Tomato Rice...a trial

I grew up in a home where there was no kind of variety rice made. We did have biriyanis and fried rice and the like made but never lemon rice, tomato rice and so on. Until I moved to a city from a hillstation was where I had my first taste of the array of variety rice at one specific lunch hour at junior school. My classmate or several of them would bring yellow coloured rice with potato fry. I knew not then that the yellow coloured rice was lemon rice. The classmates in turn were fond of my sandwiches and rice and vegetables and so on. So likewise that is how I got to taste all the variety rices. As I grew up I started asking for lemon rice to be made at home. Only lemon rice because that had become my favourite. But to tell you the truth I still miss the lunch box rices. They were all of a different taste.

Now when I visit vegetarian restaurants, I ensure I order variety rice and this rice is a result of of one such visit. A trial at tomato rice and this tastes almost like the restaurant one. It was pretty good. How else can you explain a picky eater when it comes to tomatoes asking for more. This was a trial and do correct me if this isn't how a tomato rice is made.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice: 1 C halfcooked and strained
Onions-1 chopped
Tomatoes-2 chopped
Green Chillies-4-Slit
Chilli Powder-1+1/2t
Turmeric Powder-1/2t
Coriander Leaves-a fistful chopped
Salt
Oil-2T

Saute onions in oil. Add green chillies. Add in the powders and once the raw smell leaves, add in the chopped tomatoes. Saute until it turns to a dry masala. Add in the rice and mix in slowly so that you don't break the rice. Season with salt. Cover and let it cook on a slow fire for a few minutes. Add some chopped corainder leaves and they are ready to be served. Served with raita this is an ideal one pot meal.

Rice with Paneer and Peas *Tried and Tested*

Aparna's Announcement for the Tried and Tasted event led me to Lisa's blog which was relatively new to me. Since the announcement, I have been at this new discovery of a blog almost everyday browsing through her lovely collection. Her blog is a typical example of her love for Indian food.

I chose to make her Rice with Paneer and Peas and am glad I did. Lisa's is a modified version of the recipe she had found in Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. Paneer is an all time favourite and peas come in close too. And this being a rice made with very little effort, it was all the more enticing to try.

The recipe is as follows

1 C of basmati rice
1 C of fried paneer cubes
3 T of ghee, or a mixture of butter and oil
1 t of salt
1 large bay leaf
1 inch piece of cinnamon
3 whole black cardamom pods
2/3 C of peas (fresh or defrosted frozen peas)
2 hot green chilies or jalapenos, cut into fine half rings
1 t of cumin seeds

Wash the rice well and drain. Soak the rice in five cups of water and leave to saok for at least 30 minutes. Drain and leave to dry for another 10 - 20 minutes or so.

Heat the oil in a medium sized heavy pot over medium heat. When it is hot, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, and cardamom. Stir for a few seconds, and then add the drained rice, peas, salt, green chilies and cumin seeds. Stir and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil Cover, turn the heat to very low and cook for 15 minutes, or until the water is mostly evaporated. Take off the lid and quickly put in the paneer. Cover, and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice sit, covered and undisturbed, for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom and gently fluff with a fork. Serves 4.

This is my entry to the Tried and Tasted Event hosted at My Diverse Kitchen.

Egg Pilaf and Crunchy Raita **Tried and Tasted**

A dear friend one day sent me a list of three wonderful food blogs, she thought I should visit!! I wasn't into blogging then, but did use the web as my food guide. The three blogs amazed me nonetheless..Thereafter they were referenced to for my daily kitchen experiments...I could also say that these were my inspiration to start one of my own.......

Nupur's blog has interesting recipes..Her way with words never ceases to amaze me....I chose to make her Egg Pilaf. I have a similar Mom's masala like she mentioned she has...Trust me, my so-called mom's masala has made a great many on the verge of failure dishes edible.

I chose to use the same ingredients but forewent the nuts, cilantro and the spring onions.

What you need for the Egg Pilaf are (Adapted from here)

4 Eggs
1 cup Basmati or other long-grained rice
1 Onion
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red chili powder
1 tsp Garam/Mom's masala
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Golden raisins
2 tbsp oil

Hard-boil the eggs and peel and set aside. Slice the onion into thin slices.

Heat 2 1/2 cups of water .

Heat oil in another pot and stir in the cumin seeds. Add sliced onion and fry until the edges of the onion to brown, and then on medium-low heat till the onions are very soft and caramelized.
Browning the onions gives them a rich, deep flavor, so don't skip this step.

Follow this by adding the ginger-garlic, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, salt and fry for about a minute or so. Stir in the raisins, then add the rice and hot water.

Cover the pot and simmer until most of the water is absorbed and the rice is tender
Toss the rice with slices of boiled eggs. Serve.


Raitas are a cooling accompaniment that add the moisture element to dry dishes. The dry dish here is the Pilaf! I call this a yogurt-based salad and this makes to the table whenever a pilaf or a biriyani is made. This crunchy raita tastes best when served chilled over hot steaming rice!



What you need for the Raita are

2 Onions chopped finely
1 tbsp Sugar (I suggest using jaggery for an authentic taste)
150 ml Yogurt
Juice of 1/2 a lemon'
1/2 tsp roasted and powdered nigella seeds
salt
pepper powder
1/4 tsp Chilli powder
Mint leaves 1/2 tbsp chopped finely and a sprig for garnish

In a colander, add the chopped onions and mix in the sugar or jaggery and set aside for some time. Then squeeze the onions to remove the excess liquid and mix with the remaining ingredients except for the chilli powder and chill in the refrigerator. Just before serving, sprinkle chilli powder and garnish with mint and indulge in the lovely meal..the pilaf courtesy the lovely Nupur and the Raita courtesy the lovely me!!!!


This is my entry to the Tried and Tasted event hosted by Zlamushka.

A fried rice!

Microwave cooking has its benefits…some of them being the use of fat to a minimal extent, lesser loss of nutritional values and faster cooking time.

In the intial stages, though following the instruction for microwave cooking to the “T”, the result was not up to the mark. But practice has made me perfect in cooking the below fried rice. I wouldn’t call it perfect…but near perfect would be the fact.


This is adapted from the book of Indian microwave cooking by Rohini Singh.




The recipe requires

Chicken-bite size pieces
Cinnamonn- 2”
Cloves-15
Whole peppercorns-25
Cardamoms-black or green-6
Water-3 cups
Salt to taste
Stock Cubes-2
Oil-5 tbsp
Onion-4 sliced
Ginger-garlic-4 tbsp crushed
Carrots-1 cubed into small pieces (boiled)
Beans- cut into small pieces (boiled)
Green chillies-according to one’s taste
Rice-2 cups
Egg- 2 scrambled

Put the chicken, whole spices, water, salt and the stock cubes in a large microwave dish. Cover the dish and microwave at 100% for 10 minutes. Let this stand for another 5 minutes. After this, remove the chicken pieces and if needed the spices as well. Discard the spices if removing.

On the stove, to the oil, add the onions and fry until a light brown and follow this by adding half the amount of ginger and garlic and fry until they turn a light brown. Now add the chicken pieces and fry until it turns light brown. Add the remaining ginger-garlic and fry for 5 mins.

Into the stock, add the chicken and the washed and drained rice, chillies and microwave uncovered at 100% for 15 mins. Reduce the power to 50% and cover and microwave for a further 5 mins.. Stir in the boiled carrots, beans and the scrambled eggs.

Serve warm.

This fried rice goes over to Srivalli's MEC Event which is Rice for this month.

Biriyani in no Time

Yesterday, being a Sunday, I was in no mood to cook forget even entering the kitchen..After a late breakfast, A suggested we either go out or order in lunch from any restaurant..the choice was left to me... An hour later, there was such a heavy downpour and the roads were flooded..sigh!!

Ultimately, it was destined for me to make lunch...A suggested I make biriyani...

The toil that goes into making a nice delicious biriyani is too much to handle especially on a day like this...That is when I decided on why not use a pressure cooker to make biriyani!

Apart from the usual chopping, this is a quicker way..and tastes as good too!




What you need is:
Chicken pieces-1/2 kg/or vegetables
Basmati Rice-2 Cups
Ghee-1/2 Cup
Onions-3 medium (chopped)
Tomatoes-3 (chopped)
Green Chillies-4 slit lengthwise(add more for spiciness)
Curd-1/2 Cup
Turmeric Powder-1/2tsp
Ginger/Garlic paste-4tsps

Spices
Cardamom-4
Cloves-4
Cinnamon-2" pieces
Bay Leaves-2

Leaves
Coriander (Cilantro)Leaves- 1 bunch (Chopped)
Mint Leaves-1/2 a bunch otherwise the flavour would dominate

For Grinding
Cashewnut-6 or 7 (grind to a paste)
Khus Khus (Poppy seeds)-to make 1tbsp of paste

Salt-according to taste
Water-3 cups
Fry the washed rice in 1 tbsp of ghee and leave aside. In a pressure cooker, add the remaining ghee and fry the onions till they turn a golden brown. Add the whole spices now and fry until you see the cardamoms bloat..This is when a nice aroma emanates from the cooker....Next, add in the tomatoes and fry until they turn soft and the oil begins to leave the masala..This is when you add the ginger-garlic paste..Cook this until the raw smell disappears..This is followed by the entry of the leaves, turmeric powder and the green chillies...after 2 or 3 minutes of mixing, in a separate bowl mix the ground paste into the curd and add this into the masala..Then add the chicken pieces that have been waiting to go in!!!
Mix well until the masala coats all the chicken pieces..Follow this by adding the water and salt..Stir in the rice..and pressure cook for 2 whistles.. Turn off the fire and let the rice stand in the cooker for 30-45 minutes..

Remove and serve with raita..


I enjoyed it...Try it!!

A bowl of Chicken Fried Rice served with a bowl of yummy Schezwan Chicken

I am at a loss of thoughts..have been staring at a tree with its rustling leaves for quite some time now...Having said that and still at a loss of thoughts, let me get down to posting my favourite dish> Chicken fried rice and schezwan chicken to go with it.

This is recipe that is a mix from several books and newspaper clippings,,But put together makes up for a nice fried rice..

For the fried rice

Oil-1 cup
Basmati Rice-2 cups
Water-enough to cook..I used about 4 cups..when it was half cooked, I transferred it to a colander to strain the remaining water..

Chopped vegetables-1/2 cup each (I used carrots, cabbage,capsicum,beans)
Celery-chopped-1/2 cup
Spring Onion- chopped-1/2 cup
Green Chillies-3 or 4,chopped
Soya sauce-5tsps
Ajinomoto-1tsp
Pepper Powder-1tsp
Salt-as per taste
Sugar-1 1/2 tsp

Cooked and Shredded Chicken-1 cup

Wash the rice and add the rice into water for cooking. Add a little oil and salt to the cooking water.The oil is to prevent the rice from sticking.Drain and leave the half-coked rice aside to cool.

In a pan, heat some oil and fry the chopped green chillies. Add the chopped vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the chicken shreds,salt,sugar,pepper, ajinomoto and soya sauce and mix well. Then add the rice and mix carefully without breaking the rice.

Finally sprinkle the spring onion and celery.

Serve hot. I served it with a saucy Schezwan chicken.

Saucy Schezwan Chicken




Recipe> Courtesy- My mother

Chicken pieces-500g

For Marination

Egg-2
Soya sauce-20 ml
Pepper Powder-1/2 tbsp
Salt-to taste
Cornflour-2 tbsp
Ginger Paste-10 g
Garlic Paste-10g
Ajinomoto-1/4 tsp

Cube the chicken pieces and marinate them with the ginger/garlic paste, salt, ajinomoto, pepper powder,and soya sauce. Then add cornflour and the eggs and mix well.

After a few minutes of marination, heat oil and in a medium heat, fry the marinated chicken cubes for 2 or 3 minutes (not any longer) because then they tend to get hard.

For the sauce
Chopped ginger/garlic-20 g
Chopped green chillies-3-4
Red chillies-halved-5 or 6
Soya sauce-40 ml
Oil-200ml in all..(for the frying of chicken and for the sauce)
Spring Onion-50g-julienned
Chicken stock-200 ml
Cornflour-2 tbsp


In the remaining oil from frying (or use fresh oil), add the spring onions, ginger/garlic past, green chillies, red chillies and cook until the raw smell escapes.. To this, add the soya sauce and cook for another minute. Mix in the chicken stock and when it starts boiling add cornflour and stir so that no lumps are formed and cook until a thick sauce is formed. Add the fried chicken in now. Garnish with the spring onion greens and serve.

happy cooking!

Chicken Biriyani

The myriad uses of spice and the varied spices set Indian cooking apart. Indian dishes are by far the most aromatic...atleast according to me..and i know that most of you out there would agree to it as well.. What I have discovered is although a lot of spices go into the making of an indian dish..they are not too hot for the palate..

Green chillies are lot less hot than red chillies and larger chillies are very mild in their hotness..To minimize the hotness, it is best to remove the seeds before use..

Always make sure you wash your hand after handling chillies, because you dont want your eyes burning...I have been through several instances of this..
Also, remove whole spices before serving, because you dont want end up being in tears at the dining table..

Indian cooking involves spice mixtures or better known as masalas..Spices release their flavour more when they are ground.. The traditional pestles are now replaced with mixers and the like..Whole spices are better than ready crushed ones because the former has more flavour..

Indian cooking also uses fat for its cooking..basically ghee ;.With the growing trend of healthy eating, fat has been replaced by vegetable oil, etc.

Hence, here I present a dish that makes use of a lot of spices the Biriyani - a chicken version with boiled eggs..

Mind you the biryani I present here is not for people who are health conscious..I used a lot of ghee..But there is no harm in indulging in it once in a while...


Basmati Rice-2 1/2 cups
Water-8 1/2 cups
Salt-to taste
Chicken-1 kg
Egg- 2 boiled (increase as per the number of people)
Curds-2 1/2 cups
Ghee-2 cups

For grinding
Onion- 3 medium (chopped)
Green chillies-5 or 6
Ginger-2"
Garlic-7 pods
Coriander Leaves-1 bunch
Pudina/Mint Leaves-1/2 bunch
Turmeric Powder-1 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon-1"
Mace-3
Clove-3
Cardamom-5
Saffron threads- A large pinch
Food colouring-Optional

Wash chicken pieces. I always dab some turmeric powder on the chicken pieces to remove any impurities.. This is a step that I always follow for any meat I cook.

Grind the above-mentioned ingredients and add the curds and salt. Mix well. Marinate the chicken pieces with the mixture and leave it in room temperature at least for 2 hours.

After this take the rice and wash it well and set aside. Meanwhile in 1/2 a cup of ghee fry sliced onions until brown along with a tsp of sugar and add to the marinated chicken including the ghee and mix in well.. (Optional). Meanwhile boil the eggs.

In a thicked bottomed kadai, add 1/2 a cup of ghee and fry the washed rice for some time. Remove the rice and set aside.

When the chicken has marinated, allow it cook on low heat until it becomes soft.After this, add in the rice, and cover and cook until the rice is done.

Soak saffron threads in boiling water and pour into the rice and mix using a fork (Using a fork prevents the rice from breaking).


For garnishing
Nuts- fried
raisins-dried and fried

or

Fried onions


Serve the biriyani and add in the boiled eggs.. Halve the eggs for a better appeal.

Goan Appetite

Goan cuisine apart from its basic fishy curry and rice, has myriad tastes just like its land and culture. Apart from hindu and muslim influences, the Portuguese had left a marked influence on all aspects including their cuisine.

Goa is known for its siestas. All shops in town close by two and re-open only after four in the evening. This time is known as their siesta time. The importance to their siestas is also shared by their cuisine.
Another familiar site are the hawkers who go on bicycles honking to let people know of their arrival to sell hot, fresh from the clay oven pavs. Pav or bread is eaten with fish curry, chicken or any meat curry or vegetable curry..just like how chapati is served with the same gravies.. I had the fortune of having a small bakery right next door..so usually at dinner time..I just have to walk across and buy pav..instead of kneading chapatti doughs..

Coming back to Goan cuisine, sea food is a must on their menu excepting during lent or fasting seasons.

Some of the famous delicacies are chicken cafreal, xacuti, balchao, sorpotel..All these taste good with rice, bread and sannas.

Sannas resemble fluffy idlis..
For Sannas what you need to do is to soak a cup of rice overnight. Grind this soaked rice to a paste the next day. Mix this paste with grated coconut of 1 coconut with 500 ml of sweetened goan toddy (if unavailable use 2 tsps of yeast with sugar and a lil water just like you do for appam). Reserve this aside for it to rise. Like how you make idlis, pour the mixture into the moulds and steam.

Will be back with more updates...until then keep checking my blog :)