Potato Biriyani

This is one of the recipes that bring back memories of myself fighting with my sisters to scrape the pan clean. Even my finicky younger sister would polish it off. The name is Biriyani, but my mother used normal rice (parboiled rice) for making it. When Rasi at Vegetarian Food & me asked for a dish which we make especially for ourselves, I was a little taken aback. I realised that though I like what I cook, most of my cooking is geared towards my DH & DD's preferences. I couldn't think of a single thing which was special for me alone!!! While I was pondering over this and whether I have lost myself and other great thathvams (philosophies), along came Aruna manikandans Baby Potato Biriyani. Now I remembered my Mothers Potato Biriyani, which graced our lunch box very often as it was a family favourite and is something which can qualify for what I make specially for myself.

Here come my mom's Potato Biriyani, especially for me:

1 1/2 cups Rice (Any Indian Non glutinous Rice - Just adjust water accordingly)
1 1/2 cups - Cubed potatoes (around 1 " Cubes)
1 Onion - Sliced
2 tomatoes - chopped
1 green chilli - slit
1 tbsp - ginger garlic paste
1 tsp or less - chilli powder
1 tbsp - malli masala powder
salt to taste.
Oil/ Ghee or a mixture - as required.
Powder together the following:
3 cardomoms
1 " piece cinnamon
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp sonf
1/2 tsp Black pepper.

Wash and clean rice. Soak it till you process the other ingredients for this dish.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker or in a heavy bottomed pan. Add sliced onions, sautee till translucent. Add green chilli & ginger garlic paste. Add chilli powder, malli masala powder and the powdered masala and salt. fry till aromatic on low flame. add chopped tomatoes and sautee till mushy.
Now add the cubed potatoes, drained rice and enough water to cook rice (for parboiled rice the amount is three times the volume of rice, for raw rice 2 times and for jeerakasala rice 1.5 times). Check for salt at this stage. Close the lid and cook till done. Garnish with chopped corriander leaves.
Serve with a salad or pappad or potato chips.

I am sending this to Vegetarian Food & Me - I am the star ,  Any One Can Cook Series 45 and to Comfort Food

Vegetable Biriyani

Hmm Such a long time since I posted anything.  Time seems to fly. For pongal I had made vegetable biriyani, and now almost two months and I am getting down to posting this. Well, better late than never I say.

Ingredients:

1/2 a head of medium sized cauliflower
2 medium sized carrots
2 fist sized potatoes. (preferably not the floury type)
10 to 15 snap beans
1 capsicum
One handful fresh peas/ frozen also will do.

Process all the veggies to uniform sized pieces. Keep aside.

For masala:

2 Nos - Onions Finely sliced.
3 tomatoes - Chopped
3 green chillies - slit vertically
2 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste
1 Tbsp - Corriander Powder or malli masala powder
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp pepper jeera powder
1 inch Cinnamon stick
5 nos cloves
3 cardomom pods
2 bay leaves.
1 tbsp - ghee
2 tbsp - Oil.
1 tbsp - salt or to taste.
1/2 cup Butter milk or yoghurt.
One handful each - Chopped corriander & Chopped mint

Rice:

3 cups Long grain Indian Basmati Rice - wash gently, soak in water for 20 mins to 30 mins.

Procedure:

Heat a mixture of ghee & oil in a vessel large enough to hold the veggies + rice + Water + 2 inches head space. (around 15 cups water in this instance)
Keep heat at medium.
Add whole spices.
When they release their aroma, add chopped onions & green chillies. fry till golden.
Add ginger garlic paster. sautee till raw smell goes.
Add spice powders and salt.
Add tomatoes and stir till cooked to mush.
Add butter milk or curds, stir to combine and add chopped vegetables except Capsicum.
Let veggies cook. It may take 15 mins to 30 mins depending upon the size of the peices.
Add 4 cups boiling water. (the rest 2 cups needed will be from the veggies masala)
Add the capsicum pieces, herbs, Juice of half a lemon if the tomatoes are not sour enough. Check for salt and spice level. The masala with water should taste slightly saltier than your normal salt level.
Add soaked and drained rice. Bring to boil.
Lower heat to a sim. Close vessel with a tight fitting lid. Steam for ten mins. Check Rice for doneness. Cook for a few more mins if necessary.
Fluff rice when serving.



Note : I add capsicum when adding rice because otherwise the capsicum turns to mush. This way you can actually see the capsicum pieces. This will be espescially attractive if you use different coloured capsicums. If you wish to include beet root, cook beetroot seperately in salted water till three fourths done. drain and add only the pieces when adding rice. Otherwise you will get pink or orange coloured biriyani :-)

Lemon Rice

Today I am going to post a simple recipe which is Lemon Rice Elumichcai sadham in Tamil and chitranna in Kannada. It is fragrant, and keeps well and so it is a favoured item in Picnics, lunch boxes. It is also quick to make and so was a weekly regular in my kitchen. My daughter loves it. Add a raw salad, fried chicken or pappadoms for protien and a cup of buttermilk to wash it all down and you have a complete meal. So here goes the recipe:

Lemon Rice

Rice - 1 cup - Cook with salt to taste as per your preferred method, but it should not be mushy. The grins should be well cooked but seperate.
Fresh Lemon juice - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida (Hing) - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped fine
Green Chillies - 2-3 Chopped
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Chana dal (Kadalai paruppu) 1 tbsp - soaked in water for around ten mins and drain well.
Udad dal and mustard seeds 1/2 tsp each
Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp

Ingredients for Lemon Rice (Lemon Juice with turmeric & Hing, Chana dal soaking in water, Green chillies, Chopped ginger, curry leaves, Mustard, udad dal)

Spread cooked rice on a plate. Mix Lemon juice, hing and turmeric powder in a small bowl. Add to rice and mix well to coat. The Rice will turn to a delightful yellow colour.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and udad dal. when mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and then the drained chana dal. stir for a few mins till the chana dal is fried. Add in the rice and toss well. Your Fragrant Lemon Rice is ready.

You can reduce the amount of lemon juice if you wish, but my family likes it really tangy and spicy.

I am sending this recipe to Any One Can Cook: Series 37 by Umm Mymoonah and Let's Cook #11 ~ Rice by Radhika.

Tomato Rice

This is a regular in my house. I got this recipe from Mallika Badrinaths cook book. These kind of rice dishes were a lifesaver for me when I was working full time. I used to make double or triple the amount of the tomato masala mix and freeze in portions. Next time I just had to remember to take it out of the freezer the previous night. Morning only make rice, mix and keep in MW bowl for hubby and daughter to eat for lunch take my portion to office and I am raring to go. Add some pappads or eggs or potato chips or for die hard nonveggies chicken fry. The pappads can be fried the previous night ( I used to schedule pooris the previous night so I didnt have to heat the oil twice (arent I clever ?). OK  enough patting myself on the back, here's the recipe:

Tomato Rice and Fried Egg

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 4 Chopped.
Onions - 1 or 2 Finely chopped
Green chillies - 2 nos slit vertically
Peas - 1/4 - 1/2 cup (I use frozen)
Curry Leaves - 1 -2 sprigs
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Perungayam podi - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tsp or 1 " cube butter (just for the fragrance)
Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Procedure:
Cook Rice till done but not mushy. I use rice cooker. If you use pressure cooker you can make the masala when the pressure is returning to normal. If you are doubling or tripling start as soon as you put the rice to cook.
Chop tomatoes and let them start cooking first in a separate pan or nuke in the microwave along with a little salt and the green peas till mushy. Meanwhile chop onions, heat kadai, add oil, add chana dal, udad dal, and then the mustard. when the mustard pops add the hing and add chopped onions immediately. Add a little salt (remember the salt in the tomatoes) and the green chillies , sautee till golden reduce flame if it is on high at this stage, add turmeric and chilli powder, stirr well till chilli powder is fragrant mayne 40 secs. add cooked tomatoes and green peas. simmer for a few mins for the flavours to blend. Check for salt, sourness, and chilli. add garam masala. Add ghee or butter now. Mix well, add cooked rice or add to the cooked rice depending on which vessel is bigger. Switch off the flame. Mix gently but thoroughly to distribute the tomato masala evenly with the rice. Finis.

This is a good picnic food also. If you are going with staunch veggies as your guests, add paneer cubes fried till golden just before mixing the rice, it will look real swanky, but of course the name of the dish will be paneer tomato rice. (Grin)

Mutta Chor (Egg Fried Rice)

Hello, this is a very simple recipe invented by my Mother. I have not come accross this in any body elses house in my School days or college days or after. Everybody associated egg fried rice with chinese cooking, but this is simply indian in flavour. I came accross one more recently in a blog but I forgot to book mark it. It was slightly different with more spices added, if  I come accross it again I will link in this post.

Ingredients: (Serves Two)
Ponni Rice (1 cup) cooked with salt to taste till done.
Eggs - 2 to 4 Nos (Two for Adults, Four if you are serving children)
I keep a little of the egg mixture aside and mix the additional egg mixture in my daughters portion of rice.
Onion - 1 big Chopped finely
Oil - 2 tbsp or lesser
Ghee - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp or more or less as per heat tolerance
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp.
Green chillies 1 choppped fine (Optional)
Salt to taste
Curry leaves one sprig or two

Heat oil and ghee in a big kadai. Reduce heat. Bruise the curry leaves and add to the heated oil. You will be able to see that the oil acquires a light greenish tinge. Add chopped onions and green chilli and salt. sautee untill onion is golden brown. Add chilli powder and turmeric powder. sautee for a few seconds till its mixed well in the onions and the raw smell of chilli powder is gone. Add eggs and scramble them  as for bhurji till fully cooked. Mix in the rice turn well in the pan till egg mixture is evenly distributed. Serve with simple salad, Pickles. Khalaas.

Please note that fresh curry leaves are essential for this dish without curry leaves it OK but not Oomph. You can omit ghee but since we use ghee very rarely, its use is reserved for mutta chor, biriyani etc. so we can indulge once in a while. I dont like to reheat this and use, but if you are rushed for time or dont want to waste food then you know..
Also use fresh cooked rice. Not rice from the fridge.

I used to take this to my office for Lunch. My friends there didn't believe me that it was so simple to make because it tasted so good.