Coconut rice with smashed potato curry

I would say that this is a deadly combination - the porous coconut rice with yummy mashed potato. My hubby thought me this combination (he he ... the recipe too :P). Thanks to him. Good lunch box recipe.

Ingredients:

Cooked rice -2 cups (use 10% less water than you normally do to cook the rice)

Gingelly oil - 4 tbs

Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1 tbs

Curry leaves -5nos

Broken channa dal - 2tbs

Hing - pinch

Dry red chillies -5nos

Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Salt

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan , add mustard seeds + urad dal, curry leaves, broken channa dal + hing, red chillies, grated coconut + salt in the same order @ 30 sec interval.

2. Saute the coconut for 30 sec and mix well with the cooked rice. Thats it !!

Note: dont smash the rice while mixing.

For Smashed potato curry

Ingredients:

1. Potatos (medium size) - 5 nos (Cook the potatos in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles and peel of the skin. Smash them little with hand/spoon so the pieces are large and chunky.)

2. Cooking oil - 4 tbs

3. Urad dal + mustard seeds - 1tbs

4. Curry leaves - 5 nos

5. Crushed garlic pods - 4 nos

6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbs

7. Red chilli powder - 1 tbs

8. Salt

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds + urad dal, curry leaves, crushed garlic pods in the same order @ 30 sec interval.

2. Add smashed potato, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and mix well.

3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of water to mix easily.

4. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Note: This potato curry is a very good combination for Curd rice/ lemon rice/ tomato rice too.

Egg Biryani

My hubby's favorite, hope the readers also will try the recipe and enjoy.

Ingredients:

To cook

1. Basmathi / sona masoori rice - 2 cups (soak rice in water as the first step of preparing the dish)
2. Big brown onion - 1 (sliced thin)
3. Tomato - 1 (sliced thin)
4. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbs
5. Salt to taste

To marinate

1. Curd / yogurt - 6 tbs
2. Coriander / Cilantro - 1 handful (washed and finely chopped)
3. Mint - 1 handful (washed and finely chopped)
4. Garam masala - 1 1/2 tbs
5. Red chili powder + coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbs each (or) any chicken masala powder - 3 tbs
6. Salt - 1/2 tbs
7. Eggs - hard boiled - 3 nos

- mix all the ingredients mentioned above with hand and marinate the unshelled egg in it for 15 mins. Slit slightly on the sides of the egg before marinating.

To saute

1. Cooking oil - 7 tbs
2. Jeera / cumin seeds - 1/2 tbs
3. Sombu / Saunf - 1/2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 5 nos

Method:

1. Wash the soaked rice 2-3 times and drain water completely and keep this aside.
2. Heat 4 tbs oil in a pressure cooker and add the ingredients mentioned under to saute one by one in 30 sec interval. Add chopped onion and cook till its transparent. Add chopped tomato and saute well. Now add ginger garlic paste and saute till the green smell of it goes off and it blends with tomato.
3. Remove eggs from marination and keep it aside. Add the marination paste to tomato and cook it in medium flame for 15 mins.
4. In the meantime, heat remaining oil in another pan and add the rice. Saute it well it the rice turns golden brown. Add this to tomao paste in the cooker. Add salt, add 4 cups of water (for 1 cups of rice add 2 cups of water. not more than that) and Mix well. Place the eggs on top of it and close the cooker lid without whistle.
5. Wait till gas comes out of the vent, then put the whistle. Cook the biryani in medium flame for 15 mins. No need to wait till the cooker whistles. Switch off the stove.
Serve hot with Raitha.

Vegetable pulav

Medium spicy steamed rice recipe. I was thinking that this recipe is hard to prepare so i was ordering it from hotels. One day tried just like that and it was good. The preparation time takes 15 mins and cooking time is 20 mins.

Ingredients:

To cook

1. Basmathi rice - 1 1/2 cups (soak the rice in water for 30 mins. Do soak the rice as the first step of preparing the dish)
2. Carrot - 3 nos chopped into lengthy pieces
3. Frozen peas - 1 cup
4. Spring onion - 4 nos chopped into lengthy pieces
(choose your choice of vegetables - cauliflower, mushroom etc.,)
5. Salt to taste

To saute

1. Bay leave - 2 nos
2. Cinnamon - 3 small pieces
3. Sombhu / Saunf - 1/2 tbs
4. Jeera - 1/2 tbs
5. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
6. Curry leaves - 3 nos
7. Big brown onion - 1 finely chopped
8. Coriander leaves / Cilantro - 1/2 handful finely chopped
9. Mint leaves - 1/2 handful finely chopped
8. Cooking oil - 4 tbs

To grind

1. Ginger - 3 small pieces
2. Garlic - 3 small pieces equal to ginger
3. Green chilli - 2 nos

For seasoning

1. Ghee - 1 tbs
2. Dry graphes - 1 tbs
3. Cashew nuts - 1 tbs

Method:

1. Heat 3 tbs oil in a pan, add the ingredient nos 1 to 5 mentioned under To saute without any time interval. Wait till the mustard seeds pops. Add curry leaves and onion. Saute the ingredients till onion turns transparent. Add the grinded ingredients and saute till green smell of garlic goes off. Add the chopped mint and cilantro and saute for a min.
2. Add all the vegetables to sauted ingredients mentioned in the above step and mix thoroughly. Put this mixture into a cooker.
3. Wash the soaked rice and strain the water completely. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a pan and add the rice. Saute the rice till it turns porous. Add this sauted rice into the cooker. Add 3 cups of water (for 1 cup of rice : 2 cups of water) and salt to the rice & mix well from bottom.
4. Close the cooker lid without whistle. Once the gas comes out of the vent put the whistle and cook in medium flame for 10 mins. Switch off the stove.
5. Heat ghee in a pan and add dry fruits & cashews and season the recipe with this.

6. Serve hot with raitha or curd (yogurt) or potato chips.

Thakali sadham / Tomato rice

This is a simple lunch box recipe and my all time favorite. The lovely colour of this dish flashes in my mind whenever i think of having something tasty.... Yummy rice recipe doesn't need any side dishes. Can be served with rice wafers or any pickle or raitha.

Ingredients:

1. Cooking oil - 3 tbs

2. Sesame oil / Gingelly oil - 3 tbs

3. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs

4. Splited chick peas / Kadalai paruppu - 1 tbs

5. Turmeric powder - pinch

6. Green chili - splited vertically - 3 or 4 nos

7. Big brown onion - 3/4 finely chopped

8. Tomato - 3 nos

9. Salt to taste

10. Rice - Sona masoori / basmati - 1 1/2 cups

11. Mint + Cilantro - 1/2 handful (washed and chopped)

Method :

1. Wash & cook the rice in 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker / rice cooker.

2. In the meantime, Soak the whole tomato in hot water for 15 mins. Peel off the skin and mash thoroughly with hand. Keep this aside.

3. Heat cooking + sesame oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds + urad daal + chick peas. Once mustard seeds splatters add green chili and turmeric powder. After 30 sec add chopped onion & cook till it turns transparent. Add the mashed tomato and stir to blend with onion. Add 1/2 cup if water and salt to this and cook till it comes to a gravy consistency. Remove from fire.

4. By this time the rice could be cooked. Trasfer the rice to another container which should be big enough for mixing. Let the rice to cool down for 10 mins. Now add the tomato gravy to the rice and mix slowly & completely. Garnish with chopped mint & cilantro. Serve hot.....

Lemon rice

Lemon rice - simple, quick indian rice recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Sona masoori / Ponni rice - 1 1/2 cup
2. Lemon - 3 nos (Wash, Cut and sqeeze the juice)
3. Red chilli - 3 nos
4. Splited peas - 1 tbs
5. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1 tbs
6. Cooking oil - 1 tbs
7. Gingeely oil or sesame oil (nalla ennai) - 2 tbs
8. Salt to taste
9. Cilantro leaves - washed and chopped - one handful (optional)
10. Gralic - 3 cloves
11. Curry leaves - 4 nos
12. Turmeric powder - 2 pinch

Method:

1. Wash and cook the rice with 3 1/2 cups of water in a rice cooker. Once the rice is done remove the cover and let it get cool.
2. Heat cooking and gingelly oil together in a pan. Add mustard seeds + urad daal + splited peas. After one min add curry leaves. After 30 sec add garlic and red chilli. After 30 sec add the turmeric powder. After 1 min add the lemon juice + half cup of water. Add salt to the mix and bring it to boil. Remove from fire after 15 mins.
3. In a big vessel mix the lemon concentrate prepared above to the rice slowly. Add the cilantro leaves also while mixing. Thats it!!!

Easy Vegetable Biriyani / Vegetable Rice / Spicy indian rice

Biriyani is a famous indian rice variety, usually consumes lots of time in marinating, putting it in dhum, grinding masalas etc... This version is very simple but still tasty.

Ingredients

-to Saute

1. 1 tbs Cooking oil
2. Mustard seeds
3. Bay leave
4. Cinnamon sticks (If u like add cloves and cardamom also)
5. Cumin seeds
6. Saunf
7. Curry leaves
8. Small amount of butter (Optional)

-to Cook

1. 1 cup basmati rice soaked in water for ½ hour – 45 mins (If u don’t have time soak it for 15 mins – that’s enough. If rice is soaked for long time the cooked texture will be good)
2. Grind small piece ginger + 2-3 cloves Garlic or 1 tbs of ginger-garlic paste
3. 1 Finely chopped onion
4. 1 chopped tomato
5. Milk from one handful of Coconut or 1 ½ cup coconut milk
6. Peas as required
7. Carrot as required
8. Chopped Bell pepper as required (Choose vegetables of your choice like mushroom, cauliflower, cabbage etc)
9. Handful of finely chopped mint and cilantro

10. Salt to taste

-Masala
½ tbs of Indian garam masala
½ tbs of Indian chilli powder

-Method

1.Heat 1 tbs of oil in a pressure cooker and add the ingredients under sauté one by one.

2.Add the chopped onion fry until it becomes transparent. Add chopped tomato after this and cook till the tomato is mashed. Once the tomato is cooked add ginger-garlic paste to it and cook for 5 mins.

3. Add masalas and then all the vegetables one by one. Cook the vegetables for 10 mins. Once the vegetable is 25% cooked add the coconut milk + ½ cup water and bring it to boil. (Basically for 1 cup of rice 2 cups of water required. Since we have 1 ½ cups of coconut milk fill the remaining ½ cup with water).

4. In the mean time wash the soaked rice and drain completely. Fry the drained rice in a pan with ½ tbs of oil. Fry till the rice grains doesn’t stick to each other (porous).

5. Put the rice and salt into the boiling ingredients and mix well. Close the pressure cooker without whistle. Keep the stove in medium hot. Once the gas comes out of the vent put the cooker whistle. Cook till 2-3 whistles.
That’s it. Veg rice is ready. Serve hot with raita and potato chips.