Mushroom Pulav

Hey everyone, hope you are all doing great and getting into the holiday mood. For those in the U.S. hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving. The shops are already full of X'mas decor and holiday goodies. Can't wait for Christmas. :) It's always a time to be happy and merry. I know there has been a long gap in my posts. I had a good holiday at our homes in Kerala and was busy settling down after getting back to Bangalore.

I'm sure you all have already begun preparing your special X'mas menu and I would love to hear about your menu plans. Are you planning an Indian spread or a traditional feast or a fusion of both?! With Christmas and New Year coming up around the corner, I decided to share a yummy vegetarian rice dish specially for my veggie friends, that can be cooked for Christmas or any special day. Simple yet yummy, this dish will leave you feeling very happy.

Usually when we talk of Christmas menu in Kerala, what normally comes to our minds are Mutton or Chicken Biriyani. Back in college, I always had vegetarian friends who would say, why not some vegetarian food for X'mas too?!! And so finally here we have a dish that will make all my veggie buddies extremely excited!

Today I have for you a tasty Mushroom Pulav. Mushroom as a vegetable might be a little bland and sometimes doesn't please everyone's taste buds. But with the right mix of spices and aromatics, this simple vegetable produces a dish quite scrumptious. All the flavours of the exotic spices infuse into the rice giving this pulav the perfect flavour.

We ate this for lunch today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Savour this as a one pot meal or with a chicken curry on the side (for my non-vegetarian friends) and you won't be disappointed. It's delicious.

Without further keeping you waiting, let me share my recipe for Mushroom pulav. Enjoy and keep visiting the blog for more yummy special Christmas recipes coming soon.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Button Mushroom (sliced thin) - 200 gms

Big Onion (finely chopped) - 1 (big)

Green chilli (slit lengthwise) - 1

Cinnamon - 1 medium piece

Caraway seeds (black cumin seeds/shahi/kala jeera) - 1 tsp (refer notes)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Green cardamom - 3

Cloves - 4

Bay leaf - 1

Star Anise - 1 or 2 petals

Coriander leaves - 5 tbsp

Mint leaves - 3 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

For Garnish

Cashew - 10

Raisins - 10

Big Onion (finely sliced) - 1 (small)

Method

Wash and soak basmati rice in water for 1/2 an hour. Drain and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Once hot, add the caraway seeds and saut'e for 25 seconds. Add chopped onions, green chilli and cinnamon stick and saut'e till onion turns golden brown. Now add the sliced mushroom along with turmeric and salt and saut'e till the mushrooms turn glossy and reduce in quantity. (make sure the water content of the mushroom disappears) Add the cardamom, cloves, star anise and bay leaves and saut'e for 2 minutes. Now add the basmati rice and stir constantly on a medium flame for 5 minutes till the rice turns glossy and starts crackling. Add the water and check for salt. (add more salt if necessary) Add chopped coriander and mint leaves. Close the pressure cooker (do not put the weight) and wait for high steam to come. Once high steam appears, reduce the flame to low or sim and leave it like that exactly for 5 minutes and then switch off flame. Open the lid exactly after half an hour.

Heat ghee in a pan and fry onion, cashew and raisin.

Separate the rice with a fork without pressing it too much. (refer notes) Garnish with fried onion, cashew and raisin.

Notes:

If in case, you do not have caraway seeds, you can use a mixture of cumin seeds and fennel seeds in equal proportion (1/2 tsp cumin seeds & 1/2 tsp fennel seeds)

I have cooked the rice in my own style of cooking basmati rice since I find this an extremely easy method. But you can choose your most convenient method of cooking the same.

Khatti Meeti Dal Chawal and Shubh Diwali!!! :)

I know, I know you must be wondering, what, dal chawal and Diwali?!! Well there are two answers to that. Firstly, I don't have too much of a sweet tooth and hence voted against making one. Secondly, we are off to Kerala tonight for a much awaited week-long vacation and thus I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to cook anything before that. And so I decided to make the very famous dal chawal, but with a slight twist! This will be a good wash down after you have had a good rich Diwali spread of yummy food and delicious sweets and savouries.

It has been a little over a year since I moved to Bangalore with my husband. When we moved away from home, we left behind quite a few luxuries that we did not recognize as such until their loss was felt..immensly! One of those was the simple pleasure of having food that we grew up with, the simplest of meals like the Chor, Parippu curry and Meen Vevichathu (rice, lentils and fish curry; Kerala style). Though I make this quite regularly at home, the joy of having that cooked, lovingly, by our mothers in exactness to our preferences is a different feeling altogether. But luckily for us, we get to go home quite often and I make use of that opportunity to gobble all the yummy dishes cooked with so much of love! :) Can't wait for our trip home.

My husband and I are quite South Indian at heart when it comes to a daily meal. But we do love our chapathis and dals and other North Indian delicacies too. Rotis, Parathas, chole, dal and chawal, you name it, we like it. If there is the aroma of a good garam masala in the curry, then we are happy campers.

Dal is made differently (even pronounced differently; Dhal in the South and Dal in the North) across the country. Dal is actually not so much a South Indian staple, we have Sambhar for that. But with increasing culinary exposure and interaction, you find some form of it all over the place. But lovely, fresh aromatic basmati rice cooked along with dals is a popular dish among the North Indians. And so I decided to borrow the concept from the North and add a bit of my own flavours to it to make this yummy dal chawal, the perfect comfort food! It's simple, basic ingredients, tasty and when cooked with lots of love, tastes awesome! :)

Ingredients

Basmati rice - 1/2 cup

Water - 3 1/2 cups

Ghee/Oil - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cloves - 2

Green chilli (slit lengthwise) - 1 (small)

Garlic (finely chopped) - 5 to 6 cloves

Ginger (finely chopped) - 1 small piece

Onions (finely chopped) - 2 (small)

Tomato - 1 (small)

Cinnamon - 1 inch stick

Bayleaf (tejpatta) - 1

Carrot - 2 (small)

Peas – ¼ cup

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala – ½ tsp

Salt

Pav bhaji masala – 2 tsp

Tamarind pulp – 1 tsp

Sugar – 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves

Peanuts - 1/4 cup (dry roasted)

Method

Wash and clean the dal and keep aside. Wash and soak the rice for ½ an hour and drain and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds crackles, add chopped garlic, ginger, green chilli and onions and saut'e till onion becomes light brown. Add chopped tomatoes and saut'e till soft. Now add all the veggies along with masala/spice powders and saut’e on a medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and dal and mix well and saut’e for another 2 minutes on a medium flame. Add 3 1/2 cups of water along with salt and sugar and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles. Switch off the flame and allow steam to go completely. Once the steam has gone completely, add the roasted peanuts and coriander leaves and mix well. Serve hot.

And there was lunch in a few minutes! Piping hot rice doused with the nostalgic dal! Oh it was heavenly. Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali. Enjoy :)

Notes: You can add any veggies of your choice; like: Cauliflower florets - ½ cup; Brinjal – ½ cup; Beans – 1/4cup etc...

Gobi Biriyani

Biriyani/Biryani is perhaps the most widely consumed rice preparation in the world with maybe a few subtle variations across borders. It is a dish made with rice and a kurma (mixture of meat, seafood, or vegetables cooked with spices and yoghurt in a thick sauce) arranged in layers, mixed together, or sometimes even cooked together. The exact origin of the 'Biryani' was in Persia where nomads dug pits in the ground and placed covered pots with rice, meat, and spices in the morning only to find delicious aromas seeping out by evening. The dish was later brought to other parts of South Asia by travelling Iranian merchants. It found it's way to North India via Afghanistan and has since spread all over the country and evolved into distinct recipes in every nook and cranny and each region swears by the superiority of their version.

                                           

Meat/Chicken/Fish and other non-veg biriyani preparations have always been more popular than vegetarian biriyani. But today's recipe is a delicious vegetarian biriyani preparation made with cauliflower. For those of you who think, a vegetable biriyani can never be tasty, this dish will prove you wrong! Wholesome and packed full of flavour, it is definitely a treat to your tastebuds. Now, you don't have to break your head thinking of what to serve your vegetarian friends, here is a perfect one pot veggie meal!

Please make sure you refer my notes on how to cook ghee rice in an extremely easy way. This idea was given to me by my aunt (mom’s sis), Sheilamama, who is a fabulous cook. Thanks Sheilamama for this wonderful tip. And believe me friends, rice cooked this way is just perfect. Say goodbye to mushy and squashed up basmati rice!

Make sure you bookmark this recipe and try it out sometime soon. Both Reju and I were very happy people after the very first spoonful. :) Happy cooking.

Ingredients

For Ghee Rice

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Water – 1 1/2 cups

Ghee/Oil - 1 tbsp

Big onion (finely sliced) - 1

Cumin seeds - a pinch

Fennel seeds - a pinch

Cardamom - 2

Cloves - 4

Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

Salt - a pinch

For Marination

Cauliflower (finely sliced) - 1 (big)

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - a pinch

For Masala

Big onion (finely sliced) - 3

Tomato (finely sliced) - 2

Ginger & Garlic (finely chopped) - 1/2 tsp each

Green chilli (coarsely crushed) - 4

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Cumin (jeera) powder - 1/2 tsp

Mint leaves - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

For Garnish

Cashew – 10 to 15

Raisins – 12 to 15

Big onion – 1

Method

To prepare Ghee Rice (refer notes)

Heat ghee/oil in a pot and fry cashew, raisin and big onion and keep aside. Soak rice in water for half an hour. Drain it and keep aside. Saut'e cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon for a few seconds. Add finely chopped onions and saut'e till it turns soft and transparent. Now add the rice and fry till glossy. Add water and a pinch of salt into it and cover with lid. Bring it to a boil. When it begins to boil, reduce heat. When the water absorbs and holes appear on top, switch off the flame. Keep the lid closed for half an hour. Separate the rice with a fork without pressing it much.

To prepare Biriyani

Marinate the cauliflower with the ingredients listed under "For Marination" and keep aside for 10 minutes. Fry the marinated cauliflower slices till crisp.

Heat oil/ghee in a wok and add finely sliced onion to it. Saut'e till it becomes golden brown. Add crushed green chillies and chopped ginger and garlic and saut'e for a few minutes till raw smell goes away. Add the garam masala and cumin (jeera) powder and saut'e for a few seconds. Now add the sliced tomatoes along with desired salt and saut'e till tomato turns soft and oil floats. Once oil separates, add the crispy fried cauliflower slices and mix well. Add coriander and mint leaves and toss well. Then layer the cooked basmati rice on top and cover and cook for around 4 minutes on a low flame.

Garnish with fried onions, cashew and raisins.

Notes:

1. Make sure the cauliflower is fried till crispy.

2. Easy way to cook ghee rice: Heat ghee/oil in a pressure cooker and add the spices. Saut’e for a few seconds. Add chopped onion and saut’e till it reduces and loses colour. Now, add the rice and fry till glossy. Add the desired water along with salt and stir. Cover and cook without the weight. When a high steam comes, turn the flame to low and cook for exactly 5 minutes and then switch off the flame. Open the lid after half an hour. Separate the rice with a fork without pressing it too much.

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice always reminds me of school days where during lunch breaks, we would all share our tiffins (lunch box) filled with delicious home-made food. These were licked clean as if we were deprived of food for years! I was a poor eater at that time (wish I was like that even now!) and so never ate much from my tiffin but picked on food from my friends's tiffins while my friends's wiped clean my tiffin. Thus it was a win-win situation! Nonetheless, I also had to finish my tiffin or my mom wouldn't be a happy camper. So I generously let all my friends's gobble down my food while I devoured theirs!

Lemon rice was a hot favourite among my friends and was especially yummy during the hot and humid weather.

Food and music always make me nostalgic and take me back to those good old days. I am sure you have your own stories and memories surrounding some kind of food and I hope while you enjoy my recipe today beautiful memories conjure up flooding you with happiness.

Ingredients

Rice (Sona Masoori) - 1 cup

Lemon juice - juice of 2 to 2 1/2 lemons

Shallots/Small/Pearl onions - 5 to 8

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Green chillies - 2

Ginger - 1 small piece

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Asofetida powder (Hing) - a pinch

Black gram (urad dal) - 1 tbsp

Bengal gram (chana dal) - 1 tsp

Peanuts - 1/2 cup (dry roasted)

Cashew - 8 to 10 (fried)

Curry leaves - a few

Coriander leaves - small bunch

Ghee - 1 tsp (optional)

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

Cook the rice and keep aside. (You can add a pinch of salt while cooking the rice and adjust salt again later) Dry roast the peanuts and keep aside. Fry the cashew in a little ghee/oil and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and splutter mustard seeds. Add black gram (urad dal), bengal gram (chana dal) and saut'e till colour changes. Now add green chillies, ginger, shallots/small/pearl onions, curry leaves and and saut'e till onions turn light brown. Add half of the coriander leaves, turmeric powder and asofetida (hing) powder and saut'e for a few minutes. Add salt and mix. Now add the cooked rice and mix till everything is combined well. Add lemon juice and the rest of the coriander leaves and toss till everything is mixed well and high steam comes. After cooking the rice on a high flame for a few minutes (3 to 4 minutes), turn the flame to low and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Switch off the flame and add the roasted peanuts and cashew with a pinch of ghee (optional) and toss once again.

Serve hot or cold with yoghurt, a pickle of your choice and pappad or as it is. Enjoy!

Notes:

The rice must cool down well, if you do not have prepared rice from previous day. The rice grains should be separated and lumps should be avoided.

You can fry the peanuts in ghee/oil just like cashew instead of dry roasting them.

Mushroom Fried Rice

Today my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary! Just can't believe that it's been a year since we have been married...Gosh, how time flies! Got a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a hot cup of tea from my lovely husband in the morning. It has been a perfect day! Thank you Reju, you're the best.

As you already know, we are going home tomorrow for a short holiday and I was quite busy cleaning up the refrigerator. But with the anniversary and all today, I thought how could I give my hubby boy 2-day old food from the refrigerator! So I thought I'll prepare a surprise special meal for him today and I definitely had Reju swooning, ahem! I'm glad I brought a smile on his face.

You guys want to know what I cooked today. Here goes....I made Mushroom Fried Rice, Chicken Varuval, Kerala Prawns Fry and Carrot Halwa. Phew...took sometime but it was worth it! :) All these dishes were not too complicated, simple and I must tell you, it came out quite well. Reju loved it all, he kept saying that everything was delicious and that meant a lot to me.

This recipe is originally from a show I watched on NDTV Goodtimes. But I have made a few changes here and there and I hope you like it. This rice dish with mushrooms and celery/spring onions is a meal on it's own for veggie lovers.

I'll be posting each of these recipes as different posts within the next two days. Make sure you try them. You enjoy cooking while we enjoy a nice quiet dinner at 'Copper Chimney', a new restaurant which just opened up in Bangalore.

Cheers.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Mushroom (sliced) - 200 gms

Shallots - 3 to 4

Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves

Green chilli - 1 or 2 (as per spice tolerance)

Celery/Spring onions - 2 to 3 (chop up the leaves to add towards the last)

Soya sauce - 2 tsp

Vinegar - 1 tsp

Red Chilli sauce (I used Ching's Secret Red Chilli sauce) - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Pepper (crushed) - 1 tsp (Add more if you like it spicy)

Oil

Method

Boil the rice with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp oil till bite-like. Drain and rinse under cold water. Leave in the colander and work 1 tbsp oil into it.

Heat oil in a wok and saut'e garlic and shallots for 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and celery/spring onions and saut'e over high heat, till they look glossy and reduce in quantity. (let the water content of the mushrooms disappear) Add the soya sauce, chilli sauce and vinegar and mix well. Now, add the rice and combine well. Stir till rice and veggies are well mixed. Check for salt and add more at this stage, if needed. (add about 2 tbsp of stock if you have, at this stage) Finally, add the spring onion leaves and toss for a minute or two and switch off the flame.