Capsicum rice

Ingredients:
--------------

• Plain rice - 1 cup ( 200 g)
• Capsicums -  3 to 4 medium sized
• Lemon - 1
• Grated dry coconut - 1.5 Tbl. sp.
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 3 Tbl. sps.

For seasoning:

-------------------

• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp                                    
• Black gram dhal - 1 tsp
• Bengal gram dhal - 2 tsps
• Red chillies - 2
• Curry leaves - few
• Cashewnuts - 8
• Roasted peanuts - 1 Tbl. sp.

For masala powder:

------------------------

• Red chillies - 6
• Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
• Coriander seeds - 2 tsps
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Black gram dhal - 1.5 tsps
• Bengal gram dhal - 1.5 tsps

Fry the above ingredients in a tsp of ghee or oil till golden brown. Powder and keep.

Method:

----------

• Soak rice for 10 min and cook in 2 cups of water.( Just 2 whistles will do) 
• Cool thoroughly and seperate the grains.Pour a tsp of oil to it.( to avoid sticking)
• Heat oil and add seasonings one by one and fry till golden brown.
• Add diced capsicums and fry till it becomes soft.
• Reduce the flame and add grated dry coconut.
• Fry till light brown and add turmeric powder and salt.
• Add cooked rice to this and fry for few min till the rice becomes hot.( Make sure it does not get burnt)
• Squeeze lemon juice and add powdered masala.
• Mix well and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with raitha and chips.

Jamaican rice and red peas

Ingredients:

•  2 cups of rice
•  1 cup of fresh red peas (kidney beans)                          
•  5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
•  3 uncut scotch bonnet pepper (1 jalapeno pepper or 3 Indian chilli may be used as a substitute)
•  3 Scallion (spring onions)
•  1 cup of coconut milk
•  1 teaspoon of black pepper
•  2 sprigs of fresh thyme (Dried Ajwain(hindi) or Omam(tamil) may be used as a substitute)
•  Salt-  2 tsp

Method:

• Wash and soak the peas (kidney beans) overnight .
• Soak the rice for 10 mins and drain it. 
• Half cook the peas in the pressure cooker.
• Drain the cooked peas, and keep the water aside( can be used for cooking along with the rice) 
• In a pan, add 1 tbspn Oil and saute the garlic. 
• Add the Scallion and saute for few seconds .
• Add rice and continue sauteing for a minute.
• Add the Peas, coconut milk, salt, black pepper and thyme to the mix.
• Add the Scotch bonnet whole.
• Add rice along with 3 cups of water and coconut milk. Cook it in an electric cooker or pressure cook (2 whistles).
• Yummy Rice and peas is ready for you!!!! 

Spring onion pulao with roasted cauliflower

This recipe serves 3.

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice                - 1 cup ( I used Jeeraga Samba / Biriyani rice. Jeeraga Samba rice  has rich aroma and also gets cooked in less time. I always prefer this to make pulao and other variety rice recipes. You can easily get this rice in Tamil Nadu.)
• Spring onion               - 15( finely chop the bulbs and stem)
• Chopped vegetables  of your choice ( I used carrot- 1 , peas - 1 handful , potato - 1, capsicum - 1)
• Kabuli Chana (Konda kadalai) - 2 tbsp ( soaked and pressure cooked
• Salt                             - to taste
• sugar                           - a pinch
• Cauliflower                  - 2 cup florets
• Oil                               - 2 tbsp
• Ghee                            - 2 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste       - 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies               -  3 to 4( slit open lengthwise)

Spices:

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• Cloves                  - 2
• Cinnamon            - 1/2 inch stick
• Anise seeds         - 1 petal from a flower ( optional)
• Saunf                  - 1 tsp
• Jeera/cumin seeds  - 2 tsp
• Pepper corns         - 10
• Cardamom(Yelakai) - 2

Pound the above ingredients into  coarse powder using a pestle and mortar.

Chop the vegetables lengthwise. Reserve the stock of chana to cook pulao.

Method:

----------

• Wash and soak rice for 15 min. Drain the excess water and set aside.

• Boil water with a pinch of turmeric powder.
• Add the washed cauliflower florets and cook covered for 5 min.Keep it closed for 10 min.
• Drain the excess water and set aside to cool to room temperature.

• Add 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai. 
• Add slit green chillies, ginger garlic paste and spring onion bulbs.
• Saute for few sec and add capsicum. Saute for 5 sec and add the pound spices.
• Mix well and add vegetables in the same order ( carrot , potato , peas, kabuli chana) sauting for few seconds after adding every vegetable.
• Add the rice and saute well till the excess moisture is evaporated.(This process ensures that the rice grains does not stick to each other when cooked)

• Switch off the flame. Add salt, sugar and mix well.
• For every 1 cup of rice , add two cups of water .
• Empty the contents into a rice cooker and cook.

Meanwhile add 1 tbsp of oil in the same kadai and roast the cauliflower florets with a tsp of coriander powder, red chilli powder,little salt and rice powder.
Stir the florets till it gets a nice brown coating.

Garnish the pulao with chopped spring onion greens and roasted cauliflower florets. (Mix the florets into pulao)

Rajma methi pulao

Ingredients:

=========

• Basmathi rice/Sona masuri - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 medium sized
• Tomatoes - 2 big ,ripe
• Green chillies - 3
• ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Methi leaves - separated from stalk and washed
• Rajma - soaked overnight and pressure cooked( 3 whistles)

Reserve the stock after cooking rajma.

• salt - to taste
• oil and ghee - 1 tsp each
• garam masala - 1/2 tsp

To be crushed in a pestle and mortar

==========================

• Peppercorns - 8
• cinnamon - 1/2 inch
• cloves - 4
• elachi - 2
• aniseed - 2 pods(optional)
• saunf - 1/2 tsp
• jeera - 1 tsp

Method:

======

• Soak rice in water for 10 min and the drain the excess wwater.
• Heat oil and ghee in a kadai.Add the crushed ingredients along with chopped onions,green chillies ,ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off.
• Add chopped tomatoes and saute for 3 min .Add the methi leaves sand saute again for 2 min.
• Add turmeric powder,salt,rajma,garam masala and saute for another 2 min.
• Add the rice and saute till it becomes slightly dry.
• Switch off the flame .Add 2 cups of stock (diluted with water if needed )
• Mix well and add the ingredients into a rice cooker .
• Cook and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with raita and papad.

Gooseberry rice/ nellikai sadam

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

=========

• Gooseberry (the big variety) - 10
• Rice - 1 cup , washed and soaked for 1 hr
• Haldi - a pinch
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• curry leaves - a sprig
• salt - to taste
• mustard - 1 tsp
• urad dal - 1 tsp
• red chillies - 2
• coconut shredded - 3 tsp
• green chillies - 3
• gingelly oil - 2 tsp

Method:

======

• Add the gooseberries in boiled hot water and close with a lid.Set aside for 1/2 an hr.
• Drain the water and set aside to cool. Seperate the gooseberries into fragments.(just piercing through the centre of each gooseberry with the thumb will help)
• 
  
• Drain excess water from soaked rice and saute in a tsp of ghee.
• Cook the rice and set aside the cooked rice to cool.The grains should be seperate.
• Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds,urad dal,asafoetida ,curry leaves, red chilli and saute for 2 min.
• Add the gooseberry fragments(chop if needed) ,turmeric powder and saute for another 5 min.
• Grind green chillies and coconut togther (just pulse once).
• Add it into the kadai and saute for another 2 - 3 min.
• Add the cooked rice and mix well.

Serve hot with curd.

Puliodarai/Puliogare

This recipe serves 3.

Ingredients:

==========

• Rice(sona masuri/basmati) - 1 cup
• Gingelly oil - 4 teaspoon

Method:

======

• Soak rice for 15 min.Drain the excess water.
• Add 2 tsp oil of oil in a kadai and saute the drained rice till water evaporates completely.
• Boil water(rice : water=1:2) and add the rice to it with 1 tsp of oil.
• Cook covered.
• Set aside to cool and pour 1 tsp of oil .The grains should be separate.

For the tamarind paste

=================

• Thick Tamarind juice - extracted from a ball of diameter 3 cm
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal - 1 1/2 tsp
• Groundnuts - 1 handful
• Red chillies - 3 ,broken into halves
• turmeric powder - a pinch
• jaggery - 1 tsp, powdered
• salt - 1 tsp(can be altered according to sourness of tamarind)
• oil - 3 to 4 tsp

Method:

======

• Add oil in a kadai.Add mustard seeds.
• When it splutters,add chana dal,groundnuts,red chillies,hing and saute till golden brown.
• Add tamarind juice extract,jaggery,salt,turmeric powder.
• Stir well and cook on a medium flame till it thickens into a paste.
• You can store it in an air tight container in refrigerator.

For the powder

===========

• Dhania/coriander seeds - 2 tsp
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Pepper - 10 to 15 peppercorns(depending on one's taste)
• Red chillies - 8 to 10
• Til / sesame seeds - 2 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Dry coconut,shredded - 3 tsp(optional...If you wish to store the powder,avoid coconut)
• Chana dal - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 1/2 tsp
• Hing - 1/2 tsp

Method:

=======

• Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai.
• Add urad dal,chana dal,fenugreek seeds,coriander seeds and saute till golden brown.
• Add peppercorns,til,jeera and saute till it bursts.
• Add red chillies,hing,dry coconut and fry for another 3 min till all the ingredients get roasted.
• Set aside to cool.And grind into a coarse powder in a mixer.

For puliodarai:

==========

• Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai.
• Add mustard seeds.When it splutters,add curry leaves.
• On a low flame,add cooked rice to it .Add 2 to 3 tsp of paste.
• Mix well with a flat spatula.Do not mash the rice.
• Add 3 tsp of powder too.Mix well.
• Adjust the quantity of paste,powder,salt according to taste.

Serve hot with curd and potato chips.

Special Tomato Rice

Ingredients:

=========

• Basmati rice - 200 grams
• Tomatoes - 3 big
• Carrot - 1 big
• Peas - 1 handful
• Onion - 1 big
• Green chillies - 2 to 3
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon - a 1/2 inch stick
• Cloves - 2
• Shahi Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• bayleaf - 1
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Dhania powder - 1 tsp
• Jeera powder - 1 tsp
• Garammasala pwd - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 3 tsp,chopped finely
• Elachi - 1

Method:

======

• Wash and Soak Basmati rice for 1/2 hour.
• Chop onions lenghthwise,tomatoes into very small pieces,slit open the green chillies.
• Peel off the skin and grate the carrot.
• Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.Add cinnamon,cloves,bayleaf,elachi,shahi jeera ,onions and saute for 10 sec.
• Add ginger garlic paste and green chillies.Saute till the raw smell goes off and onion turns tender.
• Add peas,grated carrot,tomatoes and saute till raw smell goes off.
• Add turmeric powder,jeera and dhania powder,garam masala powder,half of salt,sugar and saute till raw smell goes off.
• Drain the excess water and add the soaked rice .Mix well.
• Add water(for every 1 cup of rice add 1 cup of water) and remaining salt.Mix well.
• Pressure cook.(1 whistle on a high flame and switch off in 4 min)
• Let it cool down little bit.Then mix with a flat spatula without mashing the rice.
• Garnish with coriander leaves .

Serve with curd/raitha.

Mint,corn & Peas Pulao with Soya chunks

Soya is very rich in protein .There are lots of dishes that can be made with Soya.It can be added to any pulao too.Here is my version of a pulao that has mint,potato,peas ,corn and ofcourse the SOYA CHUNKS.

This recipe serves 3.

Ingredients:

=========

• Rice(Sona Masuri/Basmati) - 200 grams
• Onions - 2 medium sized
• Peas - 1 handful
• Potato - 1 big
• Corn shells - 1 handful
• Tomato - 1
• Fresh Mint leaves - 3 small bunches
• Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
• Coconut shredded - 1 tbsp
• Soya chunks - 20
• Cashews - 5
• Ghee - 3 tsp
• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - a 1 inch piece
• Elachi - 2
• Bay leaf - 1
• Shai Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• sugar - 1/4 tsp
• Lemon juice - 2 tsp
• ginger garlic paste - a pinch
• green chillies - 3
• Pepper powder,garam masala powder - 3/4 tsp,each
• turmeric powder - a pinch

Method:

======

• Wash and soak the rice in water for 2 hours.Drain excess water.
• Heat a tsp of ghee in a hard bottomed pressure cooker.Add little chopped onions and saute till they turn pink.Add the soaked rice and saute for 5 min so that the rice becomes dry.Set aside.
• Separate mint leaves & coriander leaves from stem and wash well.
• In a mixer,add mint leaves,coriander leaves,tomato,rest of onion,coconut and little water.Grind to a fine loose paste.
• Heat a tsp of ghee in the same cooker,add shahi jeera,jeera,cloves,cinnamon,elachi,bay leaf and saute for 5 sec.
• Add green chillies,peas,corn,potato slices,ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes off.
• Add the ground paste,turmeric powder,pepper powder,salt,sugar,garam masala powder and saute till the raw smell goes off.
• Now add water(for 1 cup of rice add 1 cup of water).But since the ground paste is also watery,add only little water so that (Ground watery paste + little water = 1 cup ).
• Add soya chunks and mix well.Now add the rice and mix well.
• Pressure cook the above contents.(One whistle on a high flame and switch off in 5 min exactly).
• Heat a tsp of ghee and roast the cashews till golden brown and garnish the pulao.Add lemon juice and mix well.

Serve hot with Onion raitha.

Venpongal

Ven Pongal is one of the popular breakfast dishes in TamilNadu.It is very simple to prepare.Normally we have pongal along with sambar or chutney or gotsu.

This recipe serves three.

Ingredients:

***********

• Raw rice - 1 cup (120 grams)
• Moong dal,split - 1/2 cup (60 grams)
• Salt - to taste
• Ghee - 3 to 4 tablespoon
• Jeera seeds - 2 teaspoon
• Pepper - 2 teaspoon
• Curry leaves - 3 sprigs
• Ginger,finely chopped - from a 2 inch piece
• Cashews - 12

Method:

********

• Dry roast the moong dal till dark brown .
• Wash rice and roasted dal well.Pressure cook with salt and liberal water(for 1 cup of rice,add 4.5 cups of water ,This includes for dal too).
• Leave one whistle on a high flame and switch off after 15 min.It should very well cooked.Mash slightly with a spatula.
• Crush pepper and jeera in a pestle and mortar.(Or just pulse twice in a mixer)
• Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a kadai.Add cashews and roast till brown.
• Add crushed pepper and jeera,ginger and cooked dal-rice mixture.Mix well and switch off.
• Add curry leaves and 1 tbsp of ghee .Mix well.

Serve hot with chutney/sambar/gotsu.

Greengram/Whole moongdal Kichadi

This recipe serves 2 to 3.

Ingredients:

=========

• Whole moongdal(with skin) /Greengram dal - 100 grams
• Rice - 200 grams
• Carrots,chopped - 2 medium
• Peas - 1 handful
• curry leaves - a sprig
• Coconut,cut into pieces of length 0.5cm - 1 tablespoon
• Salt - to taste
• Ghee - 2 teaspoon
• Pepper,crushed - 1 teaspoon
• Jeera - 1 teaspoon
• Hing - a pinch/1/2 teaspoon
• Green chilli,chopped - 1
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• dhania powder - 1 1/2 teaspoon
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

======

• Heat a teaspoon of ghee in a kadai and saute moongdal till it turns brown in colour and the raw smell goes away.
• Soak the roasted moongdal for 2 hours.Drain excess water.
• Wash rice and soak for 1 hour.Drain excess water.
• In a thick bottomed pressure cooker,add veggies,green chillies,soaked rice and dal,salt,dhania powder,red chilli powder and enough water.(The measures are ; for every cup of rice,add 3 cups of water and for every cup of dal,add 2 cups of water)
• Pressure cook the above contents.(1 whistle on a high flame and switch off after 15 min)
• Temper with mustard seeds,coconut,pepper,hing and jeera in a teaspoon of ghee.

Serve hot with curd ,pickle and pappad.

The 3Bs-BBB-BisiBelaBath!!!!

This is a very popular karnataka dish.It is very simple to make and very filling too.This recipe serves two.

Ingredients:

=========

• Rice - 100 grams
• Tuar dal - 50 grams(Rice:Dal=1:1/2)
• Pearl/Madras Onion - 15
• Veggies - of your choice from the list(Carrots,Peas,Potatoes,brinjal,chow- chow,drumstick)
• Curry leaves - a sprig
• Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon(finely chopped)
• Ghee - 4 teaspoon
• Cashews - 5 to 6
• Peanuts - 10
• Salt - to taste
• Jaggery - a pinch
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Ingredients for Masala:

=================

• Coriander seeds/Dhania - 3 teaspoon
• Urad dal - 2 teaspoon
• Chana dal - 2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon(missed in the picture)
• Jeera - 1 teaspoon
• Saunf - 1teaspoon
• KasaKasa - 1 teaspoon(optional)
• Cinnamon - a two-inch stick
• Cloves - 3
• Elachi - 3
• Pepper corns - 10
• Red chilli - 6
• Coconut/Kopra,shredded - 8 heaped teaspoon

Method:

======

You just need one heavy bottomed pressure cooker for preparing this dish.Wash and soak the rice and dal together for half an hour.Drain the excess water.

BisiBelabath powder:

===============

Heat a tsp of ghee in the cooker and add the ingredients one by one in the order

Dhania,

Chana dal,

Urad dal,

fenugreek seeds,

(Jeera + saunf + pepper),

(kasakasa + cinnamon+clove+elachi),Red chilli and coconut.

Saute till it turns brown in colour and gets roasted.

Set aside to cool and grind to a less coarse powder as shown.

Tip:

===

You can also roast and grind the ingredients except coconut and keep in fridge.Whenever you make Bisibelabath just use the powder and add roasted coconut to it.

Bisibelabath:

=========

• Chop the veggies finely.
• Heat a teaspoon of ghee in the cooker.Add mustard seeds and asafoetida.
• When it splutters,add curry leaves and pearl onions and saute till they become tender.
• Add other veggies and saute for a min with a pinch of turmeric powder.
• Add the tamarind juice extract,jaggery,soaked rice and dal and mix well.
• Add water liberally as the dish has to be slightly loose and mashed.I normally add 5 cups of water for every cup of rice(considering the dals and veggies too).
• Add salt ,powdered masala and mix well.
• Pressure cook the above mixture.(1 whistle on a high flame and switch off after 10 min)
• Heat a tsp of ghee in a tadka pan and roast peanuts,cashews till they turn golden brown.
• Garnish the bisibelabath with coriander leaves and roasted nuts.

The dish will thicken with time.So it does not matter even if its slightly watery after cooking.It will get the correct serving consistency in 5 to 10 min.

Serve hot with onion raitha and potato chips/karuvadam.

Carrot Peas Pulao

This recipe serves two.

Ingredients:

=========

• Basmati/Sona masuri rice - 200 grams
• Carrots,chopped lengthwise - 5 large
• Peas - a small cup
• onion,chopped lenghthwise - 1 large
• ginger garlic paste - a pinch
• Coconut milk(optional) - 1/2 cup
• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - 1
• Bayleaf - 1
• Green chillies - 2
• Pepper - 1/4 teaspoon
• Garam masala powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Cashew - 5 to 6
• Salt to taste
• Ghee - 2 tablespoon

Method:

======

• Wash and soak the rice for 1 hour.Drain the excess water after 1 hour.
• Heat a heavy bottomed pressure cooker.Add ghee and the whole spices to it.Saute for a sec.
• Slit open the green chillies and add to it.Saute for a sec.
• Add the onions,saute for 2 sec and then add ginger-garlic paste.
• Saute till onions become transparent and then add the veggies(carrots and peas)
• Saute for 2 to 3 min till the raw smell of veggies go away.
• Add the soaked rice and saute well.
• Now add water in the ratio (Rice : Water = 1:1).To enrich the taste,instead of only water ,we can add a mix of water and coconut milk.
• Add salt,mix well and pressure cook.(Just 3 to 4 whistles on medium flame).Do not over cook as the rice grains have to be separate.
• Heat a tsp of ghee in a kadai and fry the cashews till golden brown.

Garnish the rice with cashews.The same recipe can be followed with any combination of veggies.

Mango rice

Ingredients:

=========

• Raw mango - 1 large
• Rice - 1 cup (150 grams -Sona Masuri/Basmati rice)
• salt to taste
• Red chilli - 1
• Green chillies - 2 large
• Mustard seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Chana dal(kadalaparupu),soaked in hot water for 15 min - 1 tablespoon
• Peanuts - 2 tablespoon
• Cashewnuts - 1 tablespoon
• curry leaves - few
• turmeric powder - a pinch
• asfoetida - a pinch
• coconut,shredded - 5 tablespoon(optional)
• coriander leaves,finely chopped - few

Method:

======

• Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.
• Pressure cook the rice.Spread the rice in a plate,add 2 teaspoons of gingelly oil,salt and set aside to cool.The grains should be separate.
• In a kadai,add 2 teaspoon of ghee/gingelly oil and mustard seeds.
• When it splutters add asfoetida,green chillies,red chilli and peanuts.
• When peanuts get roasted,add curry leaves,coconut and mango and saute for a min.Do not saute for a long time as the mangoes may lose its tangy taste.
• Switch off the flame.Add the rice and mix well with a flat spatula.Make sure that you do not mash or break the rice.

Heat a teaspoon of ghee and roast the cashews till golden brown.

Garnish the rice with cashews and coriander leaves.

Mexican rice

Ingredients:

=========

• Basmati rice - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 large
• Capsicum - 1 large
• Tomato - 3 medium
• Kashmirilal chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

======

• Soak rice in water for 2 hours.
• Strain the water using a strainer.
• Chop onions,capsicum and tomatoes into small pieces.
• Heat tava,add 1 tsp of oil and fry onions well.
• When onions turn light brown ,add the soaked rice and saute well till water evaporates from the grains.
• Add chilli powder, salt amd mix well.
• Add 1 cup of water(rice:water=1:1) and pressure cook.(Just one whistle on a high flame and switch off after 5 min)
• Note:-Electric cooker is preferable if you have one.
• In the tava,add ghee,capsicum and saute well.
• Add tomatoes and saute well till raw smell goes off.
• Pour it over cooked rice and mix well.

Serve hot with onion raitha.