VEGETABLE FRIED RICE RECIPE

Vegetable fried rice is our favourite Chinese rice recipe. When my husband was in US for a short period , he used to have this rice for lunch in which the quantity of vegetables was more than rice. After he came from the trip, he told me to make fried rice adding more vegetables than rice. I started making the same way and it made the rice more healthy. I used to add ajinomotto but after knowing its ill effects I stopped using it. But It din’t make any difference in taste and flavour. The only part I feel lazy/difficult is to chop the vegetables finely. Otherwise its an easy to make dish. It will come out very flavourful too. Make sure you add all these vegetables to get the exact taste of fried rice.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml

Basmati rice – 1/2 cup Water – 3/4 cup Vegetables [cabbage , carrot (2 nos) , beans ( 5nos) , potato (2 nos) ] – 1.5 cups (finely chopped) Cooking oil – 2 tbsp Big onion – 1 no (chop finely) Ginger -  2 tsp (-do-) Garlic – 2 tsp (-do-) Capsicum – 1/2 no (-do-) Spring onion – 1/4 bunch Soya sauce – 1/4 tsp White pepper powder – 1/2 tsp Sugar – 1/2 tsp Salt – As needed

METHOD

Wash and soak the rice in water in for 30 minutes. Mean while chop all the vegetables finely.For spring onion , cut the stem part & leaves part separately.. Pressure cook the rice adding a drop of oil .. Rice should be separate & fluffy. Spread the rice in a plate and cool down completely.. In a wide kadai , heat oil till it slightly fumes ..Now add all the finely chopped vegetables including onions ,capsicum, stem of spring onions ,ginger & garlic pieces.. I don’t follow any order..I just add everything together.. Add sugar, salt and toss in high flame for 2-3 minutes by mixing continuously.Keep stirring , adjust the flame to low if necessary..Adding sugar helps to maintain the color of vegetables and salt helps to sauté quickly. .After the vegetables shrink into half , add soya sauce, rice and mix well.Mix well and add white pepper powder.Toss for few seconds and switch off the flame..Garnish with leaves part of spring onions..

Technorati Tags: Vegetable fried rice recipe,fried rice,fried rice recipe,fried rice indian,fried rice chinese,fried rice without ajinomotto,easy rice recipes,lunch box recipes,veg fried rice,veg fried rice recipe,Easy veg fried rice,easy fried rice recipe

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KONGU CUISINE– KONGUNADU LUNCH RECIPES

Kongu Nadu is the most industrialised and prosperous region in Tamil Nadu. The Kongu region comprises of places right from Ooty to Dharapuram which includes Coimbatore, Salem and its a big list.  I worked in Kongu engineering college, Perundurai before my marriage. I have tasted some of their foods during my stay in Perundurai, Erode. 

As I have an interest to try other area foods, Kongu recipes were in my try list for a long time. I have bookmarked some recipes from different blogs and I gave a try. Kongu foods has more of coconut and pulses in many dishes and most of the recipes were made using freshly ground spices.. So it has a nice aroma and taste. The best thing is they use very less oil in their recipes. 

For non-veg lovers, there are a lot more recipes to try. As a vegetarian, I found these recipes are simple to try and makes a perfect meal. The most popular recipe among these is arisi paruppu sadam. I saw different versions in many blogs and long back I tried it with just sambar powder but somehow we dint like that taste. May be their sambar powder is different from mine and I missed the aroma. So this time I tried it from valarmathi’s blog in which she suggested to use freshly ground spices. It was very nice and had a nice flavour. 

Also I tried poondu kuzhambu from her blog which is very easy to prepare. We loved its taste. In addition to this, I tried potato fry from ramya’s blog and paruppu keerai from plantain leaf. To complete the meal, I made ilaneer payasam. This time I dint add condensed milk. Still there is a big list of recipes like kollu masiyal, kootu etc to try.  I’ll make one by one and post here.

ARISI PARUPPU SADAM

My mom makes Tirunelveli special thuvaram paruppu sadam. The taste of arisi paruppu sadam reminded my mom’s recipe..We  enjoyed this rice with vadagam/vathal & potato fry..

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Rice – 1/2 cup ( steamed rice/ boiled rice / puzhungal arisi) Water – 1.5 cups ( add as per your rice) ( I used 1:3 ratio, please use the ratio you follow in your daily cooking ) Toor Dhal  - 1/8 cup i.e. 2 tbsp Onion – 1 no (medium , slice cut) Tomato – 1/2 no (finely chopped) Coriander leaves – few ( to garnish) Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp Cashew nuts - few (optional) To temper: Oil –1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp To grind Garlic - 3 cloves Dry Red Chilli – 2-3 nos Curry leaves – few Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Corns - 1/4 tsp

METHOD

Grind the ingredients said above to a coarse paste adding water and keep aside. Wash Rice and dal. Soak for 15 mins. Heat oil in a pressure cooker & add mustard seeds to it and allow it to splutter. Then add the onions and fry until golden brown. Now add chopped tomatoes to it and fry till the tomatoes are mushy.Then add the ground paste to it and fry till the raw smell goes. Now add rice and dal to it and add water. Now add turmeric powder, coriander leaves and salt. Pressure cook for 2 or 3 whistles. Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and add to the rice and serve.

As valarmathi suggested, I enjoyed this rice with vathal/appalam and potato fry.. This rice tastes good with potato chips too..

POONDU KUZHAMBU/ GARLIC GRAVY

Its very easy to prepare and a simple recipe.!! Thank you so much valar.

INGREDIENTS

Garlic cloves – 1/4 cup Big or small Onion, chopped – few pieces Tomato – 1 no ( small, chopped ) Tamarind – Big gooseberry sized Red Chillies – 2 nos Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp Chilly Powder - 3/4 tsp Coriander leaves – few ( optional) Jaggery –a pinch (optional) Oil – 2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Salt & water – as needed

METHOD

Soak tamarind in water and extract a cup of tamarind juice from it and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds to it, after it splutters add pinched red chillies to it. Add the chopped onions and garlic fry till they are golden brown. Then add tomatoes and fry till they become soft. Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder to it and mix well. Then add tamarind juice, water and salt to it. Add  jaggery if you use. Cook the gravy till it becomes thick and garlic are soft. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve !!

PARUPPU KEERAI

It tasted more like dal palak. It was a nice combo for poondu kuzhambu..

INGREDIENTS

Greens / Spinach – 1 cup chopped  ( I used arai keerai) Toor dal  – 1/3 cup (you can use split pigeon peas or yellow lentils) Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Oil – a drop Onion – 1 no (medium chopped) Garlic --- 6 cloves ( chopped) Green chillies – 2 nos (slit) Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp Salt to taste For seasoning Oil – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp Asafetida – 1/8 tsp Curry leaves – few

METHOD

Pressure cook dal adding turmeric powder & oil. Mash the dal and set aside. In a kadai, temper all the ingredients and add the chopped onion, garlic cloves. green chillies and saute well. Now add the washed & chopped green and saute for sometime. Add water and cover cook till the greens are cooked well. Then add pepper powder, cooked dal and required water, salt. Allow it to boil for few seconds, remove & serve hot !

POTATO BRINJAL FRY

For this recipe, Ramya used brinjal & potato.  As my hubby doesn't like brinjal , I used potatoes alone. I din't use much oil , first I roasted potatoes in little oil and I added little water to cook them.. It was not much oily and was tasty too..

INGREDIENTS

Potato – 3 nos (medium sized , cut into pieces) Brinjal - 1 (chop into small cubes) Big onion – 1 no, chopped ( original recipe used small onions ) Sambar powder – 1-2 tsp Grated coconut / dry coconut – 2 tsp Salt – as per taste To temper Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Channa dhal – 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 no( finely chopped.) coriander leaves for garnishing.

METHOD

Heat oil in a pan and once its hot, add the mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the chana dal. Saute until it turns light brown in color and then add onions. Fry till transparent. Add the chilli, curry leaves and turmeric powder and saute well. Now add the potato pieces and sambar powder /red chilli powder and the salt needed and cook it covered until the potatoes are cooked by sprinkling little water ( If you don’t want to add water, add more oil and allow it to roast and cook in oil itself) Just before turning off the flame, add the grated coconut and gently stir. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot.

Technorati Tags: poondu kuzhambu,garlic gravy,paruppu keerai,kongu recipes,kongu lunch recipes,kongu food,kongu cuisine,kongu,kongunadu recipes,kongunadu cuisine,kongnadu food,kongunadu,arisimparuppu sadham,arisiparuppu sadham,elaneer payasam,potato fry recipe,potato curry,potato fry

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CHILLI GARLIC FRIED RICE | CHINESE RECIPES

I took this recipe from a magazine & made in a weekend along with veg momo. Its a very simple recipe and tastes good. If u r a garlic lover and if u want to try chinese cuisine, then this recipe is for u.. It tastes great with tomato sauce …

INGREDIENTS

Basmati rice – 1/2 cup Garlic cloves – 4 nos (Small) Red chillies – 3-4 nos Finely chopped spring onion – 1/8 cup ( i used stem of coriander leaves ) Ajinomotto – 1/4 tsp Soya sauce – 1/2 tsp Cooking oil – 2-3 tbsp Salt – as needed Water – 1 cup (to cook the rice)

METHOD

Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes in 1 cup of water . Add little salt and cook till its done.Spread the rice in a plate.. Grind 2  red chillies along with garlic cloves with little water & set aside. ( It may not ground smooth , but try the max) Heat oil in a a kadai and add the remaining 1 or 2 red chillies ( pinch into two)  and the ground paste. Saute till raw smell leaves it.. Now add the cooked rice ,ajino motto , soya sauce & the required salt ..Mix well for few seconds. Add the finely chopped spring onions , mix well and switch off the flame. Serve hot with sauce/ketchup !!

NOTE

U can also try the same adding finely chopped vegetables to make it healthy.. Adjust the amount of red chillies according to ur taste buds. U can also replace sesame oil instead of cooking oil.

Technorati Tags: Garlic fried rice recipe,simple fried rice,easy fried rice recipe,spicy fried rice,fried rice,chinese recipes,lunch recipes,chilli fried rice..

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Mushroom Biryani Recipe in Pressure Cooker | Kalan Biryani - Mushroom Recipes

This is my first post on Indian mushroom recipes. I started with a simple and easy mushroom biryani recipe in pressure cooker.  We call it as Kalan biryani in Tamil.  When I was young , I used to think mushroom is a non-veg food. So I never thought of  eating mushroom recipes. But after marriage , I tasted mushroom Manchurian in a vegetarian restaurant and loved it. I loved its softness. I tried the same for my daughter. She too liked it a lot. I’ll post that recipe later.

 This time I wanted to try a rice variety with mushroom to pack for my husband’s lunch box. I googled so many recipes, got the idea and tried in my own way. It tasted great. My husband and his friends liked it a lot. I felt very happy that my first mushroom recipe is a huge success. Soon I will try to update this post with step by step pictures.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml

Mushroom – 5 nos (big) Green peas – 1/4 cup (optional) Cinnamon – 1 piece Cloves – 2 nos Cardamom – 1 no Biryani leaf – 1 small Big onion – 1 no Tomato – 2 nos ( very small.. if big use one) Ginger & garlic paste – 1 tsp Red chilli powder – 1 tsp Salt  - as needed Basmati rice – 1/2 cup ( soak rice in required water for 10 mins) Water – 1 cup Cooking Oil & ghee – 1 tbsp each To grind: Coriander leaves – 1/8 cup Mint leaves – 1/8 cup Cashews – 4 nos Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp Lime juice – few drops

METHOD

Wash and clean the mushroom pieces by keeping little water in a bowl. Take the pieces out and wipe it with a clean cloth.  Cut each mushroom into 3-4 pieces of medium size. Set aside.. Wash &  Soak rice in the required water till use (1:2 ratio) ( say for 10 mins). Grind all the items given under “to grind” to make a smooth paste. In a cooker base heat oil and add cinnamon, cloves , cardamom and biryani leaf. Then saute onions , ginger & garlic paste till its raw smell disappears.. Now add the tomato pieces and saute till it turns mushy. Add red chilli powder , salt and turmeric powder. Add the mushroom pieces and the ground masala paste. Mix well and finally add the soaked rice with the required water. Cook for 1 whistle in low flame by adding a tbsp of ghee. Fluffy , yummy biryani is ready to serve with a simple raita !!

NOTE

For variations , lime juice can be added at the end before serving instead of adding tomatoes. U can also fry the basmati rice in ghee before soaking in water.. For cooking basmati rice , Rice and water quantity of 1:2 would be sufficient if you don't soak the rice for 30 minutes. I used 2.25 cups which made the rice little mushy. My husband likes that way. So I used more water. If served for guests, add more ghee while sautéing.

Technorati Tags: MUSHROOM RECIPES,MUSHROOM RICE,MUSHROOM MASALA RICE,MUSHROOM BRIYANI,KAALAAN BIRIYANI,Mushroom biryani recipe,MUSHROOM BENEFITS,MUSHROOM,MUSHROOM RICE RECIPE,mushroom briyani,lunch box recipes

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PULI SADAM / TAMARIND RICE RECIPE / PULIYOGARE / PULIYODHARAI

Puli sadam/Tamarind rice/Puliyodharai is loved by all. Its one of the best lunch box recipes.Ideal for travel. You can prepare this pulikachal ( Tamarind rice paste) in advance and store it for weeks in fridge. With papad or vadam as side dish, it tastes divine!!
                 I would say my MIL makes the best puliodharai which I’ve tasted so far. Its taste would be equivalent to temple puliogare (Kovil puliyodharai) but I would say its our home style version ;). We are a big fan of her tamarind rice recipe. Yesterday we made this for our trip to Tirupathi. It was very flavorful and tasty. Though there are many varieties of pulikachal recipes in this blogosphere, I wanted to share my version. I’ve tried to give the step by step pictures for beginners & bachelors.Thanks a to ton to my MIL for teaching me this wonderful keeper recipe.Please have a look at the “Points to remember “ section before proceeding.I have shared some useful tips on how to make perfect tamarind rice learning from my MIL :) Lets see how to make Pulikachal & Puli sadam/ Tamarind rice at home following these simple steps and video.

INGREDIENTS FOR PULIYOGARE PASTE

Tamarind – Lemon size Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves – 2 sprigs Hing / Asafetida – 1/4 tsp Salt – As needed Powdered Jaggery – 1 tsp Water – 3 cups To temper: Cooking oil – 3 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Urad dal –1 tsp Channa dal – 2 tbsp Red chillies – 10 nos (pinched..refer the picture) Hing – 2 pinches. Curry leaves –  1 sprig To roast and grind: Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp  Chana dal – 1 tbsp Red chilly – 1 no

METHOD

Soak tamarind in 2 cups of hot water for 20 mins . Extract the tamarind juice using 2 cups of water. Set aside. Pinch red chillies and keep it ready for tempering. In the video, I have used 5 red chillies for roasting and 5 for tempering.  Add the turmeric powder , salt , curry leaves and hing as given above. (everything should be raw) In a kadai , heat oil and roast the methi seeds till it crackles. Keep aside. In the same kadai , roast channa dal and red chilly till golden brown. Now powder the roasted methi seeds ,channa dal and red chilly to a coarse powder. Set aside. (just run the mixie twice or thrice quickly) Heat the kadai with 2 tbsp of cooking oil or gingely oil and temper all the items in the same order. Then add the tamarind extract and allow it to boil for 10-15 mins or till the mixture reduces to half. It depends on the flame you keep. After it reduced to half add the powdered jaggery , ground powder and allow it to boil.. As soon as u add the powder , gravy starts to thicken and bubbles arise with a gala gala sound. Please watch the video below if you are interested. I hope most of you know this sound. This is for beginners & bachelors..My MIL says this is the important step to know the final stage of tamarind paste getting ready. So I thought of inserting a video here.. We call it salangai satham in tamil..Boil it for few seconds and switch off the flame..(Make sure the gravy is in semi solid consistency.Don’t allow it to boil much after adding the powder because the gravy would thicken and there would not be enough paste to mix in rice.. ) Allow it to cool down. Store in air tight container. HOME MADE PULIKACHAL / PULIYOGARE PASTE IS READY..For the above measurements u can make 2-3 cups of tamarind rice for 5 people.

  

 

HOW TO MAKE TAMARIND RICE

INGREDIENTS

Cooked rice – 2 cups Tamarind paste – As needed Sesame oil – 3 tbsp ( use as needed)

METHOD

• Pressure cook the rice in the ratio of 1:2 if u use basmati rice, We always use steamed rice or raw rice. So I add 2.5-3 cups of water. Add a tsp of oil in the rice before cooking to get the rice separate and fluffy.
• Take the cooked plain rice in a wide plate or bowl and add sesame oil.Allow it to cool a little.
• Add the puliogare paste little by little and mix well using a fork like ladle. Check for taste.Add more salt & oil if needed.
• Enjoy with papad !!


POINTS TO REMEMBER




Raw curry leaves, hing and roasted methi seeds gives the flavor to puli sadham .So do not compromise in adding those ingredients. Please don’t forget to add raw curry leaves and hing in the tamarind extract as well as while tempering.That’s the important step. My MIL sometimes reserve a tsp of the roasted powder and adds at the end on the plain rice before mixing the paste.She says this gives an additional flavour. But this step is purely optional. Always make the paste minimum one day in advance because it takes time to get all the taste blends into it. The shelf life of the paste is 1 week without refrigeration. U can keep it for two weeks provided you reheat it every 3 days by adding little water. If refrigerated it stays good for a month too.. The taste of tamarind paste increases day by day. U can try adding coriander seeds while roasting the channa dal and red chilly. It gives an additional flavour.But some people may not like this. Also add the roasted peanuts in the end before switching off the flame if u wish to use it. We don’t like peanuts in tamarind rice,so i’ve not added it.. After mixing the paste and rice check for salt , add more if necessary.Add more sesame oil if it looks dry. If u feel its too spicy for u , add more sesame oil and little salt to reduce the spiciness. Here i’ve given measurements for mild spiciness.That would be enough.. If u love to have more spicy rice , then add 2 more red chillies while roasting and powder it along with methi seeds and channa dal. . Also to reduce the tanginess in tamarind paste, just pinch and roast more red chillies and add it to the paste , mix well and add it to the rice after some time. Please prepare the tamarind rice at least one hour before serving. We should give some setting time for the rice to absorb all the taste in the paste. When you make it for lunch box or travel , use ladle to mix the rice and paste . Please don’t use your hands to mix it. Rice will spoil quickly. Vadagam or vathal would be the best accompaniment for puli sadham. My mom makes a thogayal with fried gram dal /pottukadalai. I’ll post it soon. It goes well for tamarind & lemon rice.




Technorati Tags: Tamarind rice,puli sadham,home made tamarindpaste,puli kachal recipe,puli kachal,kovil puliodharai,puliogare,temple puliogare.lunch box recipes,travel food

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Sprouts Pulao And Mixed Vegetable Raita

 

I made this for my hubby’s lunch box today . I got these recipes from Tarla dalal’s website.Both the recipes were given under Protein rich , low calorie , healthy food category. So I chose these recipes for our lunch.I made some slight changes in the actual recipe according to our tastebuds.It was nice & filling too.. Thanks to tarla dalal…About the raita , I should have named this as beetroot raita because the color of beetroot is predominant here. I’ve added carrots and cucumber to the raita. But its not visible .So adding beetroot is purely optional. If u want a nice color , please omit it or add less beetroot pieces.Please find the raita recipe below.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Sprouted green gram / Sprouted moong – 1/2 cup Carrot – 1 no Rice – 1/2 cup Water – 1.5 cups (adjust if u use basmati ) Salt – As needed. To temper Cooking oil – 1 tbsp Cinnamon – 1 small stick Cloves – 2 nos Bayleaf – 1 no Ginger- Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp Green chilly – 1 no (chopped finely) Big onion – 1 no (-do-) Coriander powder – 3/4 tsp Chilli powder – 1/2tsp Turmeric powder – a pinch Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp Lime juice – few drops Coriander leaves – to garnish

METHOD

Heat the pressure cooker base with a tbsp of oil and add all the items given under “to temper” one by one in the same order. When the onion becomes translucent , add the carrot pieces and sprouts. Saute well for a minute. Then add all the powders. Mix well for a few minutes and add the rice. Toss it well. Finally add the water & reqd salt. Pressure cook upto 1 or 2 whistle. Add a zing of lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves. ENJOY EATING HOT WITH RAITA !!

MIXED VEGETABLE RAITA

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

• Cooked carrot and beetroot cubes – 1/2 cup
• Cucumber pieces - few
• Fresh curd – 1/2 cup
• Green chilly – 1/2 no (Chopped finely)
• Roasted jeera powder – to sprinkle
• Water – as needed to dilute the curd
• Salt – as reqd

METHOD

• Cube cut carrot and beetroot into small pieces.Cook them for 1 whistle adding little water.
• Mix the fresh cucumber pieces with the cooked vegetables.
• Add the thick curd , reqd water and salt.( sometimes water may not be needed as the water in the cooked vegetables may be enough)
• Finally sprinkle the roasted jeera powder..

Serve with parathas and pulao !!

Technorati Tags: GREEN GRAM SPROUTS PULAO,SPICY SPROUTS PULAO,SPROUTS RICE,LUCNG BOX RECIPES,RAITA,MIXED VEGETABLE RAITA,BEETROOT RAITA,TARLA DALAL RECIPE,lOW CALORIE,HIGH PROTEIN RECIPE,RICE VARIETY.

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RAW MANGO RICE / MANGO RECIPES

I learnt this from my MIL.. I usually make this for my husband's lunch box. My mil adds roasted & ground fenugreek seeds powder which gives a nice taste & flavour for this rice..Soon i'll post my mom's easy mango rice..

Ingredients

• Raw mango – 2 cups ( grated) 
• Green chilly – 2 nos ( slit cut)
• Red chilly – 3-4 nos ( pinched into two)
• Methi seeds –3/4 tsp ( roast & powder)
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Hing – 1 tsp
• Salt – As required
• Cooking oil – 4 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dal – 2 tsp
• Channa dal –2 tsp
• Curry leaves - a  sprig

For rice :
Basmati rice – 1/2 cup ( i used steamed rice with water & rice ratio of 2.5 : 1)
Water – 1 cup
Sesame oil – 1 tbsp

Method 

• Grate the mangoes and set aside.

•  In a kadai , dry roast the methi seeds till it turns brown and powder it.
• In the same kadai , add the cooking oil and splutter mustard seeds , urad dal , channa dal , green chillies , red chillies &  half of  hing , curry leaves..

• Then add the grated mango and turmeric powder & saute well till its cooked nicely.

• Add the remaining hing and methi seeds powder..Saute for sometime and switch off the flame.Take the paste and store it in an air tight container after it cools down.

• Pressure cook rice and water in 1:2 ratio . Remove and  allow it to cool.

Mix the rice and required mango paste topped with sesame oil.Check for salt ..
Enjoy with papad !!

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EASY VEGETABLE PULAO / VEG PULAO RECIPE

I don’t remember the source for this recipe but its really an easy to make,delicious rice variety.I usually prepare this for my husband’s lunch box .Tastes great with simple onion raita..So here we go ,

Ingredients :

• Basmati rice – 1/2 cup
• Water –  1 cup (Little less than 1 cup for fluffy rice)
• Carrot , beans , peas and potato – 1 cup (chopped )
• Green chilly - 2 nos (slit cut )
• Ginger – 1 inch size (Chopped finely )
• Garlic – 5 flakes( –do-) OR use ginger. garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Big onion –1 no (-do-)
• Cinnamon – a small stick
• Cloves – 2 nos
• Cardamom – 1 no
• Bay leaf – A small leaf
• Jeera – 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Ghee – 2 tsp 
• Roasted cashew – to garnish

Method :

• Wash and chop all the veggies and set aside.
• Wash and soak the rice in required water.(i soaked for 30 mins)Do not drain the water.
• In a broad kadai , add oil , jeera and the spices in the same order.
• Add the ginger , garlic pieces ..saute well and then add the finely chopped onions,  slit green chillies.Saute till it becomes transparent.
• Finally add the chopped vegetables and the required salt.
• Mix well and add the rice with soaked water.(the water should be 1 cup )
• Transfer everything into a cooker and add 2 tsp of ghee to it.
• Cover and Cook for 1 whistle.

Serve hot with raita !!

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Garlic Rice / Poondu Sadam - Leftover Rice Recipes

I learnt this from my neighbor.Yesterday when i was chatting with her , she told me about this garlic rice/ Poondu sadam . I tried on the same day .It was very tasty .I made it with the leftover rice I made for lunch.Its not necessary that the rice should be separate or grainy..Simple ingredients and can be made in jiffy.

Ingredients :
 1cup - 200ml

• Rice – 1/2 cup
• Garlic  bulbs -  2 nos (Peel the skin and crush the whole ones just with a ladle)
• Small Onions – 10 nos (finely chopped ) ( replace with 1 big onion, finely chopped)
• Green chilly – 2 nos (slit cut)
• Salt – as needed.
• Coconut oil or ghee - 1 tbsp

To temper:

• Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal – 1 tsp
• Red chilly – 1 no (pinched into two)
• Curry leaves – a few.

Method :

• Pressure cook the rice and set aside.
• In a kadai , add 2 tbsp of oil and temper with mustard , urad dal and red chilly and curry leaves.
• Then add the crushed garlic , small onions, green chillies and saute till garlic turne golden brown.
• Finally add everything to the cooked rice and mix well by adding salt.
• Add a tbsp of coconut oil / ghee and serve hot !!

No side dish is required.If desired ,have with pickle..

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Rice Upma / Arisi Upm With Adayar Anandha Bhavan Style Sambar

I learnt this upma from my MIL and sambar from my friend Krithiga. This sambar serves as an excellent combo for this upma. I usually make this sambar for idli/Dosa. But this time I tried for this upma. It was a divinely combination. It can be prepared within 15 mins. :)
Normally we all make coconut chutney/Tomato /Coriander chutney for upma. But I usually make different sambar. My hubby likes to have upma with sambar more than chutney. Also the juicy sambar when mixed with upma gives a heavenly taste, Slurpp!. Even I too love sambar for upma nowadays. 

Ingredients 

FOR UPMA

• Raw rice – 1 cup
• Toor dal – 1.5 tbsp

To temper:

• Mustard  seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dal – 2 tsp
• Channa dal -  1 tsp
• Green chilly – 2 nos (Slit cut)
• Curry leaves – a sprig
• Ginger – 1 inch ( chopped finely)
• Hing /Asafetida – 1/2 tsp
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Water – 2.25 cups

Method

• Soak rice and dal together for 1 hr. Run in the mixie only once (use inch/Juice option)..It should be just broken into two..Set aside..
• Heat oil in a cooker base and add the tempering items in the same order.Add only half of the hing during tempering..
• Then add the water.Mix well by adding a tsp of oil.Now add the remaining 1/4 tsp of hing and add the rice and dal mixture.Stir it well till the water gets absorbed by the rice,dal mixture..Now close the lid and cook for 1 whistle in low flame.
• Remove and serve hot with sambar/Chutney!!

AAB SAMBAR RECIPE

Ingredients:

• Toor dal- 1/4 cup 
• Tomato – 2 nos (finely chopped)
• Small onion – 10 nos (Peeled ) (U can use big onion too )
• Adayar Ananda Bhavan Sambar powder – 1.5-2 tsp (if u dont have this sambar powder,u can use MTR,SAKTHI sambar powders ..)
• Red chilly powder – 1/2 tsp
• Jaggery - a small piece
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Hing /Asafetida – 2 pinches.
• Salt & water – as  needed

To dry roast& grind:

• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Chana dal - 1.5 tbsp
• Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Hing - 1/4 tsp
• Red chillies - 2 nos

To temper :

• Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Urad dal – 1 /2 tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves – a sprig
• Oil – 1 tsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves – to garnish
 Method:

1. Take a pressure cooker and add the items given under “ingredients”..with salt & water.Soak for 15 mins(this helps the toor dal to cook well N mash).Cook for 2 whistles in low flame..Open and mash it well.
2.  Ruoast all the ingredients in a drop of oil & grind it to a fine powder. Add this powder, jaggery after opening the cooker and let it boil well.Temper it and garnish with coriander leaves..
3. Finally add a tbsp of ghee and mix well or u can temper with ghee.  This gives an added flavor to this sambar !!This is the most important step .Plz dont forget..

Note:
U  can add any veggies of ur choice to make it healthy..
For upma..Instead of soaking rice and dal for  1 hr,u can directly run it in the mixie once and repeat the same procedure.


TRIED & TASTED:

CARROT POLI FROM EC’S BLOG:

I should thank EC for posting this yummy sweet just for me. I was elated !!
I tried this on sunday evening. I made some small changes in her recipe. I added grated coconut and instead of grinding the boiled carrots ..I grated them.
It tasted excellent and i’ve decided to make it for my guests. 
Here is the recipe which I followed.This is for my future reference too. 
For stuffing:

• Boiled and grated carrot – 2 nos (medium sized)
• Grated coconut – 1/4 cup
• Sugar – 10 tsp (adjust )
• Cardamom – 2 nos powdered
• Ghee – 1 tsp

For dough:

• Maida – 3/4 cup
• Cooking soda – a pinch
• Salt – a pinch
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Kesari color – a pinch
• Water – as needed.

Method:

1. Knead the dough by mixing all the ingredients and set aside for 30 mins.
2. In a kadai take the grated coconut along with sugar. Let it mix well and sugar melt. Then add the boiled, grated coconut, ghee, cardamom powder. Stir it well till it forms a ball and becomes non sticky.
3. Remove and set aside. Knead the dough again till it becomes soft.
4. Now make the balls of even size and roll it a little.
5. Place the stuffing in the middle and cover it by pulling all the sides of the dough. Make a ball and pat it to a thin chappathi on a greased polythene sheet..
6. Heat a dosa tawa and cook the poli on both the sides by pouring little oil around it..

Yummy carrot poli is ready to eat.. 


Bye for now :)

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TOMATO PULAO RECIPE | LUNCH BOX RECIPES

I tried this pulao yesterday for Lunch.I made Paruppu rasam ,bindi fry and coriander leaves thogayal in addition to this.So i prepared only a less quantity .Please change the quantity of ingredients according to ur requirement.I’ll post paruppu rasam in future.Now coming to this recipe,I adapted this from a cookbook and made some variations according to our taste.

Ingredients:

• Rice  ( i used boiled rice ) – 1/2 cup
• Tomato – 3 nos (medium sized ) (Grind it with skin to make a puree )
• Water – 3/4 cup
• Small onions – 10 nos (Peeled and cut into two )
• Boiled peas – 1/4 cup (I didn’t add )
• Garlic -  5 flakes ( peeled )
• Cashew nuts – 5 nos (Grind it to a paste)
• Red chilly powder – 1/2 - 1 tsp
• Green chilly – 1 no (slit cut )
• Salt – as  needed .
• Lime juice – a few drops

TO GRIND :

• Ginger – 1 inch size
• Chopped Coriander leaves – 1.5 tsp (grind both to get a 2 tsp paste)

TO SAUTE :

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon – 1 small stick
• Cloves – 3 nos
• Bay leaf – 1 no
• Star anise / Marati moggu – 1 no
• Cardamom – 1 no

TO GARNISH:

• Coriander leaves – few (chopped).

Method:

• Grind coriander leaves & ginger  with water to make 2 tsp paste.Set aside.Grind cashews to make a paste with little water.
• Wash the rice and keep aside.If u use basmati rice , the ratio of rice and water is 1:1 .So u need to soak the rice for 3-4 HOURS.(If not use 1:1.5 ratio and soak for 1 hour)
• Heat a kadai with oil and all the items one by one given under“ TO SAUTE “ section.
• After adding all the spices,add the small onions and garlic flakes.Saute till onions become transparent.
• Now add the slit green chilly and ginger & coriander leaves paste.
• Saute for a minute and add the cashew paste. Stir well.
• Then add the red chilly powder and tomato puree to it.
• Mix well and add the required salt and cook everything for a minute.Stir in intervals.Make sure there is little water in it.
• Now add the measured rice and water and mix it well.
• Transfer everything into a cooker and cook for 1 whistle.
• After removing from the flame add a few drops of lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Tastes heaven with onion raitha!!

I am glad in sending this entry to Sanghi’s FIL – TOMATO.

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Vegetable Dum Biryani Recipe In Pressure Cooker

I tried this dum biryani using a pressure cooker for the first time. I had an eye on this recipe for long time.I was searching cook books,blogs etc to get the recipe.At last I got it from a book and a blog.I combined both the recipes and made it on my own. It came out very well with a nice color and aroma.We liked it very much!! Most of  you would have tried Dum biryani in different methods.Here I have shared my version.Hope you will like it.Lets see how to make Vegetable Dum biryani recipe in a pressure cooker.

Vegetable dum biryani recipe

Vegetable dum biryani recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Lunch recipes

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Ingredients reqd Vegetables(carrot,beans,potato,peas) - 2 cups Rice – 1 cup Water – 2 cups To Saute Oil /Ghee – 1 tbsp Cinnamon – 1” stick Cloves – 3 nos Cardamom – 1 no Bay leaf – 1 no Star anise/Marati moggu – 2 nos Big Onion – 1 no(sliced) Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp Green chilly – 2 –3 nos(slit) Mint leaves – 10- 15 leaves Coriander leaves – a few Tomato – 2 no (chopped) Turmeric powder – a pinch Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Salt – As needed Curd – 1 tsp Red color – a pinch ( optional) To Grind Cashew nuts – 10 nos To Garnish Roasted Bread/Bun – Few pieces (optional)

METHOD

Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes.Cube cut all the vegetables and keep it aside. Grind the cashews to make a smooth paste.set aside. Heat a cooker base with oil and add all the spices one by one given under “ to saute” in the same order. Once the spices start to splutter,add the onion juliennes' and fry till transparent.Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell  leaves. Add half of the mint & coriander leaves. Fry it. Add the slit green chillies ,fry and add chopped finely tomatoes.Cover Cook till tomatoes become mushy. Now add the vegetables and mix till masalas are well coated on it. Add the chilli powder,cashew paste and salt ,mix well. Now add the remaining mint & coriander leaves and curd.Fry for a min. Drain the water from the soaked rice and add to the mixture. Mix it well and add 2 cups of water.Add a tsp of ghee to it. Pressure cook till it is 3/4th done.(I kept it for 6 mins after putting weight valve.My cooker generally takes 8 mins to cook the rice completely.)So depending on ur cooker,please vary the time.Now open the cooker and mix it once. How to put DUM

• Heat a dosa tawa and keep the cooker on it with weight valve.
  • Once the tawa becomes hot,simmer the flame and let the cooker stand on it for 8-10 mins..
  • The rice will be cooked full using the vapor inside. It wont get burnt.Once the pressure is released ,open the cooker and toss it once. Add the roasted bread pieces and mix it well.

Yummy Veg Dum Biriyani is ready to serve with onion raita.Enjoy !

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SCHEZUAN FRIED RICE – TRIED AND TASTED

I took this recipe from poonam’s kitchen .I did some variations according to our tastebuds and tried.It came out very well.We liked it so much.I packed this for my hubby’s lunch.He called me after having this and told it was very good:)
I thank Poonam for sharing this wonderful recipe:)

U can find the actual recipe here.The following are the variations :

1. I used finely chopped carrots,beans,potato,cabbage & bell peppers.
2. I used finely chopped big onions instead of spring onions.
3. Then, i used crushed ginger and garlic pieces.
4. I made the sauce using chilly vinegar(instead of white vinegar) and 11 red chillies.
5. AIso i pressure cooked the rice by adding a drop of oil(rice & water – 1:2) and spreaded in a plate to cool down.Remaining i followed the same!!

Here is the picture of sauce and rice for u:

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