Masala Kichdi (Using Vegetables,Rice and Moongdal)

This is an easy one pot meal recipe using vegetables, rice and moongdal. This is "No Onion- No Garlic" recipe too. Its very nutritious, healthy and perfect for lunch boxes. Cook the rice and moongdal along with veggies of your choice.[ I have added only potato,carrot and green beans in this recipe].Topping up the cooked {rice+lentil+vegetables} with masala tomato seasoning makes the kichdi very tasty !!! .Serve it along with curd, pickle and papad. 

original recipe : Manjula's Kitchen

Happy Cooking....

Serves 3-4

Ingredients :

1/2 cup moong dal 
1/2 cup kichdi rice /sona masuri rice
[ OR 1/3 cup of moong dal and 2/3 cup of rice also work well here ]
1/2 cup chopped green beans
1/2 cup peeled medium size cubed potatoes
1/4 cup small cubed carrots (optional)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1- 2 tbsp ghee ( clarified butter)
3 cups of water ( add one more cup of water if you want to make this dish little watery)

For Spicy Tomato Seasoning:
1 cup of chopped tomato
2-3 tbsp of ghee ( clarified butter)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 green chilly finely chopped ( adjust according to your spice level)
1/4 tsp red chilly powder
1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
salt to taste


How To Prepare?

• Chop the vegetables  and keep it aside.
  
  
  
• Add washed rice and moongdal to pressure cooker. Add chopped carrot, potato, green beans, 2 tbsp of ghee, turmeric powder, little salt and 3-4 cups of water into the same pressure cooker. Mix it well and close the pressure cooker by putting weight on top. Cook it in a high flame. After hearing 1-2 whistles turn the heat to low. Wait for 3 minutes and switch off the flame. After all pressure releases open the pressure cooker and mix it well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Now lets prepare the spicy tomato seasoning. In a separate sauce pan heat 3 tbsp of ghee. Add in mustard seeds. After mustard seeds pop out, add in cumin seeds, green chilies, grated ginger,chopped tomato,salt to taste and red chilly powder. Saute well for about 3-4 minutes so that tomato is cooked well and all the masala is well combined with tomato. Not to forget , at the end add chopped coriander leaves to the seasoning.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Now pour this seasoning on top of cooked rice-dal-veggie mixture. Mix it well by adjusting the salt.
  
  
  
• Serve with curd , pickle and papad.
  
  
  

Notes/ Alternatives:

• In the original recipe carrot was not added . So you can skip carrot.
• You can add pinch of garam masala to the spicy tomato seasoning.
• You can also pour cooked rice-dal-veggie mixture into the sauce pan [ make sure your sauce pan is big enough] , combine and cook for 2 minutes by covering the lid.
• Make this dish little watery by adding one extra cup of water while cooking the rice , lentil and veggies in the first step.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)

Spicy Vegetable Pulav with Coconut Milk

Tasty vegetable pulav is an easy dish which can be prepared and served as lunch/dinner.You can even have this one pot meal for your parties. Name of the dish here tells everything about the recipe Isn't it ?. In this recipe rice is cooked along with coconut milk , vegetable and spices. Serve this nutritious veg pulav along with boondi raita or any vegetable raita.

                                     

Recipe Source :  Archana's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice 

120 ml of coconut milk /1 cup of coconut milk

1 cup of water

10 french green beans, diced small

10 to 12 cauliflower florets

 2 medium size carrots, diced small

1 or 2 cloves garlic

an inch piece of ginger

2 green chilies, slit ( depending on the spice level , increase /decrease the number )

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 or 2  cloves

2 cardamom pods

1 inch piece of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

salt to taste

1 tsp of any vegetable oil

2 tablespoons ghee

1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves (optional)

How To Prepare?

• Wash the rice using water and keep it aside.
• Keep the coconut milk, vegetable chopped and the spices ready.
• Pound the ginger and garlic in a mortar and keep aside.
• Into the pressure cooker , add in the a teaspoon of oil and add in the crushed ginger n garlic. Saute for a few seconds and add in the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf. 
  
• Next add in the vegetables, green chillies, rice, turmeric powder, salt and coconut milk. Add an additional cup of water and stir all the ingredients and cover the pressure cooker.
  
  
  
  
• Turn the heat to high, place the weight on cooker, wait till you hear a couple of whistles. After a couple of whistles, turn the heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes and then turn off the heat.  Allow the pressure to release naturally as the the rice will continue to cook in the pressure cooker.  Once the pressure is released you can open the cooker.
  
• Finally stir in the ghee and chopped coriander leaves.Serve the Spicy Vegetable Pulav  along with a  bowl of mixed vegetable raita. I served with boondi raita for my son's b'day Party last year and it was a hit !!!!!!!
  
  
  
  

Note/Alternative:

• You can either use store bought coconut milk or homemade. Make sure you use only first two extracts of the coconut milk if you make it at home.
• You can avoid garlic.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)

You might also like:

Rice Varieties from Prameela's Kitchen

Gongura Pulihora / Gongura Rice / Sorrel Leaves Rice

I have heard many saying  "Andhra food is very tasty n spicy....". Yes I totally agree with that. Most of the times when we talk about Andhra food ... mouths start watering :-). Isn't it ?.Today I am going to share one famous rice variety of Andhra ie. Gongura Rice (Sorrel Leaves Rice). Rice gets a unique flavor here as it is mixed with ground paste of Sauteed sorrel leaves and topped with typical south Indian seasoning.This is a very simple beginners recipe. All you do is "Cook with Love" ... 


Here we go with the recipe....

Ingredients:

1 cup- Gongura Leaves (washed and dried under the fan)
1 cup- Uncooked Rice 
1/4 tsp- Fenugreek seeds /methi
2-3-Green chilli (split into halves)
3 tbsp-Tamarind water 
2 broken-Dried Red chilli 
1 tsp- Mustard Seeds
1 tsp- Channa dal
1 tsp- Urad Dal 
2 tbsp - Roasted Peanuts
1/2 tsp -Turmeric Powder 
Asafoetida a pinch 
2-3 tbsp cooking oil (preferably ground nut oil or sesame oil)
Salt to taste 


How To Prepare?

• Wash and cook rice little grainy. I used sona masoori. Spread a tsp of oil to the rice and allow it to cool.
• Pick the gongura leaves without stems carefully and wash thrice using tap water to clean properly.Allow to dry under the fan.Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add the turmeric, fenugreek, gongura leaves and tamarind water.Saute until leaves are mushy. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Grind it into smooth paste. (Add tbsp of water if required while grinding)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Heat a tsp of cooking oil in a pan and roast the groundnuts. Transfer the roasted groundnuts into a separate bowl.
• Pour in 2 more tbsp of oil into the same pan n heat it. Add the mustard and allow it to splutter. Now add channa dal, urad dal, green chilly and broken red chilly. Fry until slightly brown. Add in some fresh curry leaves,asafoetida,ground gongura paste,little amount of turmeric and salt. Combine and saute the mixture well.
  
• Now add the cooked rice and mix well so that the rice blends with the gongura mixture. Check for salt, add if needed more. Cover the pan with lid and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.(IMP: Mix only 3/4th of the cooked rice and check. If you would like to dilute further more  then add remaining rice)
  
• Not to forget ....Finally garnish the rice with roasted peanuts.Serve the spicy and tasty gongura pulihora with papaddam or any friums.
  

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)

You might also like:
Rice Varieties from Prameela's Kitchen

Peas Pulav/ Matar Pulav (Rice cooked with Green Peas and Spices)

This is a simple tasty pulav ( variety rice) prepared using green peas. Preparation looks very simple but it turns out yummy yummy.During winters , in most of the regions of India we get lots of fresh green peas.If you believe in seasonal food, I  recommend you to try this recipe. 
 This pulav is very mild, so its good for kids too. You can serve this along with any raita of your choice, pickle and pappadam. You can also serve it along with any gravy.This can be prepared for your parties too.

here we go with the recipe.

recipe source: Sharmis Passions ( I have altered the recipe little bit by omitting few ingredients)

Ingredients:
1 cup - Basmati rice
1/2 cup - Fresh peas
1 tsp - Ginger garlic paste ( or crushed ginger and garlic)
1 medium size Onion, chopped lengthwise
2- Green chilies 
1/8 cup - Mint leaves 
1 and 1/2 cups Water 
Salt to taste

For Seasoning:
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Ghee
1 small Bay leaf 
1/2 inch piece Cinnamon 
2 cloves 

                                   

How To Prepare ?

• Wash the rice and soak for 15 minutes. Be ready with all other ingredients before we start. 
  
• Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf. Fry for 2mins.Now add ginger garlic paste /crushed ginger garlic and onions and saute till golden brown.
  
  
  
  
• Now add mint leaves and green chilies saute for a minute or so. Time to add in the peas followed by a quick stir.Add required salt too at this stage.Drain water and add the rice, give a quick stir.
  
• Add water and pressure cook for 3 whistles in a high flame. Simmer it and  switch off the flame after 3-4 minutes.Once pressure releases, open and gently mix the rice.
  
  
  
  
• Serve hot with any raita of your choice, pickle and pappadam.
  
  
  

Notes/Alternative:

• I use "BEST" brand basmati rice and I use one and half cup water for one cup of rice in this recipe.Adjust the water as per your type/brand of basmati rice.
• You can add 2 tsp of ginger garlic paste if you like. I usually use very less amount of garlic in my preparation.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)

Sesame Seed Rice/ Ellogare/ Ellu sadam

Ellogare is a new addition to my rice varieties. As the name suggests, sesame seeds and sesame oil are the main ingredients of this recipe. This is No onion No garlic recipe too. 
 Fresh ground spice mixture will be prepared first using sesame seeds, red chilly, urad dal and grated coconut. Later ground spice mixture and  hot seasame oil seasoning will be added to hot rice to make tasty and healthy "Ellogare".
 Sesame seed has lot of medicinal property and it is widely used in Ayurvedic medicines. Here is a good article about sesame seeds click here to read ..

Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:

3-4 cups of hot cooked Rice
salt to taste

for roasting:
1/2  tsp of sesame oil
1 & 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds 
2 tbsp urad dal
3-4 dry red chilies ( increase if you want it very spicy)
1/3 cup fresh grated coconut

for seasoning:
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp asafoetida
15-20 curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp ground nuts
1 tbsp fresh grated coconut

How To Prepare ?

•  Dry roast the sesame seeds and keep it aside for cooling.
  
•  Heat 1/2 tsp sesame oil in same pan and roast urad dal,red chillies and fresh grated coconut one after another till you get a nice aroma. Let the roasted ingredients cool down. After it cools down completely, Grind all the roasted ingredients into a fine/coarse powder.
  
  
  
  
• Heat oil in a kadai/pan for seasoning.Add in mustard seeds and ground nuts.After mustard seed pops out and ground nut changes its colour, add in dry red chilies,curry leaves and asafoetida. Saute for few secs. Now add ground powder to it and mix it well. Switch off the flame. If your kadai is big enough add hot cooked rice and salt on top of seasoning , else mix everything in another mixing bowl. Mix nicely so that all the spices get combined well with the rice. Serve hot with papad and enjoy !!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
                               

Tips/Alternative:

• Excess ground powder can be stored in the fridge and consume withing 3-4 days.
• According to your spice level , adjust the quantity of rice while mixing.
• You can roast the ground nuts separately and add it to the rice at the end to avoid over roasting the ground nuts.
• If you are not using hot cooked rice, then while mixing the cooked rice keep the flame in medium till your rice becomes hot.
• You can use white sesame seeds instead of black sesame seeds.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments if you like the recipe :-)

You might also like other rice varieties:

Coriander Rice
Tamarind Rice
Capsicum Rice
Paruppu Sadam 
Pepper Rice