Methi Matar with Paneer Pulao

My kitchen was filled with this wonderful aroma of, spices and basmati rice, which lingered in my kitchen for so long. So inviting was the aroma and subtle was the taste of methi, with matar and paneer.

Ingredients


For Rice

2 cups - Basmati rice (used India gate,super brand )
2 - Green Cardamom
1 - Black cardamom/ Badi Elachi
3 to 4 - Cloves
A small - Cinnamon Stick
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients

250 grams - Paneer cubes
1/2 tsp - Jeera Seeds
4 medium - Onion, finely sliced
4 to 6 - Green chili
1.5'' piece - Ginger
1/4 cup - Garlic Or one medium bulb
1 big - Tomato, crushed /puree
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 to 1.5 cup - Methi / Fenugreek leaves
1 cup - Matar / Green Peas
Salt to taste
Ghee or oil

Method

1 ) Bring to a boil 4 to 5 cups of water in a big pan, add green & black cardamom, clove, cinnamon stick, salt to taste and little ghee to the water. Now add washed basmati rice to the water and cook till rice is cooked. Take off the stove and drain off excess water.

2 ) Coarsely grind green chili- ginger and garlic to a paste. Wash methi leaves well, then chop it. Heat a kadai /wok. Add some ghee and fry paneer cubes to a light brown color on all sides. Drain off oil and transfer to a plate.Then add sliced onion and fry till onion turns brown in color. Drain and transfer to a plate.

3 ) In the remaining oil( add more if need), add jeera and fry for a second. Then add chili-ginger-garlic paste and fry on low heat till it turns lightly brown. Now add turmeric powder, matar and methi leaves. Stir and fry for a minute. Then add tomato puree, salt to taste, close with a lid and cook on low heat till peas is cooked. Add little water to cook peas if needed.

4 ) Once the peas is cooked, add fried paneer cubes to the kadai and cook for a minute. Adjust salt to taste. Turn off the stove. Now add the cooked rice and fried onion little by little. Stir, toss and mix all the ingredients. Transfer the pulao into a microwave safe bowl and warm the pulao.This will evenly distribute the flavors.

Now serve in platter, garnish with some fried onions.

Serve pulao with raita and pappad.

Matar Pulao - Green Peas Pulao

Flavorful and Aromatic pea pulao is easy to put together. Get hold of some frozen peas from your freezer, of course defrost it and cook along with basmati rice and spices. Serve along with any meat gravy, raita and pappad.

Ingredients

2 cups - Basmati rice
4 cups - Water
1 cup - Green peas
2 - Black cardamom
5 - Black peppercorns
3 - Cloves
1/2 tsp - Cumin / jeera seeds
1.5 tsp - Fresh ginger paste
2 tsp - Fresh garlic paste
1 small - Onion, chopped
Salt to taste
Ghee Or vegetable oil

Garnishing

1 tbsp - Unsalted cashew nuts
2 large - Onions, thinly sliced

Method

1 ) Wash rice well then soak in water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to drain out well.

2 ) Heat oil in large pan, add sliced onions for garnishing into it and medium heat fry till onion turns brown and crisp. Drain off the oil and transfer to paper towel. Then in remaining oil, fry cashew nuts until golden brown. Drain and set side on the paper towel.

3 ) Add more oil if needed, then add black cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, cumin to the oil and fry for a few seconds. Then add ginger, garlic paste and fry for a few seconds, then add onion and fry till onion turns lightly brown. Now add peas and drained rice and saute for 5 minutes.

4 ) Add water and salt to taste and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to very low, cover and cook till all the water is used up. Turn stove off and let the rice remain on stove with lid for 5 to 10 minutes. Open and fluff rice gently with a fork. Serve on a severing platter. Garnish with fried onions and cashew nut.


Serve hot with raita and chicken curry.

Neichoru / Ghee Rice

Neichoru, which means rice flavoured with ghee and spices that gives a special aroma to this simple rice preparation. Mostly prepared for special occasions to accompany with rich gravy curries like fish mollee, chicken or mutton stew or any meat gravy preparations.

Ingredients

2 cups - Basmati rice
4 cups - Water
1 - Onion, thinly sliced
4 - cloves
2 inch long - Cinnamon
4 tbsp - Ghee
Salt to taste

Garnishing

2 - Onions, thinly sliced
Few golden raisins
Few cashew nuts

Method

1 ) Wash rice and drain very well.

2 ) In a deep heavy bottom utensil, heat ghee, add cinnamon and cloves. Fry for a few seconds, then add onion and fry till onion is translucent. Now add the drained rice and on simmer, fry the rice well in ghee, till you can hear ' tick tick ' sound.

3 ) Meanwhile in another utensil, place 4 cups water on stove and bring to a boil and switch off the stove. Now carefully, with stove on simmer, pour water into the rice utensil. Add salt to taste and stir once. Close with a tight lid and cook on simmer for 5 minutes. Once the rice has absorbed all the water and is cooked, switch off the stove. Do not open the lid now. Keep it closed for 10 to 15 minutes. Then open the lid and gently stir the rice.

4 ) To garnish - Heat 3 to 4 tbsp ghee, simmer then add raisins and fry till raisins plump up. Drain off from the ghee and set aside. Now add cashew nuts and fry, till cashews turns lightly brown. Drain and set aside along with raisins. Now add onion, sprinkle little sugar on top, to speed up onion caramelising. Fry till onion turns golden brown. Drain and set aside.

5 ) Mix little of the fried onion, cashew and raisin with the rice and set aside some to garnish finally on top of the rice, when serving. Serve rice on a platter, then on top of the rice, garnish with fried onion, cashew and raisins.

Serve hot with any meat gravy preparation. I served ghee rice with fish mollee, pappadam and raita.

200th Post with a Mutton Biryani

Well now this is the 200th post on Simply Spicy and quiet a delightful feel to reach this point. I have not been able to blog as frequently as before, because of certain constraints.
Now this is a kerala way of preparing mutton biryani, which has been a favourate in our household. Most of the preparation is done in pressure cooker and minimal oil/ ghee is used, so you don't get that heavy feel after having biryani. For the biryani, equal quantity of meat and rice has to be used...ie for 1 kilo meat, 1 kilo rice. This will give good results.

Ingredients

500 grams - Mutton with bones
2 cup - Basmati Rice
2 cups - Water
3 big - onions, chopped finely, lengthwise
1 - Lemon, extract juice
1 - Big tomato, chopped
1/2 bunch - Coriander leaves,chopped
1/2 bunch - Mint leaves , chopped
1 - Bay leaf
1 /2 tsp - Turmeric powder
5 tbsp - Ghee
Salt to taste

Grind to a fine paste

5 big - Green chili
1'' piece - Ginger
1 whole clove - Garlic
1 cup - Medium sour yogurt

Make a fine powder of

3 small pieces - Cinnamon
4 - Cloves
1 tsp - Fennel seed
1 tsp - Poppy seed / Khus-khus
1/2 of a - Javitri
1 tsp - Coriander powder
1 tsp - Black pepper powder

Method

1 ) Wash basmati rice well and soak for 10 minutes. Drain out the water well and let the rice dry out completely.

2 ) To marinate mutton - Mix, finely ground ingredients with powdered ingredients. Add salt to taste and apply this marinade to the mutton pieces. Marinate for 1/2 hour.

3 ) Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pressure cooker, add onions and fry till onion is translucent. Then transfer marinated mutton to the pressure cooker. Add tomato, close the cooker. After the first whistle, lower the flame to simmer and pressure cook for 20 minutes. Cool and then open the cooker.

4 ) Meanwhile in another big wide pan, heat 3 tbsp ghee on low heat. Add bay leaf, basmati rice and fry the rice lightly for 5 minutes. Add turmeric powder, coriander leaves, mint leaves, salt to taste and fry for a minute.

5 ) Along side bring 2 cups water to a boil, in another utensil. With care pour water into the fried rice and cook till rice is partially cooked. Now add the cooked mutton along with the gravy, lemon juice, stir and mix in. Now cover with a tight lid and cook on simmer for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove and open the lid after 15 minutes.

Serve along with raita (made with yogurt mixed with small onions, green chili, tomato and salt), pappad and coriander chutney.

Mixed Vegetable Pulao

Basmati rice cooked with mixed vegetables and spices to make an aromatic pulao.

Ingredients

1 cup - Basmati rice, wash and drain
3/4 cup - Fresh peas
1/4 cup - Carrots, chopped to small pieces
1/4 cup - Beans, chopped to small pieces
2 small sticks - Cinnamon
4 - Cloves
2 - Black cardamom
2 - Bay leaves
1 tsp - Ginger paste
1 tsp - Garlic paste
1 medium - Onion, sliced
1 tsp - Cumin seeds
2 cups - Water
Salt to taste

Method

1 ) Heat ghee or oil in a deep pan. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, cumin seeds and fry for few seconds. Add garlic - ginger paste, then add onion and fry till onion is lightly browned.

2 ) Add mixed vegetables and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add rice and fry for a minute. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil. Pour this water slowly into the rice pan. Lower the heat to low when pouring the water. Stir in, add salt to taste. Close with a heavy lid and bring to a boil on medium heat. Once it come to a boil, lower the heat and cook till all the water is used up. Switch off the stove and let the rice cook further in it's steam. When pan has cooled down , open the lid and stir in.

Serve into a serving platter and decorate with coriander leaves.

Chana Dal Pulao

Simple in its taste, yet flavorful with the spices and chana dal, this pulao is easy to put together.

Ingredients

1 cup - Basmati rice, washed & drained
1/2 cup - Chana dal
1/2 tsp - Cumin seed /Jeera
4 - Cloves
2 small sticks - Cinnamon
2 - Black Cardamom
2 - Bay leaves
2 and 2/3 cups - Water
Ghee or Oil
Salt to taste

Method

1 ) Soak chana dal for at least 2 hours. Drain off the water and set aside.

2 ) Heat ghee or oil in a deep pan, add Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, cumin and fry for few seconds. Then add chana dal and fry for 3 to 5 minutes on medium heat. Add rice and fry for 2 minutes.

3 ) Meanwhile in another pan, heat 2 and 2/3 cup water and bring to a boil. Pour this water into the rice pan, lowering the heat. Add salt to taste and stir in. Close with a heavy lid and bring to a boil and then lower the heat to low heat. Cook till the rice and dal is cooked and all the water is used up. Switch off the stove and don't open the lid yet. Let rice cook in the steam for a little more while. After 5 minutes or so, open the lid and stir the cooked rice.

Serve rice along with a veg or non vegetarian curry, yogurt and pappad.

Coconut Rice

This coconut rice has the rich coconut flavor having been cooked in coconut milk. I have used aged basmati rice for making this rice. Advantage of cooking with aged basmati rice is that, you get fluffy cooked rice, with separate grains and it will not break so much after cooking unlike new basmati rice.

Ingredients

1 cup - Basmati rice, rinsed

2 cups - Coconut milk

Salt to taste

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

1 tbsp - Chana dal

1 tsp - Urad dal

1/4 tsp - Jeera / Cumin seeds

2 tbsp - Peanuts or cashewnuts

2 pinches - Hing

2 - Green chili, chopped finely

2 sprigs - Curry leaves

Coconut oil

Method

1 ) In a large saucepan, bring coconut milk to a boil, add rinsed basmati rice and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cook covered with lid till all the coconut milk is absorbed and the rice is well cooked. Switch off the heat. With the lid still closed, let the rice cool. Stir with a fork, then spread the rice on a plate to cool completely.

2 ) To season - In a pan heat oil, add mustard and pop it. Then add chana dal, urad dal, peanuts or cashew nuts, green chili and fry them. Now add hing and curry leaves. Pour the seasoning on the cooked rice and mix in well.

Serve hot. This rice will go so well with some spicy meat fry or with chicken curry.

Seema suggests - " My mom does the south indian way.. all tadka & fry the fresh coconut till the aroma comes & add cooked rice & toss well...."

So for a variation to the above preparation, coconut rice can be prepared using freshly grated coconut, instead of coconut milk. Cook rice in water and cool. For one cup rice, use 2 cups water. Then do the seasoning, add about 1 cup freshly grated coconut to seasoning and fry lightly( don't brown the coconut ) till the aroma of coconut comes out. Then add cooked rice and mix well.

Ajwain Vegetable Rice

Ajwain seeds / carom seeds or bishop's weeds is used as a spice in Indian household. This was not a spice that was common in my household, but gradually i came to know about ajwain and it's medicinal properties. Now i use a little of this while making paratha's and enjoy it's distinctive taste. While enquiring to a friend, about a home remedy for indigestion, i got to know about this rice preparation with ajwain. Immediately i made this rice and it turned out tasty. The rice can be prepared with just the seasoning. With additional vegetables it makes it all the more better.

Ingredients

4 cups - Cooked rice

Salt to taste

Vegetables

Little of grated carrot

Little of chopped capsicum

Little of cooked peas

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp - Jeera

1/2 tsp - Urad dal

1 tsp - Chana dal

1 tbsp - Ajwain seeds

2 to 3 pinches - Turmeric powder

2 - Dry whole red chili, split into two

2 sprigs - Curry leaves

Use only ghee

Method

1 ) Keep cooked rice ready. In a pan heat ghee, add mustard and pop it, then add urad dal, chana dal, jeera, dry red chili, curry leaves, turmeric powder, ajwain and fry for a minute. Then add the vegetables and fry till the carrot and capsicum is cooked a bit on low heat.

2 ) Add salt to taste, then the cooked rice. Turn the stove off. Mix all the ingredients well.

Serve hot with raita and pappad.

Home remedies with ajwain can be read here

Lemon Rice with Veggies

This rice can be prepared quick, if you have some left over cooked rice in hand. Adding vegetables like peas and carrot adds more flavor and taste to this rice.

Ingredients

4 cup - Cooked rice
Juice of one - Lime
1/2 of a - Carrot, finely grated
1/2 cup - Peas, cooked
2 to 4 - Green chilies, chopped finely
Salt to taste

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp - Jeera
1 tbsp -Chana dal
1 tsp - Urad dal
fistful - Peanuts
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
2 sprigs- Curry leaves
Sesame oil

Method

1 ) Heat oil in a skillet. Pop mustard, then add chana dal, urad dal, Jeera, Peanuts, curry leaves and turmeric. Fry for a minute on medium heat. Add Green chili, carrot and peas. Fry for a minute or two. Add salt to taste and mix. Turn off the stove.

2 ) Now add the cooked rice and mix with the seasonings. Add lime juice and mix in well. Initially soon after mixing lime juice with rice, the rice will be very tangy but will reduce gradually. If served after one hour, the rice will be balanced with all the flavors from seasoning and lime.

I like to have lemon rice with pappad and fish fry. How about you guys ??

Pulihora - Tamarind Rice

An Andhra preparation of the tamarind rice, that my friend prepares so well and she has so graciously shown me, step by step how she prepares this rice.

Ingredients

3 cups - Raw rice ( Use : Sona Masuri, Basmati or Long grain rice )

Seasoning

2 tbsp - Mustard seeds

1/4 cup - Urad dal

1/4 cup - Chana dal

1/4 cup - Peanuts

6 to 8 - Whole dried red chili

1 tsp - Turmeric powder

1 big yellow lemon size - Tamarind

1/4 to 1/2 tsp - Hing

2 to 3 sprigs - Curry leaves

1 cup - Oil

Salt to taste

Method

1 ) In the first step, cook the rice and then spread out in a big plate to cool a bit.

2 ) Second step is to Season. Heat oil in a pan and fry the whole red chillies. Take it off the oil and set aside. Then add chana dal, peanuts, urad dal and fry on medium low heat. Then add mustard and after mustard pops, add curry leaves, hing and take off the stove.

3 ) Thirdly, pour the seasoning onto the cooked rice.
Then to make the tamarind paste, extract thick tamarind paste from the tamarind by adding little by little water and squeezing out a thick tamarind juice. Now cook the extracted juice till it thickens to a semi-thick concentrated paste. Add salt to taste when cooking the tamarind juice.

4 ) Add the cooked tamarind paste to the cooked rice. Now mix the rice well with the seasoning and the tamarind paste. Mix thoroughly and then serve.


Variations to this recipe

1. If you like mustard flavor, you can add a little mustard paste to the rice and mix well. Take 1 tsp mustard seeds and make a paste with little water. Crush with a mortar and a pestle.
   
2. Sesame seeds can be dry roasted and powdered. Add the powder to the rice and mix well.

Now if you want to make this rice with ready made Puliogare powder -

1) Follow the first step to cook the rice.

2 ) Then follow the second step to season. At the end of the seasoning, add 3 to 4 tbsp of ready made puliogare powder into the oil, before taking off the stove.

3 ) Pour the seasoning onto the cooked rice and mix thoroughly. If you need more sour and tangy taste, add 2 to 3 tbsp of lemon juice to the rice and mix.

JFI for the month of Sept, is hosted by the lovely sharmi of Neivedyam, who has a array of mouth water recipes to feast on. Rice is the chosen ingredient and i am sending in Pulihora as my entry for this event.

Tomato Rice

Tomatoes are packed with a lot of health benefits. Bright red tomatoes are the best to get good amount of lycopene, vitamins C, K & A, potassium, and fiber. Tomatoes does not lose it's nutritional benefits by cooking. Is tomato a vegetable or a fruit ? Tomato is actually a fruit, but considered a vegetable.

Here is a recipe to cook tomatoes and get the benefits of this fruit / Vegetable.

Ingredients

1 cup - Basmati rice

5 - Tomatoes, chopped

2 inch - Ginger, paste

5 flakes - Garlic, paste

10 - shallots , chopped

1 - Green chili, chopped

1/4 tsp - Jeera / Cumin

1/4 tsp - Fennel seeds / Perumjeerakam

2 sprigs - Curry leaves

Sesame oil

Salt to taste

Method

1 ) Heat oil in pan. Add curry leaves, jeera, fennel seeds and fry for a minute. Then add green chili, paste of ginger - garlic. Fry till lighlty brown.

2 ) Add chopped shallots and lightly brown them. Add chopped tomatoes, fry and cook till tomotoes are a bit mashed. Add salt to taste.

3 ) Add 1.5 cup water and bring it to a boil. Add washed rice, bring to a boil and then simmer. Close with a lid and cook till the rice is fully cooked. Take off the stove. Open the lid only after, it has cooled down a bit.

Serve hot and enjoy this tomato rice.

This is my entry for the Jihva for tomatoes, hosted by RP of My workshop.

Prawns Pulao

Ingredients

500 gm - Prawns
1 to 2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Clean prawns well and mix in with red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook prawns in this masala. Add some oil and fry well. Set aside.

1 cup - Basmati rice
1.5 cup - water
1/2 cup - Peas
1 - Cinnamon stick
3 - 4 - Cloves
2 - Black Cardamom
2 - Bay leaves
1 - Big Onion, Sliced thin
2 - Tomato, quartered
1 tbsp - Lemon juice
1 bunch - Coriander leaves, cleaned & chopped
Corn oil

Grind to a paste

4 flakes - Garlic
1 inch - Ginger
2 - Green chili
1 tsp - Fennel seeds/ Perumjeerakam
1 tsp - Poppy seeds / Khus-khus

Method

1 ) Wash Basmati rice, strain well. Set aside.

2 ) Heat oil in a heavy bottom deep pan. Add cinnamon, clove, cardamom and bay leaves.

3 ) Add sliced onion and fry till golden brown in color. Add ground paste, stir and fry. Then add coriander leaves.

4 ) Add rice to the pan. Stir and fry the rice for 2 to 3 minutes. Add peas, cooked prawns and tomato. Stir and mix on a low heat.

5 ) Meanwhile boil 1.5 cup water and add this water to the rice. Add lemon juice and salt to taste.

6 ) Close with a lid and cook on a low heat till the rice is cooked. Take off the stove.

Serve hot with raita, pappadom and coriander chutney.

Tip

Make stock with the prawns shell. This will enhance the flavor. For this recipe, instead of water, use 1.5 cups of stock, made by boiling prawns shell in water.