Kuska Biriyani(Empty biriyani)

 INGREDIENTS:

Fennel seeds aka saunf- 1 tbsp

Cloves- 2

Elaichi-2

Cinnamon stick- small piece

Bay leaf- 1 big or 2 small

Star anise- 2 

Kal paasi( dry sea weed-- 2 

Mint leaves and cilantro- a handful

Green chillies-2 or 3 depending on spice

Onion- 1 small

Tomato-1 small

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Rice- 1 cup

Coconut milk-1 cup, water- 1 cup

Turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt- To taste.

PROCEDURE:

• Soak a cup of rice in water.
• In a pot, add oil and all the dry spices and allow to splatter.
• Add sliced onions and cook till brown. Add ginger garlic paste and green chillies.
• Once the raw smell is gone, add tomatoes and mint leaves and cilantro. 
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and close the lid and allow to cook.
• Once oil separates add water and coconut milk. They need to come to a rolling boil. 
• Now add the rice and cook for 12 minutes and turn off stove.
• Serve with boiled eggs and salna.

Gobi 65 Veg fried rice

GOBI 65

INGREDIENTS:

Frozen cauliflower-1/2 packet
Maida-2 tbsp
Corn flour- 2 tbsp
Rice flour- 1 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
Red chilli powder, Garam Masala, Daniya powder, pepper powder, salt-To taste
Egg-beaten optional
Red color- optional

FRIED RICE:

White Rice- 1 cup boiled
Ginger- grated
Garlic- chopped equally
Cabbage, Carrot, Fresh beans, Bell peppers, Green onions, cilantro
Egg- 2 nos beaten(optional)
Soy Sauce-1 tbsp
Rice vinegar- 1 tsp
White pepper and black pepper
Salt

PROCEDURE:

• Mix all ingredients for gobi 65 and fry in oil and keep aside. If you double fry the gobi, it will be crunchy and nice.
•  For 1 cup basmati rice, add 2 cups of water, 1 tsp of oil, a pinch of salt bring to a boil and cook. Allow to cool completely. This will allow rice to keep its shape without breaking.
• In a pan add oil, add white part of green onions, some sliced onions, ginger, garlic,all/any vegetables of your choice and saute till cooked.
• move the vegetables to one side and add oil and crack eggs and add salt pepper to egg portion and scramble it. Once cooked, mix it with the vegetables within the pan.
• Now add soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper and mix well. Add the fried gobi now.
• Add cooked rice and mix together.
• Garnish with cilantro and green part of green cilantro and serve hot. 
• For some extra spice, you can add Chinese green sauce or couple of green chillies while making the fried rice. This is optional.
• Instead of gobi, you can use same recipe for making chicken 65 fried rice. Equally tasty

Arisi Paruppu Sadam- Kovai Special

This is a Coimbatore district special and favorite. Almost like sambar sadam but with a little more flavor.

INGREDIENTS:

Toor dal- 1 cup
Rice- 1.5 cups
Onions- 1 medium, chopped fine
Tomatoes- Equal amount, 2 nos, chopped
Garlic- 2 tbsp, peeled and minced/crushed
Green chillies- 4 nos, slit
Fennel seeds- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder, Sambar Powder- To taste
Curry Leaves- A few
Cilantro- To garnish

PROCEDURE:

1. Wash the toor dal and rice and separately and keep aside.
2. In a rice cooker, add oil, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and allow to splutter.
3. Add chopped onions and crushed garlic and saute till golden. Add green chillies and mix and then add tomatoes till well cooked.
4. Add the masala powders and salt and now add the rice and mix well.
5. Now add the toor dal and water in the proportion 1:2 which will be 5 cups of water and close the lid.Allow to pressure cook till well done.
6. Open the cooker and add some ghee and cilantro for garnish.
7. Serve hot with vadakam and any vegetable side dish of your choice but typically served with drum stick masala.

Vegetable Pulao

INGREDIENTS:

Cloves,Cinnamon stick,bay leaf- for flavor
Onions-1/2 medium sliced
green chillies-2 to 3 sliced
ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp to as much desired
Carrot peas(frozen)-1/4 cup
capsicum optional
Mint leaves,Coriander leaves- chopped to garnish
Cashews,raisins(optional)
Rice-1.5 cups

PROCEDURE:

1. In a pan with little oil,add cloves,cinnamon sticks,bay leaf
2. Once they pop,add sliced onions,green chillies and ginger garlic paste
3. Add frozen carrot,peas(or just peas) and saute well
4. Add some cumin powder and garam masala powder.
5. Add the washed rice and fry till dry.
6. Add 1: 2 ratio water with 1/2 a cup extra for the veggies
7. Once cooked add cashews,raisins sauteed in ghee and add chopped cilantro and mint leaves

Tip:
You can add little milk for flavor. If you add too much it will come out of the cooker and you will end up cleaning.

Bisi bela Baath

The interesting story to this recipe is that I never liked Bisibellahbaath when I was in India until I had it here. Although I wouldnt want to eat it regularly,I absolutely had times when I craved for it a lot. Then I got a variety of recipes from friends and online and finally tried it at home as a combination and thankfully I loved it and it was all done.Stories apart here is the recipe I tried:

INGREDIENTS:

Dry Roast and Grind:

Pepper corns-1 tsp
Red chillies-4 or 5 or desired
Coriander seeds- A palmful
Channa dal- 1 tsp
Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
Gaza gaza-1/4 tsp
Elaichi,Cloves-2 ,max 3
Cinnamon stick
Jeera-1 tsp
Asafoetida- Few puffs
Flaked Coconut-1 1/2 tbsp- add coconut in the last minute and make sure not to over roast them

Cooker:

Toor dal-3/4 cup
Rice-1 cup
Tomato -1 big
Vegetables of your desire

Saute Ingredients:

Green chillies-1 sliced optional
Onions-1/2 sliced thin,pearl onions are a good option too
Curry Leaves

Jaggery-1 tsp for extra taste.

Tamarind paste-1 tbsp or more according to the tartness you like.

PROCEDURE:

 

1. Boil the Toor dal with rice and vegetables and the saute ingredients in a pressure cooker.Add a little bit more water to allow the vegetables to cook.
2. Once the cooker is done. Take a separate kadai, add ghee/oil with cashew nuts and then add the pressure cooker contents,some jaggery and the dry powder that is being roasted and ground and mix well. Add tamarind paste to the mixture.(I personally liked this because I am not adding tamarind water and making the rice too mushy).
3. Garnish with a lot of cilantro. Eat HOT!!

Ven Pongal(savory)

INGREDIENTS:

Moong dal-1/2 cup
Long grain rice or Ponni rice-1 cup
Cumin seeds-1 tbsp
Green chillies-2 chopped
Ginger-Grated or finely chopped (a small piece)
Pepper corns-1/2 tsp
Asafoetida-Few puffs
Curry leaves-Few to garnish
Cashew nuts-Fried in ghee for garnish(optional)

PROCEDURE:

1.Pressure cook Moongdal with rice in 3 cups of water.
2.Saute cumin seeds, pepper corns, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves with asafoetida and add cashews in ghee with a little oil till golden brown.
3.Mix with the cooked rice and dal and add milk to loosen the stiffness.

Sweet Pongal

INGREDIENTS:

Jaggery-A handful
Moong dal-1/2 cup
Long grain rice or Ponni rice-1 cup
Elaichi/Cardamom-5-6 pods crushed
Coconut Milk powder-2 tbsp
Almond flakes, Cashew nuts, Raisins- According to taste
Saffron strands- A pinch
Milk- A few splashes

PROCEDURE:

1.Melt jaggery in water.
2.Pressure cook Moong dal with rice with 3 cups of water
3. Once the jaggery syrup turns into a string. Add the rice with moong dal and mix well. Add coconut milk powder and milk to make it to a thick consistency.
4. Saute all nuts and raisins in ghee and mix with above.
5.Garnish with a few strands of Saffron.

Carrot Rice

I experimented with this rice since I was out of groceries and to my surprise,it came out quite well.It literally takes 5 minutes to make.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice-1.5 cups cooked
Carrots- A handful,grated
Onion-1 small sliced thin
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Ginger- A small piece grated along with the carrots
Green chillies-2 or 3 sliced
Pepper powder-1 tsp
Curry leaves-A few
Cashew nuts- Few for garnish
Cilantro-For garnish

PROCEDURE:

1.In a pan with some oil, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chillies,cashew nuts and onions and saute well till golden brown.
2.Add the grated carrots and ginger and saute till raw smell goes away. Add pepper powder and salt and add the cooked rice and mix well and fry for a minute or two.
3.Switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro.

Optional: You can try peanuts instead of cashewnuts. You can also add green peas if you need some color. Turmeric Powder is not needed since the carrots give a nice color to the rice.

Ghee rice

A simple and very elegant rice dish that goes well with Kurma,Sodhi,Kadappa,Channa or Rajma.

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati rice-1 cup
Coconut milk-Canned-1 cup
Water-1.5 cups
Onion-1 small, sliced thin
Green chillies(Serreno peppers)-2 slit
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste-1 tbsp
Mint leaves-optional.
Cilantro-For garnish.
Raisins and cashewnuts- For garnish,optional.
Ghee-Ofcourse ,since this is called ghee rice-2 tbsp.
Cloves-4 nos
Bay leaf-1 no
Cinnamon stick-1 small

PROCEDURE:

1. In a pan,add oil with ghee, add cloves,bay leaf,cinnamon stick,cumin seeds,ginger-garlic paste and let splatter.
2. Add onions,green chillies and saute the rice along with this mixture.
3. Add some salt and extra garam masala(if you like more spice flavors).
4. Move this mixture to a rice cooker and add the coconut milk and water. I add some saffron for extra fragrance.
5. After rice is cooked well,add mint leaves and cilantro leaves for garnish.
6. Saute some cashews,raisins(optional,if you like some sweetness,generally we dont use it at home) in ghee and add to the rice and mix well.
7. Serve hot with the curries mentioned above.

Note: Some people add peas but to me this changes the dish and makes it look like pulao.So I like to leave some dishes original and simple.

Mutter Paneer Biriyani

INGREDIENTS for PANEER MARINADE:

Paneer-1 whole box,cut into small cubes
Yogurt-2 tbsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Chilli powder-1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste-1 tbsp
Coriander seed powder-1/2 tbsp
Cumin seed powder-1 tsp
Saunf(Fennel seed) powder-1 tsp
Garam Masala-1 tsp

Mix all the above ingredients and soak for 1/2-1 hour.

INGREDIENTS FOR BIRIYANI:

Basmati Rice-3 cups
Onions-1 big,sliced thin
Tomato puree-1 tbsp
Dried Fenugreek powder-1 tbsp
Yogurt/Sour cream-2 tbsp
Red chilli powder-1 tbsp
Green chillies-3 slit
Turmeric Powder-1 tsp
Coriander seed powder-1 tbsp
Fennel seed powder-1 tsp
Cumin seed powder-1 tsp
Frozen peas-1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste-1.5 tbsp
Biriyani powder(you can substitute by using cloves,bay leaf,cinnamon stick,cardamom pods,aniseed)
Cilantro-1/2 a bunch for garnish
Saffron strands-A pinch for flavor.
Ghee-2 tbsp
Water-6.5 cups

PROCEDURE:

1. In a pan of oil,add the paneer and fry till the masala is brown. Remove and keep aside.
2. In the same pan,add the onions and caramelize them. Remove and keep aside.
3. Now add some ghee,add the frozen peas,ginger garlic paste,tomato puree and mix well. Now add the yogurt,dried fenugreek leaf powder,all the spices and allow to come to a boil.
4. Add the rice and mix well and saute till the gravy mixes well with the rice.
5. Add the caramelized onions and mix well.
6. Cook in rice cooker.Pour water.
7. After the rice is cooked. Mix with the paneer and cilantro.