Vegetable Pulao

This is one of the things I absolutely love as it's so easy to make, tastes delicious and is a meal on its own!


Ingredients (serves 4):
1 cup rice
2 bay leaves
12-15 long green beans
1 red onion sliced in long wedges
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
2 green chillies
Salt to taste
Pulao Masala:
4 cloves
2 cardamoms
2 small sticks of cinnamon
1 tbsp cumin
Vegetables:
Mixed vegetables( peas, lima beans, corn, carrots)
Cauliflower cut into bite size pieces (optional)
Potatoes cut into cubes (optional)


Preparation:
Heat a cooking pan on medium heat, and add the oil.
Add onions, green chillies and ginger garlic paste, bay leaves, stir till onions turn brown.
Grind the pulao masala ingredients in a coffee grinder to a fine powder.
Add to the cooking pan, stir for a 1 min.
Add the vegetables mentioned above and stir till the water from the vegetables evaporates.
Wash the rice under water, drain and add to the cooking pan with the rest of the ingredients.
Stir for 3-4 minutes under medium-high heat.
Add salt, mix.

Alternative 1: In a rice cooker, add this mix from the pan, 3.5 cups water(Tip for good Pulav/Biryani is to always add less water than usual to give a dry consistency to the finished rice). Add 2 drops of Kewra water.
Cook until done.

Alternative 2: This is handy when you have left over rice. Once the vegetables & spice mix is done, mix the rice in and stir for 2-3 minutes until well mixed.

Serving suggestion:
Serve hot With yogurt raita

Chinese vegetable fried rice

You know what sometimes just waters my mouth is a delicious fried rice full of savoury vegetables and just enough spice !;)

Ingredients
[For 4 people]
2 cups cooked rice (better if its left over as the moisture in the rice is either evaporated or lost in refrigeration giving it a dry consistency, which is key). If you are preparing the rice fresh, once cooked lay it out on a open dish so the heat and vapor is gone.
5-6 garlic cloves
Broccoli cut into medium size pieces
10-12 Green beans chopped
5 carrots diced
12 white button mushrooms chopped
6-7 snow peas
1 bell pepper cut in thin long wedges
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
3 dried red chillies
3 eggs
1 onion (1 big or 2 small)
Green peas
Spring Onions for garnish

Process
In a wok, heat some oil (You can add butter to give it a richer taste)
Add 5-6 garlic cloves finely cut TIP: shouldn't let them brown too much otherwise they will give a bitter taste
when they just about start to turn yellow, add onions(one big, or 2 small) finely cut - can be largely cut if you like to see them.
add 1 tsp black pepper
add some red pepper flakes and red chillies. You can also add green chillies instead
once onions are fried, add the vegetables except bell peppers, salt to taste; about 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
Let the veggies let go of the water in them - might take up to 3-5 minutes
Add bell peppers, mix, push it to the side of the pan
Break open 3 eggs - scramble them on the wok
once the eggs are cooked, mix with rice and stir
Add 2 tsp white pepper.
1 tsp black pepper again
check the taste to see if more soy sauce is needed
add spring onions if you have, else its fine
toss it, and serve.

Idli

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 cup Urad Dal
2 cups Idli Rawa
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Soak the Urad Dal for 3-4 hours.
Grind dal in a blender to a smooth consistency (make sure the dough is not too think or too thin)
Add the idli rawa to this mix.
Transfer into a container such that the dough only takes up a third of the room inside, you would need the additional room to give space for the fermented dough - you will know what I mean when you try this out, otherwise you may just wake up to a surprise ;)
Leave it overnight or by a window that gets sufficient sunlight during the day.
When you see the dough rise to twice its height inside the container, your dosa dough is ready!
Once fermented, mix the dough properly, add 1 tbsp salt. You may need to add some water depending upon how you blended the dough in the first place.
Once caution is the batter needs to be thick as though you are making a cake.

For cooking idlis, you would need a idli container/maker
Sprinkle a drop of oil or spray some oil onto the cups made to hold the batter.
Pour the dough so it occupies half the space available.
Cook in a pressure cooker or the idli maker.
It typically takes 12-15 minutes for a 16 size idli maker.
When done, allow the vapour to go away and idlis to cool down just slightly before you scoop them out.

Serve with besan chutney/coconut chutney/peanut chutney.

** The key thing with dosas and idlis is fermentation process without which they just don't taste right. So make sure you plan in advance.

Dosas with Rice Flour

Grinding rice to a smooth consistency is not easy.. those who have done will know what I am talking about. Blending dal is way easier and quicker. So replacing rice with rice flour was suggested by my mother-in-law, I always thank her for this tip as it makes preparing the dough so much easier! This post is just a tad bit simpler process to making dosas.. Enjoy!

Ingrediants (serves 6)
1 cup Urad Dal
2 cups Rice Flour
1 tsp methi(fenugreek) seeds (optional)

Preparation:
Soak the Urad Dal and Methi for 3-4 hours.
Grind them in a blender to an extra smooth consistency (make sure the dough is not too think or too thin)
Add the rice flour to this mix.
Transfer into a container such that the dough only takes up a third of the room inside, you would need the additional room to give space for the fermented dough - you will know what I mean when you try this out, otherwise you may just wake up to a surprise ;)
Leave it overnight or by a window that gets sufficient sunlight during the day.
When you see the dough rise to twice its height inside the container, your dosa dough is ready!

Before pouring the batter onto a dosa pan, mix the dough and add some salt and a 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds.
Heat a circular flat pan until it's heated to medium-high heat.
You may sprinkle a drop of oil or spray some before pouring out the first dosa.
You would need a spatula with a circular mouth that can contain the dough as well as can be used in spreading it evenly in circles to occupy most of the pan's surface area.
Let the dosa brown, cook on both sides.

Serve with besan chutney/coconut chutney/peanut chutney.

** The key thing with dosas and idlis is fermentation process without which they just dont taste right. So make sure you plan in advance if you want to make dosas.

Dosas

You may sometimes find yourself in the middle of a discussion between what's better - dosas from the scratch or pack mix or using rice flour.. At least I have a couple times ;)

I think it's all upon your convenience and mood. I simply LOVE cooking, but there are times when I just say "Thank you Gits"

Here's my mom's recipe I used to follow for the longest time until.. for this you need to read my next post ;)

Ingrediants (serves 6)
1 cup Urad Dal
2 cups Rice
1 tsp methi(fenugreek) seeds (optional)

Preparation:
Soak the above ingrediants for 3-4 hours.
Grind them in a blender to an extra smooth consistency (make sure the dough is not too think or too thin)
Transfer into a container such that the dough only takes up a third of the room inside, you would need the additional room to give space for the fermented dough - you will know what I mean when you try this out, otherwise you may just wake up to a surprise ;)
Leave it overnight or by a window that gets sufficient sunlight during the day.
When you see the dough rise to twice its height inside the container, your dosa dough is ready!

Before pouring the batter onto a dosa pan, mix the dough and add some salt and a 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds.
Heat a circular flat pan until it's heated to medium-high heat.
You may sprinkle a drop of oil or spray some before pouring out the first dosa.
You would need a spatula with a circular mouth that can contain the dough as well as can be used in spreading it evenly in circles to occupy most of the pan's surface area.
Let the dosa brown, cook on both sides.

Serve with besan chutney/coconut chutney/peanut chutney.

** The key thing with dosas and idlis is fermentation process without which they just dont taste right. So make sure you plan in advance if you want to make dosas.

Chinese Broccoli Stir-fry

A good friend of Mahesh, Bentley, introduced me to this awesome vegetable! So now there I am at the chinese/asian supermarket every other week or month going for one precise reason, well I should say two - 1)Basil leaves 2) Chinese broccoli

This is the simplest recipe but with great results and very healthy for you, an excuse to get some greens in your body.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of chinese broccoli cut in halves
3 pieces of garlic chopped
1 whole red chilli broken into halves
3 tsp soy sauce (for low sodium, use lite soy sauce)
1 pinch of black pepper (optional)
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Wash the broccoli thoroughly, as the last thing you want is sand on your teeth. One minor fact that sometime people overlook is the manner to wash the greens - Never put them in running water hoping the sand/soil will wash away.
1.Make sure you wash them in a deep dish immerse the leaves in the water
2.Take them out into a second container by hand (Don't drain the water from the leaves instead as the left over sand lying as sediment will stick back on the leaves)
Repeast 1, 2 as needed. I do it at least twice maybe a third time if I still see sand in the water.

In a pan, warm a dash of olive oil (or sesame oil or peanut oil for alternative flavor)
Add the garlic and red chili
Immediately add the chinese broccoli, soy sauce and salt
Sprinkle a few drops of water and cover with a lid.
Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes and turn the stove off.

Serve as a side with chinese chicken fried rice
Or
Just eat it as a meal!

Chicken Bihari Kebab

For the longest time I used to think that Bihari Kebab is only made out of ground beef. During my last visit to visit Mahesh's(my husband) parents in Atlanta, we went to eat at a restaurant called 'Lukma'. Mom ordered Chicken Bihari kebab and it was just delicious.

I returned to Austin but the taste just haunted me and I had to give it a try on my own. So I started reading online and I found there are several ways to make them with beef.

This is a recipe with some of my personal favourites in grilling ingredients that I tried with and found very pleasing results.

Ingredients:
2 lbs Chicken breast fillets cut in thin strips length wise

Marinade ingredients:
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 of raw medium size raw papaya
1 tbsp amchur
1/2 lime freshly squeezed
1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp red chili powder
2-3 green chillies
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp Shaan Bihari Kebab Masala
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Cut the onions in wedges and saute them in a pan until they turn golden brown
Let the onions cool down, and then in a blender, grind the onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and yogurt(for providing the liquid consistency while grinding)
Once that becomes a paste, add the raw papaya cut into pieces and blend.

For preparing the marinade, add the contents from the blender in a long dish (so the chicken pieces can sit lengthwise), add the rest of the marinade ingredients, add the meat.
Cover with a lid, and refrigerate overnight.

Cooking on a grill:
Make sure the heat is mild/low, as the breast pieces are very delicate and will burn off easily.
Take some skewers and arrange the meat in length.
Before putting on the grill, make sure there's plenty of marinade on all sides, especially the bottom of the meat.
Spray some oil for protective coating and effective cooking.
Let the meat cook on the bottom, do not turn the meat until the bottom is done completely else the marinade will not come off with the meat when you turn.
Cook to completion.

Cooking in a conventional oven:
Most kebab dishes taste good on a grill, however in this case, I found cooking in the oven more effective as we can carefully regulate the heat and broil it when needed in controlled conditions.
All the instructions are the same for placement of the meat and grilling, except the temperature conditions.
I cooked the meat on lo Broil settings until the 1st turn of the kebabs. For the second turn, you can put it in high broil as the breast meat cooks very fast. Really, what you are broiling at this point is the marinade.

Serve with yogurt raita or fresh onions and lime.