VEG BUTTER GARLIC RICE !!!!!

I got this delicious recipe from my gorgeous & dear friend Mangala. She doesn't believe in clicking pics & posting them, but an ace cook & dedicates most of her time to her family which makes her ideal woman. This is a stomoch filing healthy & tasty  dish & perfect for lunch box/lunch/dinner/parties.

INGREDIENTS:-

Cooked basmathi rice- 1 cup
garlic chopped - 4 pods
spring oinions, chopped & white & greens seperated - 2
button mushrooms, chopped - 1 cup
Mixed bell peppers(to look colourful), chopped - 1 cup
byadgi chillies - 1 or 2( you can more just to get a little flavour)
salt to taste
butter - as required

METHOD:-

1. In a pan heat butter, add chopped garlic& fry until it becomes little reddish & then add chillies & fry for a minute or two.
2. Then add whites of onion & cook till transparent.
3. Then add chopped mushrooms & bell peppers & cook on medium flame till ust done(not too soft)
4. Add salt & mix well.
5. Now mix cooked basmathi rice & mix well on low flame for few minutes.
6. Garnish with spring onion greens & serve hot with gravy.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))

BENGALI HOLUD MISHTI PULAO !!!!!!!

Bengali holud mishti pulao is nothing but saffron flavoured rice with nuts. Its a Bengali delicacy & little sweetish in taste. I adapted this recipe from ARCHANA'S KITCHEN. I skipped mace powder & added chopped almonds instead of pistachio. & added button mushrooms too.

INGREDIENTS:-              

basmathi rice - 1 cup                                                               

green peas, steamed - 1 cup
button mushrooms, sliced - 1/2 cup
salt - 1/2 tsp
star anise - 1
ginger, grated - 1 inch
sugar - 2 tblsp
nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
bay leaves -h 2
cinnamon stick, roughly torn - 1 inch
cardamom pods - 3
cloves - 3
mace powder - 1/2 tsp(i skipped this)
saffron strands - few

For seasonitng:-

ghee - 3 tblsp
cashew nuts, halved - 2 tblsp
raisins - 2 tblsp
almonds, roughly chopped - 2 tblsp or pistachio

METHOD:-

1. Cook washed & drained rice in pressure by adding 1 tblsp ghee, grated ginger + 2 cups of water until done.i
2. Once done, allow it to rest.
3, Steam sliced mushrooms & green peas, drain & keep aside.
4. In a small pan, roast he nuts & spices in ghee on medium hea until golden brown then add saffron.
5. Turn off the heat & stir in the steamed green peas & sliced mushrooms along with cooked rice & sugar into the roasted nuts.
 6. Serve hot either with Shorshe Ilish(hisla in mustard sauce) or Bengali doi maach. 

HAPPY COOKING :)))))))

Vegetable Cooker Biriyani !!!!!!

My today's recipe VEGETABLE  COOKER BIRIYANI is from SWASTHI'S RECIPES. Easy to make & yummy to eat 👍

Ingredients (240 ml cup used)

1 ½ cup of basmathi rice (soaked for at least 10 mins)
1 potato cubed
1 carrot chopped
Fistful of green peas
1 onion sliced
1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
Fistful of mint leavesCoriander leaves (optional)
1 to 2 green chili
1 tbsp. lemon juice (optional)
1 ½ to 2 tsp. Biryani Masala Powder (adjust to suit your taste)
2 ½ cups water or thin coconut milk2 to 3 tbsp.
Oilfried capsicum for garnish (optional)

Dry spices

1 bay leaf
4 green cardamoms
1 star anise
Two 1 inch cinnamon stick
6 cloves½ tsp. shahi jeera
Few pepper corn (optional)

For garnishing:

Few cashew nuts
Chopped mint & coriander leaves

How to make the recipe

Prepration

Soak rice for at least 10 minutes. Drain the water and set aside.Chop all the veggies and mint.

Making veg biryani

1. Add oil to a pressure cooker and heat it.
2. Add spices and fry till you get a nice aroma for one to 2 minutes. 
3. Fry onions until golden. 
4. Add ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell has gone.
5. Add all chopped vegetables, fry for about 2 minutes.
6. Add mint leaves, biryani masala and saute for 2 more minutes.
7. Measure and pour water or coconut milk, salt and lemon juice.
8. When the water begins to boil, add rice and stir
9. Close the lid and let the cooker whistle once on a low flame. 
10. Off the stove and when the pressure goes down, open the lid and fluff up.
11. Serve veg biryani with raita

Notes

If your rice is not cooked, just sprinkle some water and cover with a loose lid and cook for few more mins
If your rice becomes mushy, reduce the qty of water the next time you cook.
You can use store bought biryani masala powder. Using too much of masala powder can make your biryani bitter. So adjust the powder according to your taste.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))

MOONG DAL KHICHDI !!!!

 I am posting recipes tried & tasted by me after a long gap. Took a break inbetween 😜 I adopted this recipe from HEBBAR'S KITCHEN. Must say this is healthy & yummy recipe 👍 But in a hurry i forgot to add turmeric powder, hence the colour.

                 (After adding turmeric powder)

Ingredients

• ½ cup sona masuri rice
• ½ cup moong dal
• 1 medium green chili
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ inch ginger
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 medium onion
• ½ tbsp mustard seeds
• ½ tbsp jeera
• pinch hing
• 5 curry leaves
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil
• 3 cups water
• ½ tbsp turmeric powder

Instructions ( 1 cup =255 ml)

1. finely chop onion, tomato, ginger, chilli and coriander leaves. keep them aside.
2. take moong dal and rice in equal proportion.
3. wash and rinse rice and moong dal. add 3 cups of water to 1 cup of rice and dal combined together
4. cook it for 3-4 whistles. depending upon your cooker.
5. meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing.
6. when mustard seeds start spluttering, add onions. saute them till golden brown
7. once onions turns golden brown, add ginger garlic. fry them till raw smell goes away.
8. now add chilli and saute for a minute.
9. add tomatoes and fry on medium flame.
10. fry tomatoes till they turn mushy.
11. open your cooker once the pressure is released. add some water if the consistency is thick.
12. now add the masala over the cooked rice-lentils and mix well.
13. keep on low flame to simmer the khichdi till you get the right consistency.
14. yummy, tasty and healthy moong dal kichidi is ready 

1.   HAPPY COOKING :))))))))                                              

CASHEWNUT FRIED RICE !!!!!!

Ingredients

• 3 cups cold cooked Rice,
• 1-1/2 cups of mixed Vegetables, see Tips
• 2-3 Spring Onions, finely sliced, greens and whites divided
• 1/2 cup Cashews, see Tips
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1" Ginger, peeled and julienned
• 1 tsp Chilli Sesame Oil, see Tips
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce, or to taste, see Tips
• Salt and white Pepper to taste

Method

1. To make my life easier, I used frozen combo mix of veggies. It contains carrots, beans, peas and corn. I have another packet of shelled frozen edamame that also went into this recipe for the protein factor. I steamed them for few seconds.

2. Keep everything ready before starting the wok on high heat. Once hot, add chilli sesame oil. Add the cashews to it and stir until golden. Set aside.

3. In the same wok, add the spring onion whites, celery, ginger and garlic. Stir for 6-7 seconds or until aromatic.

4. Then add the steamed vegetables along with snow peas. Stir for another 5-6 seconds.

5. Next goes the sliced mushrooms. Stir for another 10 seconds.

6. Now add the soy sauce (and/or chilli sauce if using) and cook for 10-15 seconds.

7. Add the cooled/cold rice

8. and mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper (or additional soy sauce/chilli oil).

9. Add the cashews

10. and mix until combined.

11. Garnish with Spring onion greens and serve hot with any accompaniment of your choice. 

HAPPY COOKING :))))))))))))

LEMON CASHEWNUT RICE !!!!!

Today after so many days tried a recipe with rice :D.  LEMON CASHEWNUT RICE...i found this recipe similar as our CHITHRANNA,,,a popular breakfast dish of Karnataka. Only difference is in this recipe, we add cumin powder, red chilly powder & instead of ground nuts, we add cashew nuts. Taste is almost similar. I adopted this recipe from TASTE.COM.AU. Here, i followed pressure cooker method but you can follow orignal method too. Will mention in METHOD how i followed pressure cooker method.

INGREDIENTS:-

• • 
    
  •  2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•  1 brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
•  1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
•  1 teaspoon ground turmeric
•  1 teaspoon ground cumin
•  2 teaspoons mustard seeds
•  12 fresh curry leaves
•  1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
•  400g (2 cups) Basmati Rice
•  500ml (2 cups) water
•  80g (1/2 cup) raw cashews
•  60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice

METHOD:-

1. Step 1
   Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until golden.
2. Step 2
   Add the garlic, turmeric, cumin, mustard seeds, curry leaves and chilli powder, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Add the rice and cook, stirring to coat, for 30 seconds.
3. Step 3
   Add the stock. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Cover. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Set aside, covered, for 5 minutes to stand.
4. Step 4
   Meanwhile, place cashews in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Coarsely chop.
5. Step 5
   Transfer the rice mixture to a serving bowl. Stir in the lemon juice. Top with the toasted cashews to serve.

OR

Follow STEP 1 & STEP 2 in pressure cooker. & add 4 cups of water for 2 cups of basmati rice & take 3 whistles. Let the pressure release. & follow STEP 4 & STEP 5.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))

SPINACH KHICHDI / PALAK KHICHDI !!!!!

My today's recipe is from the blog VEG RECIPES OF INDIA. According to her...palak khichdi – here is a one pot meal of moong lentils and rice khichdi with spinach (palak) and peanuts . easy to prepare as well as healthy and light on the stomach. In this palak khichdi, the addition of spinach and peanuts gives a lot of nutrition boost to the otherwise healthy khichdi. An ideal meal for dinner.

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 2 cups chopped palak/spinach                                         
  
• ¼ or ⅓ cup raw peanuts
• ½ cup moong dal/yellow mung lentils
• ½ cup long grained rice or basmati rice
• 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium size tomato, chopped
• 1 medium size potato, chopped
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf/tej patta(i skipped this)
• 2 cloves
• 2 green cardamoms
• ½ tsp caraway seeds/shah jeera or cumin seeds/jeera
• ½ inch ginger + 3-4 garlic, crushed in a mortar-pestle to a paste or 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 green chilli/hari mirch, chopped
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
• a pinch of asafoetida/hing * check notes ( iskipped this)
• salt as required
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. pick and rinse both the rice and moong dal together. soak them together in enough water for about 30 mins.
2. rinse the palak or spinach leaves well. chop them and then in a mixer or blender, make a smooth puree of the spinach adding very little water. keep the spinach puree aside.
3. heat ghee or oil in the pressure cooker. add the caraway seeds or cumin seeds, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves and cardamoms.
4. fry the whole spices for some seconds till they become fragrant. add the finely chopped onion and saute till they become golden.
5. add the ginger-garlic paste and the chopped green chilies. saute for about 15-20 seconds or till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away.
6. then add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they begin to soften.
7. add the turmeric powder and asafoetida and stir well.
8. now add the peanuts, potatoes and saute for about 2 minutes.
9. add the spinach puree and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes.
10. strain the rice and moong dal and add them to the spinach mixture. stir well.
11. pour 3.5 to 4 cups water. add salt and stir well.
12. check the taste and if required add some more salt. pressure cook on medium flame for 5 to 6 minutes.
13. once the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid. check the consistency of the khichdi.
14. if the khichdi looks thick, then you can add some hot water and simmer for a few minutes.
15. remember to stir often as otherwise the khichdi gets stuck at the bottom. if the khichdi appears thin, then simmer till you get the desired consistency.
16. while serving, pour the palak khichdi in bowls or plates and top with ½ to 1 tsp of ghee.
17. serve the palak khichdi hot with plain curd/yogurt or raita or a simple vegetable salad.

NOTES

skip the asafoetida for a gluten free version of this khichdi.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))