Lemon Rice

Today, I made butter chicken and lemon rice. But, this lemon rice is quite different from the traditional one. The traditional one has peanuts, whole red chillies and in some cases even lentils. I wanted to keep it simple. So, this is what I did...

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice
2 cups chicken stock
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Method :

• In a pan, combine basmati rice, chicken stock, lemon zest, salt, lemon juice, turmeric powder and cover and cook till the rice is done
• When the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork and serve it with any gravy of your choice.
  

Neer Dosa (Pan Pole)

Growing up, I remember my mom making these dosas. This is a typical Mangalorean dish made out of rice. I used to watch her make them and quickly learnt by seeing her make it. This is a very simple dish and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You could also convert it into a snack by filling it with some freshly grated coconut and jaggery. You could also eat it with honey. These are generally called the "Mangalorean Pancakes" or "Panpole"

So here goes the recipe...

Preparation Time : 20 minutes + soaking time

Makes : 20 small neer dosas.

Ingredients :

21/2 cups (rice cooker measure) raw rice (Generally use a thin grain variety of rice called "Surai tandool" in Mangalore or par-boiled rice)

A little salt to taste

Water

Oil

Method :

• Wash and soak the raw rice in water overnight and grind it the next day in the blender with a little salt to taste.
• By adding water to the ground rice, make a batter of medium consistency.
• Heat the frying pan with some cooking oil in it. (Take half an onion, prick it with a fork and dip it in oil and spread it on the frying pan so that the pan is evenly sprayed with oil)
• Pour a ladle full of batter on a heated flat frying pan. Turn the pan so as to spread the batter evenly on the pan. Cover the pan with a lid.
• After about 2 minutes, you will see the dosa leaving the sides, that's when you know that it is ready.
• Remove it using a flat ladle.
• You will see that the surface of the neer dosa is perforated with small holes.
• Fold it and serve it hot with any chicken preparation or it can also be eaten with chutney or honey.

Note : You could make a filling of 1 cup freshly grated coconut, 200 gms jaggery and 1 tsp cardamom powder. Place a spoonful in the middle of the neer dosa, and roll it up and arrange it on a serving dish. This is perfect for an evening snack.

Green Peas Pulao

Yesterday I was feeling very tired and sleepy after a very long day and didn't feel like cooking much. I thought hey, why not make a simple peas pulao and the simplest pulao that came to my mind was Green Peas Pulao. So here it goes...

Preparation Time : 20 minutes + soaking time

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

2 cups basmati rice

4 cups of water

1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

1 big onion cut finely lengthwise

1 big tomato chopped

2-3 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 vegetable or chicken cube

salt to taste

Method :

• Wash and soak the rice in water for about 1/2 hour
• In another vessel, boil 4 cups of water
• Heat oil in a vessel. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, pepper corns and onions and fry till the onions are golden brown in color.
• Then add the vegetable or chicken cube and mix well.
• To this add the chopped tomatoes, salt and fry for 2-3 minutes
• Then add the peas and give a good stir
• Finally add the rice and mix it well with the peas and other ingredients and pour the hot water over it.
• Cover and cook till the rice is done.

Mushroom Pulao (with video)

This morning when I looked into the refrigerator, was wondering what to cook for lunch. First thought of making a simple peas pulao, but then I saw a packet of mushrooms lying in the refrigerator and so decided to make something out of it...hence created my very own "Mushroom Pulao".

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 5

Ingredients :

1/2 Potato cut into cubes (you could add more if you like)

1 cup green peas (optional)

1 medium onion finely cut lengthwise

3 cups basmati rice (rice cooker measure)

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp garam masala powder

a few coriander leaves finely chopped

a few mint leaves finely chopped

2 tbsp yogurt

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

oil

Spices :

2 dry red chillies

2 bay leaves

3 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

2 cardamoms

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera)

Method :

• Add 2 tbsp of oil to the preheated pressure cooker and add all the spices one by one.
• When the jeera and caraway seeds start spluttering, add mint leaves, coriander leaves and fry them for 2 minutes.
• Add chopped onions and fry till they are golden brown. Then add ginger-garlic paste, garam masala powder, salt and turmeric powder and mix well.
• Then add the mushrooms, potatoes, green peas and mix well
• When mushrooms get half cooked, add curd and stir it well. Then add 6 cups of water. When water starts boiling, add 3 cups of rice and pressure cook it.
• Garnish with a red chilli and coriander leaves
• Serve hot with cucumber raita or pomegranate raita.

Chicken Biryani

There are a lot of different ways of making Biryani and here is one simple, easy and yet incredibly delicious recipe that is just "too good". Do not get intimidated by the number of ingredients or the steps...just follow along and WOW your family and friends!

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serves : 10

Ingredients :

1 kg basmati rice

11/2 kg chicken cleaned and cut into big pieces

10 big onions cut finely lengthwise

1tsp sugar

2 tbsp ghee

saffron milk

for the marinade:

11/2 tbs ginger garlic paste

12 green chillies slit into half

1 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

3/4 tbsp cumin powder

11/2 tbsp coriander powder

250 gms yogurt beaten well

1/4 tsp garam masala powder

4-5 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 black cardamoms

4-5 small green cardamoms

2 star anise flower

2 javatri

3 bay leaves

a big bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped

half a bunch of mint leaves finely chopped

8 big tomatoes finely chopped

salt to taste

Method :

• Take a big bowl and combine the chicken with the marinade. Mix well and refrigerate overnight.
• Take some ghee in a vessel and fry the onions nicely till they are golden brown. Add half the onions to the marinated chicken and to the rest of the onions add 1 tsp sugar and continue frying till they are crisp.
• Boil the rice with 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick and 2-3 cloves. Do not overcook the rice. Strain and keep aside
• Cook the marinated chicken with the spices and fried onions on slow flame for about 20 minutes or till the chicken is cooked well.
• Then in a big vessel layer the biryani by having the chicken mixture at the bottom and then one layer of rice. On the rice, add some saffron milk and some crispy fried onions, then have another layer of chicken and finally top it with a layer of rice with some saffron milk and crispy fried onion.
• Cover the vessel tightly and cook it on very slow flame so that the whole biryani gets heated evenly
• Serve with some nice cucumber raita.

Egg Fried Rice

Today I was in mood for some Chinese food. So, instead of ordering out, I decided to cook some easy Chinese recipes at home. Nothing tastes better than home cooked food, doesn't it ? I made some egg fried rice and chilly chicken and it turned out really yummy !!! It is perfect for those nights when you're cleaning out the refrigerator and want to get rid of any leftover meat or vegetables.

I've always thought of fried rice as the quintessential comfort food. Think of it - a bowl of steaming white rice cooked to just the right consistency, filled with bits of meat, egg and vegetable (as per your choice). No wonder fried rice is one of the world's most popular rice dishes!

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

2 slightly beaten eggs

salt and ground pepper

4 spring onion finely chopped

3 cups of pre-cooked long rice (rice cooker cup measure)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp green chilli sauce

1/2 green capsicum cut finely lengthwise

1 carrot cut finely lengthwise

10 french beans cut finely lengthwise

1/2 cup celery cut lengthwise

oil for frying

Method:

• Take a wok and heat some oil in it. Then add the beaten eggs and stir fry them for about a minute. Take them about and keep them aside
• Then in the same oil, add the carrots and french beans and stir fry continously for about 5 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to it while stir frying.
• Then add the capsicum, celery and spring onions and continue stir-frying for another 5 minutes.
• To this, add soy sauce, green chilli sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar and continue frying for about 2 more minutes. Then take it out in a plate and keep aside.
• In the same wok, add 1 tsp of oil and heat it. Then add 1 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper and the pre-cooked long rice and fry it nicely for about 5 minutes.
• Then add all the vegetables and egg to the fried rice and continue frying for another 2 minutes
• Finally, check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if required.
• Egg fried rice is now ready to eat.

Note: You could also make this fried rice with left-over rice from the previous day. You could also add cooked chicken pieces or cooked shrimp to it if desired.

Prawn Biryani

Today I wanted to make something, that I had not eaten for a long time. So, I decided to try out making Prawn Biryani.

Prawn biryani is a rich rice dish cooked with fresh prawns and is one of the most popular of all the biryanies.

Prawn or shrimp biryani ...yummy! That's just about it you can say about this dish!! This dish can be made in a jiffy and can still taste heavenly!!! You can make any occasion even more special by serving this one-dish meal. This biryani goes very well with any green salad or any raita. I made pomegranate raita to go with it.

So here goes the recipe:

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

3 cups of basmati rice = rice cooker cup measure

30 fresh prawns de-veined

3 big onions finely cut lengthwise

2 big tomatoes chopped finely

1 tbsp tomato paste

5 green chillies

1/2 bunch of coriander leaves

1 inch ginger

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coconut milk

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder

2 tbsp of patak's biryani curry paste or

2 tbsp of any biryani masala

5 peppercorns

4 cinnamon sticks

8 cloves

3 black cardamom

3 pods green cardamom

4 bay leaves

salt to taste

2 tbsp ghee

1 tsp sugar

Method:

• Marinate the prawns with turmeric and salt and keep aside
• Make a paste of green chillies, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, salt, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and coconut milk in the blender
• Bring 2 litres of water to a boil in a vessel. Add the basmati rice, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves and 3 cloves and cook till the rice in done. Strain the water and keep aside.
• Take a non-stick pan. Add some ghee to it. When the ghee starts melting, add 3 cinnamon sticks, 3 cloves, 3 black cardamom, 5 black pepper corns, 3 pods green cardamom, 2 bay leaves and fry it for a minute. Then add the finely cut onions and fry till golden brown.
• While frying the onions, add 1 tsp sugar to it.
• Then add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato paste and stir well.
• Then add the green chilli and coriander paste and fry for about 5 minutes.
• Then add the biryani curry paste, salt, red chilli powder and mix well. To this add the marinated prawns and cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Then carefully blend the cooked basmati rice with the above prawn masala.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with any green salad or raita.