Cinnamon Rice Pudding / kheer / Paruvaannam

Preparation time - 20mins

Serves - 2

Ingredients:

1 cup pudding rice

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons dessicated coconut

1 tablespoon raisins/dried grapes

1 tablespoon almond flakes

1 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter

Procedure:

• Wash and cook rice with 2cups of water.keep it aside.
• In a deep sauce pan warm ghee and roast almond and raisins for a minute.
• Add cinnamon powder,dessicated coconut to the ghee and saute for a minute.
• Now add rice.Mix well adding sugar.Try ro retain the shape of rice grains.
• Add milk and on low heat allow it to boil for 2-3minutes.Switch off the heat and allow it to settle for a minute.
• Serve hot.Great dessert or a festive dish.Cinnamon flavour gives a unique taste.Try !
• If you like to serve later,just add half a cup of warm milk with a spoon of sugar to the kheer before serving.(As rice absorbs the milk and kheer gets thickened if kept aside for a longer time).

Gobi rice

Preparation time-25mins
serves-4
Ingredients:
300gms gobi
2 medium sized onions
2 cups basmati rice
2 cloves
2 sps jeera
4 sps tomato ketchup
4 pods of garlic
2 dry red chillies
4 green chillies
3 pinches salt
5 sps sunflower oil
Method:

1. Separate gobi florets and blanch them in a bowl of hot water adding a pinch of salt for 10mins.
2. Soak rice in boiling water for 10mins.
   
3. Meanwhile chop onions into long thin slices,slit green chillies,crush red chillies and garlic pods.
4. Heat a deep sauce pan with oil.Add jeera.After they pop,lower the heat and add chopped onions,chillies and garlic.Fry them for 2mins.
5. Now add salt and tomato ketchup to the pan.
6. Drain gobi florets.wash them in cold water and add them to the pan.Mix evenly and allow them to fry for 2mins.
7. Drain and wash rice in cold water stream for 30-45seconds.Add this to the sauce pan.Mix even with onions and gobi.
8. Pour 3 glasses of filter water and close this with a lid and allow it cook.
9. Serve hot with onion raita.Simple and great dish.

Pongal

Preparation time-25mins
Serves-2
Ingredients:
1 cup yellow moong dal
2 cups rice
2 green chillies
2 pinches turmeric
2 sps jeera
1 sp black pepper
50gms ginger
3 pinches salt
2 sps cashew nuts
4 sps ghee
Method:

1. Wash rice and moong dal with water.
2. Adding turmeric,cook dal and rice in the same bowl under pressure for 3 whistles.
3. Add 1/2 glass more water than normal amount of water you use to cook rice.This makes the cooked mix smoother.
4. Meanwhile chop ginger and chillies finely.
5. Grind pepper into a coarse powder.
6. As dal and rice are cooked,add salt and blend it to smooth using a paddle when steaming.
   
7. Heat a deep pan,warm ghee in it.
8. Reduce heat.Fry cashews into honey color.Add jeera,chillies and ground pepper.Saute for a minute.
9. Switch off the heat.Add the blended dal and rice to this pan and mix evenly.
10. Serve hot.Tastes excellent and easy to prepare.Best when you have with peanut chutney.Worth trying!

Schezuan Fried rice

A Chinese dish worth trying!

Preparation time-25mins
Serves-2 to 3
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked basmati rice
1 big onion
4 green chillies
4 garlic pods
1/2 cup carrot pieces
1/2 cup cooked aloo
1/2 cup cooked beans
2 capsicum sliced
1/2 cup peas
10 cashew nuts
2 sps soya sauce
2 sps sugar
5 sps tomato ketchup
1 sp salt
4 sps sunflower oil
Method:

1. In a cup mix tomato ketchup,soya sauce,sugar and salt.Keep it aside.
2. Warm oil in a sauce pan and fry cashew nuts till light brown and keep them aside.
3. Chop onion and chillies into long thin slices and fry them for a minute till transparent.
4. Now add chopped and cooked carrot,aloo,peas and fry for 2mins.
5. Add capsicum pieces and fry for 3 more mins.
   
6. Pour the mixed sauce in this pan and mix well.
7. Reduce the heat and add 3 spoons of water and close the lid for 2mins.
8. Meanwhile saute cooked rice in a wide pan on low heat for 2mins for a crisp feel.
9. Add the cashews and ingredients of pan to the rice and mix well slowly.
   
10. Switch off the heat and serve with traditional chinese sticks.

Vaangi baath / Brinjal pulao

Preparation time-30mins
Serves : 3-4
Ingredients:
Cooked basmati rice-2 cups
Brinjal 500gms
2 medium siced onions
Masala:
Sunflower oil- 5 sps
Yellowgram(chana dal)-5 sps
Dry dhaniya-3 sps
Grated dry coconut-5 sps
3 sps of sesame
Cinnamon 1 small stick
Cloves-3
Red chillies (dry)-5
slit green chillies 5
Tamarind small lemon sized ball
Hing-2 pinches
cashews-5
1 spoon ginger garlic paste
7-8 curry leaves
1/2 sp salt to taste

Method:

1. Dry roast dhaniya seeds,grated coconut,chana dal,cinnamon,cloves with out oil for a minute.Allow it to cool.Grind along with tamarind and keep aside.
2. Warm oil in a pan.Put dry red chillies,slit green chillies,curry leaves,hing and cashews and fry for a minute.
3. Chop onion to long thin slices and saute till transparent.Now add ginger garlic paste to it.
4. Slice brinjal in to long slices and fry them with onion for 3mins.Close the lid on low heat for 5mins till brinjal gets cooked soft.
5. Sprinkle salt and add dry masala.keep it closed on low flame for 2mins.
6. Mean while boil the rice and spread the cooked rice in wide bowl and allow it to cool.It helps the pulao retaining the shape of rice.
7. Once cooled add rice to the pan with masala and switch off the heat.Mix well slowly and gently.
8. Garnish with roasted sesame seeds.
9. Serve hot.Tastes good with raita.

Tangy Mango rice

Ingredients:
2 sps of Sunflower oil
1 sp of mustard seeds
1 sp of black gram(urad dal)
1 sp of yellow gram(chena dal)
2 sliced green chillis
2 red chillies
pinch of turmeric
pinch of hing
5-6 curry leaves
1 medium sized green mango--grate it
2 cups of basmati rice--cook it-while cooking add 1 sp of extra oil to rice
1/2 sp salt
Method:

1. Take oil in a pan.heat it.
2. Put mustard seeds,blackgram,chena dal.
3. After seasoning it put red chillies,hing,turmeric,greenchillies,curry leaves and grated mango .
4. Take rice in a bowl and add the prepared tangy mango mix to the rice and salt.--its ready!!!!!
5. Garnish with coriander and serve.

Spicy tomato rice

Ingredients:
3 tomatoes
1 onion
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon crushed redchilly
2 pods garlic
5 green chillies
2 cups basmati rice
  
Preparation:

1. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in hot saucepan and allow mustard seeds to splutter.
2. Then add vertically slit green chillies and chopped onion and fry till brown.Then add redchilly flakes and garlic.Wait for a minute and then add finely chopped tomatoes.
3. Add salt and leave it to boil on low flame for 5mins till oil separates from the tomato mix.Then turn off the flame.
4. Add cooked rice to the pan and mix it gently and evenly.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander.Will taste good as it is and also with curds.

Peas Pulao

Preparation time-25mins
Serves-4
Ingredients:
3 cups basmati rice
2 cups green peas
1 big onion
1 cup chopped coriander
3 sps kaju
3 sps raisins
2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 sp whole jeera
1 sp salt
6 green chillies
2 sps ghee
3 sps sunflower oil
Method:

1. In a deep sauce pan,add ghee and warm it.When warm fry kaju and raisins.keep them aside in a plate.
2. In the same pan heat sunflower oil and add jeera,cloves,crushed cinnamon,sliced green chillies,bay leaves and saute till they release flavours.
3. Chop onion fine and add it to the pan and fry till transparent.Add salt at this point.
   
4. Now wash and add peas to the pan and mix well with the ingredients.
5. Wash basmati rice in flowing water for a minute.
6. Add it to the pan mixing with peas and onion mixture.
7. Put 6 cups of water in the pan and close the lid.Always take same cup to measure ingredients for any recipe.
   
8. Pan should be big enough to allow palao cook properly.If not rice grains will not seperate from each other.
9. Cook it on low heat for 15mins and keep an eye whilst cooking.
10. When done,transfer it into serving bowl and garnish with fried kaju,raisins,ghee and chopped coriander.
11. You can have it with any gravy curry or it tastes perfect with cucumber raita.
12. Simple and quick special dish for weekend parties.Its my favourite lunch box recipe high in proteins.Try and leave me your comments.

Lemon rice

Preparation time-15mins
Serves-4
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked basmati rice
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 sps urad dal
2 sps chana dal
1 sp mustard seeds
1/2 sp fenugreek seeds
2 pinches hing
1/2 cup groundnuts
4 dry red chillies
6 green chillies
1 sp salt
3 pinches turmeric powder
10-12 curry leaves
1/4 cup chopped coriander
1/4 cup sunflower oil
Method:

1. In a sauce pan heat oil and add urad dal,chana dal and mustard seeds.
2. Once they splutter lower the heat and add fenugreek seeds,groundnuts,hing,curry leaves,dry red chillies,slit green chillies.
3. Now switch off the heat and add turmeric powder to the pan and mix evenly.
4. Add salt to lemon juice and stir well.
5. In a wide bowl add this seasoning and lemon juice to the cooked basmati rice and gently mix all ingredients.
6. Garnish with coriander.
7. This serves best as traditional dish for festive season.Easy to prepare and can be packed for lunch box.