Wild Rice Salad

I love the flavor of wild rice. It's nutty and soft and delicious. In India we use rice mostly as an accompaniment to curries and vegetables. But for a rice that's as flavorsome as wild rice, it needs to shine on its own.

Here's a simple recipe for a wild rice salad, the inspiration taken from many recipes around the blogosphere.

Wild Rice Salad 

2 cups wild rice, cooked
3/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 cup peas, cooked
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Dressing: 
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp English mustard (English mustard has more zing than regular mustard. If you don't have English, just use regular mustard)
1 tsp Green onion, chopped

Cook the rice. While the rice is still warm after cooking, add the dried cranberries so they plump up. Keep aside. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Mix the salad ingredients in another bowl. Combine the salad and dressing ingredients just before serving.


Obviously this recipe is very forgiving. Go ahead and substitute the nuts or use raisins or other dried fruit instead of cranberries. Skip the peas altogether if you don't like them. Go ahead and give it a shot. I made this for a light summer lunch and it was very well appreciated. Enjoy!

Spinach Rice

I recently went to a modern Andhra restaurant, Maya, in Chennai. Andhra Pradesh is a small state in southern India, whose cuisine is typically very spicy and loaded with masala, tamarind and ground spices.

This restaurant surprised me though. The food was mild, full of subtle flavors and delicious. The one dish that really stood out to me was the lovely spinach rice. I asked my waiter if he could give me the recipe and he, very graciously, told me the ingredients. So I made an attempt at it, and thankfully, it turned out exactly how I'd hoped. (I've added peas to this rice, in order to get in more veggies, but the original recipe didn't have it, so feel free to leave it out).

Spinach Rice (with Peas)

2 cups White or Brown Rice, cooked and cooled

4 cups Spinach, cleaned and washed

1 tbsp Mustard Seeds

1 tbsp Urad Dal/ Bengal Gram

1 large Onion, peeled and chopped fine

2-3 Green Chillies, slit (optional)

1/2 cup Green Peas, cooked (optional)

2 tsp Sesame Oil

Salt, to taste

Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds and urad dal and stir until mustard seeds begin to pop. Add the onions and green chillies and cook until the onions are transparent. Now add the spinach. Continue stirring/ cooking until wilted.

Mix in the cooked rice, peas and salt and fold until fully combined with the spinach mixture.

Delicious! Even my I-won't-eat-anything-green daughter ate it without a complaint!

Idli

Idlis are a huge south Indian favorite! Steamed flour and lentil dumplings are a lovely comfort food for breakfast, lunch, a snack or even dinner. Usually the idlis are eaten with a spicy chutney, milagai podi (a spicy blend of roasted spices) or sambar.

Its difficult to find perfectly soft idlis, even in the heart of southern India. Here is a sure-fire recipe to get that perfect texture.


Idlis

(makes approximately 20 idlis)

2 cups Idli Rice. This is a special kind of rice, available in most Indian supermarkets.
3/4 cup Urad Dal
2 tbsp Rock Salt, or ordinary table salt.
Soak the rice and dal separately for 2 hours each.Strain and wash the dal well. Grind with minimal water for about 45 minutes, sprinkling water every 10 minutes and scraping down the sides. The dal will double in volume. Keep aside.

Now strain and wash the rice well. Grind with minimal water for about 30 minutes, sprinkling water every 10 minutes and scraping down the sides. The ground rice will have a coarser texture than the ground dal.
Mix the ground rice and dal together and add about 2 tablespoons of rock salt. Mix well while simultaneously dissolving the rock salt in the mixture.Keep aside covered in a warm place for about 8-10 hours, depending on the warmth. Warmer the better. The batter will double in volume.



Heat a deep steamer with about 2 inches of water at the bottom. Oil the idli plate (see picture), and add one ladle of batter for each idli. Place the idli plate into the steamer, making sure the water doesn't reach the pan. Close and steam for 10 minutes or until idlis are firm (when a skewer is inserted into the middle of the idli, it comes out clean).

Scoop out the idli with a spoon after it has slightly cooled down.
Enjoy with your favorite accompaniment.

Pongal

Pongal is a popular south Indian breakfast. It consists of lentils and rice cooked together and then seasoned with spices. Its usually eaten with a spicy curry of some sort, but tastes great with a sprinkling of sugar as well.

This is quite a meal on its own, and though its popular for breakfast, we tend to mix up all our foodstuffs here. Just like dosai, or upma, pongal makes for a great lunch or dinner as well.

Pongal

3 cups Rice
1 cup Moong Dal (Split Green Gram)
6 cups Water (or as needed)
1 tsp Black Peppercorns
2 tsp Cumin Seeds

Cook the rice, dal and water together with some salt.

Heat a pan with some oil. Add peppercorn and cumin and let them brown a little. Coarsely crush this into a powder.

Add the crushed spice mixture to the cooked rice and dal and mix well until fully combined.

Vangibath (Rice with Eggplant)

I'm not a huge fan of eggplant, and so have been putting off making this for a long time. I got this recipe from an aunt who swore that it comes out perfect every time. I kept thinking, yeah, but eggplant flavored rice? Hmm, I'll wait!

Well, I happened to get some great eggplant in the market, and so decided to just go ahead and try it. It really is wonderful! Another no-fail recipe!


Vangibath (Rice with Eggplant)

Cook 2 cups of Rice and set aside.

Grind together:
1 tbsp Fresh Cilantro
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/2 dried Red Chilli
1 clove Garlic, chopped
2-3 Black Peppercorn
2 Cloves, and
1 pinch minced Ginger

Set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a saucepan, and add:
a pinch of Asafoetida
1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds, and
1/4 tsp Sesame Seeds

When the mustard seeds pop, add and saute:
1 small Eggplant, unpeeled and diced
1/2 Onion, diced
1/2 Tomato, diced, and
1/4 cup Peas, frozen or fresh

Saute until the onions are transparent. Add the ground ingredients, and:
1 tbsp Cumin Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Turmeric, and
2 Bay Leaves.

Continue to saute until the eggplant is soft. Separate the grains of cooked rice with a fork, and add to the saute pan. Mix thoroughly and cook 3-5 minutes on low heat. Garnish with coconut and chopped cilantro.

Green Rice

This is my first favorite recipe. My mum visited me while I was working in the US and made this for my friends when I had them over for dinner. I loved it because the aroma of the rice completely envelopes the house and its just so wonderful.


Green Rice

4 cups Basmati Rice
4 bunches Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
3 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1/8 cup Coconut
2 Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped
6 Spring Onions, finely chopped (green and white parts)
6 cups Water

Grind the coriander leaves, green chillies and coconut with a teaspoon of water to a chutney consistency. Saute the bell peppers and spring onions until just cooked. Add rice and continue sauteing for a couple of minutes.

Add the chutney and mix thoroughly with the rice and veggies. Add the water. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan and let the rice cook completely, stirring once in between to mix the chutney with the cooking rice.

Serve hot garnished with a little chopped coriander.

Vegetable Biryani

So we learned how to make great chicken biryani in my previous post. Now we turn to vegetable biryani. I love this recipe. Being vegetarian, I'm glad that people like the chicken biryani, but really, I'd rather make up my own mind by tasting. And that's why I love the vegetarian version - and it's really delicious.


Vegetable Biryani

1/4 cup Peas
1 Carrot, peeled and chopped
10 Green Beans, chopped
1 Potato, chopped
1/2 bunch Mint Leaves
2 Onions, sliced
2 Green Chillies, slit
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tbsp Biryani Masala
1/4 tsp Chilli Powder
1 cup Basmati Rice
1 tbsp Ghee
1 tbsp Oil
1 piece Cinnamon
2 Tomatoes
2 Cardamom
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 tsp Fennel Seeds
2 Cloves
Salt, to taste

Heat the oil and ghee in a pan. Add the cloves, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf. Saute for a minute or two. Add the sliced onion and green chillies and continue to saute for a minute. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute until the raw smell of the paste disappears. Add the mint leaves and saute for a minute.

Add the tomatoes to the mixture and continue to saute. Add the vegetables, biryani masala, chilli powder and fry for five to ten minutes. Add 1 3/4 cups of water and let it come to a boil. Add the salt and mix. Add the basmati rice and stir to combine. Close the pan and allow to cook until rice is tender. Keep checking to make sure there is enough water. The rice should be just tender and not mushy.

When done, mix together to combine the rice, the spices and the vegetables in the pan. Serve hot with yogurt.

*Biryani Masala: This is available in most Indian stores. But you could also make it at home. The spice powder is a mixture of red chilli powder, coriander powder, cloves, cinnamon, aniseed, cardamom, ginger, garlic, onion, star anise and salt. Roast these ingredients on a dry pan and then grind to a smooth powder.

Chicken Biryani

Biryani is rice cooked with spices and either chicken or mutton or vegetables. For a long time I've been trying to find a perfect biryani recipe. Naturally, home cooked biryanis don't taste as good as the ones in restaurants, but this one comes pretty darn close!


Chicken Biryani

1 1/2 cups Basmati Rice
2 lbs Chicken Pieces
2 Onions, sliced
1 bunch Mint Leaves
2 Tomatoes, chopped
2 Green Chillies, slit
2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
2 Cloves
1 small piece of Cinnamon
2 Cardamom
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tbsp Biryani Masala*
1 1/2 tbsp Ghee/ Clarified Butter
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Salt, to taste

Heat the oil and ghee in a pan. Add the cloves, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf. Saute for a minute or two. Add the sliced onion and green chillies and continue to saute for a minute. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute until the raw smell of the paste disappears. Add the mint leaves and saute for a minute.

Add the tomatoes to the mixture and continue to saute. Add the chicken, biryani masala, chilli powder and fry for five to ten minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and let it come to a boil. Add the salt and mix. Add the basmati rice and stir to combine. Close the pan and allow to cook until rice is tender. Keep checking to make sure there is enough water. The rice should be just tender and not mushy.

When done, mix together to combine the rice, the spices and the chicken in the pan. Serve hot with yogurt. As I'm typing this, my husband is eating the biryani saying "its absolutely amazing".

*Biryani Masala: This is available in most Indian stores. But you could also make it at home. The spice powder is a mixture of red chilli powder, coriander powder, cloves, cinnamon, aniseed, cardamom, ginger, garlic, onion, star anise and salt. Roast these ingredients on a dry pan and then grind to a smooth powder.

Coming up next... Vegetable Biryani. Stay tuned.

Fenugreek Leaves Rice

This is really a crowd-pleaser! A delicate and subtle flavor from the Fenugreek leaves and so healthy too!



Fenugreek Leaves Rice

3 bunches fenugreek leaves, chopped, with stems, no roots
a pinch Mustard Seeds
a pinch of Urad dal
1/2 tsp of Bengal Gram
4 Red Chillies
Salt, to taste
1/4 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
100 grams Roasted Gram (Pottu Kadalai), powdered
Juice of one lemon
2 cups Basmati Rice, cooked

Heat some oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal, bengal gram and fenugreek leaves. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add the salt, red chillies and mix well. Add the turmeric and roasted gram powder. Stir fry for 2 minutes and take off the heat.

Add the lemon juice. Mix well with the cooked basmati rice.

Mint Rice

While I was studying in the US, I would take every opportunity to go visit my sister and her family, and the big highlight was to be able to eat home cooked meals. She really makes the best rasam and pongal I've ever had! Mint rice was one of the dishes always made in her house. Its dangerously good!



Mint Rice

4 cups Rice (I used brown Basmati, but regular Basmati works fine), cooked with salt
5 Cloves
2 bunches Mint Leaves, chopped
2 bunches Coriander Leaves, chopped
2 Red Bell Peppers, just the seeds
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 tsp Ginger, minced
Salt, to taste
4 Green Chillies, ground

Heat a tablespoon of oil on a slow fire. Add the cloves, mint, coriander and keep stirring. Add the bell pepper seeds, garlic, green chillies and ginger.

When the leaves are wilted, add the rice. Keep stirring until fully combined.

Curry Leaf Rice

Curry Leaves are very often used in Indian food. Sometimes, I'm not sure why. They add some flavor, but really, the dish tastes pretty much the same without adding the leaf too! Except in this wonderful rice that's made of crushed curry leaves and spices. Curry leaves have a very subtle flavor, and this makes the rice mild and delicious.


Curry Leaf Rice

1/2 cup Curry Leaves
2 tbsp Channa Dal
2 tbsp Urad Dal
6 dried Red Chillies
Salt, to taste
2 cups Rice, cooked

Heat a pan and add the above ingredients. Keep stirring on a low heat until the lentils are golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool. Grind in a spice grinder to a coarse consistency. Toss thoroughly with the cooked rice. Serve hot.

Adai

Adai is a form of south Indian crepe, sort of like a dosa, but made with a larger proportion of lentils, and hence far healthier than dosas. Dosas also need to ferment, while adais can be made as soon as the batter is mixed together.


Adai

2 cup Raw Rice
1 cup Channa Dal (split Chick Peas)
1 cup Urad Dal (split Black Gram)
1 cup Toor Dal (Pigeon Peas)
6 Dried Red Chillies

Salt, to taste
Chilli Powder, to taste
A pinch of Asoefetida
2-3 Curry Leaves, chopped fine

Soak the rice, dals and red chillies for 4-5 hours. Drain the water from the soaking mixture, and grind to a coarse texture.


Add the salt, chilli powder, asoefetida and curry leaves to the batter.

Heat a flat pan (such as a dosa pan or an omelette pan). When hot, spread a ladle-ful of the batter onto the pan in a circular motion.


When one side is golden brown, flip over carefully and let cook for a further two minutes.


Serve warm with chutney or jaggery/ palm sugar/ brown sugar.

Ilai Vadam

India is a caste-ridden society. One of the castes is Brahmins. Traditionally, they were the scholars, preachers and educators. Now, Brahmins make up about 4 % of the entire population. Now, in the Brahmin class, there is a sub-category called Iyengars (pronounced eye-en-gars). Though there aren't many glaring differences between the sub-categories, there are subtle differences. Some of the subtle differences exist in the food.

South Indian food is mostly healthy with subtle flavors, steamed or cooked with a bare minimum of oil. One of the lesser known foods of the Iyengars is Ilai Vadam (Ilai means Leaf in Tamil and Vadam is a crispy snack - but in this case, the vadam isn't fried, but steamed).

It seems to be a dying food (if there's any such thing!). We love it in our house. Its a time-consuming activity, but so worth the effort. Basically, its a batter of rice and sago, mixed with green chillies and cumin. It is ladled over banana leaves and steamed until done.


This is going to be a pictorial explanation of the process.

Ilai Vadam
(Steamed rice flour spiced pancakes on banana leaves)

Makes 25-30, depending on size

1 cup Raw Rice
1/2 cup Sago Pearls
4 Green Chillies
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
15 Banana Leaves, each cut into half (you could also use saran wrap cut into squares or thin plastic sheets that hold up when steamed. I'm sure it's difficult to get banana leaves in most places, so you could use plastic wrap if you must.)


1st Day:
Soak the rice in water for 2 hours. Grind with water to a thick, smooth consistency. Cover and keep aside (leave it outside - do not put it in the refrigerator).


2nd Day Evening:
Soak the sago in water.


3rd Day Morning:
Grind the soaked sago with green chillies and salt to a smooth consistency.

Mix the sago batter with the rice flour batter. (The rice flour batter has been left outside for 3 days now and might have developed some dark spots - this is fine and is expected - it has not gone bad, and you don't have to throw it away! )

Add the cumin seeds and oil to the mixed batter.


Prepare a steamer. I used a tall steamer with about 2 cups of water at the bottom. Then put an inverted plate or bowl or any flat surface at the top. Make sure you have a close fitted lid.



Now spread about a ladle-ful of batter onto a banana leaf (you have to do this one at a time), in a circular motion (like you would for a dosa) and try to spread it as thin as possible.


Carefully lift the leaf and put it on the flat surface.


Close the lid and let it steam for about 2-3 minutes.


There will be puffed up little bubbles all over, which will flatten out after a few seconds.



You could just peel off the leaf and eat it. Or you could roll it up into a cigar-shape. Or, you could add some stir-fried veggies and roll up to make a steamed Indian-style spring roll!


I'm not sure if anyone reading this will try it, but if you do, kudos to you for trying something new. I hope you enjoy it as much as we love it.

This is as traditional an Indian food as you can get! :-) I wanted to tell everyone about it just to spread the word and hope that this beautiful dish doesn't die into non-existence.

Sevai (Thin Rice Noodles)

Sevai is a huge south Indian favorite. They are essentially thin rice noodles and are either eaten plain or mixed with spices to make it savory or like a sweet pudding. It is sort of difficult to make - it needs a bit of muscle work - but no more than, say, kneading dough or churning ice cream!

The rice noodles are thin and delicate and absolutely delicious.


Sevai

1 cup Parboiled Rice (or puzhungal arisi), soaked in water for 2 hours
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp Oil

Special equipment needed: Sevai press. The traditional ones were large and stood on the floor (that's the one I have). Now you get smaller, sleeker table-top versions - even automatic electric ones, that require you to just push a button.


After soaking, grind the salt and rice together with the water until smooth.

Heat a saucepan with the oil and add the batter. Keep stirring for approximately 10 minutes or until thick.

Remove from the stove and while warm, roll into tennis-ball sized balls. Steam the balls for about 1/2 hour, until cooked and tender.


Place the balls, one at a time, in the compartment of the press.


Turn the handle a couple of times, and presto - out comes the beautiful sevai!


Serve hot with more kozhambu. I've also frozen sevai and it keeps well for up to 3 months. When you are ready to serve, just sprinkle on some water and heat, covered, in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Other popular types of sevai: Mango Lemon Sevai, Coconut Sevai, Sweet Sevai and a healthy Ragi (finger millet or african millet - available in most Indian grocery stores) Sevai.

Kadamba Sadam

After many days of making cookies and brownies, I couldn't bear to "cream butter, add sugar". I needed something savory to work with. And what better blog to turn to than Suganya at Tasty Palettes. Her recipes are amazing and her photographs are beautiful. And hers is the chosen blog this month at Tried And Tasted, started by Zlamushka and hosted this month by Curry Leaf at Experiments, Emotions, Experiences with Food.

This is a recipe that we enjoyed growing up but I haven't had it in a long time and had no idea how to make it. I was excited when I found it at Suganya's blog and decided to make it for lunch. As she says, its truly comfort in a bowl.

Kadamba is an assortment or string of similar things and sadam means rice. So this is basically a vegetable curry (made with as assortment of mixed vegetables in a spiced tamarind curry, mixed with rice). When we made this at home, I remember the curry cooked with the rice so that they were all mushed together, but I couldn't wait to try Suganya's version.


Kadamba Sadam
(recipe from Tasty Palettes)

4 cups Mixed Vegetables (I used carrots, peas, shallots and beans)
3 tbsp Tamarind Paste
1 Tomato, chopped
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 cup Coconut Milk (I left this out)
1/2 cup Toor Dal, cooked till soft and and mushy
1 pinch Asafetida
2 tbsp Cilantro leaves, chopped
Salt, to taste

Spice Mixture:
2 tbsp Chana Dal
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
6 dried Red Chillies
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1/4 cup Grated Coconut
1 tbsp Oil

Roast the spice mixture ingredients in the oil. Cool the mixture and grind with the coconut to make a smooth paste.

Tempering:
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
3-4 Curry Leaves

The directions, exactly from Tasty Palettes:

Dissolve tamarind paste in 1 cup of water. In a deep vessel, boil tamarind water along with salt, turmeric powder, tomato and mixed vegetables for about 15 minutes. The vegetable should be fully cooked and the tamarind shouldn’t smell raw anymore.

Add the cooked dal and spice paste and allow sambar to boil for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Finally add the coconut milk, if using and switch off the flame. Mix well and let the coconut milk to heat through. Stir in asafoetida and cilantro.

In a small skillet, heat oil/ghee and splutter mustard seeds. Remove from flame and add curry leaves. Add this seasoning to the sambar. Serve this sambar with rice and additional ghee, if preferred.

Mix generous ladles of sambar into rice (called saadam in Tamil), mix well and serve warm ‘Kadamba Saadam’ with crunchy cucumber slices, vegetable chips or appalam. The rice should not be dry, but porridge like consistency.

If you want to include onions, slice ‘em thin and sauté with mustard seeds while seasoning and add to the sambar. Omit asafoetida though, as it doesn’t go well with onions or garlic.


This was true comfort food for me and my family. We loved it. Thanks Suganya!

Banana Leaf Rice

I first had this at a friend's house and loved it. The entire house smelled great and we really couldn't stop eating the rice. Gorgeous spicy rice steamed in a banana leaf - it was flavorful and delicious!


Banana Leaf Rice

For the rice:
2 cups Basmati Rice
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Ghee/ Clarified Butter (I used regular vegetable oil)
Salt, to taste

For the curry:
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
2 tbsp Ghee/ Clarified Butter (I used regular vegetable oil)

Grind to a paste:
1 medium Onion, chopped fine
2 tbsp Coconut
6 Red Chillies
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 pieces Cardamom
1/2" piece Ginger
3 cloves Garlic

For the rice: Parboil the rice and set aside. In a saucepan, heat the ghee and add cumin and fry till it turns a light brown. Add the cooked rice and some salt and mix to combine.

For the curry: Heat the ghee and fry the ground paste for 3-4 minutes or until the raw smell disappears. Add the tomato puree and salt and cook for a minute.

Cut the banana leaves or pieces of aluminum foil into medium sized squares. In each square, spread one portion of rice and top it with a few tablespoons of the curry. Fold the individual packets (fasten the banana leaves with toothpicks).

Steam the banana leaves for atleast 15 minutes. If using foil, bake in an oven at 450 deg F for 25 minutes.

Remove and serve individual packets to each guest, and let them unwrap the packets themselves - that way the rice stays hot and the aroma from the packets isn't lost.