Bhaths, Pulaos, Rices & Saadams!

I do not add much spices to this dish, since they mask the pudina flavour greatly. By this recipe we get a rice which has fully absorbed the flavour of only pudina.

Basmathi rice - 1 cup

Onion - 2 – chop ( optional)

Pudina leaves - 1 cup – do not chop with knife, but pinch with hand for best flavour

Lime juice - 2 tsp

Water - 2 cups ( or less, depending on the rice)

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1 “

Cloves - 4

Shahjeera - ½ tsp

Salt

Wash & soak rice for 15 mtes.

Drain & keep ready.

Heat ghee in a pressure pan & fry cinnamon, cloves & shahjeera.

Then add chopped onion & saute till they become glossy.

Add rice & fry for a few mts.

Add water, salt & pinched pudina leaves.

When the mixture starts boiling, close the cooker & put the weight.

Immediately simmer the flame & cook for 10 mts.

Cool, open, add lime juice, mix well & keep it closed for sometime till you serve.

Note:

Pudina, pinched by hand & added raw when water is boiling, gives a different & nice flavour.

Basmathi - 1 cup

Corn kernels - 1 cup – boil & keep

Onion - 1 – chop

Bay leaves - 1

Cinnamon - 1 “

Cloves - 2

Cardamom - 2

Saffron - a pinch ( mix with 2 tsp hot milk)

Salt

Oil + ghee – 2 tbsp

Grind together:

Onion - 1

Garlic - 3

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp

Haldi - a pinch

Garam masala powder - ¼ tsp

Ginger - 1 “

To decorate:

Onion - 1 – slice thin

Cashewnuts, chopped - 1 tbsp

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Wash & soak rice for 15 mts.

Drain & keep ready.

In a pressure pan heat oil – ghee mixture.

Temper cinnamon, cloves, cardamom & bay leaves.

When they splutter, add chopped onions.

When they are lightly fried, add the ground masala & fry till the raw smell goes.

Add rice, fry for a few mts & then add 2 cups of water, salt & boiled corn kernels.

When the mixture starts boiling, close the cooker & lower the flame.

Cook for 10 mts & switch off.

Cool, open & add saffron dissolved in milk.

Lightly mix.

Decorate with browned onions,cashews & raisins fried in 2 tsp ghee.

This goes well with any curd based raitha.
For koftas:
Grated cauliflower - 2 cups

Besan - 2 tbsp

Green chillies - 4

Garlic - 4,5 flakes

Ginger - 1 “

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Salt, haldi, chopped coriander leaves

Wash well, drain & steam cauliflower.

Grind with ginger, garlic, green chillies & mix with besan ,chopped coriander leaves, garam masala & salt.

Make into koftas, deep fry & keep.

Pulao:

Basmati - 1 cup

Salt

Onion - 1 – chop

Ghee + oil - 3 tbsp

Grind to a paste:

Ginger - 1 “

Green chillis - 4

Garlic - 5,6

Dhaniya - 2 tsp

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Roast in ½ tsp ghee & powder:

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon - ½ “

Cardamom - 3

Pepper - ½ tsp

To garnish:

Cashewnuts & raisins - 1 tbsp, each

Wash, soak rice for 15 mts & drain.

In a pressure pan, heat ghee-oil mixture, fry onions till glossy.

Add ground paste till raw smell goes & add rice.

Roast for a few mts, add salt & the masala powder.

When the mixture starts boiling, close the cooker, keep the weight & reduce the flame.

Cook for 10 mts.

Cool & open.

Make a depression in the center, keep the koftas in it & cover with some pulao.

This will help the pulao absorb the kofta flavour.

Garnish with cashews & raisins fried in ghee.

This can be cerved with any chilled raitha.

Thin variety of rice - 1 cup

Small onions - 1 cup ( peel & cut lengthwise into 2, 3 pieces)

Grated coconut - ½ cup

Salt

Oil - 3 tbsp

To temper;

Cinnamon - 1”

Cardamom - 2

Cloves - 2

Red chillies - 5,6

Jeera - ½ tsp

Wash & soak the rice for 15 mts.

Drain & keep ready.

Add warm water to coconut, extract milk & make it up to 2 cups, adding water.

In a pressure pan, heat oil, temper the given ingredients & then fry the onions well.

The add the rice, fry till it stands in peaks.

Add salt & coconut milk – water mixture.

When the mixture stars boiling rapidly, close the cooker & put the weight.

Lower the flame & cook for 10 mts.

Thin variety of rice - 1 cup

Freshly grated coconut - 1 cup ( grate only the white portion )

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tbsp

Red chillies - 2

Green chillies - 2 ( slit vertically )

Curry leaves - few

Hing - ½ tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt, little sugar

Soak urad dhal for one hour, drain & dry in a cloth.

Cook rice so that the grains are separate & cool the same.

Refer;
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3578&postcount=65

Heat oil in a kadai, temper mustard seeds, red chillies & add urad dhal.

Fry till light brown, add green chillies, hing, coconut & curry leaves.

Fry uniformly till coconut colour changes to light golden colour.

Remove, add cooled rice & salt.

Mix well.

Addition of little sugar makes it very tasty, but this is one’s choice.

Just before serving I add 1 tbsp fresh raw grated coconut & a tsp raw coconut oil for a very good flavour.

Use mangoes which are medium sour for a good taste. If you grate it ,it is likely to become mushy. So chop into small pieces.

Thin variety if rice - 1 cup

Finely chopped mango - ¾ + ¼ cup

Salt

To grind together:

Red chillies - 2,3

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Chopped mango - ¼ cup

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Haldi - a pinch

To temper:

Oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Gram dhal - 2 tbsp ( soak for 1 hr & drain well)

Red chilli - 1,2

Hing - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few

Cook rice so that grains are separate.

Cool by spreading on a plate.

Heat oil & temper as given

When the gram dhal becomes light brown, add mango cubes.

Cook for a few mts till mango is done.

Add ground paste & fry carefully & lightly to remove the raw smell.

Remove & add to rice with salt.

Mix thoroughly.

1 tbsp raw oil added at the end gives a nice taste.

Serve with appalam & any kootu.

This dish is mildly sweet, but deliciously rich.

Basmathi rice - 1 cup

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Sugar - 3 tbsp ( minimum), can use upto 5 tbsp

Almonds -- 25 gms

Raisins - 25 gms

Pista - 25 gms

Cashew - 25 gms

Dates - 3, thinly sliced ( optional)

Dry coconut - a small piece ( optional)

Yelolow colour - 2, 3 drops

Saffron - a pinch ( warm & powder)

Cloves - 2

Cardamoms - 2

Salt - a tiny pinch

Wash & soak the rice for 15 mts.

Drain & keep ready.

Heat a pressure pan & add 1 tbsp ghee.

Out in cardamoms & cloves.

When they pop, add rice & fry a little.

Add colour, a pinch of salt & 2 cups of water.

When the water starts boiling, close the cooker & keep the weight.

Simmer & cook for 10 mts.

Cool, open & toss in the saffron.

Grease a pyrex dish well.

Place a layer of rice at the bottom.

On this sprinkile part of the sugar, nuts, raisins & dates.

Sprinkle a little warm ghee.

Repeat the layers & finish with rice.

Cover & microwave for 5 mts ( or baking can be done).

While serving gently mix with a fork.

Serve hot.

This rice is prepared with sprouted kollu & is very tasty.

To sprout horse gram or kollu, refer to

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16556&postcount=159

Thin variety of rice - 1 cup

Sprouted kollu - 1 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Salt, haldi

To roast in ½ tsp oil & powder:

Red chillies - 5,6

Gram dhal - 1 tbsp

Urad dhal - 2tsp

Dhaniya - 4 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Methi seeds - ½ tsp

Copra - 1 tbsp

Soak rice for 15 mts, wash & drain.

In a pressure pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee & fry rice till it becomes slightly stiff.

Add 2- 2 ¼ cups of water, sprouts, haldi & little salt.

When the water starts boiling vigorously, close the cooker, put the weight & immediately lower the flame.

Cook for 10 mts.

Cool, open, add the freshly made powder, 1 tbsp & a little more salt.

Mix thoroughly & serve.

If you are not using sprouted kollu, slghtly roast 3 tbsp of kollu to light brown colour, soak for 3 hrs, drain & proceed the same way.

Serve with any raitha.

This is a simple recipe, but when served hot for lunch or dinner, is always a sure hit because of our weakness for vathakuzambu.

Make any vatha kuzambu – it can be with any vathal like sudaikkai or manathakkali or it can be menthaya kuzambu with drumstick or brinjal or ladies’ finger. Make it quite hot & spicy since we are going to mix it with rice.

Cooked rice - 1 cup

Vathakuzambu - 1 cup or more

For topping powder, fry in 1 tsp oil & powder:

Pepper - 1 tsp

Dhaniya - 2 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Tur dhal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Mix rice, kuzambu & the powder to a uniform mixture.

Add 1 tbsp gingelly oil as a topping & serve hot with appalam & chips.

This is a very old traditional recipe, but at the same time very novel. You can make this for lunch or dinner when you want to avoid onions & masala.
Use all the vegetables generally used for avail.

Rice - 1 cup

Vegetables - 2 cups ( cut as for avail)

Besan - 1 tbsp

Water - 2 cups

Karasev - 100 gms ( can be store-bought)

Vadai - 5, 6 ( as given)

Curds - 1 cup

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp

Oil - as given

To temper:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 4,5

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Gram dhal - 2 tsp

Tur dhal - 2 tsp

Pepper - ½ tsp

Jeera - ½ tsp

Hing - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt, haldi

Topping - 2 tbsp ghee

Cook rice soft.

Soak ½ cup urad dhal for 30 mtes, grind coarse with salt & fry tiny vadais.

Heat 2 tbsp oil & temper all ingredients as given.

Add 2 cups water + tamarind paste + vegetables & haldi + salt.

Mix besan with curds & keep ready.

When the vegetables are cooked, add the curd-besan mixture.

Simmer & cook for a few mtes.

Add the rice & mixwell.

As soon as you remove add karasevai, mini vadais & top with ghee.

Serve hot.

This does not require a side-dish at all !