Curd (Yogurt) rice / Dadhojanam

Being an Andhrite, we end our meals with a dollop of curd that is usually mixed with rice. Today, I craved for this fruit flavored curd rice that tastes so yummy and delectable.

Yogurt seasoned with little spicy tempering and fruity flavor that seeps into the creamy yogurt is an absolute heart winner. A key aspect of curd rice has always been the freshly set soft and smooth home made yogurt.

I got some pomegranate and saved one for this recipe. The color looks so tempting and tastes wonderful as we bite into each seed.

Ingredients-

• 2cups cooked Rice
• 4 cups Curd (Yogurt)
• 1cup Milk
• 1 Whole pomogranate seeds
• 1 apple diced into small cubes (Optional)
• Grapes (optional)
• Pineapple (Optional)
• 1 tbsp Urad dal
• 1tbsp Chana dal
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns (Optional)
• ½ inch Ginger finley grated
• 10 Green chilies or to taste
• 4 Red chilies or to taste
• 10 Cashew nuts halved
• 2 tbsps oil
• hand full of Curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Curd rice with Pomogranate / Jewel rice

Directions-

Mash the cooked rice liberally to make it soft . Add curd (yogurt) in excess as rice tends to absorb it. Now, add milk to the curd rice (it stops the curd rice from turning sour), as it gives a more creamy flavor. Add salt to taste and set it aside.

Heat 2tbsp of oil in a Kadai and add mustard seeds once they pop up add urad dal , chana dal , pepper, green chilli pieces , red chillies , grated ginger and fry till all the ingredients are well fried.

Add cashews and fry till they are slightly brown.Add curry leaves and set a side.

To the curd (yougrt) rice, add all desired fruits. Now add the tempering and mix well. Serve it at room temp by itself or with lemon pickle.

Milk and Curd can be added more in quantity if desired

Pomogranate Curd rice served with raw onions

Vegetable Fried rice

In our house fried rice is a quick meal any time of the day, sometimes we eat it for breakfast/brunch on weekends and in very busy days it satisfies us at dinner time. Fried rice is my family favorite way of eating rice and vegetables.

This recipe is very easy to make as the ingredients are simply stir fried for few mins, that not only retains their crunch but also their nutrition. Cooking with a medley of colored vegetables gives a great color and an immense flavor to the dish. For me,the more variety of veggies, the better it taste.

I love broccoli and started to introduce it to my kids. I am glad, my Elder one loved it, I have to work little more with my younger one.

Ingredients-

• cups cooked rice (cooled to room temp)
• 1 small onions cut length wise (optional)
• 1 carrot cut in an angle
• 1 stalk celery  cut at angle
• 1 Red bell pepper cut in strips
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 cup broccoli florets washed and cut
• 10 sugar snap peas cut in half
• green onions chopped to an angle
• garlic cloves finely minced
• eggs
• Salt and pepper according to taste
• 2 tbsps sesame oil
• 4 dry red chilies or to taste ( for todays recipe, my DH wants to have extra spicy, so I put in mix of dry red chilies and thai green chilies)
• 1/4cup Soya sauce
• Note- You can substitute frozen vegetables instead of fresh

Vegetable Fried rice ingredients

Directions-

1. Heat the  wok or a wide skillet to smoking hot, add oil and sauté red chilies(if using green chilies, good time to add them to), garlic for few seconds
2. Add onions, white part of green onions, carrots, bell pepper, celery and sauté them for 2 mins on high heat with constant stirring.
3. If the pan is wide enough to push the vegetables to a side do so (if not, remove the veggies to another plate) and in the middle of the pan, crack eggs and make a quick scrambled egg and mix well with all the veggies ( make sure the veggies are not over cooked, we want to retain the crunch)
4. Add broccoli, sugar snaps, sauté them for 2 mins.
5. Add cooked, cooled rice, pepper (if needed) and mix well. Add soya sauce and stir-fry rice till everything is mixed well. Adjust the taste if needed.
6. Garnish with spring onions and serve warm.

Vegetable Fried rice (Indo- Chinese fried rice)

Pineapple basil fried rice with red bell pepper, carrots, sugar snap peas, basil, cucumber

For those who love Thai food, Pineapple basil Fried Rice is a well-known name, and everyone would agree that a Thai dinner is incomplete without a bowl of fragrant sweet and spicy fried rice served in a carved pineapple bowl! While you can’t always have the pineapple as a serving platter, you sure can enjoy a lovely meal by making Pineapple fried rice at home. This exotic rice dish is really simple to make, and will surely be memorable.

Thai fried rice has a uniquely sweet and savory quality that makes it quite different from its Chinese counterpart. The sweetness of pineapple and bell pepper contrasts beautifully with the spices and the cool cucumber. If you have access to Thai basil, it’s absolutely delicious; however, regular Italian basil is a perfectly acceptable substitute.

This classic Thai pineapple fried rice recipe can be easily cooked at home. Traditionally jasmine rice (I used sona masoori) is fried up with chunks of pineapple, plus cashews, and veggies in fish sauce (I cannot handle fish sauce, I am better of, by using dark Soya sauce).

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked rice (day old rice works best, if not cook the rice an hour or 2 and let it cool to room temp, before cooking this fried rice)
• 2 eggs
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup yellow onion chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper sliced length wise
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper sliced length wise
• 10- 12 thai basil leaves
• 1 carrot sliced at an angle
• 10 sugar snap peas cut in half
• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks (fresh pine apple makes a lot of difference)
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce or 6 tbsp light Soya sauce
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper powder
• 1 tbsp crushed red chili flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 10- 12 roasted unsalted cashew nuts (take the raw cashew nuts and fry them in 1 tsp of oil until golden brown)
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 stalk of spring onion chopped at an angle for garnishing
• 1 small cucumber (kheera) slices for garnishing

Pineapple basil fried rice

irections-

1. Mix 1 Tbsp. oil with the rice, using your fingers to separate any chunks into grains. Set aside.
2. In a hot wide skillet or wok, heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil, Crack egg (if using) into wok and stir quickly to cook (like making scrambled eggs).  remove and set aside.
   In the same wok, heat three tablespoons vegetable oil, add chopped garlic, crushed red chili flakes and sauté for a 10 sec.Add, yellow onions, basil, carrots, sugar snap peas, red and green bell peppers, then the pineapple, sauté them for 1 min on high heat with constant stirring.
3. Add dark soy sauce, black pepper powder and salt. Let this cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, so all the ingredients are cooked together. (Remember the veggies has to have a crunch)
4. Add cooked rice to the wok. Mix well.
5. Add scrambled eggs and mix gently, top it with cashew nuts, green onions and little more basil.
6. Serve and enjoy with cucumber slices!Pineapple basil fried rice is always a favorite, you can add tofu, chicken for a protein meal.  Vegans may omit the egg without losing the flavor or nutrients of this great dish.

Pineapple basil fried rice served in a pineapple bowl

Egg Biryani

For the past few weeks, unknowingly, I’ve been cooking different kind of egg recipes. This is one of the many versatile egg recipes, that taste awesome just by it self, No need of any curries. My DH loves to have this at least once a week.

Ingredients-

• 2cups cooked Basmati rice cooled and separated
• 2 boiled Eggs
• 2 raw eggs to scramble in the recipe
• 1 medium Onion chopped length wise
• 1 vine ripe tomato or 2 roma tomatoes chopped length wise
• 1 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste
• 6 Green chilies slit length wise or adjust to taste
• 4 Cloves
• 1 tsp of fresh ground Black pepper
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp Garam Masala Powder
• 4 of ½ inch Cinnamon sticks
• Chopped coriander leaves
• Fist full of mint leaves
• salt to taste

egg biryani

Directions-

1. Heat oil in a wide pan. Add cinnamon sticks, cloves and bay leaves. Fry for a minute.
2. Add sliced onion, green chilies and sauté until the onions are translucent.
3. Add tomatoes and sauté them until they are slightly soft.
4. Crack the eggs and beat the eggs with little salt. Pour the beaten eggs to the pan and scramble them until they are fully cooked.
5. Add coriander and mint leaves to the scrambled egg, add salt and sauté it for another min.
6. Cut boiled eggs into cubes or strips (however you like) and add it to the scrambled eggs, sauté them until boiled eggs are nicely coated with all the flavors.
7. Add cooked basmati rice to the above egg mixture and mix the rice thoroughly with all the sautéed egg mixture.
8. Add 1 tbsp of garam masala and sauté it for another 3 min, mixing gently without breaking the eggs too much.
9. Check the seasoning and serve it with some veggie salad like cucumber, carrots and onions.

Bon appétit!!!

Delicious Egg biryani

]]> http://simplefoodbowl.com/cooking/featured/egg-biryani/feed/ 0 http://simplefoodbowl.com/cooking/featured/pulihora-tamarind-rice-chintapandu-pulihora-recipe/ http://simplefoodbowl.com/cooking/featured/pulihora-tamarind-rice-chintapandu-pulihora-recipe/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:49:36 +0000 pavani http://simplefoodbowl.com/?p=761

Chintapandu Pulihora

Pulihora does not need any introduction for most of the  South Indians,  especially people from Andhra. It is called by different names  in different regions. Tamarind sourness dominates the rice and is neutralized just right enough with the fiery hotness of green chilies, the wholesome crunch of fried peanuts, cashews and the flavor full richness of curry leaves. The combination of all the ingredients makes Pulihora a sumptuous deal for the stomach.

Andhra, Pulihora finds its place as a main delicacy during all festive occasions. Especially in my home, Pulihora, sweet pongal, Garelu are staple festive foods. Pulihora is also offered as the ‘divine’ prasadam in many Hindu temples.

When making this dish please resist the temptation of using store bought mixes, this is truly enjoyed with the fresh squeezed tamarind pulp.

TIP-

• Cook rice with little bit of channa dal (around 2 tbsp) it gives very good flavor to the whole dish.
• Green chilies boiled together with the tamarind pulp gives a very nice flavor. One can enjoy biting into these tamarind boiled chilies and enjoy their hot and sour taste.
• This dish taste excellent after 4 to 6 hrs as the sourness of tamarind needs a bit of time to creep into the rice granules and delights the person to crave some more.

Ingredients-

• 2 cups of rice (cooked and cooled to room temp)
• Lemon sized tamarind (soak in a cup of hot water and extract pulp)
• 5 Red Chilies
• 3 tbsp oil
• 5 Green chilies slit length wise
• 2 Curry leaf stalks
• Salt to Taste
• 2 pinches asafetida
• 1 pinch of Fenugreek powder
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seed
• 3 tbsp Groundnuts
• 2 tbsp cashews
• 1 tsp turmeric

Directions-

1. Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice free of all the pulp and seeds.( we need to do this step couple times to make sure, all the juice in the tamarind is extracted).
2. Shift the tamarind juice to a cooking vessel, add 2 red chillies, 3 tbsp of oil, a stalk of curry leaves, a pinch of asoeftida, a pinch of turmeric, a pinch of fenugreek powder (optional),  little salt and put it to boil until the tamarind becomes a thick consistent paste,  all the water evaporates and it separates some oil. This can be stored in a refrigerator if you keep it in a moist-free and tightly closed container for a few days or nearly a month.
3. Cook rice separately and spread it out in a wide bowl/dish to cool.
4. Mix the rice evenly with one tbsp of oil, salt to taste and turmeric. Take care not to mash the rice grains. You can use a spoon here but I do not mind using my hand (world’s best tool) to mix thoroughly without having to mash the rice grains.
5. Mix the rice with the tamarind paste (from step 2) without having to mash the rice grains. Keep aside.
6. Heat the remaining oil in a pan and fry the groundnuts (peanuts), cashews drain them and add to the rice.
7. In a small pan, add 3 tbsp oil and add mustard seeds, when they start to crack, add cumin seeds, curry leaves any left over green chilies and asafetida.
8. Add this tempering to the rice and mix it gentle and thoroughly.
9. Best tasted when served after 4-6 hrs. The sourness of tamarind needs a bit of time to creep into the rice granules and delights the person to crave some more.

This can be a great lunch box item too.

Tamarind Pulihora

';p[Vegetable Pulav

P-U-L-A-V. This very simple 5 letter word brings up images of a dish that is rich and exotic, packed with aromatic spices and yummy tasty vegetables. When I was growing up, Pulav was my Mom’s specialty. She used to make it every week end with chicken curry as my whole family loves it. My Grand mother who is 70 loves to have this food atleast once a week till to this day.

I am trying to keep my mom tradition of making this dish every week in my house as my whole family loves it too. I always cook Pulav during lunch time and I double the quanity, so that we can have it in dinner time ( it tastes even better after 4 hrs).

Pulav is one in which we cook all vegetables & rice together. Biryani is where we layer vegetables & rice one over the other & cook. Pulav is simple & easy than our rich Biryani.

It is made very simple yet unexpectedly tasty and I bet people will always go with a second or third serving. It tastes even more with chicken curry or lamb curry or vegetable kurma or even a simple raita.

These traditional exotic dishes can be done very easily and healthy yet with mouth watering flavor. All the trick lies in choosing the vegetables in the right order ( some veggies cook fast some cook slow).

TIP- I usually have frozen mixed vegetables or frozen peas handy. I always have carrots and potatoes at my home. These vegetables are very handy to have in the freezer or refrigerator. Try to use fresh ginger garlic paste (hand grater is always nice to have) in this recipe, it makes a huge difference.

Traditionally this dish is made with basmati rice (choose the basmati kind that has nice aroma just by itself) But you can also try with regular rice which has little less flavors.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients-

• 4 Cups Basmati rice washed and soaked for 10 min
• ½ Cup Frozen green peas
• 2 Carrots chopped lengthwise to 2 inch pieces
• 2 potatoes diced
• 1 medium onion chopped lengthwise
• 10 green chilies or adjust according to taste
• 2 tbsp’s fresh ginger garlic paste
• 2 cinnamon sticks (each of 1 inch length)
• 4 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp Shahjeera / kala jeera
• 2 javathri (Optional)
• 1 star anise
• 10 cashew nuts
• ¼ Cup Mint (Pudhina)
• ¼ Cup finely
• chopped cilantro (Coriander) leaves

Directions-

1. Heat 4 tbsps of oil in a kadai. Add the whole garam masala(Cinnamon stick, Cloves, Bay leaves, Shahjeera, javathri, star anise and cashew nuts).
2. Add onions, green chilies and sauté them till onion is transparent. Add little salt to the onions which will help it to cook faster
3. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw flavor leaves and a nice aroma fills the kitchen. Add carrots, potatoes and sauté them for a min. Add other vegetables to it and mix well.
4. Add coriander and mint leaves, mix them all together.
5. Add the above vegetable mixture to rice cooker. Add rice and add 4 cups water, 2 cups milk (I usually use 1: 1and 1/2 ratio for basmati rice and water but I want to replace little water with milk to get rich and creamy taste)
6. Check the taste and adjust it accordingly.
7. Turn on the rice cooker. While the rice is cooking, sit in a couch and increase your appetite by enjoying the aroma of the pulav.

Let the rice cool off to room temp and serve it with raita or vegetable pulav or paneer butter masala or  my family favorite  chicken curry.

Note- For more buttery or creamy flavor you can add 1 cup heavy cream at step 5, instead of 2 cups milk and put 5 cups of water to boil the rice. I once, made this rice with heavy cream for a pot lock  at my work and all my colleagues loved it so much.

Veggie Pulav with chicken curry