Count down to Due date of my Second Blessing

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Vegetable Biriyani

Hmm Such a long time since I posted anything.  Time seems to fly. For pongal I had made vegetable biriyani, and now almost two months and I am getting down to posting this. Well, better late than never I say.



Ingredients:

1/2 a head of medium sized cauliflower
2 medium sized carrots
2 fist sized potatoes. (preferably not the floury type)
10 to 15 snap beans
1 capsicum
One handful fresh peas/ frozen also will do.

Process all the veggies to uniform sized pieces. Keep aside.

For masala:

2 Nos - Onions Finely sliced.
3 tomatoes - Chopped
3 green chillies - slit vertically
2 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste
1 Tbsp - Corriander Powder or malli masala powder
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp pepper jeera powder
1 inch Cinnamon stick
5 nos cloves
3 cardomom pods
2 bay leaves.
1 tbsp - ghee
2 tbsp - Oil.
1 tbsp - salt or to taste.
1/2 cup Butter milk or yoghurt.
One handful each - Chopped corriander & Chopped mint

Rice:

3 cups Long grain Indian Basmati Rice - wash gently, soak in water for 20 mins to 30 mins.

Procedure:

Heat a mixture of ghee & oil in a vessel large enough to hold the veggies + rice + Water + 2 inches head space. (around 15 cups water in this instance)
Keep heat at medium.
Add whole spices.
When they release their aroma, add chopped onions & green chillies. fry till golden.
Add ginger garlic paster. sautee till raw smell goes.
Add spice powders and salt.
Add tomatoes and stir till cooked to mush.
Add butter milk or curds, stir to combine and add chopped vegetables except Capsicum.
Let veggies cook. It may take 15 mins to 30 mins depending upon the size of the peices.
Add 4 cups boiling water. (the rest 2 cups needed will be from the veggies masala)
Add the capsicum pieces, herbs, Juice of half a lemon if the tomatoes are not sour enough. Check for salt and spice level. The masala with water should taste slightly saltier than your normal salt level.
Add soaked and drained rice. Bring to boil.
Lower heat to a sim. Close vessel with a tight fitting lid. Steam for ten mins. Check Rice for doneness. Cook for a few more mins if necessary.
Fluff rice when serving.



Note : I add capsicum when adding rice because otherwise the capsicum turns to mush. This way you can actually see the capsicum pieces. This will be espescially attractive if you use different coloured capsicums. If you wish to include beet root, cook beetroot seperately in salted water till three fourths done. drain and add only the pieces when adding rice. Otherwise you will get pink or orange coloured biriyani :-)




Saturday, February 11, 2012

Aval Potato Upma

I needed a healthy B'fast. Bread and Jam was sounding yuk to me. Too tired from yesterdays trip to Rabigh Corniche. So I remembered I had a packet of Aval (Beaten Rice Flakes) lying in my cupboard, Cooked Whole potato in the fridge. Yay! I used brown rice flakes so healthy also.



Ingredients:
1 cup Aval
1 Boiled potato
1 green chilli
1 smallish onion
1/2 inch ginger
1 sprig curry leaves
Juice of one lemon or lesser
1/2 spoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 spoon Mustard
1/2 spoon udad dal
1/2 spoom chana dal
One shake Hing (asafoetida)
One tablespoon oil or lesser.
One or two tsps grated coconut.
coarsely crushed ground nuts/Cashews around one tbsp or so
salt to taste.

Soak aval in water. Drain in a collander or seive. Meanwhile chop  onion, green chilli, ginger. Cube potato.

Heal oil in a kadai, add chana dal, udad dal, mustard, curry leaves, hing, then the chopped items. add turmeric and salt to taste. add potato cubes and sautee a little. Add drained and by now soft and fluffy aval. Mix untill hot. Add lemon juice, grated coconuts and coarsely crushed nuts.

Khalas. Thats all. B'fast ready. This whole process took me only seven mins.

This is a maharashtrian dish, but I forget the original name.
By the by, rabigh corniche was lovely. I had a free foot massage as the beach was gravelly. So many smooth and shiny pebbles. Lovely. I have only seen aquariums filled with pebbles not a whole beach. Quiet waves lapping at my feet, inspite of the day being very windy.  Got to go again to collect the smoothest shiniest pebbles.

free foot massage - How does it sound? Good eh?


I am sending this to Show me Your HITS by Sangee at Spicy treats.



I am also sending this to Anzz Valentine special event  and Anyone can cook series 42 at taste of pearl city



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