhath. Very similar to Vangi Bhath that I had posted last month. Well, the truth is this is THE recipe for Vangi Bhath with just few extra ingredients but the purple beauties baby eggplants have been replaced by the colourful bell peppers. So why blog it when it is the same recipe? Because of Krish. K is allergic (literally) to eggplants and I am one of those nut cases who can eat anything cooked with eggplants every single day of my life (mmm… may be alternate days) and never get bored of it. Other day when I made Vangi Bhath powder I also happened to casually mention about my plan of using it in Capsicum Bhath and I remember him nodding his head. So yesterday when I mentioned about making Capsicum Bhath he didn’t show any interest and instead he had that look on his face when I had initially started cooking. He very much looked like the lab rat of my initial adventures in kitchen. Well, it’s not a very pleasant feeling when your husband doubts your cooking skill after 3 years of cooking (Ok, you can exclude first 6 months from it)!!! So I had this challenge of not only making something that looked appetizing but also delicious enough to make him ask for the second serving.

And boy, did I succeed in doing that or what!!! Not only it looked colourful and very much appetizing, it smelled heavenly. And the best thing of all is he even had it for dinner and licked the bowl clean ;) Now you know why I had to blog this recipe. Although the ingredients used are same as the Vangi Bhath, the taste is very different to that. It had slight sweet bites in between due to coloured peppers and jaggery. While the tamarind juice added wonderful sour note to it and the aromatic homemade Vangi Bhath Masala powder redefined the word ‘tasty’! When served with cool Cucumber & Mint Raita, this delicious plate of Capsicum Bhath was one exceptional meal that reminds us why simple food are the most loved ones. Just one look at that plateful of colourful Capsicum Bhath and I felt I am ready to say good bye to white winters! Don't you feel that the spring is in the air? I do...

Coloured Peppers & Basmati Rice for Capsicum Bhath

Print This Recipe

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Capsicum Bhath (Spicy and Sour Coloured Bell Pepper Rice)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins (If using leftover rice) to 30 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With Papad or with any Raita or with a cup of Curds/Yogurt

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Ingredients:
2 cups Rice or 6-8 cups Cooked Rice (Preferably Basmati or Sona Masuri)
3 medium Capsicums/Bell Peppers (I used red, yellow and green), cut into bite sized pieces
1 large Red Onion, cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 Green Chillies, slit (Optional)
1 small lime sized Tamarind Pulp, soaked in ¼ cups of warm water and juice extracted
1-2 tbsp Jaggery (Adjust acc to taste)
2-3 tbsp Vangi Bhath Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
Few Cashews, roasted in little ghee
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Urad Dal/Split Black Grams
1 tbsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
2 Dry Red Chillies, halved
2 springs of Fresh Curry Leaves
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
2 tbsp Oil/Ghee or combination of both (You can use more if needed)

Capsicum Bhath

Method:

Cook rice in enough water and let it cool completely. Then take this cooked rice and add tbsp of oil to it. Mix well making sure that every grain is separate. Keep it aside till needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When it starts to pop and splutter, add jeera, channa dal, urad dal, halved dry red chillies, hing and curry leaves. Sauté till the lentils turn golden brown. Add slit green chillies, if using, and onion pieces to it and sauté till it turns translucent, about 2 mins.
Mix in bell peppers, turmeric and stir well. Keep stirring continuously till every piece of pepper is coated well with tadka and the skin starts to wilt, about 3-4 mins. Make sure that you don’t over cook the peppers and it should retain its crunchiness.
Next add tamarind water, jaggery, vangi bhath powder, and salt to taste and mix well. Cover and cook at medium heat for 2-3 more minutes, stirring in between. When the capsicums are cooked partially, add cooked rice and roasted cashews and mix well. Cook for 2 more minutes till every grain of rice is heated through and the spice mixture is coated well.
Serve this delicious Capsicum Bhath with cool Raita and Papads and enjoy.

Qabuli with Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

Qabuli with Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

Monsoon, just the word is enough to bring back a flood of fresh and drenched memories of magical monsoon rain; the sound, sights and smell of home. Monsoon rains bring down the mercury level and the heavens opens its door to the heated earth giving it new lease of life. The blissful sound of rain lashing the roof tops, the dance of trees swaying to the rhythm of rain leaving the leaves in dripping tears, the heavenly smell of earth leaves every soul sighing in ecstasy.

This is the season which every farmer in India waits for. Monsoon is a life line for many farmers in southern asian countries. Rice being the staple food in many households, its no wonder that India is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of rice. The rainy season blesses Mother Nature with an abundance of water. In most parts of India, rice is grown in flooded plains and fields called Paddy. Paddy fields grins at the passers-by swaying to the cool breeze of monsoon with the backdrop of hills covered with lush green trees and the hustle-bustle of men and women. Paddy rice farmers usually sow the seeds first in the little seedbeds and then later transfer them into flooded fields which were already ploughed. These few centimetres of water in paddy fields prevent weed growth and ensure there’s enough water for plants to grow. Back in my native, men in mundus and women in sarees working in paddy fields wear a cap called Muttale which covers their head and protects from torrential rainfalls and scorching heat. The women sing regional folk songs when planting the rice in fields praying the Rain God ‘Indra’. The scene of snow white cranes flying in V-shaped format against black monsoon clouds over swaying lush green paddy field is something which always took my breath away.

Andhra Pradesh, a southern Indian state, is known as Rice Bowl of India is famous for its hot and spicy cuisine which includes original Andhra cuisine and the famous Hyderabadi cuisine. While the traditional Andhra pickles makes me dance to their tunes, the mouth watering rich and perfumed Hyderabadi Biriyani undoubtedly rules my senses. Biriyani, one of the India’s most popular foods, is flavoured fragrant Basmati rice which is layered with meat or vegetables marinated in yogurt and spices and was usually cooked for Nizaams and Nawabs . Check here and here to read more about Biriyani Stories.

When Sharmi of Neivedyam announced JFI-Rice for this month’s Jhiva, little did she know about my love affair with Rice. Rice is a staple food in our home and many a days we eat rice for breakfast (Dosas and Idlies), lunch and dinner. After considering and rejecting almost all the Rice recipes I ended up cooking Qabuli/Qabooli/Qubuli which is originally from Afghanistan. When rich Kings and Emperors lavished on Biriyanis which uses the most expensive ingredients like Basmati Rice, Saffron and Dry fruits, common man created their own version of Biriyani using Chana Dal (Spilt and Whole Bengal Grams). The sweet and nutty Chana dal cooked with aromatic spices and yogurt is layered in between flavoured Basmati Rice, fresh mint and coriander and sweet fried onions in ghee. The finishing touch of saffron gives it wonderful colour and tickles one’s taste bud. I referred this, this, this and this for the recipe of Qabuli and made changes to suit our palette.

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Qabuli:
Prep Time: 15-25 mins (excluding soaking time)
Cooking Time: 45-60 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati Rice
¾ cup Split Chana Dal
2 large Onions, thinly sliced
½ cup Mint Leaves, finely chopped
½ cup Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust according to taste)
1 Maratha Moggu/Star Anise
2 Green Cardamoms
1 inch Cinnamon
2 Cloves
¼ tsp Saffron/Kesar
3-4 tbsp Milk
½ cup Coconut Milk
Few Cashews
3-4 tbsp Ghee
Salt to taste

For Yogurt Base:
¾ cup Yogurt
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Shah Jeera
1 tsp Shah Biriyani Powder
1 tsp Chilli Powder
Powder using Pestle and Mortar:
2 Green Cardamoms
½ inch Cinnamon
3 Cloves
Small Piece of Nutmeg

Qabuli

Method:
Wash and soak Dal and Rice separately in water for about 20-30 minutes.
Heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry thinly sliced onions in medium flame till they turn brown and keep it aside. Usually takes around 20-25 minutes.
Cook split chana dal with a pinch of turmeric and drop of oil in microwave for about 15 minutes. The dal should be cooked thoroughly but it should retain its shape.
Heat a tbsp of ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel and add marata moggu, cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves and sauté for about 20-30 seconds till nice aroma is released.
Drain water from rice and add it to sautéed whole spices and sauté over a medium flame for one minute till all the water is evaporated and grains are separated.
To this add ½ cup of coconut milk and about 3 cups of water and salt to taste. Cover the pan and cook this rice in medium flame till all the water is absorbed and rice is almost cooked. Generally takes around 20-30 minutes.
Heat little ghee in a pan and add ground spices. Sauté in a medium flame for about 15-20 seconds and add ginger-garlic paste.
Sauté it for another 20-30 seconds till the raw smell of ginger and garlic is reduced. Now add beaten yogurt, biriyani powder, chilli powder and little salt. Keep stirring this gravy till it thickens and reduces to 2/3 rd size.
Add cooked dal to yogurt gravy and mix well. Cook uncovered for 1-2 minutes.
Soak saffron in warm milk for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven at 375 F. Now take large oven proof dish. First layer it with half of cooked rice and then add all the cooked dal mixture. On top of it add half of finely chopped mint+coriander+green chilli mix and half of fried onions. Again place other half of cooked rice and layer the rice with chopped greens and fried onions.
Pour the saffron milk and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Place this dish in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Once it’s done, gently mix the rice and garnish with fried Cashews before serving hot with any curry or Raita of your choice.

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Variation:
Use Black Channa in place of split Chana Dal. Remember to soak black channa in water for minimum 1 hour.

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Qabuli with Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

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Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
6-8 Plum Tomatoes, quartered
1 cup Cucumber, quartered and sliced thinly
½ small Red Onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped finely
1 tsp Mint Leaves, very finely chopped
Pinch of Salt

Method:
Mix all the ingredients and keep it in fridge till required.
Serve chilled with any Rice of your choice.

Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

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Time for more bragging. Its pouring awards in blogsphere and Spice Corner’s hall of fame is giving tight competition to my ever expanding waistline;) While lovely girls Richa and Pravs have sent me The Power of Schmooze Award, pretty Raaga, SeeC and Sukanya think I am a Rocking Girl Blogger. And if that was not enough for my never ending bragging Sandeepa and Kribha feels I am Thoughtful and Inspirational Blogger too. Girls, I am really flattered with all these awards and love you are showering upon me. More than these awards I am thankful to all you people out there who were with me during tough times. Your kind comments, messages and mails helped me a lot in past cople of weeks. Thank you friends…

For those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping others bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.

For those bloggers who inspire others through their words and actions. With a positive attitude, and an uplifting spirit these bloggers make the blogosphere a better place, and encourage others to do the same. This award is for bloggers who rise up to set an example but continue to reach out and support others.

Moong Kichidi with Carrot Raita

We may live without poetry, music and art;
We may live without conscience,
and live without heart;
We may live without friends;
we may live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks.
-Owen Meredith, 'Lucile’

We are living in a modern busy world. World filled with busy people, busy families, busy work life with busy routine. We have everything we need or we want at our fingertips. Tired after long busy day at office? No worries, there are hundreds of restaurants or take-a-ways right next to the door. Feel like eating watermelon for Christmas? Just fetch one from local grocery store or supermarket who has them shipped from some exotic corner of the world. Did you say you like Chinese food? No worries, just pop into airport, catch the first plane to china to eat it fresh from the kitchen in few hours. Yes, almost everything is doable in this incredible, modern world. Almost everything… With everything looking incredibly simple can we make cooking as simple as possible? I am not talking about fast food here. I am talking about delicious, tasty, healthy home cooked food packed with nutrition.
I am a through and through “foodie” by heart. Although I love to cook, spending time in the kitchen isn’t always possible. At a same time I am not very fond of popping a pizza from freezer to oven or dialling nearest take-a-way. Eating out and convenience food may sound good for some time but at the same time they are expensive and packed with fats and calories. Having been a big foodie all my life, I have seen my Amma, Aunts and Atte prepare delicious, nutritious and healthy meals with little cooking time. They never compromised on the quality of the food cooked quickly. So express cooking doesn’t mean compromising on taste or quality of the food.

Moong Kichidi with Carrot Raita

When Shaheen of Malabar Spices came with an idea of Express Summer Cooking I was overjoyed. Here not only I can share some of my favourite easy-peasy dishes which take very minimal preparation and less cooking time but also I will get to see and learn from fellow bloggers. At last when it started to feel like summer in my part of the world what more can I ask than collecting some recipes which don’t need me slogging in my kitchen for hours. I can think of lots of other activities for this summer than just sweating away in my tiny kitchen ;)
First dish which came to my mind with the word ‘Express’ was Moong Kichidi, a recipe I learnt from Archana who is a childhood friend of mine. It’s a simple dish which takes very little preparation and cooking time. Kichidi, medley of lentils and rice is a one pot dish cooked with different spices. Kichidi is not just a comfort food but also packed with nutrition. Serve hot Kichidi with thanda-thanda, cool-cool Raita and there is very less chance of you not falling in love with this simple and superb dish. If all these coaxing and cajoling did not excite you then what I am going to say next is surely going to sweep you off your feet. So listen to me carefully. Kichidi is one dish which will not just save your cooking time but also your partner’s time in cleaning the dish ;) So here comes my Moong Kichidi with Carrot Raita for this Summer Express Cooking.

Rice, Whole & Split Moong

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Moong Kichidi
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1½ cups Rice (I usually use Sona Masuri or Basmati)
½ cup Whole Moong Dal/Green Gram
¼ cup Split Moong Dal
1 large Onion, sliced
2-3 Green Chillies, split
1 inch Ginger, crushed and finely chopped
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
3 Cardamoms, crushed
2 Cloves
½ tsp Black Pepper Powder (Optional)
2 tbsp Oil/Ghee
3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped finely
Salt to taste

Moong Kichidi with Carrot Raita

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Carrot Raita
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 1-2 mins (Tempering)
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 cups Yogurt, beaten
1 big Carrot, grated
1 small Red Onion, finely chopped
1 large Tomato, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli
1 tsp Oil
Few Curry Leaves
Salt to taste

Moong Kichidi with Carrot Raita

Method:
0 to 8 minutes:
Wash rice and lentils and soak them in water for 5-10 minutes till required.
Chop onions (one for raita and one for kichidi), coriander leaves and ginger finely.
Slit green chillies in center.
Lightly crush the cardamom and clove in pestle and mortar.
Heat oil/ghee in pressure cooker.
~Take a small break and refresh the Food Blog Desam and your Blogroll for new posts.~

8-15 minutes:
Add mustard, jeera and curry leaves and sauté.
When mustard starts to pop, usually with in 30-40 seconds, add finely chopped onion, ginger and green chilli and sauté it for 1 to 1½ minutes.
Now add the crushed spices and sauté it for another minute or so till onions turn translucent.
Drain water from rice and dal and add them with sautéed onion and spices.
To this add turmeric powder, salt to taste and about 6 to 6 ½ cups of water and mix well(add more water if you like it more mushy and soft).
Close the pressure cooker lid and put its weight on and reduce the gas flame to medium.

15-22 minutes:
Peel and grate carrot.
Chop a tomato very finely.
Take yogurt in a mixing bowl and beat it with a whisk for around 30 seconds.
Mix grated carrot, coriander leaves, chopped onions and tomatoes to the yogurt.
Add salt to taste and mix well.
Heat oil in a tadka pan and add mustard, curry leaves and halved dry red chilli.
When mustard starts to pop n splutter transfer the tadka/tempering to raita and mix well.
Keep the raita in fridge to chill.

22-25 minutes:
~Hit refresh button again on your laptop and flick the TV channels~
~Drag your hubby from couch to clean the cutting board and knife and to clear the worktop~
~Meanwhile, set the dinner table~

25-30 minutes:
Switch off the gas after 10-15 minutes or 3-4 whistles.
Don’t rush to open the pressure cooker right away or you will end up with modern art in your kitchen with few nasty burns on your body.
Let it cool down for few minutes before releasing the pressure and open the lid.

After 30 minutes:
Add finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
Serve hot Kichidi immediately with super cool Carrot Raita and enjoy this wholesome meal. (Err… Taking picture and eating time is excluded in this Summer Express Cooking right???? ;)

Moong Kichidi with Carrot Raita

Mango Rice with Cucumber-Mint Raita

Mango… I can say without any hitch or hesitation that mango is my favourite fruit. It’s not just because of its colour and taste. It is one fruit which is connected to my happy childhood memories. My childhood days I have spent almost every summer vacation in my grandma’s home. Every year me and my sister and our cousins would eagerly wait for our holidays and keep our bags ready before our exams. Right next day after our exams our uncle would come and take us to grandma’s place. We all cousins would gather there and play day in and day out. When our elders use to take siesta in hot afternoon we would go to our mango groves and collect basketful of mangoes for my grandma who would cook delicious items using them. The choices are numerous: Pickles, Mambla (made using mango pulp and sun dried), Gojju, Sasame, Papadam, Sambar, Rasam, Raita etc. It’s a never ending list of delicious mango delicacies.

Mango Rice with Cucumber-Mint Raita

Today I am posting the recipe of Mango rice which has been my favourite rice items from mom’s kitchen. My mother usually makes this during Ugadi which is a new year in Hindu calendar. This sweet and tangy rice is very simple to make and takes very little time. You can prepare it using left over rice too. Serve it with any Pickle and Raita or just plain Yogurt of your choice.

Mango Rice with Cucumber-Mint Raita

Ingredients:
2 cups Rice
1 large half ripe Mango, grated
2 medium Onions, finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp Mint Leaves, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, finely chopped
3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
3 tbsp Lemon Juice (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp sugar (Optional)
1 tbsp Channa Dal
1 tbsp Urad Dal
1 tbsp Mustard
1 Dry Red Chilly
Few Curry Leaves
Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Salt to taste
2+1 tbsp Ghee

Mango Rice with Cucumber-Mint Raita

Method:
Soak rice in water for half an hour, wash and drain water and keep it aside.
In a pressure cooker heat 2 tbsp of ghee and add washed rice to it.
Mix the rice till every grain is covered with ghee.
Add salt and enough water (4 cups) and close the lid and pressure cook till it’s done.
In a mean while, heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a pan and add channa dal, urad dal, red chilly, mustard, hing and curry leaves.
When mustard starts sputtering, add onion, green chilli and ginger and cook till onions turn translucent.
Add grated mango, mint leaves, coriander leaves, sugar, turmeric powder and sauté it in medium flame for 1-2 minutes.
Turn off the gas and add lemon juice and mix it well with cooked rice. If you are using raw mango then add lemon juice according to taste.
Serve hot with raita and pickle of your choice.

Mango Rice with Cucumber-Mint Raita

I served tangy mango rice with sweet cucumber-mint raita. This is one of my favourite raitas which can be prepared within five minutes. Nothing can beat the refreshing taste of cucumber-mint raita.

Cucumber-Mint Raita

Ingredients:
1 Cucumber
1 tsp Mint Paste
2 cups Yogurt
Salt to taste

Mango Rice with Cucumber-Mint Raita

Method:
Grate the cucumber and mix it with yogurt, mint paste and salt to taste.
If you like it spicy, add finely chopped green chillies or season it with mustard, urad dal and red chilly.
Chill it before serving.

Green Pulao

As my blogger buddy Pooja said, winter in green. So I thought why I don’t try cooking some green dish. After scratching my head and also my hubby’s head I thought why I don’t try some green rice for our lunch box. So I rushed into my kitchen and opened my treasure chest which happens to be my fridge and started taking out whatever green veggies available there. Well, I had Coriander leaves, Mint leaves, Green Chillies, Dill, Green Peas and Broccoli… Wait a second, broccoli? Well, why not? If we can make cauliflower rice then why not with broccoli? So with this thought in mind and backing up from my sweetheart I went into a mission of creating my own version of ‘Green Pulao’.

Green Pulao

Ingredients:
2 cups of Rice
1 medium Onion, roughly chopped
½ cup Green Peas
1 medium Broccoli, cut into big florets including stem
½ tbsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 inch Cinnamon
3-4 Cloves
2-3 Green Cardamom
2 Bay Leaves
½ tbsp ginger Paste
½ tbsp garlic Paste
½ tbsp Ground Pepper
1 tbsp Ghee
Grind to smooth paste:
1 small bunch of Coriander Leaves
1 small bunch of fresh Mint
1 small bunch of Dill (optional)
4-5 Green Chillies (according to taste)
1 tbsp of Lime Juice

Go Green with Green Pulao

Method:
Soak rice in water for 15-30 minutes, wash and drain excess water.
In a pressure cooker, heat ghee and add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaves. Fry them till they start leaving aroma.
To this add cumin seeds, chopped onions, ginger and garlic paste and fry till onions turn transparent.
Now add washed rice, ground paste, salt and pepper powder and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add broccoli florets and green peas and enough water and pressure cook till done.
Serve hot Green Pulao with any Raita of your choice.

Green Pulao

Final Verdict:
Green Pulao with broccoli as my experimental addition turned out a huge success with my hubby and me. The mix and match of whole spices with herbs and sweetness of peas and broccoli was amazing. I’m happy that I added broccoli because the dark green colour of it complimented the light green of other ingredients mixed with rice and also the tender taste of broccoli cooked with herbs and whole spices were amazing. Over all, a great tasty rice dish which I’m happy to cook again and again…;)

Go Green with Green Pulao

Peas Pulao

In India, Rice is very important part of daily diet. The variety of rice and the number of recipes available for cooking rice is amazing. Just by adding few little its ‘n bits can turn plain boring rice into a pleasurable experience.
In our kitchen the maximum cooked food is rice. My hubby and myself prefer taking rice dishes for our lunch box. So it’s a big challenge for me to find out and try out different rice recipes so that we don’t get bored of eating rice. For us every meal is very important in out daily diet. Making not just a tasty food but also a healthy food at a same time can be sometimes daunting. But hey… I love such challenges and love experimenting new recipes in my lab, that’s my kitchen.
Here I'm posting a simple rice recipe. Its Peas Pulao.

Peas Pulao with Xtra Oomph

Ingredients:
2 cups Rice
1 cup Green Peas
1 inch Cinnamon
2-3 Cloves
2 Cardamom
1 Bay Leaf/Pulao Leaf
1 large Onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1/2 tbsp Pulao Masala
1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tbsp Ghee +1/2 tbsp for frying Onion
1/2 cup Milk
Salt to taste

Peas Pulao

Method:
Soak rice in water for half an hour and drain excess water and keep aside.
In a pressure cooker heat ghee and add cinnamon, cardamom, pulao leaf and cloves.
To this add half of sliced onion, ginger and garlic paste and fry till onion turn transparent.
Then add rice and fry for 2-3 minutes.
To this add green peas peas, pulao masala, salt and pepper powder and mix well.
Add milk and enough water and pressure cook the rice till its done.
In a pan add about 1/2 tbsp of ghee and fry remaining onion till they turn brown and crisp.
Garnish peas pulao with fried onion and serve hot with Raitas.

Peas Pulao

Final Verdict:
Well... This was the first time I tried adding Pulao Masala to Peas Pulao. Usually I endup just adding whole masala. It turned out better than my expectation. The pulao masala adds that little 'oomph' to the dish. It looks great, smells wondelful and tastes absolutely gorgeous. My hubby's colleagues were quite keen to get the recipe for Peas Pulao and my hubby was more than happy to give my blog id to them;)

Peas Pulao

Saffron Rice

Saffron is the most expensive spice. The Sanskrit name for saffron points to the ancient Indian area of saffron production: Kashmirajanman or "product of Kashmir". Saffron in some modern Indian languages is called kesar (Hindi) and Kisar (Urdu). The Saffron filaments or threads are actually the dried stigmas of the saffron flower, "Crocus Sativus Linneaus". Each flower contains only three stigmas. These threads must be picked from each flower by hand and more than 75,000 of these flowers are needed to produce just one pound of Saffron filaments making it the world's most precious spice. But, because of saffron's strong coloring power and intense flavor it can be used sparingly. Saffron is used both for its bright orange-yellow color and for its strong, intense flavor and aroma.

Exquisite Saffron Rice

I remember my Amma used to keep this saffron in her trasure chest. As a kid it was a big puzzle for me as how few threads of Saffron would give such a intense colour and flavour and I still wonder:)
Here is a recipe for cooking Saffron Rice. Saffron takes rice from plain to exquisite. The colour, flavor, aroma of saffron rice is just stunning.

Bowl of Sunshine

Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati/long-grain rice
3/4 tsp Saffron threads
2 tbls Ghee
3-4 whole Cardamom
3-4 whole Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
1 cup Milk
2 and half cups Boiling Water
Salt to taste

Saffron Rice...At its full glory

Method:
Cover rice with cold water and set aside to soak for 30 minutes.
Soak saffron threads in 2 tbsp of milk.
Heat Ghee in a large saucepan over medium heat; add cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and fry 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain water and add rice. Stir it at reduced flame for 3-4 minutes.

Pour in the milk and boiling water and stir in the salt and saffron.
Cover and cook until rice is cooked and all liquid is absorbed.

Serve hot with any Curry or Subjis of your choice.

Saffron Rice

Note:
There are many ways of making Saffron Rice. Sometimes I use coconut milk in place of milk and add choice of vegetables. Ultimately the end result is always stunning and wonderful.

Jeera(Cumin) Rice

Jeera is the second most important spice in Indian cuisine (after coriander). It was first cultivated in Ancient Egypt and the Romans used it as we use pepper.
In Indian cuisine, cumin is an important ingredient in most curries, pilau rice and certain breads. When mixed with ground coriander, it forms the basis of most curry powders and masalas. Cumin is a spice that can be used whole just as it can be used ground and often a mixture of both forms is required in several recipes. The seeds are also used in snacks and appetisers and when dry roasted, cumin is an essential flavouring in the Gujarati drink lassi.

Here is the simple recipe to cook Jeera Rice. I often prepare it with some curry as side dish.

Jeera Rice served with Mushroom Masala

Ingredients:
2 Cups Basmati Rice
2 Tbsp Ghee
1½ Tbsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ Cup Milk (optional)
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
3 Cloves
3 Green Cardamom
1 Bay Leaf
Salt to taste

Jeera Rice

Method:
Soak rice in water for half an hour and drain.
Heat ghee in pressure cooker and add cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves and green cardamom and saute it for a minute. Add jeera or cumin seeds to the spices.
Fry till jeera starts sizzle and then add washed rice.
Fry rice for about 2-3 minutes till it’s covered with ghee.
Add salt, milk and 3 and half cups of water and mix well.
Close the lid and pressure cook rice for about 10-15 minutes.
Serve hot jeera rice with any curry of your choice.

Jeera Rice

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Did you know?
Cumin is said to keep lovers faithful and was often used in love potions. It has been used as a condiment in England since the 13th century and was a taxable import into London from 1419. It has also been used by Ayurvedic practitioners.

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