Meethe namkeen chawal, kesar bhaat gatte k chawal

#kesarbhaat #meethechawal #sweetrice #sweet #charkechawal #namkeen #gatte #rice #variety

 Ingredients: 2 cups washed and soaked basmati rice, 1 tsp of edible orange color, 8-10 saffron leaves, 1 tbsp mixture of soaked and sliced almonds and green pistachios (or you can use the readily available milk masala), 1 cup sugar, 5-6 cloves, 2-3 cardamom, 1 tbsp ghee, 1.5 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp besan or bengal gram flour, 2 bay leaves, 10-15 curry leaves, 2 tsp adafoetida, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 3 tsp garam masala, 3-4 tsp dry mango or amchur powder, 3-4 tsp turmeric powder, 2-3 tsp red chilli powder, salt to taste, freshly chopped coriander for garnishing

Preparation time: 30- 40 min (serves 4)

Recipe:

1. Cook the rice in a big vessel with ample of water. Do not add salt for we need to use the same rice for kesar bhaat preparation as well. Stir intermittently. The cooking should be done in 10- 15 min on medium flame. Be careful not to overcook the rice. In fact, turn off the gas and drain off excess water when the rice is just cooked. (This needs practice - well after 7-8 min you need to be quite vigilant on the rice cooking. As they start swelling, check on them. Just when they can be smoothly smashed between the index finger and thumb, then rice is ready). Spread the rice in a platter and let go off the steam so that they do not cook further.

2. In the first 5-7 min as the rice cooks, we need to prepare gatta. Keep 2-3 cups of water for boiling. Take a bowl and add besan to it. Add 2 tsp of oil, a tsp of turmeric powder and salt to taste. Mix well and add 1/2 tbsp of water. Knead the flour well to form a dough. ensure you do not add excess of water. We need a very tight dough. Divide the dough in 2-3 portions and roll out pipes with approx 1 cm diameter. Add these pipes to the boiling water. Allow them to cook on medium gas. If water level goes down, add more water.

3. Till gatta gets cooked, its time to prepare the kesar bhaat. Keep 2-3 cloves, orange color, 1/2 tbsp of sliced almonds and pistachios and the cardamom balls (peel off the skin of one of the cardamom and retain the balls). Also, divide the rice in two equal portions and keep handy. In a pan, heat ghee. To this, chronologically, add cloves, cardamom balls, sliced almonds and pistachios and saffron color. Immediately add one portion of rice to this and mix well. While mixing you need to be careful in turning the rice lightly. It should not break the rice. Mix just to ensure that the rice gets colored evenly. Now add sugar to this. Mix again and allow cooking for 3-5 minutes on low gas, till all the sugar gets absorbed by the rice. Keep checking. Once the sugar is all absorbed, cover with lid and turn off the gas. Meethe chawal is ready!

4. By this time, the gatta should be cooked (try cutting with a knife, if it cuts easily then done else, cook for some more time). Once cooked, sieve the gatta pipes. Cut them to cubes. 

5. In another big pan, heat oil. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Then add asafoetida and curry leaves, followed by the bay leaves and 2-3 cloves. To this, add the cubed gattas and cook on medium flame for 3-4 min. To this, add all the spices. Preferred order - turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, amchur powder and salt to taste. Mix well and allow cooking till the mixture leaves oil from the corners. Now, add the second portion of rice to this and mix well. Be careful as before not to break the rice. After mixing, cover with lid and allow cooking on low gas for 5 min. Then turn off. Gatte ke chawal or charke chawal is ready!

6. Serve the combination of Meethe chawal and Gatte k Chawal hot with kadhi! Garnish the former with dry fruit toppings whereas latter with coriander!

Tips: you may sweeten the kesar bhaat more or alter the spices in gatte k chawal based on the taste buds of your family members. In kesar bhaat you may as well add a mix of raisins and cashews. Besides, you may also combine these two rice dishes with curd rice and have an all rice treat!

    

Pineapple cheese pulao

 

   #cheese #pineapple #tinnedpineapple #pulao #rice #veggies #peppers

Ingredients: 1.5 cups basmati rice (washed and soaked for at least 10 min), 2 tbsp ghee, 1 cup sliced onion, 1 cup sliced bell peppers ( mixture of red/yellow/green),1 tbsp sliced carrot, 1 cup sliced pineapple (tinned - drain the excess of syrup), 2 cubes of cheese (approx 50 gm), 3-4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 1-2 julienne d green chilli, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 cloves, a cardamom, a stick of cinnamon, salt to taste  

Preparation Time: 25 min (prepares for 4-6)

Recipe: 

1. Cook the rice in a big vessel while continuously stirring intermittently (add some salt while cooking). Once cooked, drain the excess water with the help of sieve and spread the rice on a platter.

2. In the meantime, take a big and deep pan/ kadhai. Add the ghee to it and heat it. To this add cumin seeds. After cracking, add green chilli, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon stick.

3. Now, add onion to this and saute till transparent. After that add the bell peppers and carrots. Saute for 3-4 min till par- cooked. Now add pineapple slices to this and saute for a minute.

4. After this, add the rice to the kadhai. add salt to taste and pepper to it. Mix everything well. Cover with lid and allow cooking on low gas for 5 min. Then turn off the gas.

5. Transfer the rice to glass bowl and grate all the cheese evenly over it. You may as well garnish with more slices of pineapple.. Serve it hot!

Green risotto

#rice #Italian #spinach #basil #greensauce #variety #layeredrice #risotto

Ingredients: 1.5 cup washed and soaked basmati rice, 15-20 spinach leaves, 50gm basil leaves, 1 cup mint leaves, 15 garlic cloves, 4-5 green chillies, 12-15 black pepper balls, 2 cups of white sauce (with no flavours), salt to taste, 50 gms grated cheese

Preparation time: 20 min

Recipe :

1. Keep the rice to cook on medium flame in an open vessel with extra water and salt added.

2. In a pan, add 2 cups water and bring it to boil. Add all the herbs and blanch for a min. Seive excess of water and add the herbs to a grinder pot.

3. Along with herbs, add chillies, garlic, pepper and grind to a paste.

4. To this paste add the white sauce and grind well again so that thick sauce is formed. Remove it in a bowl and add salt to taste (be careful if white sauce also has salt). The green sauce is ready.

5. In the meantime check if the rice is cooked. Do not overcook it. Once cooked, seive it and keep aside.

6. In a deep glass bowl, first spread half an inch thick layer of the green sauce. Over this, add an inch layer of rice. Over rice repeat the green sauce layer followed by rice and green sauce again.

7. Garnish it with cheese and your favourite herb leaves and serve it hot!

Green veggies pulao

 #pulao #rice #ricedishes #green #gogreen #vegrice #lemongrass

 

Ingredients: 1 cup basmati rice, 1 tbsp. ghee/ unsalted butter, 1/2 tbsp. cumin seeds, 2 bay leaves, 2 cardamoms, 1 tbsp. 1inch sliced French beans, 1 tbsp. 1 inch sliced coccinia, 1/2 tbsp. parboiled peas, 2 stalks of lemon grass finely chopped, 1/2 tbsp. 1 inch sliced capsicum, salt to taste

 

Preparation Time: 20 min

 

Recipe:

1. Wash and soak the rice sometime before cooking. Now, cook the rice per the customary way and keep it aside. Be careful not to overcook it for it is meant for pulao and not Khichadi

 

2. Heat a pan and add ghee. Add cumin seeds and wait till they crack. Add bay leaves and cardamoms followed by the chopped/ sliced veggies.

 

3. Cook the veggies on low flame for 5-7 min.

 

4. Add the rice and salt to taste. Mix everything well and cover with lid. Allow cooking on low for 3-4 min and turn the gas off.

 

5. The rice pulao is ready to be served! Team it with the onion raita

TAmarind Rice

#tamarindpulp #tamarind #rice #varietyrices #tamarindrice

Ingredients: 200gm tamarind, 2 cups rice, 1/2 cup Bengal gram, 2 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp asafoetida, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 4-5 dry red chillies, 1 1/2 tbsp. oil, salt to taste

Preparation time: 25 min

Recipe:

1. Soak the tamarind in two cups of water for half an hour to make the pulp easily.
2. Wash and soak the rice as well before and cook it sans pressure cooker (do add salt while cooking), drain out the excess of water once cooked and keep the rice in a bowl.
3. Till the rice cook, you can prepare the tamarind sauce side by side. Squeeze the tamarind in the water to get the pulp. Sieve the pulp to remove the seeds. Keep it aside.
4. Heat a pan and add oil for seasoning. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida and dry chillies one after the other. Then add Bengal gram to this (no need to soak the grams). Keep the gas at medium flame and stir the grams continuously till golden. Now add the tamarind pulp and a cup of water to this. Mix well and cover with lid. Allow cooking for 5- 10 min till the sauce thickens to a consistency.
5. Add all the spices and cook till the oil oozes out from the sides.
6. The tamarind sauce is ready. Mix rice in batches till you get the proper taste (Some rice may remain or some chutney/ sauce may remain depending upon the consistency and measures you have taken).
7. Serve it hot or at room temperature.
 

Mix veg Khichadi

#khichadi#vegkhichadi#khichadiwithoutkadhi

#plainkhichadi

Ingredients: 1 cup rice, ¾ cup green moong dal/ green lentils, ¼ cup mogar or yellow moong dal or yellow lentils, 1 tbsp oil, 1 onion, 1 capsicum, 1 carrot, 8- 10 colocacia, 5- 10 beans, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp asafoetida, 4 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp garam masala, salt to taste

Preparation Time: 20 min

Recipe:

1. Mix the rice and dals together, wash them with water and soak them for an hour (to cook faster).

2. Heat a 2-3 litre cooker and add oil to it. Heat for seasoning, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida. Now add onion and sauté until color change. Add all the other vegetables and sauté for 2- 3 mintues.

3. Now add all the spices to this and mix well. Drain out excess of water from the soaked pulses n rice. Now add them into the cooker. Mix all the ingredients well. Add 5 cups water to this. Bring it to a boil and cover with lid.

4. Pressure cook with 3 whistles on medium gas and 2 on low gas.

5. Serve it hot with Kadhi in winters or seasoned buttermilk if its dry else it tastes yum plain too.

Tomato Rice

#rice#chawal#ricedishes#tomatorice

#pulao#healthyrice#summerspecial

Ingredients: 1 heaped cup uncooked rice, 1 onion, 5-6 garlic cloves, 2 medium tomato, 4-5 black pepper balls, 1 stick of cinnamon (about 1.5cm), 2-3 red dry chilli, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 cube (1 cm) ginger, 1 tbsp oil, 2 bay leaves, salt to taste, 2 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp red chilli powder

Preparation Time: 15 min (if rice already cooked)

 

Recipe:

1. Wash the rice and soak it for an hour. Soaking it cooks the rice faster. Cook the rice per traditional method. Ensure that they are not overcooked or stick to one another.

2. Heat a pan on low gas. Cut the onion in 4-5 big pieces. Add them to the pan. Add the garlic, red dry chillies and ginger to the pan as well. Parch for two minutes with continuous stirring. Shift them to a mixer pot. Cut the tomatoes in big pieces and add them to the pot. Make a puree. If very thick, then add half cup water to it.

3. Take a deep pan and heat it. Add oil to this for seasoning. Now add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaves, black pepper and cinnamon to this.

4. Add the puree to this and stir well. Add half cup water to this while the gas is on medium flame.

5. Add red chilli powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Mix well. Allow cooking for 3-4 min.

6. Now add rice to this and mix it well with the puree. Cover with lid and turn the gas low. Allow cooking for 5-7 minutes.

7. Serve it with Seasoned Buttermilk to make perfect summer meal!

Mix Veg Pulao/ Veg Rice

#rice#chawal#ricedishes#mixvegrice

#healthyrice#summerspecial#pulao#vegrice

 

Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked rice, ½ cup carrot
cubes, ½ cup cauliflower flowers, ½ cup capsicum cubes, ¼ cup peas, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 2 cardamoms, 1 tbsp ghee/ butter, 1 bay leaves, salt to taste, ½ tbsp biryani masala, 1 tbsp chopped coriander.

 

Preparation Time: 20 min (if rice already cooked)

Recipe:

1. Wash the rice and soak it for an hour. Soaking it cooks the rice faster.

2. Take a pressure cooker and heat it. Add ghee or butter to this and heat for seasoning.

3. Now add cumin seeds, cardamom and bay leaves to this. Add all the vegetables and sauté for a minute.

4. Remove excess water from the rice and add the rice to the cooker. Mix all the things in the cooker well. Add salt to taste and the biryani masala. Mix well again.

5. Add 3- 4 cups water (normally an inch over the surface, after settling all the solid ingredients) and pressure cook with three whistles on medium gas flame.

6. Serve it hot with onion raita garnished with coriander!