Filled and Grilled Red Peppers

Having tempted you with a starter course let me add to my Free spirit bloggers' Rainbow/ VIBGYOR theme Red assigned to me by Mridhubashini, this rice dish for the main course.
We love bell peppers and will mostly have them stuffed. The stuffing varies as per mood on that particular day and the availability of ingredients. Sometimes I use up left overs to make some stuffing recipe and use that up. However, this time I must say that I cooked specially for the stuffing, taking care that the recipe also fell in line with my RED theme and used red colour peppers to grill.
The stuffing is rice cooked with spiced channa masala stewed using more tomatoes and carrots to bring out the red colour. I made this recipe for channa masala from my earlier post. That recipe does not list tomatoes. But I have used few tomatoes and 2 carrots to achieve the colour.



Ingredients:
For the channa rice:
1 cup Basmati rice
1/4 cup channa (white chick peas)
½ cup coriander leaves washed well and dried over a cloth
3 big red onions
4”piece of ginger
2 teaspoons redchilli powder
2 tablespoons any brand channa/chole masala powder
1 marble size ball of tamarind
2 large tomatoes
2 medium carrots
3 teaspoons powdered jaggery
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cuminseeds
4 green chillis slit lengthwise
2 tablespoons ghee/oil

For the peppers:
(the above rice will be sufficient to fill 5 numbers large bell peppers)
5 red bell peppers
3 tablespoons yoghurt (I had cashew yoghurt and used that)
1 teaspoon kasuri methi
1/8th teaspoon carom seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry mint leaves
1 teaspoon green chilli paste
1 tablespoon coriander leaves
Salt to taste



Method:
Soak the chick peas overnight. Drain the water in the morning and pressure cook the peas until they are soft.
Wash the Basmati rice thoroughly and spread on a cloth for few minutes.
Heat two teaspoons ghee in a pan and roast the drained rice. Take care not to break the rice kernels. Transfer the rice to a cooking pan and add two cups of water to the same. Allow it to stand for about 20 minutes.
Next step is to marinade the peppers.
Wash the peppers and pat them dry.
Using a sharp knife, slice a slit on the top until a small portion is still holding in place with the lower part.
Carefully scoop the seeds and membrane out.
Grind rest of the ingredients listed under the peppers in a marinade paste.
Gently coat the insides of the peppers with the marinade and let them stand for about half an hour.
If the peppers do not stand still, slice the bottom evenly so that they do not fall.

While the peppers are marinating, the rice can be prepared.
Steam the carrots until tender. Drop the tomatoes in boiling water for about 20 seconds and drain. Allow to cool and peel the skin off.
Grind the chopped onions and ginger along with the coriander leaves and the small marble size tamarind.
Grind the tomatoes and carrots to a puree.
Heat a generous tablespoon of ghee in a heavy pan.
Add cumin seeds and the green chillis. Saute' and add the ginger onion paste. Cook over a low flame until the fat separates. Now add the tomato and carrot puree, salt, the rest of the spice powders, jaggery and the cooked peas. Boil and simmer until the gravy is very thick.
Place the rice bowl on heat and bring the water to a boil. Close with a lid and lower the flame.
When the rice is half cooked, add the channa masala and cook further until they blend well and the rice is soft yet grains can be separated.
Pre - heat the grill. I set my microwave to grill 1.
Gently fill the marinated peppers with the rice. Close the tops. I did not seal them, just flapped the top back in place.
Place them in a baking dish. I used my bread trays to stand the peppers in.
Grill for about 7 minutes. The peppers will be well roasted and the skin might start peeling and in some places they may also char a bit.
Remove from grill and transfer to serving dishes.
Serve hot decorated with salad leaves and favoured vegetables.

Mushroom pulav

At home, my parents never forced us to eat anything if we refused to. Thus, the three of us grew up avoiding many vegetables, fruits and food as such without much ado. There were some that one of us might hate to eat while the rest of us were fond of. So such dishes were cooked and enjoyed by the ones who liked it; one's loss was someone's gain.
Even if my mother would have tried to force anything upon us, we stood our grounds and looked for our grandparents to support us. That is possibly the reason why my younger sister has lot many on the 'no, never to try' list! I had spent a few years with an uncle and his wife had seen to that I eat everything that was cooked and was acceptable for a child.
However, growing up in rural India in the 70s and 80s meant that we were not aware of the existence of many vegetables that are so easily available today. For instance, I came across broccoli and asparagus sometime in my late twenties. Even some of the regular vegetables were kept aside on specific days in our home and some vegetables had a 'no entry' limit.
I was introduced to mushrooms as fungi, for the wild mushrooms grew like everywhere in our back yard once the rains came down. And their health benefits were unheard of.
Then on my husband's first appointment with a shipping agency, he moved to Khor Fakkan in UAE. There the containers that carried food items were strictly subject to checking by the Ministry of Health.
As a representative of the line, my husband's job included that he facilitated such inspections.
The official and a dietician will randomly open some of the packs and take away samples for inspection before certifying them fit for consumption and clearing the consignment. Those randomly opened cartons were distributed to the dock workers by the consignee. Sometimes they might leave a pack or two with the line's office also. That way we have tasted some very good quality biscuits to some rancid crisps.
On one such occasion he was handed two tins of mushrooms. I had no clue as to how to cook them. Our neighbour, a doctor, suggested that they were acquired taste and since we were not seafood eaters, we might not like the taste. She offered to cook the same at her place and share the dish with us. Possibly, the apprehension stemmed from the mention of seafood and I did not truly like the taste.
Many years later, my sister cooked mushrooms in pulav and gravy and fed my daughter. She seemed to like them then. Thus, mushrooms gained their entry into my kitchen, but only for my daughter to eat. My husband would pick the tiny mushrooms out from his pizza wedges and I might swallow them without biting into those pieces.
I hope you have guessed where all this is leading to. Yes, our freespirit blogger pal Anupama suggested a theme for this month. She wanted us to make something that we have hated (still hate) and would avoid given the opportunity. Or, she said, if you were one of those who never refused something, try some ingredient that you have never used so far.
I am one who has more on the likes list than the counterpart. As a youngster, I avoided elephant yam, I never had even a sip of coffee until I went to work, even worse, as a youngster I would not drink anything if milk has been added to it in my presence. That was so long ago and a far away time. Today, I eat, drink, consume many things without sniffing at it.
Thinking hard and pondering on the theme, I had to decide on mushrooms only, for I had to give myself and my husband a chance to try them. I purchased a small can of sliced button mushrooms, called my sister to share the recipe, cooked it at home, conveniently on a day when I had a friend for lunch.

But, to be honest, I think I might include these once in a way for they seem to carry a 'HEALTH" label all over them.




Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati rice (brown rice or any long grain rice)
150 grams sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup coconut milk
1&1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1' piece cinnamon
5 units cloves
2 pieces maratta moggu
2 petals of star anise
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon green chilli paste
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 teaspoon crushed dry mint leaves
1 teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves
2 medium onions
3 tomatoes
Salt to taste

For garnish:
1 tablespoon ginger juliennes saute'd in olive oil
1 small piece bay leaf
Few cashew nuts (fried) (optional)

Method:
Wash the basmati rice clean and spread on a cloth to drain excess moisture.
Slice half of one onion finely. The rest, chop coarsely as you may be grinding them.
Grind the coarsely chopped onions, dry mint and fenugreek leaves along with the garam masala powder to a fine paste.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in the pressure cooker, add the drained rice and saute' for a few minutes.
Transfer the rice to another bowl and add a cup and a half of water to the same. Keep aside for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes, cool and puree them.
Heat again 1/2 teaspoon oil and fry the onion slices until soft and transparent. Keep aside.
Heat the rest of the oil in the pressure cooker. Add the cinnamon, cloves, maratta moggu and star anise. Then add the ginger paste and then the green chilli paste. In a few seconds add the fine ground onion paste and then the garlic paste. Cook them in the oil on a very low flame until the raw taste subsides.

Drop the mushrooms in and add the salt. Toss until the mushrooms acquire a coat of the masala and then add the coconut milk.
While on a medium flame allow the coconut milk to warm and then add the rice along with the water and the tomato puree. Add another cup of water to the ingredients that are cooking. If the rice has been aged, you may require some more water.
Bring the above ingredients to a boil and place the lid of the pressure cooker on.
Soon as it steams, place the cooker weight and when the first whistle comes on, reduce the flame to the lowest and allow an extra minute to cook.
Switch the stove off and allow the pressure inside to subside.
Open the lid and give the cooked pulav a toss to fluff the same.
Transfer to a serving dish and add the saute'd onion slices and the ginger juliennes.
Serve hot with a curry of choice. I served mine with Lauki Koftas stewed in a gravy of ground almonds, cashews and onions.

Please stop by other Freespirit bloggers to check what ingredients were not their fancies, yet they wanted to try their hands on.

I am pleased to send this to Kavi's Healthy Lunch event, which is part of Smita's Healthy Cooking Challenge.

Pudina rice with brown rice

Having read in many blogs the benefits of brown rice, I could not resist picking a pack when I found it in the local super market. I have to tell you here, that the country where I live in, such stuff are rare to find. Many a things I would take for granted in my grocer or upmarket stores in India, cannot be found here. So I just picked a pack of brown basmati rice the other day when I spotted just three of the 1 kilo packs in all! Apparently, the super market was putting it up as feelers to see the response.

I have repeatedly proclaimed that I am a mint and ginger freak. Naturally, my first trial with the brown rice was pudina rice with a touch of ginger in it.
The brown rice cooks a while longer than the normal basmati rice, needs more water to cook and will be a bit gathered as opposed to the soft yet separate grains. The yield is almost the same, but it can fill you up quickly too.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown basmati rice
1and 1/2 -1and 2/3 cups water (I used vegetable stock for cooking the rice)
1 medium onion sliced finely
1/4 cup green peas
1/4 teaspoon salt
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 table spoon ghee or cooking oil

For the mint sauce:
1/2 cup mint leaves, washed and cleaned
3 red chillis
2" piece ginger chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 heaped table spoon Urad dhal
1 and 1/2 teaspoon oil
A medium marble size Tamarind-pulp extracted or replace with 1 tablespoon yoghurt
Salt to taste

For garnish:
About 1 tablespoon finely sliced ginger roasted in ghee/oil




Method:
Mint sauce:
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the red chillis and ginger. Saute until the chillis acquire a shine.
Add the garlic and the urad dhal. Toss for a few minutes, just until the urad dhal is golden.
Add the mint leaves. They will wilt soon. Remove from the stove top. Allow to cool.
Blend in a mixer the above with the tamarind or yoghurt and the salt.
Wash the jar and add the water to the paste.
Rice:
Wash the Basmati rice thoroughly well.
Soak in 1 cup of water for about 45 minutes.
Drain the water and spread on a cloth for a few minutes.
Heat oil in a non stick big vessel. Add the sliced onions, salt and turmeric powder. Saute until the onions are pink.
Put the drained rice in and saute for a few minutes.
Add the stock or water. Bring to a boil, add the peas, reduce the fire and cover the vessel with a lid.
Stir once in a while and when half way done, add the mint sauce. Replace the cover and cook until the rice is soft to press. Depending on the age of the rice, you may require to add some water.
Place a heavy tawa on the stove and keep this vessel on the tawa. Keep the heat at the lowest.
Continue to cook for 8 minutes.
Switch the heat off and add the ginger slices for garnish.
Serve hot with a tomato or carrot raita.
I have not tried to cook in the pressure cooker as I cannot judge the time or the number of whistles to allow. If you do in the pressure cooker, you may skip the last part of placing on a tawa and cooking.

arroz verde from Chef in You - but made mine in the microwave

I was intrigued by the name Arroz verde when I read it on DK's post. The recipe she had posted sounded very simple to cook and I loved the lovely green colour in her pictures. I had liked the rice much and kept reading her post often.

Then I wanted to find alternatives for argula leaves that I do not find here in Lagos. I found some rocket greens and tried it. Though I had not planned to pack it in my husband's lunch, I reserved some for him to taste. I was not prepared for his reaction. He cleared the whole bowl and said it tasted good before asking me what was all packed in that dish!

Emboldened by the response, I have made it many times now. I am not particular about the argulla leaves or alternatives any longer, though that is a welcome addition. I make do with the spinach and coriander leaves. And I use a bit of ghee to get some good flavour.

Just the other day I thought that I might do it all in the microwave mode and see if it works. The result is this post you might be reading below.

Ingredients:

1 cup of basmati rice

1&1/2 cups spinach

1/2 cup coriander leaves

1 large onion sliced

3 cloves of garlic chopped

2 big green chillis of spicy variety

1/2 of a large red bell pepper cut in tiny pieces

2 cups of water for cooking the rice

2 cups of water to soak the rice intially

2 tablespoons ghee

Salt as required

Method:

Wash the basmati rice well and soak in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.

Clean the spinach ans coriander leaves, drain and run them with the green chillis in a blender using part of the water to a liquid. Transfer this to a large microwave safe dish. Use part of the water for cooking to clean the jar of the blender and add this water to the spinach mix.

Slice the onions and chop the garlic cloves.

In a flat microwave proof dish, heat 1 tablespoon ghee for 30 seconds on 100% micro power.

Add to the heated ghee the sliced onions and garlic. Mix them so the ghee coats the slices. Place back in the microwave, without lid and cook on 100% power for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Give them a toss mid way.

The onions will turn pink and become aromatic.

Remove these contents and transfer them to the spinach in the bowl.

Drain the soaked rice. and spread on a cloth for few minutes until most of the moisture dries.

In the same flat dish, add the rest of the ghee and the dried rice. Roast this rice on 60 % micro power for 4 minutes, without any lid on. Open and stir the contents at 2 minutes interval. This enables uniform distribution of heat and all the rice getting evenly roasted.

Once done, transfer the roasted rice to the bowl with liquid spinach mix. Add the rest of the water. Add the required salt and the cut bell pepper.

Allow the rice to soak in this for 20 minutes before cooking.

Place this bowl with all the contents in the microwave. Cook uncovered on 100% micro power for 5 minutes allowing the contents to boil.

Place a lid and cook on 60% power for 12 minutes. Stir once in between. Check for the rice having cooked and increase the cooking time by a further minute or two depending on how you require.

Allow a standing time of 3 minutes before opening the lid and taking out of the microwave.

Remove from the microwave and fluff the rice a bit using a fork.

Serve hot with a favourite raita and crisps.

It is thoroughly delicious rice dish even for those who will not like spinach very much.

While saying a big 'Thank you' to Dhivya and Chef in you, I am also adding this to Srivalli's popular Microwave Easy Cooking Event being hosted currently here with Lunch menu.

Microwave tomato rice

One dish that would top my list to make on days that I am lazy to cook would be tomato rice. Pair it with just potato wafers or home-made fryums or a roasted potato dry curry, an inviting meal is ready. I figured that making the tomato puree ahead and storing is making it even easier. You may then put the rice, spices and puree in a rice cooker or the microwave and get it done as quickly as possible.

How to puree tomatoes in the microwave for storing:

Using a fork or a toothpick, prick at points on the surface of the tomato.

In a microwave safe bowl take half a cup of water and place about three large tomatoes thus pricked.

Cover the bowl and cook on the highest micro output for 3 minutes initially.

Check if the peel comes off easily, otherwise, let it cook for a further minute. Allow a few minutes of standing time.

Cool and blend to a puree.

This puree can be used to cook tomato rice.

Ingredients:

200ml basmati rice, washed, soaked for 20 minutes and drained

2 medium onion chopped fine

1 cup pureed tomato

2 tablespoons ghee/oil

2 cups water

For tempering:

1 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

few curry leaves

Grind to a paste:

2 cloves garlic

1/2" stick cinnamon

2 cloves

2 green chillis

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon corriander powder

1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder

Method:

In a microwave safe bowl heat oil on highest power for 30 seconds. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. (it takes me about 1 minute to get the mustards crackle on 100% power). Add the cumin seed and the curry leaves. Let them cook for 20 seconds on 100% power.

Add 1 tablespoon ghee/oil to the above. Add chopped onions and set to medium power (60%). Cook for 3 minutes until onions are soft. Now add the paste and mix well. Microwave without covering, on 60% power for 4 minutes, stirring at two minute intervals. Thus the raw masala cooks with an aroma.

Remove and reserve this. In the same bowl heat the rest of the ghee uncovered on micro power 100% for 30 seconds.

Add the drained rice, mix well to coat the rice with the fat. Leave the bowl uncovered and heat the rice on 80% power for 2 minutes initially and then stir and heat for a further minute.

If you are cooking in a microwave rice cooker, transfer all of the contents, the reserved masala, tomato puree and the water in the rice cooker.

Leave it uncovered and on microwave 100%, cook for 4 minutes until the liquid starts boiling.

Fix the cover of the rice cooker and cook on 100% power for 12 minutes. Allow a standing time of two minutes and check if the rice is done.

If not, return to the microwave and cook covered on 80% power for 2 more minutes.

Open and stir well and place the cover back. Keep covered for 5 more minutes.

Serve with your favourite raita, chips or crisps.

If you do not want to use the microwave rice cooker, Take all of the contents in a large microwave safe bowl, cook covered on 100% power for 12 minutes. Remove the lid, stir and cook for 4 more minutes, covered on 60% power.

Remove the lid, stir and place the lid covered well for 5 minutes before serving.

Garnish with fresh corriander leaves. Serve with crisps and raita.

This microwave version of the all time favourite tomato rice goes to Srivalli's Microwave Easy Cooking event currently hosted at Priya's Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes

Lunch box -pictures only!

Divya of Dil se wants us all to show her what we pack our lunch boxes with. Prior to Ghana, my husband used to carry his lunch which I would have done in a hurry as he leaves as early as 5:30 AM. The dinner was a bit of an elaborate and relaxed meal. Here too he leaves early, but we have been given a driver by the company. He comes home once in the mid morning to collect the lunch for my husband. So I get to cook a proper meal everyday. Here are two pictures of his lunch boxes. Recipes may appear in my posts randomly. For now I'm happy to Show you my husband's Lunch Box.

salad, okra stir fry, madras onion sambhar rice and yoghurt.

Pudina rice, salad and raita.

Rajma and greens pulav

Until few years into my marriage, I was not venturing to try my cooking skills beyond a certain periphery. My husband used to be very " pick and choose" with his vegetables. Most often the menu will be potatoes, okras, carrots and the likes with regular sambhar or rasam. There was a time when one elderly relative thought that I was lazy to venture in the kitchen! Cooking spinach and greens was once in a blue moon. When and how he started eating every dish without protest, I have no clue. But I am glad that he eats most of them cooked in many varieties now.

I incorporate greens and leafy vegetables in my cooking as often as possible now. I had tried the Saagwala rajma from Tarla Dalal and quite liked it. On a weekend when my husband worked at office and I was busy with preparations for deepavali, I tried the rajma rice with the greens I had. Made it with a bit of my own masala and cooked a pulav. The taste was great and the rice was colourful too. Both of us enjoyed the one dish meal with a raita.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked basmati rice

1/2 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup chopped greens (I used Amaranth leaves)

2 medium onions sliced finely

Salt to taste.

Roast dry in a pan and powder finely:

2 table spoons coriander seeds

1'' stick cinnamom

4 cloves

4 medium spice variety red chili

Other ingredients:

1 medium onion, sauteed in 1 teaspoon oil until very brown and grinded to a paste

1 bay leaf

3 pods cardamoms

3 cloves

2 table spoons ghee

Method:

Wash and soak rajma overnight. Drain and pessure cook adding the onion paste until just about soft, as you might be cooking this again along with the rice.

Wash the spinach well. Wash the rice and drain.

Roast the dry condiments and powder to a very fine texture. Keep aside.

Place your pressure pan or cooker on the stove, heat ghee in it. Add the bay leaf, cloves and cardamoms. Toss them for two minutes and drop the chopped onions.

Saute until the onions are translucent and add the drained rice with the salt. Keep tossing until the rice is shining.

Add to this the cooked rajma and the chopped greens. Add two cups of water. Cover and pressure cook until 1 whistle.

Allow the pressure to reduce. Open the lid and drop the powdered masala in. Mix well.

Serve hot with any raita.

This rice goes to Sunita's Think spice being hosted at Priya's easy n tasty recipes with

Coriander seeds and,

to

Indira's JFI event currently collecting Rajma @ Divya's Dil Se.

Corn Methi Pulav

This recipe has been adapted from the Cooking Under Ten Minutes by Tarla Dalal.
I have altered to suit availability of ingredients and the taste fancies of the two people who would eat it, my husband and myself.
Last weekend, my husband had to work as he does once every third weekend. I cooked this rapid cooking menu and sent his lunch.
The menu consisted of Corn and Methi Pulav, cucumber raita and roasted baby potatoes.
It is a real quick-fix lunch.

For the Corn- Methi pulav you need:
1 cup uncooked Basmati rice
1 small bunch of methi leaves, washed and leaves separated, but not cut
¼ cup frozen ready to use sweet corn kernels
1 small bay leaf
1 cardamom whole
3 cloves
2’’ stick cinnamon
1 red onion small, sliced well
Coarsely powdered black pepper
¼ teaspoon garam masala (optional)
Salt to taste
2 – 3 teaspoons ghee
Wash basmati rice well and drain.
Heat ghee in a pressure pan, add the spices first and toss them for some time.
Add the onion slices and continue until the onions are translucent. Add the washed rice and roast for 2 minutes before adding the methi leaves, corn and salt.
Add two cups of water and pressure cook until one whistle before switching off the stove.
Open, mix well and serve hot with raita.

I would tell, if I remember...that far back

There is this event hosted by Shama of easy2cook recipes. She wants to know what was somebody's first cooking adventure. At 48, I guess it is very hard to recollect that far back. However, I have a vivid memory of my first flop puris...they failed for combined reasons period!! But after pouring my heart out to a very understanding, elderly colleague, I learnt to correct more than one fault, with her guidence ...and that was not only related tocooking.

But that is not all this post is about. I will share here the first solo cooking experience of my dorm-living daughter. She cooked this meal all by herself and had friends over for dinner. She has taken pictures with her E71 and mailed me. Have a look and say what you think :-)

As of me, I'm very proud to display these because at her age, I only knew what my Quantum Physics and Optics books discussed. I never bothered to lift a ladle then, there was no necessity to; there were always paati or amma around and to help them out our Velamma.

Now peek into my darling child's adventures in her very own kitchen... and what a lovely dorm, I'm amazed at the fridge and cooking range they have provided for them, sigh!

Her breakfast rcipe to me was,
made a mixed vegetable curry to go with bread.. just played around with the spices and vegetables... :)

and this was the breakfast

What amused me was, she put this up on facebook and one of her seniors, a grad school student wanted the recipe and I've cut and pasted below their exchange and her recipe too :)

Nivedita replied after your comment on Niki Shetty's photo album:
"how did you make that??? TELL TO MEEEEE!"

Niki replied after your comment on her photo album:
"sureeee! :) its just capsicum and tomatoes.. use cumin, mustard seeds, curry leaves to thaalichukotify ;) add the chopped tomatoes and saute until they lose their raw taste.. that should give u ur base. microwave ur capsicum until its cooked. add this to ur tomatoes and let it cook. add salt and turmeric powder and stir them in and ur done! :)
i forgot to microwave the peppers, so i had to add more water and let it cook in the pan for like 10 to 15 mins.. i guess it'll work fast if u run ur veggies through the microwave.. lemme noe how it works if u make it :D"

Served this with mixed vegetable rice :)

What do you say???

I'm posting this off to Shama's ongoing event The First Cooked Food event.

Vegetables and Legumes Pulao

When I signed up for a membership with Tarla Dalal’s web site, they sent me two of her lovely cookbooks. I read them like how a child would read bedtime stories. Most recipes work out just excellent. She has put in her comments for each, which by themselves, are interesting . Whenever I try a recipe I add my comment under them with the date that I tried it first.
This pulao is adapted from her “ DESI KHANA- The Best of Indian Vegetarian Cooking “ book. She has a write up of vegetable and lentil pullao. The masala was different from my usual and it was a baked dish. That intrigued me and I substituted the thuvar dhal she had used in the original recipe by legumes of my choice and availability. This was the first time I made this and of course my notes are going on the book for later reference. Incidentally the same book has a pulao with legumes too.




Ingredients:
For the rice:
½ cup uncooked rice
1/3 cup soaked legumes of your choice ( I’ve used whole moong, black chick peas, fava beans, green peas and black eye beans.)
¼ cup vegetables (carrots, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, bell pepper – cut as thin long strips and boiled.)
1 onion sliced fine and fried.
(Tarla Dalal had added some saffron to the rice.)
Salt to taste.
For the curry:
½ cup curds
1 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon sugar (optional.)
To be ground into a pate for the curry:
1 onion
Few kasmiri chillies
1’’ piece of ginger
1clove garlic
1 teaspoon cooking poppy seeds (khus-khus)
1 cardomom
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
Other ingredients:
1 teaspoon ghee for greasing the baking dish.





Method
Cook the rice until tender but grains are separated. Cool on a flat dish.
Cook the legumes until tender. Add some salt and mix with boiled vegetables. Keep aside.
Heat ghee in a pan and cook the curry until raw flavour subsides and ghee starts to separate. Cool and add the yoghurt. Mix well.
Preheat oven to 230 degrees C.
Grease baking tin with ghee. Spread fried onions in a layer. Then, make layers of the rice, legumes and gravy alternating them until all of each is used up.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Turn the baking dish over on a flat dish and serve hot with any raita of choice.
The yoghurt is used to give the pulao a tangy taste. The end dish had also the feel of having used crumbled paneer/tofu.
Using yoghurt is optional, the masala by itself is aromatic and sufficient. And by substituting ghee, a thoroughly vegan version can be enjoyed.

I would love to send this pulao to MLLA-13 Event, hosted by Harini of Sunshinemoms blog initiated by Susan.

Tomato Rice - Lalitha's recipe

Tomato rice is one of the most voted dishes at our home.I have collected about a dozen recipes for tomato rice alone. The very first being my mom's longtime maid's to the most recent from Anupama's blog. Meantime, my friend Lalitha makes this yummy rice. Each recipe is unique. I simply love all of them for the variety.

Yesterday was my husband's star birthday. I had wanted to send something special for his lunch. Breakfast is always lowkey as he leaves for work at 6 in the morning. I was planning Bhel puri for evening to be followed by very light dinner. So I set out to make a proper lunch. I made this tomato rice, mixed vegetable raitha and aloo pudina chaat. I shall post this Aloo recipe sometime soon, because I want all of you to enjoy the tomato rice.

Ingredients:
Raw rice - 2 cups (best to use normal rice than aromatic )

Tomato paste -150 grams (I pureed few tomatoes as I didn't have tomato paste)

Tomatoes - 2 medium (chopped)

Onions - 2 medium (chopped)

Green chillies -2 (slit and deseeded)

Ginger - 1"piece (chopped)

Cinnamon -1"stick

Cloves - 4 pieces

Bay leaf - 1 small leaf

Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala powder - 1 teaspoon

Jaggery -2 teaspoons (powdered)

Curry leaves and coriander leaves - for garnish

Ghee 2 -3 tablespoons

Salt - to taste

Wash rice, cook in a heavy pan or pressure cooker adding some ghee and salt.( I tossed it in ghee few minutes prior to cooking). Cook till rice is tender but grains retain shape. Keep aside to cool.

You might cook rice adding the spices too as they will impart their flavour to the rice.

Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a pan, add the spices (if you omitted in the rice), chillies, ginger and onion. Toss these for a few minutes until onions are translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook further till ghee separates.

Pour the tomato paste with 1/2 cup of water in the pan.

Add salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder and the garam masala powder. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add the jaggery.

When the gravy has been well blended add rice. Stirring occassionally cover and cook for ten minutes until rice is well coated red and looks glossy.

Add the remaining ghee and take off the stove.

Garnish with curryleaves and coriander.

Serve with raitha.

Sambhar saadham

Way back in 2000, I was looking for an authentic recipe for Bisi bele baath and found one very interesting on Mr. Hemant Trivedi's cookery corner. I printed a copy of the same and have been using it ever since. It turned out so well that I keep his recipe of sambhar powder handy at all times. My mother goes one step ahead. She has also kept the special masala readymade by dry roasting the ingredients. Lately, I read in one of the blogs that the authentic BBB does not include shallots. So, I dropped the BBB title and simply call it Sambhar saadham.

This recipe features on our dining table whenever, I need to empty my fridge before a visit to the green grocer.Depending on the type of veggie I have left over, the menu transforms as pulav, avial, kootu etc.

I have stuck to Mr. Trivedi's recipe mostly, only the quantity of rice, dhal and veggies vary.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Thuvar dhal - 1/3 cup

Mixed vegetables (cut in big pieces) - 1/2 cup

Shallots -1/4 cup

Tamarind -1 medium lemon size ball.

Salt to taste

Sambhar powder (recipe below) - 2 teaspoons

Masala powder (recipe below) - 1/2 teaspoon

Grated copra - 3 tablespoons

Ghee - 3 tablespoons

Turmeric powder -1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds -2 teaspoons

Curry leaves, Coriander leaves - for garnish

Peel the Madras onions and retain in full pieces.

Extract pulp from tamarind to make about 1/2 cup of extract.

Cook vegetables separately according to their cooking time and mix them.

Cook dhal in a pressure cooker until tender but retains form.

Cook the rice a bit longer than regular. (as for curd rice or pongal).

Roast the grated copra until very bright red and flavoursome.

In a pan heat the ghee. Put in the mustard seeds and let them crackle.

Add shallots and saute them until they are brown. Pour the tamarind extract, add turmeric powder, salt and sambhar powder.

On medium heat let the tamarind extract simmer and reduce in volume.

Meantime add the cooked vegetables to the same and let it simmer.

After about 10 minutes add the cooked dhal and let it boil.

Now carefully transfer the rice and mix well not allowing it to stick to the pan. Stirring occassionally, let the rice and sambhar mix well.

Add the copra and the masala powder. Mix thoroughly. Take off the heat and garnish with curry and coriander leaves.

A very delectable one dish meal is ready to be served hot with anything from roasted potatoes to just crisps.

Sambhar powder:

Redchillies -1 cup

Dhania -3/4 cup

Urad dhal -1/2 tablespoon

Channa dhal - 1/2 tablespoon

Thuvar dhal - 1/2 table spoon

Black pepper -1/2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder -1 teaspoon

Asafoetida -1 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 3-4 sprigs

Fenugreek -1/4 teaspoon

Mustard -1/4 teaspoon

Cumin seeds ( optional) -2 teaspoons

Dry roast all the above ingredients individually. Then mix them in the still warm kadai. Close with a lid while it has cooled down slightly (so that no water condenses) and let it stand so for about an hour. Powder them coarsely. Store in airtight bottles. ( Mr. Trivedi says this will serve only for 3 or 4 times as he is not in favour of storing these powders for long lest they lose aroma.)

( But I store them. They keep well in our fridge for atleast two months.)

Masala powder:

2"X 4 pieces cinnamon

7 numbers cloves

25 grams Maratta moggu.(A unique spice.) if you don't find them, I guess it is okay. I use less than 25 grams.

10 pieces red chillies if they are spicy or slightly more.

In a pan, put some ghee (I dry roast this also), and add the maratta moggu on medium fire until it cracks open slightly.

Immediately remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, roast the redchillies and other ingredients on very low flame for exactly a minute and a half.

Add to the maratta moggu, let them cool. then powder not so fine, but coarse to touch.

Vaangibaath

Yesterday, after posting a comment for one of my dishes, Niki, my daughter mailed updating her Summer class schedule etc. in order that we plan our chats and calls accordingly. I mailed back filling in news here as it is almost a week that she left home. I promised to post more of recipes that she and her friends can fix amidst their crazy class and labs that seem to fill their days.

This will be one such recipe. Best of it will be that she can put it in her one nonstick pan and get done with if she chooses to. However, the microwave enthusiast that I am, I used more plates and dishes than she would :(

I've tried to simplify specifically with those foursome in mind. You are free to chop, grate or grind masalas to make it taste better.

Ingredients:
Brinjals (tender ) -200 grams
Basmati Rice - 150 ml
Coriander powder -2 teaspoons
Red Chillies -2 pieces
Very thin tamarind extract - 1 tablespoon
Shallots (Madras onions ) - few
Garlic - 2 cloves
Roasted peanuts - 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves - few
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Oil or ghee - 2 tablespoons
Garam masala powder - if desired, in some small quantity.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - to taste

Wash and cut brinjals. Wash basmati rice and cook till tender but grains separate. Crush the garlic and shallots coarsely or simply chop.

Heat oil in a pan, crackle mustard seeds. Drop the red chillies, onions and garlic in the pan. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and roasted peanuts. Saute for few minutes and put in the brinjal and tamarind extract. Add salt and cook brinjal until pieces are tender. With the fire low, add the cooked rice and mix well. Garnish with curry leaves just before switching fire off.




Serve hot with crisps and any pachchidi.