Vegetable Platter

Tomato & Rosemary Soup

Shankar's Pulao

I guess, most of you reading this would know that it was my Birthday a couple of days ago .. Well, Shankar, surprised me with this Pulao for the Birthday lunch .. Hence, the name of this dish :-)

I was actually quite thrilled with the idea that He'd be cooking something. Since he is a novice, I wanted to ~~give him instructions~~ lend a helping hand But I was shooed away from the kitchen The only thing I did was, measure Basmati rice & soak it in water. I really don't know where he got this recipe from, but it was just fabulous ..

You Will Need:

1 cup Basmati Rice - washed & soaked for about an hour
2 carrots - diced
1 large potato - diced
A handful of beans - chopped
1/2 cup - cauliflower florets
1/2 cup green peas
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam Masala
Salt as per taste
2 tsp desi ghee
2 tsp oil
fresh coriander for garnish

For the Paste:

2 medium sized onions - roughly chopped
1' cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 green cardamons
1 tsp poppy seeds
4 green chillies
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
A handful of fresh mint leaves

How To:

Heat oil a small pan, add all the ingredients mentioned in the 'Paste' list & fry until the onions are golden brown. Allow it to cool & grind into a smooth paste using very little water
Heat Ghee in a pressure cooker, add ginger-garlic paste. Add all the vegetables one by one. Add the ground paste, chilli poiwer & Garam Masala & mix well. Drain the soaked rice & add into the pressure cooker. Add salt & 1 1/2 cups of water. Add 2 tsp cooking oil. Stir well & check for salt again.
Close the lid & allow to to pressure cook for 1 whistle. Set aside to cool
Once the pressure is released, open the lid, Add lemon juice & chopped coriander & fluff gently with a fork.
Transfer to a serving bowl

Serve with any Raita of your choice .. Enjoi !!!

While, Shankar was at it, I was quite unhappy about the fact the he was frying up all the ingredients to make a paste. I told him, it wasn't necessary because the paste will anyways be sauteed before adding rice. Because of this, we actually had a mini fight in between :-) But the end result was very good .. Frying up the spices before grinding does lend a unique taste .. Do not skip it, if you are going to be trying this ..

Anyways, I did have a Fab Birthday .. All of you, who stopped by to wish me, Thanks so much .. It really made my day :-)

21 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Desserts

Rasmalai with a Hint of Mango

26 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Breakfast Dishes

South Indies: Broken Wheat Pongal

16 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Tea Time Snacks

Herbed Cream Cheese & Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

18 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Desserts

Mango Burfi

27 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Chickpea Recipes

Palak & Chana Pulao

After an overdose of all things mango, I made this over the weekend ... A simple Pulao with spinach & chickpeas ..

This is very simple to make, you don't even have to add chickpeas, I did because I had some leftover cooked chickpeas on hand & I didn't have any green peas in the pantry. But I loved the addition of chickpeas anyways .. And, I love the fresh green color that spinach lends ... Take a look

You Will Need:

4 bunches of spinach -
1/4 cup chickpeas - soaked overnight or for 6 hrs
1 cup Basmati rice
4 green chillies
2 onions - sliced lengthwise
3 -4 cloves
2 sticks of cinnamon
A small piece of ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Desi Ghee
Garlic - 3 cloves
Salt as per taste
1 tbsp vegetable oil

How To:

Wash basmati rice in several changes of water. Soak in water & set aside for 30 mins. Meanwhile, wash & clean spinach. Chop finely & blanch along with green chillies. Once cool, grind into a smooth paste along with ginger & garlic.
Pressure cook chickpeas with a little bit of salt & set aside.
In a pressure cooker, Heat a tsp of desi ghee, add drained basmati rice & saute until aromatic. Add 1 1/4 cups of water & pressure cook. Once cool, spread rice on a wide plate & set aside to cool
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add bay leaves, cloves & cinnamon. Add chopped onions & saute until they turn pink. To this add cooked chickpeas & add spinach paste & some salt. Cook on low flame for about 5 mins.
To this, add cooked rice, Garam Masala & mix well. Let it stand on low flame for about 5 mins for the flavours to absorb. Keep tossing in between so that the bottom doesn't get burnt
Add lemon juice & check for salt again. Give it a gentle mix.
Let it stand for about 5 mins.

Transfer to a serving bowl .. Serve with raita .. Enjoi !!!

NOTE: I am obsessed with making rice first & then mixing it with the prepared gravy .. But you can go ahead and add uncooked rice, water & pressure cook until done :) Its a lot more easier, I just don't know, why I can't get myself to do it ...