Restaurant Style Vegetable Pulao With Raita - South Indian Veg Biryani Recipe

I got this restaurant style veg pulao recipe from a friend who is an expert in cooking non-veg recipes. She shared her South Indian style Vegetable pulao recipe with me. In Karnataka, all my friend call it as vegetable pulao/palav. In my house, mom and MIL call these kind of recipe as either biryani or vegetable rice. I tried this recipe for the first time. It came out super flavourful and tasty. When you cook this biryani, I bet your house will be scented with this masala flavour. U can feel the smell in your hands even after you finished eating it:) I am not exaggerating, its true. Try it :) Its totally my kind of recipe with full masala flavour.

Whenever my neighbours make biryani, I keep sniffing the aroma. Every time I feel like rushing to their house to get the recipe. As they cook mostly non-veg biryani, I hesitate to ask because I was thinking the same flavours cannot be achieved with vegetables. I thought its only because of chicken or mutton. Of course chicken/mutton may also be one of the reasons. But the major thing is the masala/spices we use. I got to know this only after making this biryani. U’ll get the taste and smell of non-veg biryani when you try this recipe. Its a keeper recipe for vegetarians like me.

If you make this for parties, make it directly in electric rice cooker like i did in my tomato rice recipe but with generous amount of oil and ghee. Rice cooker helps to keep the pulao hot till u eat. Last week i attended a birthday party. They kept this rice in their menu. It was awesome.So I thought of sharing this recipe before posting the party menu.

Ok, enough of boring, let us move on and see how to make spicy veg biryani & raita with step by step pictures :)

Click here for Masala vada recipe, Curd Rice recipe 

Spicy vegetable pulao

Spicy vegetable biryani/pulao recipe - Truly flavourful

Cuisine: Indian Category: Lunch Yields: Serves 3

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Total Time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml

To soak in water Basmati rice - 1cup Water - 1.5 - 1.75 cups To saute in oil Cooking oil + ghee – 2tbsp + 2tsp Bay leaf – 1no Star anise – 1no Lichen or Black stone flower – Kalpasi – 1/2 tsp (please see the picture in step by step & refer notes) Vegetables - 3/4 cup (carrot-1no ,beans-8nos, green peas-1/4cup, potato - 1no) Big onion – 2 nos (medium sized) Red chilli powder - 1/2 - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp To grind Big onion - 1/4 no (use only quarter piece) Green chillies - 3- 4 nos (small finger size) Mint leaves - 10 nos Fennel seeds - 3/4 tsp Cinnamon - 1 small piece Clove -2 nos Cardamom - 1 no Ginger - 1 inch piece Garlic - 5-6 pods(small) Cashews - 2 nos (optional)

HOW TO MAKE HOTEL VEG PULAO - METHOD

Wash and soak the basmati rice for at least 30-45 minutes. Else you have to add 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Chop all the vegetables and onions(finely)  & grind the masala. Keep it ready. In a pressure cooker or rice cooker base, heat oil+ghee and add the bay leaf, star anise and kalpasi. Then add the onions, saute for a minute or two. Now add the ground masala paste. Wash the jar with very little water and add it. Saute well in medium flame till you get a nice aroma(People sitting in living room will definitely come to your kitchen by the aroma;)) Add turmeric and red chilli powder. Saute for a minute. Lastly add the vegetables and required salt. Mix well. Drain the water from the soaked rice and add it. Mix well for a minute. Lastly add 1.5-1.75 cups of water (depending on the basmati rice brand) and a tsp of ghee and pressure cook in low flame till one whistle or 10-12 minutes. Remove, mix with a fork like ladle. Serve hot with any raita.I served with mixed vegetable raita and its recipe follows. Click here for Masala vada recipe, Curd Rice recipe

Note

Do not add more mint leaves and onion than the above mentioned quantity. Do not use turmeric powder to get white colored pulao. Add more green chillies if you want too spicy. Add oil/ghee generously when you make for parties or guests. If you have Lichen or Black stone flower - Kalpasi, please add it. Mostly U’ll get this ingredient in biryani masala packet. It gave a nice smell to the pulao. Please click this link to see the picture of this ingredient. Skip if you don’t have it. Adding water depends on the amount of soaking. If you soak for one hour, add 1 to 1.5 cups of water. Here I used around 1.75 cups of water after soaking the rice for about 15 minutes as my husband likes that way. I used India gate basmati rice.

RAITA FOR PULAO/BIRYANI

This raita was served along with this pulao in that party. It was a nice combo for this pulao. We loved it.

Mixed vegetable raita

Raita recipe for pulao/biryani

Cuisine: Indian Category: Lunch side dish Yields: Serves 4

Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Total Time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

To mix in curd Finely chopped big onions - 2 nos Finely chopped cucumber - 1/2 no(small size) Finely chopped green chillies – 1-2  nos if small  Grated carrot – 1 medium no Salt - as needed Fresh thick curd – 2-3 cups

HOW TO MAKE RAITA - METHOD

Finely chop all the vegetables. Mix well in a big bowl adding the required salt. Just before serving add the curd, Mix well without adding water. Tempering is not needed. Serve with pulao/biryani. Note Cucumber will leave water and the mixture will become watery if you mix curd in advance. So add curd only 10 minutes before serving. After mixing, if you feel the mixture is too thick, add little water. Else do not add water.

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Masala Vada/Masala Vadai Recipe/Paruppu Vadai

Masal vadai/Masala vada/Paruppu vadai is an yummy tea time snack recipe. My mom & MIL make masal vadai without adding fennel seeds and mint leaves. We mostly make it for guest to serve in the afternoon lunch or for more kuzhambu. Sendhil likes that vada a lot. But I love masala vada only with spices. Before marriage, I used to buy masala vada from a tea shop. I would say it was the tastiest vada I’ve ever had in my life. She usually opens the shop at 11 am. All the vadas will be sold out in just 30 minutes. We have to rush to buy them. She also makes urad dal vada, bonda and bajji.

Once I asked her recipe secret and she told me roughly. Based on the ingredients she told and by referring vahchef’s site for some minute tips, finally I made a great flavoured crispy masala vada. I have mentioned the tips and variations in “Notes” section. Do try this crispy tea stall style masala vada.U’ll love it.

Masala vada

Masala vada - yummy tea time snack

Cuisine: Indian Category: Snacks Yields: 15 nos

Prep Time: 60 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Total Time: 80 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml

To soak Chana dal/Kadalai paruppu -1 cup To grind Green chillies or red chillies - 3-4 nos Hing - 1/4 tsp or small garlic cloves – 4 nos Ginger – 1 inch piece Fennel -1 tsp Salt – as needed To mix in the batter Small onions/Big onions - 15 nos / 2 nos Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves – 1.5 tbsp Mint leaves - 2 tbsp Rice flour - 1 tsp ( optional)

HOW TO MAAKE MASALA VADA - METHOD

Wash and soak the dal for 3-4 hours. Drain the water and set aside. In a mixie jar,take the chillies, salt, ginger, hing or garlic and fennel seeds. Grind it well. Then add half of the drained chana dal. Coarsely grind it to a paste (sprinkle only 1-2 tsp of water if needed. But its better not to add water at all). Some dals would be visible. Remove in a bowl. Grind in two batches. Mix both the batches well and add the finely chopped onions, curry leaves, coriander leaves and mint leaves. Mix well. Add  1 tsp of rice flour or corn flour if needed. Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying. Check the oil temperature by dropping a pinch of batter in the oil. If it rises immediately, oil temperature is just right. Simmer the flame and then make a small lemon sized ball from the batter. Pat it slightly. Make the corners slightly thinner than the middle. Drop into the hot oil. Make some more vadas and deep fry them in both the sides till onions & vada turn golden brown color. Remove, drain the oil in a tissue paper. Proceed the same for all the batter. Serve hot !

Note

Pat the vada little thin to maintain its crispness. Do not cover the vadas when it is hot. It makes the vada soft and soggy. Add jeera if you don’t like fennel seeds. Some people do not like the over powering masala smell. In that case, skip it. For variations,replace green chillies by red chillies. I mostly use red chillies. This time I made with green chillies. U can replace hing by garlic cloves. Add 4-5 cloves in this case. If you soak the dal for more than 3 hours, you can grind it without adding water. In that case add little rice flour or besan flour or corn flour for binding. U can also make this vada by soaking the dal for 45 minutes but you have to add little more water while grinding. But the result will be the same. Adding ginger is completely optional. But it helps for digestion of vada. Addition of oil helps for binding the batter as well as crispness. If you feel the batter is watery or wet, add little rice flour corn flour or besan flour. Mix well and make vada. Addition of fennel and mint leaves gives the taste like you get in tea shops. So never skip it.

Serve hot and crispy vada with tea !

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Easy Salad Recipe For Kids - Salad For Birthday Party

Yesterday we went to Raksha’s friend birthday party. I’ll post that party menu recipes this weekend. I tasted this salad there. It was a very simple recipe but very tasty. Raksha doesn’t like to eat pomegranate but she loves sweet corn very much. As that salad had more sweet corn, she had it without complaining anything. It was so colourfully done to attract the kids. All the kids liked it very much. Not only kids, we too liked it a lot. It tasted very similar to Karnataka kosambari.

Today I prepared the same at home and I have planned to give her a bowl of salad after she comes from the school. We had it along with our lunch. Friends, do try this colourful salad and give it to your kids. This can be prepared well in advance.U can even pack for their lunch box along with some variety rice. It would be healthy and filling too :)

Easy salad recipe

Easy salad recipe for kids.Even ur kids can make it for themselves :)

Cuisine: Indian Category: Salad Yields: 1 cup

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 2 Minutes Total Time: 12 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml

For mixing Pomegranate - 1/4 cup Sweet corn kernels - 1/3-1/2 cup Grated coconut – 1-2 tbsp Cucumber - 1 tbsp (Optional) Coriander leaves – 2tsp Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp (optional) Salt - as needed Lemon juice - few drops (optional)

HOW TO MAKE SALAD - METHOD

Pressure cook the sweet corn and remove the kernels (Click here to see the easy removal of kernels). Finely chop the cucumber, coriander leaves. Grate the coconut using a peeler so that it looks like long strands as you see in the picture.   In a wide bowl, add all the ingredients. Mix well, add salt and lemon juice if desired.

Note

If you are planning to try this for parties, cook the corn and remove the kernels, take out the pomegranate seeds and chop the cucumber on the previous day itself.  Refrigerate everything separately in an air tight box. On the day of party, just two hours before, take everything out of the fridge and mix well, add salt and freshly grated coconut. Nowadays we can store the grated coconut in a ziplock bag and freeze it. Bring it to room temperature and mix it with the salad. Add lime juice if desired and set aside. By the time you serve, it would be good to taste. For variations, you can also add grated carrots. Adding grated coconut gives a nice taste. Skip if your kid don’t like it. Do not add pepper powder if you make for kids. Adding lemon juice is completely optional. I din’t use it.  U can also add a tsp of olive oil to make it more healthy.

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Coconut Payasam | Arisi Thengai Payasam Recipe - Payasam Varieties

Every Friday, I used to do Thiru vilakku poojai at home. So I make payasam / sweet pongal or kesari for neivedyam. For today's Friday pooja, I tried arisi thengai payasam ( Rice coconut kheer with jaggery) for the first time asking the recipe from my MIL. It came out very well. We loved it a lot. 

This coconut payasam is surely a keeper. I have decided to try this for my guests too. It was so nice with a great smell of coconut. I added ghee roasted coconut bits (Kerala style) which gave a nice crunchy taste in between while eating. Do try this thengai payasam / coconut payasam with jaggery for a change from our usual paruppu payasam. U’ll love it :)

Coconut payasam

Thengai payasam/Coconut payasam recipe for festivals and pooja.Tastes great !

Cuisine: Indian Category: Dessert Yields: Serves 2

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Total Time: 50 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

To soak n To grind Raw rice - 1.5 tsp Grated coconut - 1/2 cup (tightly packed) For syrup Grated jaggery - 1/2 cup Elachi/Cardamom seeds - 3 nos (powdered) Milk or coconut milk - 2 tbsp(optional) To roast in ghee Ghee - 2 tsp Coconut pieces - 1/2 tbsp Dry grapes - few (optional) Cashews - Few nos (optional)

METHOD - HOW TO MAKE ARISI THENGAI PAYASAM

Wash and soak the raw rice in water for 30- 45 minutes. Grate the coconut. Grind the coconut and rice adding 1/2 cup of water to a smooth paste. In a bowl, take the ground paste and add 1.5 cups of water. Allow it to cook well in simmer flame for 10-12 minutes. Stir in between to avoid getting burnt bottom. The mixture will turn slightly thick like a porridge. In the meantime, grate jaggery. Add 1/4 cup of water, melt it, make a syrup, strain  to remove impurities and set aside. When the coconut paste is cooked well, add this syrup. Mix well. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Roast the coconut pieces & cashews in ghee and add to the payasam. Add cardamom powder. Remove and add the boiled & cooled milk. Mix and Serve. Enjoy !

Note

Use paagu vellam to get a nice color. Adding milk is optional. Add based on the consistency you need. U can also add coconut milk instead of milk at the end before switching off the flame. Addition of roasted coconut bits is optional. I followed Kerala style pradhaman for this step.

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Tomato Rice Using Rice Cooker

I usually make tomato rice using pressure cooker. Recently my friend Shalini told me to try in electric rice cooker without using a kadai and she shared her recipe too. I love tomato rice only when it is fully packed with garam masalas. For Sendhil, it should be with least spices. So I tried Shalini’s recipe which has very less spices with a south Indian touch. He loved it a lot. I have made it many times so far.

It comes out very well. Thank you Shalini. This recipe will be helpful for working women and bachelors. Do try this method and let me know your feedback. If you like without garam masala, try this recipe else follow this way. Nowadays I use my rice cooker for making pongal, pulao & biryani.The best thing I love in rice cooker is the aroma of the food it renders while boiling.:) It smells awesome while it cooks. Friends , Do try this one shot tomato rice recipe and make yourself free :)

Tomato rice

How to make tomato rice recipe directly in electric rice cooker without using a kadai.

Cuisine: Indian Category: Lunch Yields: Serves 3

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Total Time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml

Basmati rice - 1 cup Ripe tomatoes - 5 nos Big onion- 2 nos Fresh Green peas - 1/4cup (optional) Green chillies - 2 nos Garlic cloves - 10 nos Red chilli powder –1- 1.5 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - few Salt - as needed Water – 2.5-3 cups To temper Cooking oil+ghee - 3 tbsp + 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Channa dal - 2 tsp Cumin seeds –1/2 tsp Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp (to garnish )

METHOD

Switch on the rice cooker and keep it in “cooking mode”. Let the plate get heated for few minutes. Then add oil and ghee together in the centre of the slotted plate. Oil & ghee will spread and moves all over the plate as it gets heated. Wash the basmati rice and set aside.I din’t soak it. U can soak for 20 minutes. Slice the onions and finely chop the tomatoes. Slit the chillies and peel the garlic. Now add all the items given under “to temper” in the same order. Mustard seeds won’t splutter. But it will sizzle. Roast the dals and jeera for few seconds. Then add the onions, green chillies, curry leaves and garlic cloves. Saute well. Add powdered salt for quick sautéing. Then add green peas and saute for few minutes. Lastly add the finely chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and saute for 2 minutes till tomato turns mushy. Make sure the cooker is in cooking mode. If it goes to warm mode, switch to cooking mode. Finally add 3 cups of water, cover with the lid and allow it to roll boil. After the water starts to roll boil, add the rice without water. Check for salt and cover cook for sometime. Cooker will automatically switch to “Keep warm” mode. Open the lid and check whether rice is cooked well. If not add 1/2 cup of water, mix well and again switch it to “cooking” mode. After the rice is done, let it be in “Keep warm” mode for 30 minutes because rice will cook well and soft in warm mode. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with raita and Enjoy !

Note

I used 3.5 cups of water as my husband wants it slightly overcooked. U can use 3 cups and try.Keep this water quantity as reference and adjust as per ur liking.  If you soak rice for more than a hour, you can use even lesser water, say 2.5 cups. For variations, U can add all the spices like cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf and elachi along with tempering ingredients. Adding green peas is optional. If you use dried peas, soak over night and add them. Check the mode of rice cooker every now and then. It may go to warm mode very soon. Switch the nob to “cook” mode whenever needed. Sometimes, it may not go to cooking mode when you try to change. At that time, switch off the rice cooker for a minute and again try changing the mode, it will work.

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Pudalangai Poriyal | Snake Gourd Poriyal - Side Dish For Rice

Pudalangai poriyal recipe makes a rare appearance in my kitchen because Sendhil is not fond of this.Also I don’t get lengthy snake gourd like we get in Tamil nadu instead it looks short & stout here. My MIL calls this as”Panni podalangai" and she had told me not to buy those varieties. So,whenever I find a lengthy one, I buy it and make kootu or poriyal. This is my MIL’s version. Its very simple to make and comes out tasty too. We can make it with or without coconut. It tastes great for sambar and paruppu urundai kuzhabmu.

Snake gourd poriyal

Snake gourd curry/Podalangai poriyal recipe - Simple n delicious side dish for rice

Cuisine: Indian Category: Side dish Yields: Serves 2

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Total Time: 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Snake gourd - 1 no Moong dal - 2 tbsp Grated coconut – 3 tbsp(optional) Sugar – 1/4 tsp Salt & water - as needed To season Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dal - 2 tsp Red chilli - 2 nos Green chillies - 2 nos (Slit into two) Curry leaves - few Big onion - 1 no

METHOD

Wash and cut the snake gourd’s head & tail part.Then into two pieces vertically.Remove the soft middle part using ur hands.Cut it vertically into two.Then cut it into small stripes. Add moong dal and salt.Mix well and leave it aside for 10–15 minutes.It may leave little water.Do not squeeze it.If u squeeze,it will leave more water and loses all its nutrition.So its better to collect the water it leaves & use it while cooking. In a kadai,heat oil.Temper all the ingredients as given above.Saute finely chopped big onions&chillies till onion turns transparent.Then add the snake gourd pieces and little sugar.Sprinkle the reserved water. Mix well & press it lightly. Cover the kadai with a lid and simmer the flame completely.Sprinkle water every now and then and stir it.In 10-15 minutes,snake gourd will be completely cooked. Add grated coconut at the end,mix well and switch off the flame.

Note

U can avoid onions while sauteing to make a no onion no garlic version.But add more grated coconut at the end to give a nice taste. Sometimes I use only red chillies to saute.

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Beach Style Kara Pori / Masala Kara Pori Recipe - Snacks Recipes

Beach style Kara Pori/Spicy puffed rice is one of the yummiest beach side snacks recipes like thenga manga pattani sundal, Milagai bajji, Roasted peanuts, Sutta solam etc etc that one should never miss tasting in beaches.Recently when my parents visited me, I bought a big raw mango to make my dad's favorite instant mango pickle. I had some left over puffed rice which I bought for making karthigai pori urundai. When I saw both in my kitchen, I was tempted to try this beach style masala kara Pori with onion. 

As I had bookmarked my SIL’s recipe, I quickly referred it,also went through this recipe and got few suggestions from Sendhil. I modified it slightly as per our taste and tried it. I din’t add cucumber and I used very less tomato (as told by Sendhil) as it makes the puffed rice soggy very quickly. It came out very well & was so so nice. We enjoyed eating kara pori as well as cut raw mango coated with chilli powder & salt like we get in beach. It was heavenly!!

Beach style kara pori

Yummy, a must try beach style snack !

Cuisine: Indian Category: Snacks Yields: 2

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 2 Minutes Total Time: 12 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml

Fresh puffed rice/Pori - 2 cups Boiled peanuts - 1/2 cup Grated carrot - 3 tbsp Raw mango – 4 tbsp(finely chopped) Big onion - 2 nos( Use 1 if too big, finely chopped) Tomato - 1 no ( I used a very small one, finely chopped) Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Red chilli powder - 1- 1.5 tsp Salt - as needed Lemon juice – 2 tbsp ( juice of 1 big lemon) Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp (finely chopped)

HOW TO MAKAE BEACH STYLE KARA PORI - METHOD

Pressure cook the fresh peanuts adding salt for two whistles. If you use dried peanuts,soak in hot water for 2 hours & proceed as above. Chop & grate the veggies mentioned above. Keep everything ready. In a wide bowl, mix all the ingredients except puffed rice & lemon juice. Just before serving, add the puffed rice & squeeze the lemon juice. Check for taste and balance it. Add more lemon juice as tanginess should be more. Serve immediately. Enjoy !

Note

Skip raw mangoes if you don’t get it. But it tastes great when combined with all these ingredients. U have to soak the peanuts for a minimum of one hour in hot water & keep in a hot casserole if you want to cook it quickly else soak for 3-4 hours in normal water. Add salt while cooking. U can also add finely chopped cucumber pieces & grated beetroots as done in some beaches. Adjust red chilli powder according to your taste. As tangy taste is more dominant than spicy taste, I used more lemon juice. Adjust as per your liking.

Enjoy beach style kara pori as an evening snack ! You'll love it :)

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