Thengaipaal sadham / Coconut milk rice

Happy mothers day to all my friends/ readers. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I had a good weekend. I made this coconut milk rice and mutton ribs curry was an ultimate combination. My husband loves this mutton green curry, so it was a surprise for him. He thouroughly enjoyed. I wanted to make some different rice for the gravy, so thought of trying this thengaipaal sadham. OMG , how flavorful it was. I usually make saffron rice for kurmas. The added flavor of coconut milk, ghee and saffron made it so rich and aromatic. For vegetarians,the combo that suits well is paneer butter masala or mixed vegetables or kadai paneer. Try this mouthwatering recipe and give your feedback.  

Ingredients :  

• Basmathi rice - 2 cups
• Coconut milk - 3 cups 
• Water - 1 cup
• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Cloves -2
• Cardamom pods - 4
• Bay leaf - 2

• Cinnamon stick - 2”
• Coriander leaves - little
• Mint leaves - little
• Salt
• Saffron 1 pinch
• Warm milk - 2 tsp
• Cashews - few

  Method :  

• Soak saffron in milk and keep aside.
• In a pan, add 2 tsps of ghee, add the bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Saute it.
• Add the cashews and fry them. Add little mint leaves and coriander leaves and saute for a minute.
• Add the washed basmathi rice and fry for a min.
• Add the coconut milk and water. Stir well
• Add salt and mix.
• Cover the pan with lid and cook until the rice is done.
• Open the lid, add chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves and the saffron milk.
• Close the lid for 5 mins on stay on dhum.
• Open the lid and give it a good stir.

  Yummy coconut milk rice is ready to serve with mutton ribs curry.      

Vazhaikkai podi

Vazhaikkai podi is a recipe which I learnt from Mr.Venkatesh Bhat from his program Samyal Samayal in Vijay TV, It was so appetizing and a different recipe using raw banana . We can also make this powder and store it for 2-3 days. Definitely it gives a different taste . It can be kept for lunch box . I served it with suttapplam. To give it a try and write to me.

Ingredients:

• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoedita- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves 

• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Bengal gram - 1 tbsp
• Urad dal - 1 tbsp
• Toor dal - 1 1/4 tsp
• Red chilly - 7
• Salt
• Oil / ghee
• Raw banana - 1

Method:

• Heat a pan, dry roast , bengal gram, urad dal 1 tbsp,toor dal,red chilly,coriander seeds and keep it aside. Grind it into a coarse powder with salt..
• Pressure cook the banana with little turmeric powder and salt for 3 whistles and peel the skin. shred the raw banana into small crumbs and keep it aside.
• Heat the pan, add ghee ,splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and asafoedita.
• In a bowl keep the cooked rice and add 2 tsp of ghee, add the shredded raw banana, tempered mustard seeds mixture and the coarsely ground masala powder to it.
• Mix well and keep it for sometime. 

Relish it with chips or suttappalam or any fried dishes! Yummy it is!

Palak Pulao/ Spinach Pulao

This rice variety is a good one pot , healthy meal. It is perfect for lunch boxes. I tried this recipe from my blogger friend Jeyashri Suresh From Jeyashri Kitchen. It tasted yummy. It can be accompanied with chips and raitha. A very simple and easy recipe to follow.



Ingredients:

•    Palak| Spinach -   1 cup 
•     Basmati rice -  1 and 1/2 cup
•    Coriander leaves  - one handful
•   Green chili  1-2
•   Potato  -1 boiled and chopped into cubes
•   Green Peas  = 1/4 cup boiled
•   Onion - 1 chopped into julinnes
•   Garlic -  2 pods
•   Coconut -  1 tblsp (optional)
•   Bay leaf  -  1
•   Oil  
•   Salt    

Method:

• Wash the Basmati rice and soak it with 3 cups of water for 30 mins.
• Heat a tsp of oil, saute the palak, coriander leaves, garlic pods and green chilly.
• Grind it into a fine paste along with coconut.
• Heat pressure cooker, add oil, temper bay leaf , add onions and saute well.
• Add the ground palak and saute for few mins , add potatoes and boiled peas. 
• Saute for 2 mins. Add the soaked rice and required amount of salt.
• Cook it for about three whistles.

Yummy lunchbox dish! Serve with raitha and chips.

Fish Dum Biryani/ Fish Biryani

Back with a bang, Long time since i tried a different biryani recipe. I wanted to make fish biryani for the  past two years, Just got chance n guts ti try it, The procedure is little lengthy. Worth a try. Biryani itself is a yummy dish, made it little healthy with fish.

Ingredients:

For marination:

• Fish slices -  5-6
• Lemon juice - 1
• Turmeric powder
• Chilly powder - 5 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Mix all the above ingredients for an hour.
• Heat oil in a pan, Shallow fry the fishes and keep it aside.

For Rice :

• Basmathi Rice - 2 cups ( Soaked for 20 mins)
• Water - 4 cups
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - as required (for Rice alone)
• Cardamom pods - 2 
• Bay leaf - 1
•  

Method:

• Cook the rice till it is 85 % done. Drain it and keep it aside.

For gravy:

• For Gravy:
  • Fish fried oil 
  • Cloves - 3-4
  • Cinnamon - 2
  • Cardamom - 2-3
  • Bay leaf - 2
  • Green chilly - 2
  • Onions - 2
  • Tomatoes - 2
  • Chilly powder - 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder - 2 tsp
  • Salt - only for the gravy
  • Curd - 1/2 cup
  • Water - little
  • Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
  • Coriander leaves

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, Add the onions and fry them for 15 mnins till it becomes dark brown for garnish.
• Take the fried onions and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add all the spices one by one.
• Add green chilly and onions. Fry them well.
• Add ginger garlic paste.Cook till raw smell disappears.
• Add tomatoes.cook well.
• Add Chilly powder, coriander powder and salt.
• Add curd, mint leaves and coriander leaves and allow it to boil. 
• To the fried fish, add little gravy and keep the remaining gravy.
• Switch it on when the mixture is done.
• In a pressure cooker, add the masala in the bottom, add little rice at the top of it. 
• 
  
• 
• Add the fish masala on top of it.

• Add the remaining rice on top of it and spread .
• Sprinkle and garnish with the fried onions , coriander leaves and cashews.( below Picture)

Stir it from below before serving.

Drooling worthy!

Venpongal - Karnataka style / Savory Pongal

Pongal festival or sankranthi is on Jan 15th this year. So sharing an authentic karnataka style pongal recipe with you all.. This is my MIL's recipe. She makes this often with a combination with sambar. Its finger licking too.. You can make either with normal rice or with millets too. This recipe is also made in Hyderabad. I have had in few hotels there.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Moong dal - 1 cup
• Salt
• Water - 5-6 cups

To temper:

• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Pepper - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves
• Asafoedita - 1/4 tsp
• Ginger - 1" (finely chopped)
• Coconut chopped - one handful
• Green chillies - 2
• Oil
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee

Method:

• Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker. Temper all the above ingredients one by one. Fry the coconut a little.
• Add the washed rice and dal. Add water and salt.Stir well.
• Cook for about 5-6 whistles.

Serve hot with ghee and Sambar.

Capsicum Mushroom Rice

Its a simple rice, especially for toddlers. Try this for your kids today!



Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Mushroom - 5-6 chpped
• Capsicum - half chopped
• Onion - 1 chopped
• GG paste - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• salt

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, Add onions and fry them. 
• Add gg paste and fry them as well.
• Add capsicum and mushroom. Stir it.
• Add salt and allow it to cook for 5 mins.
• Add the cooked rice and garam masala for the flavor.

Simple and tasty rice  for kiddos !

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Puliodharai - with Pulikachal - 350th post

 Puliodharai is a long pending post... I never tried to ake pulikachal for so long. Tried it before Diwali. It tasted really good. But did not taste like my grandma's though.

Ingredients:

• Tamarind - 1 big lemon size ball
• mustard seeds
• Gram dal - 1 tsp for tempering and 2 tsp for powder
• Asafoedita
• Peanuts - 1/4 cup fried and pressed
• Coriander seeds - 2 tsp for powder
• Red chilly - 2 for tempering , 2 for powder
• Sambar powder - 3 tsp
• Turmeric powder - little
• Oil

 Method:

• Soak the tamarind in water nd extract a thick juice from it.
• Heat pan, dry roast coriander seeds, gram dal and red chillies. Allow it to cool.Grind it coarsely into a powder and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, gram dal, asafoedita and red chillies.
• Add curry leaves as well.
• When its tempered add turmeric powder and sambar powder. Fry for a while. add the tamarind extract and salt.
• Allow it to boil till it becomes a thick thokku consistency like the above picture. It will take about 10-12 mins. Cook in simmer.
• Finally add the ground powder and peanuts and allow it to boil once.

 If you refrigerate it , you can store it for 10 days or even more.

When you want to mix in rice, take the steamed rice, add gingelly oil to it and put the required pulikachal for the rice and mix well.I have served with fried vadams.It was perfect and tasty.

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Chettinad Chicken Biryani

 How many of you mouth water when you hear the word Biryani?? Definitely I do.. one of the most tastiest food. a perfect one-pot meal. There are so many varieties of biryani. Starting from regional, religion, etc.  My alltime favorite is mutton biryani... i have few restaurants in chennai, where I prefer to eat biryani ,everytime I visit.

Chicken biryani is currently the more popular biryani, being easy on the stomach and also because of wider availability. It usually comes with a boiled egg too.

Today's Special is Chicken Biryani. I wanted to try out different recipe. So tried this chettinad one.. Do try it out at home.



Ingredients:

For Chicken marination:
 

•  Chicken - 500 gms

• Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Chilly powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp

For coriander - mint paste:

• Coriander - 1 cup
• Mint - 1 cup
• Green chillies - 2

For Biryani on thw whole:

• Oil
• Cardamom -3
• Cinnamon - 1"
• Cloves - 4-5
• Bay leaf - 2
• Onion - 1 big sliced
• Tomato -2 medium chopped
• Salt
• Basmathi rice - 2 cups washed and soaked
• Water - 4 cups

 

Method:

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add the whole spices. add the onions. Fry till golden brown.
• Add the ground coriander mint paste, Stir well.
• Add the tomatoes. Fry till they become mushy. 
• Add the marinated chicken. Saute well for 5 mins or till oil releases.
• Add rice, salt and water. Mix well.
• after 2 -3 whistles , switch it off. Immediately as soon as the pressure releases , open the cooker and stir well.

Mouthwatering Chettinad Biryani  with Chetttinad Kurma.... Lovely !

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Channa pulao

Channa Pulao is very nutritious. its a very simple dish to make..

Ingredients:

• Channa - 1 cup
• Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
• Onion -1 big
• Tomato - 2
• Green Chilly - 3
• Curd - 3 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 11/2 tsp
• Cloves- 4
• Cinnamon - 2 - 3 pieces
• Cardamom - 4
• Bay leaf - 2
• Chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Water - 2 cups
• Oil

Method:

• Soak the channa overnight.
• In a Cooker , add oil , temper all the spices.
• Add green chillies, onion together and fry it till brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste. Then tomatoes. Stir well.
• Add Chilly powder and channa.
• Later on add curd and stir it for about 10 mins
• Add salt and rice.
• Keep for three whistles.
• Garnish with Coriander leaves. 

 

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Curd rice / Thayir sadham

Curd rice is the most easiest, tastiest, simplest rice. Its of course very good for health. It cools down our body heat. There are different side dishes thats makes more perfect match for curd rice. Some of it are Potato, raw banana, Yam, pickle (any variety). I love lemon pickle. especially when it comes to tiffin box, any doesnt know how to mix it. I love Thaalicha thayir sadham.



Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup cooked
• Curd - required
• Milk - 2-3 tbsp
• Salt - if required

To temper:

• Oil
• Mustard seeds
• Urad dal
• Green chilly - 1 chopped
• Ginger - small piece grated
• Curry leaves
• Asafoedita

Method:

• In a bowl, mix rice, curd, milk and salt together. check the salt.
• In a small pan, add oil and temper all the above ingredients one by one and mix it with the rice.
•  Perfect for lunch box. I have served with Instant Mango pickle.

 Mouthwatering Curd rice !

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