North Indian Kichchadi - My Way

It was one of those "I don't want to cook; don't want to do any extensive cutting work; don't want to eat out (it had just stopped snowing, the roads were bad and snow ploughs just came out) either, but want a healthy, tasty and comforting home-cooked meal for dinner" days. And yes, agreed! I have way too many conditions, yet I managed to indulge in a very delicious and wholesome meal :-). Here goes my version of North Indian kichchadi...

Ingredients (2 - 3 servings):

Uncooked rice - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Masoor dhal - 1/4 cup (using a measuring cup)
Toor dhal - 1/4 cup (using a measuring cup)
Turmeric powder - a couple of pinches
Salt to taste

For seasoning:

Cooking oil - 2 to 3 tablespoons
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a couple of pinches
Green chillies - 3 to 4 finely chopped (adjust this to suit your taste)
Freshly grated ginger - 1 tablespoon
Garlic - a couple of cloves finely chopped
Fresh cilanto - a few strands finely chopped

Procedure:

1. Pressure cook rice, masoor dhal, toor dhal and turmeric powder with about 5 - 6 cups (using a measuring cup) of water until the rice and dhals get absolutely soft and easy to mash. Add salt and mash them with the back of a ladle once they are done.
2. In a pan, heat some cooking oil, pop mustard seeds, add asafoetida, cumin seeds, green chillies, grated ginger and garlic, mix everything well for a few seconds and transfer the contents to the pressure cooked rice and dhal from step 1 and mix well once again.
3. Garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy with a side of plain yogurt.

Nothing could have beat this comforting meal that day!

My Mom's Style Vegetable Pulao

When my sisters and I were little, vegetable pulao was always on our list of things to order at a restaurant. We would always ask our Mom to make it for us at home. Little did we know that she didn't know to make pulao type dishes. One fine day, she surprised us with this veggie pulao and we were really happy and pleased that she made such a tasty dish for us. Apparently, she learned it from one of her colleagues and also passed it on to my grand parents' family. Till date, whenever my grandma makes veggie pulao, she asks us if it tastes similar to my Mom's :-) as she thinks pulao type dishes are not her area of expertise. It is not that she cannot make it well but just that pulao was never in the list of things that she learned to cook from her mother (my grandma and Mom are experts in making traditional Brahmin style dishes though). And, having tried different types of pulaos myself, I have learned that this is not a very unique recipe, but definitely one that will bring back all those childhood memories that I cherish :-).

Ingredients (4 - 5 servings):

Basmati rice - 2 cups uncooked
Cooking oil - 3 to 4 teaspoons
Onions - 1/2 finely chopped
Tomatoes - 1/2 finely chopped
Veggies of your choice - about 2 cups (I always like using a lot of cauliflower and peas in my pulao and don't even bother with any other veggies)
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala (optional) - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh cilantro - a few strands finely chopped

To grind into a fine paste:

Onions - 1 big
Tomatoes - 1 big
Ginger - 1 inch piece (roughly)
Garlic - about 3 to 4 cloves peeled
Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon
Star anise - a couple (some blenders don't handle this well, so you might want to break it into pieces before putting them in your blender/mixer)
Cloves - 3 to 4
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick broken into small pieces
Bay leaves - 1 or 2
Green chillies - 5 to 6 (vary this to suit your taste)
Fresh cilantro (optional) - a few strands broken by hand
Grated/powdered coconut (optional) - 1 tablespoon

Procedure:

1. Grind the ingredients from the above mentioned list and set aside.
2. In a wide pan, heat some cooking oil (you can be a little generous here actually), fry the chopped onions first, followed by the chopped tomatoes and once the onions have turned light golden brown in color and the tomatoes have cooked well, add the paste from step 1, mix in well along with some salt, red chilli powder and garam masala and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat with constant stirring.
4. Now add the veggies to step 3 (I don't usually boil the veggies beforehand, but just let them cook in the gravy instead so that they don't end up mashed in the end), put the lid on and cook for about 15 more minutes on low heat.
5. You can take the lid off now and cook the rest of gravy for 15 more minutes or until the oil leaves the sides, on medium to high heat with constant stirring. Turn off the stove.
6. Wash and cook the rice and once it is done, spread it in a wide pan or a dish with a wide base, add a couple of teaspoons of cooking oil and the finely chopped cilantro to the rice, mix it in gently and set aside for about 15 minutes.
7. Mix the contents from step 5 with the rice gently, exercising caution not to break the rice. Serve with the favorite raita of your choice and/or potato chips.

It does take a little long to prepare this meal, but every bit is worth it :-). Some of my relatives prepare this by cooking the veggies, rice and spices together and that has a whole different taste to it.

Puli Pongal

Puli pongal is my Grandma's trademark dish. It is simply yummy each time she makes it. I got the recipe from her and tried it. It came out well and I'm happy to have tried it :-).

Ingredients (about 2 servings):

Uncooked rice - 1.5 cups (using a measuring cup)

Tamarind soaked in warm water (for about 15 to 20 minutes) - about the size of a small lemon

(If using paste, about 3/4 teaspoons of it)
Dried red chillies - about 6 t0 7, broken into two

Cooking oil (or sesame oil) - 2 tablespoons

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Channa dhal - 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch or two

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Curry leaves - a few

Salt to taste

Prep work:

1. Soak the uncooked rice in water for about 30 minutes.

2. After 30 minutes, drain all the water from the rice, spread it on a thin cloth or tissue until all the water gets absorbed and the rice is completely dry. This roughly takes about 20 minutes.

3. Make a COARSE powder out of the dry rice from step 2 and set it aside.

Procedure:

1. Extract about 3 cups (using a measuring cup) of tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind or dilute the paste to yield about 3 cups (using a measuring cup) of tamarind water.

2. In a deep vessel, heat some cooking oil, pop mustard seeds, add the channa dhal, asafoetida and broken red chillies and fry until the channa dhal turns light golden brown in color.

3. To step 2, pour the tamarind water from step 1, add the curry leaves and turmeric powder and bring it to a boil. Boil for about 7 - 10 minutes on medium heat or until the raw smell of tamarind goes away.

4. To the contents of step 3, add the coarse rice and keep stirring to avoid any lumps. Half way through, add some salt and mix everything well. Wait until the rice gets cooked, turn off the stove and put the lid on for about 5 - 10 minutes.

5. Just before serving, drizzle sesame oil on the top and serve with fried papad.

Although this is the not the healthiest of the dishes, it does taste good and in my opinion, there is no harm in treating yourself to such items occasionally :-). Wouldn't you agree with me????

Simple Lemon Rice

In my opinion, this is the easiest of all the variety rice dishes. I make it my Mom's way, which is nothing complicated, but I just like it for its simplicity. I have had one other variety of lemon rice though, which had a coarse ground powder of dried red chillies, coriander seeds, channa dhal and a few other ingredients that I don't remember now. I would love to try it if someone can pass me the recipe for that :-).

Ingredients (about 2 servings):

Rice - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Cooking oil - 3 tablespoons
Turmeric - 1/8 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Channa dhal - 1.5 teaspoons
Green chillies - 2 to 3 cut into visible pieces
Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves - a few
Lemon juice - about 4 to 5 tablespoons (you can adjust it to suit your taste)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Cook rice such that it is NOT mushy (you can add a few drops of oil to the rice and just mix it lightly so that it doesn't stick and break) and set it aside in a wide vessel.
2. Add turmeric and curry leaves to the rice, just on one spot, but don't mix it. Not yet!!!
3. Heat oil in a small pan, pop mustard seeds and add the channa dhal, asafoetida and green chillies and fry until the channa dhal turns light golden brown in color. Now pour the hot contents of the pan right on the turmeric in the rice container.
4. Add lemon juice and salt to the rice and mix everything well.
5. Set aside the rice mixture for about 30 minutes and it is ready to serve.

Note:
My Mom doesn't add turmeric to the oil, but pours the hot oil with its contents on the turmeric, for whatever reason, and I blindly follow that :-).

Whenever I long for variety rice dishes for lunch, this is the first thing that comes to my mind. Goes very well with any fry type sides, chips or raita.

Capsicum Rice

I love peppers of different colors and try to use them at any given opportunity :-). I was searching for capsicum rice recipe one day and found a whole bunch of them. I combined the spices from a couple of them to suit my taste and it came out very well.

Ingredients (about 2 servings):

Basmati rice - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Capsicum (Peppers) - 3 small ones cut into thin slices
Onion - 1 small or 1/2 medium thinly sliced
Cooking oil - 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds - 1.5 teaspoons
Cilantro - 3 teaspoons finely chopped
Salt to taste

To dry fry and grind into a fine powder:

Dried red chillies - 3 small (vary this to suit your taste)
Urad dhal - 3 teaspoons
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch stick
Cloves - 2 to 3
Cardamom - 1
Whole black pepper - 2 teaspoons (vary this to use your taste)
Roasted unsalted peanuts (optional) - 1 tablespoon

Procedure:

1. Cook 1 cup of basmati rice and set aside.
2. Dry fry dried red chillies, urad dhal, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, whole black pepper and peanuts (if it is roasted, you need not fry them) SEPARATELY, grind them into a smooth powder and set aside.
3. In a wide pan, heat some cooking oil, add cumin seeds and onions and fry until the onions turn light golden brown in color.
4. Add the sliced peppers to the cooked onions in step 3, some salt and cook until the peppers turn soft (but not too soft).
5. To step 4, add the powder from step 2, mix the ingredients well, fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes and switch to low heat thereafter.
6. Add the cooked basmati rice to the pan, mix the contents thoroughly and turn off the stove. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy the capsicum rice!!!

Tip:
If you make more of the masala powder, you can save it for other curries as well.

For a slight variation in flavor, you can add finely chopped garlic to step 2 before adding the onions. For more flavor, you can also add a couple of teaspoons of ghee (clarified butter) to the rice.

The colored peppers enhance the color of the dish, add a little sweetness to it and also taste great :-). Serve this rice with your favorite raita or chips.

Sunitha's Tomato Rice

Sunitha, one of my dear friends, also a very good cook, made this when I visited her last year. It was nearly 1:30 AM by the time we got to her apartment from the airport (I flew into Columbus, OH and she lives in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, which is about 2 hours from Columbus). I was thinking on my way that I would probably crash once we get home and didn't have the energy to even think about food (I had not had my dinner before I boarded the flight that day). But, after we reached home, the aroma of the tomato rice that she had made just brought back my appetite. I enjoyed it a lot :-). I had made tomato rice many times the way my Mom makes and although my Mom's recipe was not entirely different from Sunitha's but for a few extra spices that Suni adds, hers had a different flavor and was very tasty too. I was amazed at how much difference adding a spice or two could bring to the entire dish :-).

Ingredients (about 2 servings):

Basmati rice - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Cooking oil - 4 to 5 tablespoons
Mustard seeds - 2 teaspoons
Channa dhal - 1 tablespoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds (optional) - 3/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - a little less than 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1.5 teaspoons
Green chillies - 2 to 3 cut into pieces
Curry leaves - a few
Tomato - 1 medium sized finely chopped
Tomatillos - 2 finely chopped
(If you want it to be a little sour, you can add more of the tomatoes or tomatillos)
Onion - 1 medium sized finely chopped
Red chilli powder - 1.5 teaspoons (vary the measure to suit your taste)
Salt to taste
Ghee (refined butter) - 2 tablespoons
(If you don't have ghee, you can cook using butter (about 4 teaspoons of it) instead of cooking oil)
Cilantro - 3 teaspoons finely chopped

Procedure:

1. Cook 1 cup of basmati rice and set aside.
2. Heat cooking oil (or butter if you don't have ghee) in a pan, add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. After they start spluttering, add channa dhal, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, asafoetida, turmeric powder and curry leaves and fry until the channa dhal turns light golden brown in color.
3. Add chopped onions to the above step and fry until the onions turn golden brown in color. Some people have the tendency to burn the onions while waiting for them to turn golden brown. Watch out!
4. After the onions turn golden brown, add the chopped tomatoes and tomatillos and fry for like 3 minutes. Then add red chilli powder, salt and mix well and wait for the tomatoes to cook. Once they tomatoes are done, turn off the stove. Note: Do not add water for the tomatoes to cook. The tomatoes leave some water while they get cooked and that is enough for this dish.
5. In a vessel, mix the cooked basmati rice with the gravy from step 4 and ghee. Add more salt if needed. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Mouth-watering tomato rice is ready!

I had never used tomatillos in my cooking before I started making this tomato rice. But, if you don't have tomatillos handy, you can just use tomatoes alone. Also, adding fennel seeds gives it a slightly different flavor. I add it when I crave for that flavor.

Potato chips, onion raita, plain yogurt or any fried vegetable like potato fry, okra fry etc, go well with this rice variety. I made this rice for a Christmas party at work last year and threw in a couple of chopped potatoes while cooking the gravy. It was a big hit!!!! :-). My roomie likes it a lot and this is one dish that she says she can eat any time :-). Since the time I learned this from Suni, I have passed along this recipe to many of my friends and they have all liked it very much.