Showing posts with label rice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rice. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

CARROT PANEER PULAO

Hello everyone 

Some times we don't feel like to prepare a huge dinner/lunch spread but also don't want to serve khichadi or Dalia then this one is a perfect fuss free one pot healthy meal for everyone in your family, as kids too love this tempting combo of paneer carrots and rice. 
It is so healthy and easy recipe that anyone can try without fail, at the same time super yummy too. You should must give it a try if you too have fussy eaters like mine, believe me you will never regret.
Stepwise recipe is given below, hope you will like it and definitely give it a try.

CARROT PANEER PULAO




Serves: 4-5
Time: 45 mins

Ingredients 

2 medium carrots, grated 
2 cup rice (preferably basmati or aged rice)
1 cup paneer (cottage cheese), cut in small pieces
medium onion, finely chopped  
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste 
2-3 green chillies, slitted 
8-10 cashews, broken in half ( lengthwise), optional (I skipped)
1 tsp ghee or butter
1 1/2 tsp oil
1/2 lemon
Salt to taste

For tempering:

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
4 cloves
4 green cardamom 
1 inch piece cinnamon stick
3-4 whole dry red chillies 


Method:

First of all wash rice and soak it in 2 cup water for 20 mins. 




Now Heat ghee and oil in a thick bottomed vessel, add cashews and fry till little golden , remove on a tissue paper then fry paneer till golden,sprinkle some salt and toss so that it will not taste bland in rice and keep them aside for later use.



 Now add all spices of tempering section in the same oil and saute till everything crackled and become aromatic. Be careful while sautéing so not to burn spices. Now add green chillies and chopped onions, saute till nice golden then add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins. 



Add grated carrots  and cook stirring occasionally till its water gets evaporated and it gets cooked. Now add rice and fry for 2-3 mins .



Then add remaining water of rice and 2 cups of more water i.e. Double the amount of rice. Add salt and squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon in it. Let it cook at high flame, when it starts looking little dry on top then lower the flame and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 5 mins. Then switch off the flame.



 Let it sit for 5- 10 mins covered, then open the lid and add fried cashews and paneer to it and mix with light hand gently. Again rest it for 10 mins then serve.



 Your easy, yummy and super healthy rice is ready to be served with gravy dish or with simple raita. It taste best even if taken as it is, it doesn't need any thing else to go with. A simple one pot meal loved by everyone.



I soaked rice in exact 2 cup of water to spare me with any indecision of how much water to be added for cooking rice. As we know 2:1 water rice ratio is needed to cook nice fluffy rice, but when we soak it then it already absorb some water and then our ratio gets disturb. So avoid this situation I soaked in exact amount of water and then used the same in cooking too. This will ensure you to get nicely cooked fluffy rice. 
You can use any other veggies also as per your choice and availability. But then taste may change.



Hope you all will like this super healthy and yummy rice dish, so please drop down your valuable comments and suggestions, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

Thursday, September 17, 2015

VEG DUM BIRYANI

Hello everyone 

Veg dum biryani is a tempting treat for vegetarians who love biryani. Even my family prefer this over non vegetarian options. It's a simple yet flavourful combination of rice, veggies and spices.Though my way of cooking don't call for too much oil or butter hence this one is also one of the low calorie biryani compared to regular ones. This is also simple to cook and don't need any special utensil or technique, even then you can get quiet authentic taste. Step wise recipe is given below hope you all will definitely give it a try.

VEG DUM BIRYANI 




Serves: 4-5
Time: 1 hr

Ingredients 

For veggies:

3-4 cup chopped veggies ( carrots, beans, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, corn etc , as per availability)
1 cup soya chunks, soaked and squeezed 
1 1/2 cup paneer cubes( cottage cheese)
3 medium onions, thinly sliced 
3 green chillies, broken in halves 
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste or minced ginger garlic 
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp curry powder 
1 tsp biryani powder masala or chicken masala
1 tsp chicken masala
1/3 tsp turmeric powder 
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 
2 big tomatoes, finely chopped 
Salt to taste

For veggies Tempering:
3/4 tsp cumin seeds 
3/4 tsp fennel seeds 
4 green cardamom 
4 cloves 
8-10 black peppers
2 inches piece cinnamon 
1 piece mace ( optional)




For rice:

2 1/2 cup basmati or biryani rice, soaked for at least 30 mins
2 tsp ghee
3 1/2 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 tsp salt

For rice tempering:
1 star anise
4 green cardamom 
4 cloves
2 inches piece cinnamon 
1 tbsp cashews ( optional)



For layering:

1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped roughly 
1 tsp Kewda or rose water
Handful of cashews, fried till golden
Few strands of saffron or red , green and yellow edible colors 
1 big onion, thinly sliced and deep fried till golden brown 
2-3 tomatoes ,thin round sliced



Method:

Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a thick bottom wok and deep fry onions given under layering section, till golden brown and drain it on a kitchen towel or paper to get rid of excess oil. I grilled these onions in microwave till golden brown to avoid this excess calorie in my dish. You can use any way you prefer.
Now add some more oil in the wok and heat it. Add all the veggies tempering spices and saute till aromatic, nearly 2 mins, avoid burning. Now add sliced onions and green chillies, fry till golden then add ginger garlic mince or paste. Saute till raw smell of it goes off.



 Now add all powder spices and saute for 4-5 mins till spices get fried well. Now add all veggies and fry for 5 mins,stirring constantly. Now lower the flame , add some salt and cover it with lid. Cook for 10 mins or till veggies get cooked and tender, stirring occasionally.


In the mean while start preparing rice too. Heat ghee in a wide wok and add rice tempering spices,saute for 2 mins and add drained rice again saute for 2 mins ,add salt , lemon juice and water . Let it cook till 90% done but not completely soft. Sift rice in a sieve , may be some liquid will drain. You can use this in your veggies. 

Don't overcook otherwise you will end up with veggie khichadi. Use water as per requirement, as different rice needs different quantity of water. If you like to boil rice in enough water and drain, then you can do as per your comfort. But I don't drain as I think all the flavour of spices will goes off with it, so I use only required amount of water.






When veggie is tender, add chopped tomatoes and fry on high flame till they get mushy and cooked now add squeezed soya chunks and 1/4 cup water, cook covered so that soya chunks absorb all the flavours.



 Cook it on high flame to get nice semi dry veggie . Now add paneer cubes and cook for another 5 mins.Adjust salt and it's done.





Now for layering, divide veggies and rice in two to three equal parts. First of all arrange tomato slices at the bottom to avoid burning of veggies.Spread one layer of veggies then spread some of mint leaves all over it then sprinkle, red color or saffron strands soaked in milk. Now spread next part of rice on it evenly so that it cover whole veggies.Sprinkle 2 tbsp of milk on it, then sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Kewda or rose water, few drops of green colour ,spread half of fried or grilled brown onions , cashews and some of mint leaves on it. Similarly make another layer of veggies on it and rice layer. You can make 2-3 layers of each veggies and rice, as per your convenience and quantity.






Finally cover it well with an aluminum foil so that it can be put on dum. You can also seal it with dough.
Now keep a tawa on low flame and put this biryani pot on it and dum it for 20-25 mins. Switch of the flame and let it rest for at least 10-15 mins so that all the flavours and aroma of spices and essences get infused in whole dish. 



Your aromatic,easy, yummy and flavour full biryani is ready to be served with tomato onion raita.





Always try to cook rice and veggies simultaneously so that you will get nice fluffy biryani. Never cook rice too early otherwise it may stick. If it's not possible to cook both at a time then first cook veggies then go to rice.
You can use any veggies as per your choice or even boiled chickpeas, mushrooms etc can also be added.
Never mix biryani with spatula, always use a fork or best to flip it by tossing.
If you ran out of fresh mint leaves then can use crushed dry mint also.
It's a one pot meal that none of the biryani lover can refuse. Its aroma is sufficient to bring you to the dinning room. This can be a hit dish for any get together or family party. You need not to serve too many dishes with it only simple raita is enough to accompany it.




Hope you will definitely give it a try, it might be looking a long recipe but believe me it will not take your much effort and time . At last you will never regret for trying it, it's a must try recipe for all biryani lovers.
Please stop by and pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

Monday, July 13, 2015

TRADITIONAL IDLI, DOSA AND UTTAPAM WITH OATS

Hello everyone
I always found South Indian foods a real comforting food. Everyone likes idlis, doses, uttapams, sambhar etc  and I too a big fan of these soothing and light comforting food. As I always try to make little healthy changes in my regular cooking, in my previous idli recipe I used Dalia and this time going to introduce you with oats idlis but made in traditional way as soaking and fermentation is included in whole process. So why not give it a try, recipe is given below.

TRADITIONAL IDLI, DOSA AND UTTAPAM WITH OATS





Serves: 4-5
Time: 2 hrs( excluding soaking and fermentation time)

Ingredients 

1 cup split urad dal
1 cup oats
2 cup rice ( idli rice or any old variety rice)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds( methi)
1 fistful cooked rice or soaked poha ( flattened rice)
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Soak oats, rice +fenugreek seeds and dal separately for 3-4 hrs. Then grind dal using little water till light and tiny bubbles are visible in it. It will take nearly 15-20 mins for grinding each batch of dal, so have patience, as it's needed for good soft and spongy idlis. Now grind oats and rice + cooked rice or poha + methi to a smooth paste. Now mix all together and add salt. Give it a good stir and let it ferment overnight in a quit big vessel to avoid overflow of batter.
Always use little water at a time for grinding other wise you may end with runny batter. Idli batter should be as thick to be fall as a blob.
When it get nicely fermented it will become frothy. Ready your steamer or cooker with rolling boil water .Now grease idli molds and fill 2 tbsp batter in each of them and steam for 8-10 mins. Let it rest for 2 mins after done ,then scoop out warm idlis with wet spoon. Serve with your choice of chutneys and sambhar.




If you wish to make uttapam out of this batter then dilute a little. It's batter should be little thinner than idli batter and thicker than dosa batter. Thick pouring consistency batter. Now heat a non stick pan on medium heat, Apply some oil on it and pour 2-3 ladle full of batter on it and spread like a thick dosa. Sprinkle some finely chopped veggies ( grated carrots, finely chopped onions, tomatoes, capsicum,coriander leaves, chilies etc) over it and press lightly with a spatula so that they get nicely stick to batter. Cover it with lid and cook till upper sides looks dry, then flip it and cook for another 1-2 mins.



 Now your steaming hot spongy uttapam is ready to be served.



For making dosa, dilute batter further more till dosa batter consistency. Now heat nonstick dosa tawa on medium heat apply some oil and wipe it with tissue paper. Pour 1 ladle full of batter on it and spread  with light hand in circular motion outwards. Let it cook till brown patches are visible , then fold and serve with chutney and sambhar. 



Your crispy, crunchy dosa is ready. You can also stuff it with your choice of stuffing.




If you are soaking dal and rice over night then try to soak oats in the morning, it will be ready in 1/2 -1 hr. Overnight soaking of oats may leads to smelly batter. Don't  over ferment your batter , once it's done try to use it or keep it in fridge. Before using it let it come to room temperature for best result.

Your all the three South Indian delicacies are ready with the same batter, either enjoy at a time or have three times, different breakfast ,lunch and dinner . 



Hope you all will like this little healthy addition to this traditional recipe, pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....


Thursday, June 18, 2015

BOTTLE GOURD (LAUKI) BEETROOT RICE

Hello everyone 
Bottle gourd (lauki) is a vegetable, which is hated by many of kids and elders too. Though I love lauki but have above category members in my house too 😊 i.e. my kids. So always tried to feed them this veggie by making lauki halwa, plain lauki , lauki in gravy but all are just one time wonders and eaten with frowned faces. But today I tried to make a one pot meal with this unwanted veggie with a healthy touch of beetroot in it to make it even more healthier. And to my surprise it came out super delicious without too much fuss and effort, and the main thing is my fussy eaters too loved it.
I just like to thank one of my friend , who introduced me to her MIL's traditional recipe of lauki rice which inspired me to try this combo in my ways. So a big thanks to you Kavi, Kavita Maurya .
It is so healthy and easy recipe that anyone can try without fail, at the same time super yummy too. You should must give it a try if you too have fussy eaters like mine, believe me you will never regret.
Stepwise recipe is given below, hope you will like it and definitely try too.

BOTTLE GOURD( LAUKI) BEETROOT RICE






Serves: 3-4
Time: 45 mins

Ingredients 

2 cup grated bottle gourd (lauki)
1 1/2 cup rice (preferably basmati or old variety)
1 medium beetroot, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped  
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste 
2-3 green chillies, slitted 
8-10 cashews, broken in half ( lengthwise)
1 tsp ghee or butter
1 1/2 tsp oil
1/2 lemon
Salt to taste

For tempering:

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 cloves
2 green cardamom 
1/2 inch piece cinnamon stick
3-4 whole dry red chillies 



Method:

First of all wash rice and soak it in 1 cup water for 20 mins. 


Meanwhile boil beetroot with at least 3 cups of water, till tender. We will need this water for cooking rice.




Now Heat ghee and oil in a thick bottomed vessel, add cashews and fry till little golden and keep it aside for later use.



 Now add all spices of tempering section in the same oil and saute till everything crackled and become aromatic. Be careful while sautéing so not to burn spices. Now add green chillies and chopped onions, saute till nice golden then add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins. 



Add grated lauki and cook on high flame stirring occasionally till its water gets evaporated and it become nice dry lump. Now add rice and fry for 2-3 mins .



Then add remaining water of rice and 2 cups of beetroot stock. Add salt and squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon in it. Let it cook at high flame, when it starts looking little dry on top then lower the flame and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 5 mins. Then switch of the flame.



 Let it sit for 5- 10 mins covered, then open the lid and add fried cashews to it and mix with light hand gently. Again rest it for 10 mins then serve.



 Your easy, yummy and super healthy rice is ready to be served with gravy dish or with simple raita. It taste best even if taken as it is, it doesn't need any thing else to go with. A simple one pot meal loved by everyone.



I soaked rice in exact 1 cup of water to spare me with any indecision of how much water to be added for cooking rice. As we know 2:1 water rice ratio is needed to cook nice fluffy rice, but when we soak it then it already absorb some water and then our ratio gets disturb. So avoid this situation I soaked in exact amount of water and then used the same in cooking too. This will ensure you to get nicely cooked fluffy rice. 
If you don't want to add beetroot stock then add plain water in same amount, and can also add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder while adding ginger garlic paste if not using beetroot stock, to give nice golden color to your rice.



Hope you all will like this super healthy and yummy rice dish, so please drop down your valuable comments and suggestions, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

Sunday, May 31, 2015

EASY CHICKEN DUM BIRYANI

Hello everyone 
I am not too fond of nonveg dishes but also don't dislike, so use to cook occasionally. When it comes to biryani, I always choose to veg biryani . But both my brothers and hubby too ,like chicken biryani over veg version. But as we know skinless chicken breast is low fat and a good source of protein also ,So after making up my mind for long , finally I gave it a chance too and viola it was a hit. Though my way of cooking don't call for too much oil or butter hence this one is also one of the low calorie biryani compared to regular ones. This is also simple to cook and don't need any special utensil or technique, even then you can get quiet authentic taste. Step wise recipe is given below hope you all will definitely give it a try.

EASY CHICKEN DUM BIRYANI 




Serves: 4-5
Time: 1 hr

Ingredients 

For chicken:

1 kg boneless chicken breast, cubed
3 medium onions, thinly sliced 
3 green chillies, broken in halves 
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste or minced ginger garlic 
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder 
1 tsp biryani powder masala
2 tsp chicken masala
1/3 tsp turmeric powder 
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 
2 big tomatoes, finely chopped 
3/4 cup fresh thick yoghurt (curd), beaten
Salt to taste

For chicken Tempering:
3/4 tsp cumin seeds 
3/4 tsp fennel seeds 
4 green cardamom 
4 cloves 
8-10 black peppers
2 inches piece cinnamon 
1 inch thin piece mace



For marination:
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp biryani powder masala
1/2 tsp chicken masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/3 tsp turmeric powder 

For rice:

2 1/2 cup basmati or biryani rice, soaked for at least 30 mins
2 tsp ghee
3 1/2 cup water
1/3 tsp salt

For rice tempering:
1 star anise
4 green cardamom 
4 cloves
2 inches piece cinnamon 



For layering:

1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped roughly 
1 tsp Kewda or rose water
Handful cashews, fried golden
2-3 tomatoes, thin round sliced 
Few strands of saffron or red and yellow edible colors 
1 big onion, thinly sliced and deep fried till golden brown 



Method:

First of all marinate chicken with ingredients given under marination section. Gently rub it on all pieces and let it rest for 20 mins minimum.
Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a thick bottom wok and deep fry onions given under layering section, till golden brown and drain it on a kitchen towel or paper to get rid of excess oil. I grilled these onions in microwave till golden brown to avoid this excess calorie in my dish. You can use any way you prefer.
Now add some more oil in the wok and heat it. Add all the chicken tempering spices and saute till aromatic, nearly 2 mins, avoid burning. Now add sliced onions and green chillies, fry till golden then add ginger garlic mince or paste. Saute till raw smell of it goes off.



 Now add marinated chicken cubes and fry on high flame for 5 mins or till it get white from all sides ,stirring constantly. Now add all powder spices and saute for 4-5 mins till spices get fried well. Now lower the flame , add some salt and cover it with lid. Cook for 10 mins or till chicken get completely cooked and tender, stirring occasionally.


In the mean while start preparing rice too. Heat ghee in a wide wok and add rice tempering spices,saute for 2 mins and add drained rice again saute for 2 mins ,add salt and water . Let it cook till nearly 90% done but not completely soft. Now shift rice in a sieve , some liquid may drain but you can use it in chicken. Don't overcook otherwise you will end up with chicken khichadi. Use water as per requirement, as different rice needs different quantity of water. If you like to boil rice in enough water and drain, then you can do as per your comfort. But I don't drain as I think all the flavour of spices will goes off with it, so I use only required amount of water.





When chicken is tender, add chopped tomatoes and fry on high flame till they get mushy and cooked now add beaten curd and cook stirring constantly to avoid cuddling of curd.



 Cook it on high flame to get nice semi dry chicken . Adjust salt and it's done.



Now for layering, divide chicken and rice in two to three equal parts. Spread one layer of chicken then spread some of mint leaves all over it then sprinkle, red color or saffron strands soaked in milk. Now spread next part of rice on it evenly so that it cover whole chicken. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of milk on it, then sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Kewda or rose water, spread half of fried or grilled brown onions , cashews and some of mint leaves on it. Similarly make another layer of chicken on it and finally rice layer. You can make 2-3 layers of both chicken as rice as per your convenience and quantity.





Finally cover it well with an aluminum foil so that it can be put on dum. You can also seal it with dough.
Now keep a tawa on low flame and put this biryani pot on it and dum it for 20-25 mins. Switch of the flame and let it rest for at least 10-15 mins so that all the flavours and aroma of spices and essences get infused in whole dish. 



Your aromatic,easy, yummy and flavour full biryani is ready to be served with tomato onion raita.



Always try to cook rice and chicken simultaneously so that you will get nice fluffy biryani. Never cook rice too early otherwise it may stick. If it's not possible to cook both at a time then first cook chicken then go to rice.
Never mix biryani with spatula, always use a fork or best to flip it by tossing.
It's a one pot meal that none of the nonvegetarian can refuse. Its aroma is sufficient to bring you to the dinning room. This can be a hit dish for any get together or family party. You need not to serve too many dishes with it only simple raita is enough to accompany it.


Hope you will definitely give it a try, it might be looking a long recipe but believe me it will not take your much effort and time . At last you will never regret for trying it, it's a must try recipe for all biryani lovers.
Please stop by and pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....