Palak pulao is an easy, healthy one pot rice variety that can be prepared easily in a pressure cooker under 15 minutes. Indian style Spinach rice can be prepared in many ways. Today I have shared an easy version of palak rice using a pressure cooker. Its a healthy and filling lunch box recipe for kids and adults. I learnt it from my School moms friend Tara.
This recipe is very similar to my Karnataka style veg palav recipe. To make this palak rice bright green in color, add some turmeric powder and sugar. I have added frozen green peas. You can also add mixed vegetables like carrot, beans, potato, paneer pieces to make this rice more healthy and filling.
Ok, lets see how to make palak pulao / spinach rice recipe with step by step pictures and a video.
Wash and chop the palak leaves. Wash and soak Basmtai rice for 15 minutes.
In a mixie jar, grind palak and other ingredients given under “To Grind” to a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker base. Saute the spices, onion and cashews.
Saute the palak masala adding sugar and salt. Add peas.
Add water and bring to boil. Add the rice and lemon juice.
Mix well and pressure cook in low flame for one whistle.
Open the cooker after steam is released. Fluff the rice and serve with onion raita !
PALAK PULAO / SPINACH PULAO - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Cut the root and stem part of palak leaves/ spinach. Wash it well. Chop roughly and set aside. Wash and soak basmati rice in water for 15 minutes. In the mean time, grind the masala.
In a mixie jar, take the palak leaves, cinnamon , cloves, cardamom, ginger, garlic, green chilli, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, big onion and turmeric powder to a smooth paste adding water. Set aside.
Heat oil + ghee in a pressure cooker. Saute a bayleaf and black stone flower. Add onion and saute till transparent. Add cashews and saute for a minute.
Now add the ground palak masala paste. Saute in medium flame till its raw smell goes off. Add some sugar and required salt. Add frozen green peas and mixed vegetables (if using). Mix well.
Lastly add 1.5 cups of water and sprinkle some lemon juice. Let it come to a roll boil. Taste the water to check the salt and spices. Now add the soaked rice. Mix gently and close the lid of pressure cooker.
Keep the flame high till steam comes out of the nozzle. As soon as vapor comes out, lower the flame completely and put the weight valve. Pressure cook in very low flame for one whistle. It takes nearly 8 to 10 minutes. Switch off the flame. Open the lid after the steam is released. Fluff the rice gently with a fork like ladle. Serve hot with onion raita.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of green chilli as per your taste.
To retain the green color of rice, add some turmeric powder and sugar.
Do not keep the palak puree for long time. Use it as soon as you grind the masala to avoid discoloration.
Easy, yummy, one pot palak pulao is ready, Enjoy !
I tried this Karamani kuzhambu aka Thatta payaru kuzhambu in Tamil (cowpeas / black eyed pea gravy in English) for the first time by getting the recipe from a friend. This kulambu recipe is with coconut and fennel seeds masala. So it was so good and flavorful just like hotel kara kuzhambu. The flavor of roasted red karamani enhanced it even better. We all loved this Kulambu. We had a satisfaction of including a healthy legume in our regular diet.
My friend told me to soak the cowpeas over night and pressure cook it before adding to the kuzhambu. But I simplified the job by following my MIL’s technique of cooking karamani instantly without soaking. Yes, I roasted the karamani in little oil till its aromatic and then pressure cooked it in the kulambu itself. It was well cooked and soft to eat.
Friends, if you follow this method you can make cowpeas gravy for rice under 15 minutes using a pressure cooker. I am sure you will love to see the layer of oil floating on top once you open the cooker. If you want try the same recipe by soaking and pre cooking karamani, you can try that too. In that case soak it for 3 to 4 hours in hot water. Similarly you can use white Lobia/ cowpeas or brown chana. If you like, you can pair it with any vegetables like brinjal, potato or lady’s finger.
Ok, lets see how to make karamani / thatta payir kuzhambu recipe with step by step pictures.
If you want to try this kuzhambu without coconut, please check my brown chana kuzhambu for an idea. You can use karamani instead of kondakadalai.
Karamani kuzhambu / thatta payir kulambu recipe
Thatta payaru kuzhambu / Karamani kulambu recipe for rice made instantly without soaking cowpeas in an easy way using a pressure cooker.
Wash and keep the karamai aside. You ca n soak it for 4 hours optionally. Wash and chop onion, tomato.
In a pressure cooker base, heat oil. Splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal.
Saute onion, garlic cloves and curry leaves till transparent.
Add karamani and roast for 5 minutes in low to medium flame.
Add chopped tomato and saute till mushy. Add sambar powder, salt and turmeric powder.
Saute quickly without burning. Add 1 cup of tamarind extract, ground coconut paste. Mix well.
Pressure cook in low flame for 3 to 4 whistles. Switch off the flame and remove after steam is released. Mix well and serve hot with plain rice. Enjoy !
Wash the karamani/ cowpeas and drain the water completely. You can soak the karamani adding enough water for 4 to 6 hours OR make it without soaking too. I did not soak the karamani instead I roasted in oil till flavorful and pressure cooked as told below. Wash and chop onion, tomato finely. Peel garlic cloves.
Grind coconut, fennel seeds to a smooth paste adding required water. Set aside.
In a pressure cooker base, heat oil. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, methi seeds and cumin seeds. Add onion, garlic cloves and curry leaves. Saute till onion becomes transparent.
Add karamani. Roast it for 5 minutes in low to medium flame till nice aroma arises. Then add tomato and saute till mushy. (Instead of roasting karamani, you can soak it for 4 hours, pressure cook it and add to the cooker. In that case pressure cook the kuzhambu for one whistle in low flame).
Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Saute quickly. Then add 1 cup of tamarind extract. Mix well. When it comes to a boil, add the ground coconut paste. Mix well and check for taste. Add more salt and sambar powder if needed. Cover the cooker with a lid. Keep the flame high. When the steam starts to come out, put the weight valve. Reduce the flame completely low.
Cook for 4 to 5 whistles in low flame. Karamani cooks well and soft. Don't worry, it won't turn mushy. If you are using soaked karamani, pressure cook for one whistle in low flame. Remove after the steam is released. You can see a layer of oil floating on top. Mix well an check for consistency of kuzhambu.
If its too thick, add some water and give one boil. If its too thin, boil for few minutes to evaporate the excess water. Serve with plain rice. If you like, you can add a tsp of oil or ghee over the kuzhambu while serving.
Enjoy ! Stays good for 2 days in refrigerator.
Note
For variations, you can use brown chana or white chana instead of cowpeas in this kuzhambu but soak them overnight, pressure cook and then add it.
Fennel seeds gives a nice flavor to this kuzhambu. So do not skip it.
This kuzhambu stays good in refrigerator for more than 2 days. You can store and enjoy.
Try this easy, yummy karamani kara kuzhambu and share your feedback with me !
Macaroni upma is an easy, interesting, Indian style macaroni recipe prepared by adding vegetables and garam masala. I never thought it tastes so good. Actually this recipe was suggested by one of my friends. When she told me to make this easy macaroni recipe for Raksha’s lunch box, I was hesitant to try it because Raksha is very fussy when it comes for her lunch box recipes. So I tried it for our Sunday breakfast as the first trial. Raksha loved it very much and told me to pack it for her school this week. Even myself and Sendhil liked it too. So this recipe is a hit in my home✌. No side dish is required for this upma. You can eat it as such. Macaroni tastes so soft, juicy and flavorful. Friends, do try this yummy macroni recipe for your family and share the feedback with me. Lets see how to make Indian style macaroni upma recipe with step by step pictures.
Boil 3 cups of water in a bowl. Add macaroni. Cook till soft.
Drain the excess water and run the macaroni under tap water to retain its shape. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter cumin seeds. Saute onion, gg paste till raw smell goes off.
Add capsicum, carrot and green peas. Add salt and saute till half cooked.
Add tomato and cook till mushy. Lastly add turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala powder.
Add some water and cover cook till vegetables are done. Lastly add tomato ketchup. Mix well.
Now add cooked macaroni, mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot and enjoy !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
In a wide bowl, boil 3 to 4 cups of water. Add a tsp of cooking oil and some salt. After the water comes to roll boil, add macaroni and mix well.
Cook in medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir it every now and then to avoid macaroni sticking to the bottom of bowl. Water spills if you cover cook. So you should cook in an open pan till its 3/4th cooked.
Last 5 minutes, you can cover and cook the macaroni in low flame to make it soft. Switch off the flame and drain the macaroni in a sieve. Remove the excess cooked water. Show the macaroni under the tap water to make it retain its shape. Set aside.
In a kadai, heat oil. Splutter cumin seeds. Saute onion, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste. Saute till raw smell goes off.
Add capsicum, carrot and fresh or frozen green peas. Add salt and saute in medium flame till the vegetables are half cooked.
Add chopped tomato and saute till mushy. Lastly add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder. Saute well.
Add 1/2 cup of water. Cover the kadai with a lid. Cook till vegetables are soft. After all the water is drained, add tomato ketchup and mix well. Then add cooked macaroni. Mix and coat well in medium flame. Switch off the flame. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy eating hot for best taste !
Note
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder and garam masala powder as per your taste.
You can replace macaroni with cooked pasta.
Addition of tomato sauce helps to give a creamy base to the paste. So do not skip it.
Try this yummy Indian style macaroni upma with vegetables for your breakfast or dinner. Enjoy !
This is mom’s Tirunelveli style puli illa kari ( i.e. Kuzhambu for rice without tamarind). Puli illa curry is usually prepared adding drumstick leaves (Murungai keerai). But my mom makes it with drumstick, brinjal and onion. There are two methods of making puli illa kari.
One by roasting & grinding pepper, cumin, red chilli and coconut. Another method is by grinding coconut, cumin and onion just like poricha kuzhambu. My mom uses pepper if she adds drumstick leaves else she follows the second method.
Today I have shared the same. Similarly this kuzhambu can be prepared with toor dal or moong dal. As this kuzhambu is without tamarind and tomato, we add some lemon juice while serving. Friends, do try this easy puli illa kuhambu for rice and share your feedback with me.
Wash and pressure cook toor dal adding enough water, turmeric powder and few drops of oil.
Pressure cook in low flame for two whistles. Open the lid after steam is released. Mash the dal. Grind coconut, onion and cumin to smooth paste. Set aside.
Wash and chop brinjal, drumstick and onion.
In a kadai, heat oil and saute onion. Add brinjal, drumstick. Saute for a minute.
Add 2.5 cups of water, required salt, red chilli powder. Boil and cover cook till vegetables are cooked.
Now add the cooked dal and ground coconut paste. Boil for few minutes.
Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add to kuzhambu and Switch off the flame.
Serve hot with rice and enjoy !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and chop onion, brinjal and drumstick. Wash and pressure cook toor dal adding turmeric powder, a drop of cooking oil. Cook in low flame for one whistle. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Mash the dal well.
Grind coconut, cumin seeds and small onion to a smooth paste. Keep it aside.
Heat oil in a kadai. Saute small onion till transparent. Add chopped brinjal and drumstick. Saute for a minute. Now add 2 cups of water, salt and red chilli powder.
Cover the kadai and cook in medium flame till the vegetables are cooked well. Now add the cooked dal and ground coconut paste.
Boil for few minutes. Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves in 2 tsp of oil. Add to the kuzhambu. Switch off the flame.
Serve hot with rice. While serving, you can drizzle few drops of lemon juice in the kuzhambu and mix with plain rice.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of red chilli powder as per your taste.
For variations, you can add roasted and ground pepper, cumin, coconut and red chilli paste instead of red chilli powder.
If you have drumstick leaves, you can pressure cook in separately. Add to the kuzhambu along with vegetables and make it. It tastes and smells good.
Try this easy, yummy Tirunelveli style Puli illa kari and enjoy !
Gajar halwa / Carrot halwa using Delhi carrot was in my try list for long time. Recently I bought some fresh Delhi carrots in Reliance. I thought of trying carrot halwa and red carrot pickle with it. To begin with, I tried this easy carrot halwa recipe without khoya and condensed milk in pressure cooker for a surprise guest at home yesterday. I finished the preparation quickly under 20 minutes. It came out really well with a bright red color. We loved it very much. I served the same for Valentine’s day treat as well.
Friends, do try this yummy carrot halwa using Delhi carrot easily in a pressure cooker. Don’t forget to share your feedback with me. For variations, you can use Ooty carrot instead of Delhi carrot. Cook the grated carrot in an open kadai, add condensed milk instead of sugar, milk and try it.
Wash and peel the outer skin of Delhi carrot. Grate it using a big holed grater.
Measure 2 cups from it. In a pressure cooker base, heat 1 tbsp ghee.
Saute carrot for 5 minutes to leave the raw smell. Add milk and a pinch of salt.
Pressure cook in high flame for 2 to 3 whistles.
Open the cooker after the steam is released. Add sugar, cardamom powder and a tsp of ghee.
Mix well in medium flame till halwa starts to leave the sides of cooker.
Lastly add ghee roasted cashews along with the remaining ghee. Mix well and serve warm with ice cream !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and peel the outer skin of Delhi carrot. Grate it using a big holed grater. Measure 2 cups from it and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pressure cooker. Saute the grated carrot in medium to high flame till its raw smell leaves completely. It takes 5 to 7 minutes. Carrot changes to pale red in color. Add boiled milk( at room temperature) and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
Cover the lid. Put the weight valve. Keep the flame high and pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles. Open the cooker after steam is released. Carrot becomes soft after cooking and some milk will be leftover in the bottom of cooker.
Add sugar, cardamom powder and a tsp of ghee to avoid halwa sticking to the bottom of cooker. Mix well. Carrot mixture liquifies after adding sugar. Mix in medium to high flame till the mixture becomes thick and starts to leave the sides of cooker.
Do not over cook the carrot, sugar mixture to prevent halwa becoming hard and chewy. Switch off the flame at the right time with some wetness in it. When it cools down, halwa comes to perfect consistency.
Roast cashews in the remaining ghee. Add to the halwa. Mix well and serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of sugar as per your taste.
You can replace sugar and milk with condensed milk. In that case, cook carrot adding little water.
Do not over mix the carrot after adding sugar. Halwa may become chewy and hard after cooling down.
Try this easy, yummy Carrot halwa in a pressure cooker and enjoy ! I served halwa and dry fruits mixture for my guest.
This is my second post under Quinoa recipes. I had already shared Instant quinoa idli without rice. Today I have posted how to make Indian style, soft idli and crispy dosa batter with quinoa by fermentation method. As I always say, quinoa is not thinai in Tamil. Quinoa and foxtail millet/ Thinai are completely different. Quinoa should be pronounced as Keen-wah. This millet is widely available in US and abroad.
In India, you can find it in organic stores in all major metropolitan cities and is available online in Amazon. But It is costly. In this quinoa idli dosa batter recipe, I have used a combination of quinoa, idli rice (Salem rice) and urad dal in the ratio of 2:1:3/4. You can try this recipe without idli rice but idli may be sticky to taste.
Addition of rice helps to keep the idli non-sticky and gives a proper shape. Even though its my first attempt, I am completely happy with the output. Idli came out very well, soft and spongy with a mild nutty flavor. Idli looks pale white in color like quinoa and not pure white. I tried making dosa too. It was crispy in the sides and soft in the center. You can make thin dosa or thick uthappam adding onion, chilli as you wish.
One thing you should remember about this batter is , it becomes sour quickly. After fermentation, you should refrigerate the batter till use. Also It is better to finish the batter in 2 days by making idli, dosa, uttapam or paniyaram. This idli tastes slightly sticky when hot. But it tastes perfect when eaten warm. You can serve this idli with any chutney or sambar. I had it with coconut chutney and idli podi. It was yumm !
After trying this quinoa idli successfully, I am confident of exploring more quinoa recipes. I will post it whenever I make any. Ok, now lets see how to make quinoa idli dosa batter with rice with step by step pictures.
Wash and soak quinoa, idli rice, urad dal together for 7 to 8 hours.
Grind to a smooth paste in mixie or grinder adding required water.
Transfer the batter to a big vessel and ferment it over night.
Next morning batter would have doubled in quantity.
Add salt and mix well with a ladle. Grease idli plate and fill the batter.
Steam in an idli pot for 10 minutes. Check if its cooked well by inserting a wet finger.
Remove the idli plate once its done. Let it rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Then remove the idli and serve with chutney or sambar.
You can also make thin or thick dosa with this batter.
QUINOA IDLI DOSA RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash the quinoa twice or thrice. Along with it add idli rice, urad dal. Wash it well. Soak them together for 7 to 8 hours.
Grind the batter in a wet grinder or mixie ( in batches) to a smooth paste adding required water. Do not add salt.
Transfer the batter to a vessel. Ferment it over night or minimum 10 hours. The next morning, batter would have doubled in quantity based on the weather. Add salt and mix the batter well with a ladle. Add little water if the batter is too thick.
Grease an idli plate with oil. Pour the batter till 3/4th of each hole. Boil water in an idli pot. Place the idli plate when the water comes to a roll boil. Steam it for 10 minutes or till cooked.
Check the idli by inserting your wet finger. If it comes out clean idli is cooked else cook for more time. Remove the idli plate from the pot and rest it for 3 minutes.
Remove the idli using a spoon and serve it with your desired chutney or sambar. You can also make thin or thick dosa by adjusting the consistency of batter. But cook in low flame because this dosa turns brown quickly.
Enjoy !
Note
If you have quinoa flour, you can use it and mix with rice, urad dal batter.
This batter stays good upto 3 days under refrigeration.
As I told, this idli tastes slightly sticky when very hot but it becomes perfect when warm. It stays good for few hours. So you can pack for lunch box too.
Try this easy, healthy quinoa idli dosa recipe and enjoy !
