Arisiyum Parupu Satham

Yet another delicacy from the kongu region and my second entry for JFI - Toor dal. This is a simple, no-nonsense one-pot dish and really easy to make. I make this dish when I need a quick fix for a no-compromise meal and neither in a mood to cook, nor to eat out. This meal has different versions and this is how my grandmother / mother make it at home. I remember the taste of dal and rice with ghee melting inside my mouth. A pretty impressive meal when you are back from school and hungry. I wish someone cooks for me now when I am back from office. My aunt prepares it with moong dal and I will post the recipe sometime later.

The consistency of the completed meal is somewhat mushy and somewhere between bisi bele bath and plain steamed rice. It tastes heavenly when had with ghee or yogurt. You can also have it with kathirikaai kara kuzhambu / brinjal curry.

Ingredients:

Rice – 2 cups
Toor dal – 1 cup
A small sized onion – 1
Tomato – 1
Dry red chillies – 2 or 3 (According to the spice level)
Curry leaves – 1 spring
Turmeric – 1
Sambar powder – 1 tbsp
Garlic – 2 pods
Salt
Oil

Optional ingredients :

Cinnamon – 1” bark
Clove – 2


Click here for the complete recipe

Jeera Rice / Cumin Rice

Last Saturday I had some guests over to my place for dinner. Was really excited since I love cooking for people, especially for those who love food. But this time I had a special constraint and one of my friends cannot handle any spicy stuff. By not handling any spicy stuff I mean no chilli powder, no chillies in any of the dishes. For a hard core south Indian it is something very tough to do in my kitchen. I always wonder how she survived in India with this spice level and since she is very shy about her food habits I decided to treat her with a variety of dishes with no spicy stuff (It is very rare she gets a chance to taste and enjoy everything in any dinner). Anyhow she did enjoy the dinner and I was happy she did.

For the rice variety I decided on jeera rice since that is something everyone can enjoy and not at all spicy. I followed shaheen’s recipe but added diced onions also along with the other ingredients used. As soon as the cumin seeds sizzle, add the onions and fry till they are transculent and follow the rest of the procedure. You can also toss in some cashews when jeera is added and that tastes wonderful after the rice is cooked.

Enjoy jeera rice with any curry or gravy of your choice.



Click here for Jeera Rice/ Cumin Rice recipe

Mango rice / Mango pulihora

My craving for raw mango will never end, taking into account it is the best season for mangoes in India it is ok to crave, since I can spot mangoes in any Asian grocery store. Any dish with bit sour and spicy taste, I would definitely give it a try. I cannot think of a reason why my mother did not make an attempt to make mango rice though we had a large mango tree in our backyard. I tried mango rice in a friend’s place, when she hosted a special ugadi dinner. This is supposed to be a special dish made during any festival and definitely on ugadi.

I followed supriya’s recipe for the mango rice and the main reason I tried her recipe at first was her photos. Wow!!!… Every time I take a look at the photo I feel like having mango rice again. I usually add cashews and peanuts while doing the tadka that gives a nice crunch when had with the raita. If there is no mint then I substitute 2 or 3 tbsp of grated coconut and follow the exact same procedure. Supriya has mentioned that she uses have ripe mango, but I use a raw mango. One small tip is not sauté the mango for a long time, since it loses it taste when sauted for long, hence the grated mango is usually added the end.

Mango Rice is a definite delight for pregnant women.

Enjoy the mango rice with raita and papad.


Click here for Mango Rice recipe

Peas Pulao

What is your usual dish when there is someone unexpected for dinner or lunch? I usually end up making peas pulao and a potato fry (which is an excellent combination) with raita and some store bought parathas. Gives the feel you have cooked a complete meal, but you actually can pull all this together in half an hour.
Yesterday I had a friend who dropped me over at home after office and I asked her to stay over for dinner. Both of us love potato, so I decided on the usual potato fry and decided to make peas pulao to go with it.

There is no hard and fast rule for making peas pulao. I believe everyone has their own customized version of making this simple, yet delicious dish. “VeggieCuisine” provides a detailed description of the most common or rather the standard way of making this dish. I follow the exact recipe of lakshmi for the recipe, but depending on the ingredients present I add some mint leaves and/or coconut milk.

But next time I make peas pulao I have decided to try supriyakrishna’s recipe, where she adds pulao masala. I am really anxious to try this, because I use pulao masala with vegetable briyani at times and the flavor fills my kitchen. Her photos are also tempting enough to make me want try it in my kitchen.

Click here Simple Peas Pulao Recipe

One more Peas Pulao Recipe

Enjoy your customized peas pulao with raita.

Mushroom Briyani / Mushroom Biryani

Are you slightly bored of eating chicken dishes? Are you looking for making some other spicy mouth watering dish but still want to be within the limits of something closer to a chicken dish? Here is it. Mushroom Briyani.

Mushroom is a vitamin rich and high protein food and thus an important dietary supplement and healthy food. Though there are wide varieties of mushroom available, the most common found in the US Grocery market is the white button mushroom. Here are some tips for storing mushroom in the refrigerator (thanks: Hormel)

if storing in the refrigerator, do not clean them before storing. Store uncleaned mushrooms in a paper bag or their original container. Do not store in plastic or airtight plastic containers, which causes them to retain moisture and decay faster. Keep them in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. It is best to eat them as soon as possible. Dried mushrooms may be stored indefinitely. To preserve mushrooms for an extended period of time, use other methods such as freezing, drying, salting, canning or pickling.

I followed Sapna’s recipe from ‘spicyfeast’ without much alterations. Since I did not have saffron handy I did skip the part in which saffron was added and my color did not exactly match as the photo posted in ‘spicyfeast’. The usual procedure is to cook the mushrooms curry and rice separately, then finally add alternate layers of rice and mushrooms curry. Instead if I am in a lazy want to make a quick meal I make the mushrrom curry, add adequate water and bring it to boil. Add the basmati rice to the boiling water and dum the mixture. Even that tastes good, since the rice is cooked in mushroom curry from the beginning on a slow flame.

Enjoy mushroom briyani/biryani with raita.

Click here Mushroom Biryani Recipe

Coconut Rice / Thengai Saatham

Having been brought up near the Kerala and Tamil Nadu border, it is no surprise that we used to add coconut virtually in every dish possible. The simplest and most obvious of them is the Coconut rice. During my school days, my mom used to prepare the coconut rice early in the morning and pack it along with some pickles as my lunch box. It was yummy and filling. You can add cashews and channa dal by slightly roasting it to add a rich taste to the final product.

Revathi’s recipe is the most common one and definitely a must make one. You can also try a slightly different version by adding elaichi, cardamom and cinnamon mixture with grated coconut, cumin seeds and cashews.

People living outside India may find it difficult to get fresh coconut and may be used to frozen grated coconut. I make it a point to make use of fresh coconut whenever available and use the frozen version in less important dishes.

I would like to add a line of warning here for weight watchers. Coconut contains high saturated fat and you may have to restrict yourselves from having coconut dish often.


Click here Coconut Rice / Thengai Saatham Recipe

How to Cook Perfect Steamed Rice

I have always wondered how to cook rice the prefect way, where the rice is nice and fluffy, yet not sticky. Especially when you are in a mood to cook the perfect fried rice, You want the perfect steamed rice to get best results. The same technique mentioned below can also be used when you use to cook pulao or dum briyani. Anyhow this is from a renowned chef, so I guess we can take his word to cook the perfect rice.



Click here to know the way to Cook Perfect Steamed Rice

Vaangi baath

A delicious dish made with eggplants or brinjals and basmati rice cooked in coconut and spices paste. The photo of the baby eggplants along with the rice is amazing. Usually a readymade mix for vaangi baath is used to cook the dish, but the flavor and taste of homemade masala is no comparison to the readymade mix. At times sambar powder of your choice along with coconut paste can be substituted for the masala paste but your vaangi baath will be perfect with the mentioned masala and good baby brinjals. Enjoy vaangi baath with curd and chips.


Click here for Vaangi Baath Recipe

Bisibelebath / Sambar Rice

This is a scrumptious recipe of Karnataka, and a very famous one too. Anyone tasted this recipe knows it is a heart full-filling vegetarian meal and just the thought of it makes the mouth watering. The recipe is explained in 5 easy steps, which makes it sound easier. Toor dal ratio in this recipe is higher than rice, and it can be adjusted depending on personal taste. The masala can be homemade or any store brought masala would also be good. In the final step while tadka , use ghee (clarified butter) instead of oil and fry pearl onions along with the other ingredients mentioned and add it to rice. Enjoy the bisibelebath with a generous dollop of ghee and papad.


Click here for Bisibelebath / Sambar Rice Recipe

Chicken Briyani / Chicken Bryiani

For any briyani/ biryani fan, chicken briyani will be one of the favorites. This is a slightly lengthy and an authentic way of preparing briyani, the kerala way. A little richer version of this recipe would be to grind cashews while making the coconut milk and use it instead of warm milk. Once cooked just allow it to cool for 10 minutes and mix it slightly with a fork so that it doesn’t break the rice. Enjoy the biryani with raita and any spicy non-veg curry.

Click here for Chicken Briyani/ Chicken Bryiani Recipe

Tomato Briyani / Biryani

This is a quick but a delicious meal, which can be a good substitute for the vegetable briyani, but with less work. While making the masala for the rice with tomatoes, coconut paste and curd can be added to give it's richness. The recipe can be made even without peas and if sambar powder is not available, add chilli powder.

Enjoy the meal with raita and potato fry.



Click here for Tomato Briyani / Biryani Recipe

Kerala Fish Briyani / Malabar Meen Briyani

A very detailed description for making one of the Kerala delicacy, Fish Briyani. With the right selection of fish it tastes delicious and got a very good aroma too. Coconut milk is one common ingredient missed out while making the masala for the fish. In the final stage if an oven is not present, the pot can be cooked on a very low flame with a pot of boiling water on the top. Traditionally the pot and the lid is sealed with maida and coconut husk on the top of the lid (‘Dum’).


Click here for Kerala Fish Briyani / Malabar Meen Briyani Recipe

Paneer Biryani / Paneer Briyani

This is an unconventional recipe prepared with paneer. If you don’t have paneer, you can replace it with tofu pieces. Instead of slow cooking on a pan you can also keep it an oven for the 15 minutes. A slight alteration of the recipe would be to toss in some mixed vegetables along with the paneer. Enjoy the meal with raita and boiled eggs.

Click here for Paneer Biryani / Paneer Briyani Recipe

Spicy horse gram rice / Kollu Parupu Satham

For people who have tasted horse gram(Kollu parupu or ulavalu) would immediately know this recipe is a fusion of the traditional recipes made with horse gram. This particular recipe has a wonderful taste and an excellent photo, which tempts you to take a bite from there if possible. The shallot onions , tamarid and slow cooking of the rice makes this dish taste heavenly. Enjoy this with some potato chips, boiled egg.


Click here for Spicy horse gram rice / Kollu Parupu Satham Recipe