Vegetable Pulao - Another One Pot Meal

This post is literally hot off the stove. I made it, took the pictures while it was still steaming, had lunch and came up to write this post. So here it is .
Don't you just love Sunday afternoon meals? I think this day in particular lends itself very well to a one pot meal consisting mainly of rice followed by a very quick leap into the bed for a nice afternoon siesta. Though, here I have to admit that I did not have the aforementioned siesta. But I still enjoyed the afternoon, tucking into the pulao and spending time with the family.
Except for the lack of protein in this meal, I pack it with a LOT of vegetables. My kids complain about it all the time saying that it has more veggies than rice but I simply cannot help myself. I feel every meal needs to be nourishing and good for the body in some form or the other.
This pulao is different from a biryani in that there are no tomatoes used.  It is just a different tasting dish. A lot milder actually and not so full of spices and masalas. Quite delicious to say the least.

Now for the recipe.

This recipe serves 6-8 people for a meal in itself.

INGREDIENTS:

Masala Paste

Garlic 8 cloves
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Green Chillis - 4
Cardamom - 4 pods
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Mint leaves - about 1/4 cup


Basmati rice - 3 cups
Onions - 3 sliced
Bayleaf - 3-4
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Ghee/ Oil - 3 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Carrots - 1cup diced ( About 350 grams)
Cauliflower - 1 cup cut into small florets
Beans - 1 cup diced
Peas - 1 cup

Coriander leaves 2 tablespoons


METHOD:

Grind the masala paste ingredients with a little water till it is a fines paste.

Soak the Basmati rice in water for about half an hour.

Heat ghee/oil (or a combination of the two) on a medium flame.

Add the cumin seeds and bay leaf till the cumin turns golden.

Add the sliced onions and fry till it turns translucent and then add the masala paste.

Fry well. Add the vegetables other than the cauliflower.

Drain and add the rice. Fry for a few minutes.

Add  4-5 cups of water, salt cauliflower and coriander leaves.

Cook in a pressure cooker or a rice cooker till just done.

Serve hot with onion raita.


ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

Vangi Bhaath And Old Memories

One of the least eaten or liked vegetables has to be brinjals aka aubergines or egg plant. For some reason, this is a very acquired taste. But this was one vegetable that was cooked regularly at home in one form or the other. I think one reason for this has to be that it is my mother's favorite veggie. She made it in so many different ways and made sure that all her kids loved it as much as she did. One never realises how many different ways the same veggie can be made until such time that we sit down and start writing about it. It then hits you like a tonne of bricks that this was the same veggie in an entirely new avatar.

But I had never eaten vangi bhath till I got married. Thats when my mother in law mentioned this dish for the very first time. Loving brinjal as much as I do, I was totally excited about the combination of rice and brinjal. The icing on the cake was the fact that the end product had a very sweet, spicy and tangy taste all at the same time. Quickly learnt how to make it and it has been a staple on our dining table ever since.

Very easy to make particularly with the MTR Vangi bhath masala so readily available.


Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice
1 1/2 cups brinjal cut up into little bits
3 tablespoons gingelly oil
2 tablespoons cashewnuts
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves
2 tablespoons MTR Vangi bhath masala powder
1 lemon sized ball tamarind soaked in water and juice extracted
1 teaspoon powdered jaggery


Method

Mix the tamarind juice, vangi bhath powder and jaggery till well blended.
Heat one tablespoon oil. Fry the cashewnut bits till golden brown. Keep aside.
Heat the remaining oil. Fry the mustard seeds till they crackle. Add the curry leaves and then the brinjal bits.
When well fried, add the tamarind/vangi powder paste to it. Cook till raw smell of tamarind disappears.
Add the cooked rice to this and mix well till the masala coats each grain of rice well.
Garnish with the cashewnuts and serve hot with papads.

Vangi Bhath Masala Powder:

Grated coconut- 3 tablespoons
Chana dal - 2 tablespoons
Urad dal - 2 tablespoons
Coriander seeds- 2 tablespoons
Sesame seeds- 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cloves - 2
Green Cardamom - 1
Jeera - ¼ teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds- ¼ teaspoon
Red chillies - 5
Cinnamon- 1" piece
Asafoetida - a pinch



Heat a pan and dry roast the grated coconut till a light golden colour and keep it aside.
Roast red chillies to light brown color and keep aside. Dry roast all other ingredients. When cool, grind all the roasted ingredients together to a fine powder.

Joys of Grocery Shopping and Layered Biryani

Let me take a poll out here. How many of you enjoy, really enjoy your grocery shopping? Please do let me know because I would like to know if I am in the minority out here.


If there is one thing I really enjoy, I think it has to be grocery shopping. I get such immense pleasure in picking out the perfect fruit and vegetables. I drool at the sight of the piles and piles of fresh, glistening with goodness, produce. Can you imagine, I have the patience to pick out Ladies Finger ( should that be fingers? as I pick so many of them) one by one and I need little over 2 kilos each time to feed my large family who have a real weakness for the veggie. Anyway, I think foodie that I am, I can take any amount of time and it is never a pain for me to go veggie shopping. I pick each one up lovingly, take in its delectable aroma, happily contemplating what it will end up as.... It is just so satisfying.


Anyway now on to the Layered Biryani...



I have been in a culinary rut the last couple of months and have been sticking to "same ole same ole" ( my kids words, not mine). We are in that " Mom, dont we know any other type of vegetables to make for dinner?" refrain.

Anyway, thought why not make layered biryani. Always sounds so good and this was particularly easy to make (the final product looked like I had slaved over the stove though, which was a wonderful thing)


Ingredients:

3 large onions, sliced finely and deep fried till golden brown.

2 teacups of mixed vegetables diced into big pieces ( you can use cauliflower, carrots, beans, potatoes, peas etc).
4 green chillis
1/4 cup chopped coriander
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
2 teaspoons ginger/garlic paste
30 grams of Biryani masala powder
1 teacup curd

3 cups basmati rice
salt to taste
2 cloves, cardamom each
1 inch piece cinnamon
1 teaspoon jeera ( Cumin seeds)
2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons Ghee

few strands saffron soaked in 3 tablespoons of hot water

Method:

Heat oil. Add chopped vegetables, 2/3 of the fried onions, chopped coriander leaves, chopped mint leaves, curd, biryani masala and salt to taste. Can add 1/4 cup water if required.

Cook well till the oil comes out on the sides and the vegetables are 80 % done but still have a crunch in them.

Simultaneously, heat the ghee in another pan. Add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, jeera and the bay leaves. Add the basmati rice, fry for a couple of minutes and then add 5 cups of hot water and salt to taste.

Cook till 80 % done. Drain extra water if there is.

Layer the vegetable mixture in the serving dish. Top with the rice. Sprinkle the saffron water over the rice to add a little colour. Sprinkle the remaining fried onions on top along with 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander.

Cover and bake in the oven for about 15 minute. This will result in the grains of rice getting cooked completely yet remaining separate.

Serve hot with raita of choice.

Mint Rice, Pudina Pulao

When we start something new, there is always a lot of encouragement from friends and family. This was the case with me even in the case of this blog. Everyone lent me helping hand. In telling people about the blog, suggesting recipes, helping with the layout etc. But the sweetest thing happened to me today.

I was keen on submitting a recipe for one of these monthly events. Saw that this months JFI called for recipes based on rice. Sister in law suggested that I make this mint pulao. So today being a holiday, I said no time like now ( as Kabeer so wisely said - "kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab, pal me pralay hogi, bahuri karoge kab" ( translation- do tomorrow's work today and today's work now. If even a moment is lost, then how will the work get done? )

Started chopping, grinding etc etc... Finished making the pulao, took all the mandatory pictures and went upstairs to check them out.

Came down after a bit and saw my father in law waiting to have his lunch. It was already late so I asked him... how come so late?. He sweetly said " I was wondering if I could start eating as I was not sure you finished taking your pictures." I was just so touched.

Rice is an integral part of Indian cuisine. Every region uses rice in some form or the other whether in main dishes, or sweets or snacks...

Mint pulao is a happy mix of tastes from all round the country. This is my entry for JFI: Rice.



Recipe:

Masala paste 1:

2" piece of ginger
6 garlic cloves
4 green chillies
1 onion

Masala paste 2:

2 bunches pudina (mint) leaves
1 bunch coriander leaves


3 onions sliced finely
3 cups basmati raw rice
Salt to taste

1 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
3 cloves
3 cardamom pods
1" piece cinnamon
2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons Oil
1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

2 carrots diced
1/2 cup peas shelled

Method:

Make a paste adding a little water with ingredients for masala paste 1.
Next grind mint and coriander leaves together to make masala paste 2.


Heat oil and ghee together in a kadai on medium heat. When oil is hot, add jeera, when it sizzles add cloves, cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon.
Fry for 3-4 minutes till fragrant .


Add masala paste 1. Fry well till it starts looking cooked (you can add the salt at this stage as sometimes it starts sticking to the pan. Salt will help in the frying process and reduce the sticking).

Add sliced onions. Fry well till everything starts turning a light brown. Add the mint/coriander leaves paste, the carrots, peas and the rice.


Put into the rice cooker adding 5 cups of water. Cook till done


Served here accompanied by a Boondi raita.