Thai Panang fried rice.

Ingredients :

Coconut cream and milk - 1 can
Peanut butter - 2 tbsp
Vegetables - Bamboo, red bell peppers, onions, carrot, green onions - cut long
Long grain rice - 4 cups (150ml each)
Salt
Sugar - 1tsp
Tomato - sliced round
Basil leaves - sliced long
Madras curry masala - 2 tbsp
Optional - shredded chicken breast pieces.

Method :

Cook the rice separately and keep aside. Heat little oil in a wok, add the coconut cream and milk. Then add the peanut butter, madras curry masala, bamboo and sugar, while stirring constantly. Cook until bamboo is done. In a separate pan, heat oil and add the vegetables and some salt, and fry till they are almost done. Now add the rice and vegetables into the wok, sprinkling some oil, and stir fry. Add the basil leaves few minutes below removing from heat. Garnish with tomato.

Diwali breakfast - Bisi Bele Bath (Divesh's favourite!)

Ingredients for the masala powder:

Dhania: 100gms
Red chillies : 100gms
Chana dal(Bengal gram dhal): 100gms
Urad dhal: 100gms
Dry coconut: 100gms
Cinnamon : 10 gms
Marathi moggu: 5 pieces
Cloves: 1 tsp.
Dry roast all the ingredients except coconut separately and grind to a fine powder.
The quantity of red chillies may be increased or decreased according to personal taste.

Ingredients:
Carrot: 50 gms, French beans: 50 gms, Green peas: 50gms, Lima beans: 50gms
Tomato: 150 gms
Curry leaves : few sprig
Coriander leaves: few
Tamarind paste: 1 tsp.

Rice : 1cup
Toor dal: 1 cup
Bisis bele bath powder: 2 tbsp.
Salt to taste
For garnishing:
Ghee: 1 tbsp.
Mustard seeds: 2 tsp.
Red chillies: 2 nos.
Cashew nuts (optional) : few
Hing : 1 tsp.

Method:

Wash and Chop all vegetables. Wash and drain the rice and dal. Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of warm water.Accordingly add 3 cups of water for each cup of rice, 2 cups of water for each cup of dal and one cup of water for each cup of vegetables.Boil water according to the above proportion in a pressure cooker and add all the vegetables, rice, dal and turmeric powder and close the pressure cooker. Put the weight on and cook until 3 whistles.
Allow the pressure cooker to cool. Open the lid and check if the rice is cooked well and there is enough water content. If not add one more cup of water and boil, bisibele bath powder and salt. Extract the juice out of soaked tamarind and add to the boiling rice. Add half the ghee also to the mixture. Boil for 5- 10 minutes stirring well taking care not to burn the contents.
For garnishing:
Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. When the ghee is hot, add the hing powder, mustard, cashew nuts, broken red chillies and few curry leaves. When the mustard seeds stop spluttering and the cashew nuts turn to a pink color, add the contents to the prepared rice. Garnish with finely cut coriander leaves .

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - Bring dead to life rice!

Warning - extremely hot, will give you the ultimate Halloween experience!

Ingredients :

Rice - 1 cup
Tomato paste - 3 tbsp
Sriraccha hot chilli sauce - 1/2 cup
Shredded boneless chicken - 1/2 cup, mix very little ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, red tandoori color, and salt in a bowl. Deep fry in oil.
Red Onions - thinly sliced, long. Deep fried in oil
Grated beetroot - fried and cooked with little salt.
Red chilli flakes or fried thai (or habenaro) chillies - 2tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Salt

Method :

Heat the butter in a large skillet, add the tomato paste and salt. Add rice and fry for a few minutes on low heat. Pour 2 cups of water and cook. One the rice is cooked, add some oil in a wok, add the rice and mix it well with the chilli sauce. Transfer the rice to the bowl. Garnish it with the fried onions, chicken, beetroot and chillies. Make sure you have a bottle of cold water beside!!!

Vanghibath or Brinjal rice.

Ingredients :

Indian eggplant - 1lb, sliced long
Rice - 3 cups, fully cooked
Potatoes - peeled and cut into cubes
Peas - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Vanghibath powder-grind
Coriander seeds -5 tbsp
Urad dal - 3 tbsp
Channa dal - 3 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp
Red chillies - 8
Cinnamon - few
cardamom - few
Cloves - few
Marati moggu - 2
(grind the above into a fine powder)
Seasoning -
Oil
Onions -2 medium, chopped
Red chillies - few
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Coriander leaves - 1 cup, finely chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 a spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 spoon
Salt

Method :

After you fry all the ingredients in oil for seasoning, add the vanghibath powder and let it fry in oil on low heat for sometime. Then, add the vegetables and cook on low heat with a covered lid until done. Garnish it with coriander leaves when finished. Mix it properly with rice and serve along with raitha.

Vegetable pulav

Ingredients :

Basmati rice - 2 lb
Onion - 1 sliced
Cut carrat and peas - 1 cup
Spices - few each for seasoning
Pudina - 1 cup chopped
Coconut milk - 1 can
Turmeric 1/2 tbsp
Oil & salt
Grind - 1 cup of -
Coriander
Green chillies
Onion

Method :

Heat oil, add all the ingredients one by one, except for the coconut milk. Fry everything till oil separates from masala. Now add the coconut milk and cook for sometime. Add rice and pour the required amount of water and cook till its done. Garnish with coriander leaves.
(I have also put up the recipe for 'vegetable biryani' in one of my earlier posts.)

Vegetable biryani

Ingredients :

To grind-(masala)
Onion - 1/2
Ginger - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 1 cup
Coriander - 1 cup
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon stick - 4
Cloves - 5
Red chillies (dry) - 8
Green chillies - 10
Moggu - 2
Garam masala - 2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
[fry all the above ingredients in oil before grinding]

Seasoning -
Cinnamon stick, cloves, Cardamom, bay leaf - few (each)
Onion - 1 thinly sliced
Garlic - 4 flakes
Green chillies - sliced long

Basmati rice - 5 cups (150 ml cup)
Vegetables - chopped (carrot, peas, beans, lima beans, cauliflower)
Tomato - 1 small chopped
Coconut milk - 1 cup (150 ml)
Salt, Oil.

Method :

Heat oil in a large vessel. Add all the seasoning ingredients one at a time and fry on medium heat for few minutes. Add the masala and fry for sometime on medium to low heat till the oil separates from masala. Add the tomatoes and then the coconut milk.Mix the vegetables and Let it cook for sometime. Now add the rice and salt and add about 6 cups of water and cover it very tightly with a lid. Let the rice cook on very low heat for approximetly an hour. Serve with raitha!

Divesh's mexican dish... *slurp*

Ingredients:

1 can of fried beans - bought from store
Fresh lettuce, tomato and jalapenos - finely chopped and mixed with 1/4 tbsp of lime juice and very little salt
Cheddar cheese - accordingly
Rice - 1 cup
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomato paste - 1tbsp
Onion paste - 1 tbsp
Butter - 1 cube
Salt

Boneless chicken - breast pieces thinly cut. [Can use only vegetables or other meat].
Onions, green and red peppers - thinly sliced, long
Tomato, mushrooms- chopped
Mexican sauce - 1/4 bottle
White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil
Salt

Method:

Heat the beans in a saucepan, fry for about a minute and transfer to plate. Sprinkle cheese on top of it.
In the rice maker, add the butter, let it melt. Then add the tomato paste, onion paste, and cumin powder. Pour exactly 2 cups of water and add little salt. Cover and cook till done.

In a saucepan, heat it and add the oil. Add the onions and the chicken and fry for a few minutes. Now add the tomatoes, pepper powder, salt and the mexican sauce. Cover and cook it.

Transfer everything on the plate as shown in the photo above.

5 Minute Peas Pulav

Ingredients:

Cooked white rice (with salt)
Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup (slit into half)
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1tbsp
Garam masala - 1tbsp
Green chillies - 6-8 cut long
Peas - 1 cup
Curry leaves - 10-15
Ghee - 3tbsp ; salt to taste

Method:

Take a wok or a large vessel and add ghee. To this add jeera, cashew nuts, chillies, curry leaves and the peas, fry for a couple of minutes. Add the garam masala and very little salt, mix well. Then add the cooked rice and mix well. Let the rice warm. Serve hot with raita.

FIL's(my father-in-law's) special lemony rice.

INGREDIENTS:
Cooked rice -4 cups,
2-3 lemons,
Roasted peanuts - 3/4th cup,
Green chillies (depending on how spicy hot you want),
onions -1 big size - thinly sliced,
mustard seeds , curry leaves, red chillies for seasoning, Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon.
Oil - half cup, salt to taste,
Coriander - finely chopped for garnishing ; Raw mango - finely grated for garnishing(optional).

METHOD:
Cook the 4 cups of rice (add salt) , separately in the rice cooker and refrigerate it.
Grind the peanuts and chillies coarsely.
Pour oil into a non-stick wok like vessel, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and onions , add the turmeric and fry in low medium for few minutes. Then add the grounded paste and fry for a few minutes.
Mix the rice and fry till the flavor is absorbed properly .Towards the end)- squeeze the lime juice on it while still frying and sprinkle the grated mango. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with pickle of your choice.