Beetroot or Carrot Rice

Ingredients:

• Carrot or Beet root - 3
• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Briyani Leaves - 2
• Ghee - 3 tablespoons
• Onions - 2

To powder:

1. Coriander Seeds - 2 teaspoons
2. Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon
3. Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
4. Urad Dhal - 1 teaspoon
5. Split yellow Channa dhal - 1 teaspoon
6. Cloves - 3
7. Cinnamon - 2cm stick
8. Cardamon - 2
   
9. Curry Leaves - 1 sprig or 10
   
10. Sherrded coconut - 2 tablespoons
11. Red Chillies - 6 (as required)
    

Method:

• Cook the basmati rice with 4 cups of water, required salt and keep it aside.
  
• In a dry pan first fry coriander seeds on medium heat for 5 mins
• After that add the items in "To powder" from 2 - 11 one after the other and fry for another 5 mins on low heat or when the mixture turns light brown color.
• When the mixture cools down grind it to smooth powder
• You can prepare the powder in excess quantity and can store in air-tight container in freezer for a month or so.
• Shred the Carrot or Beetroot and keep it aside.
• In a pan heat 3 tablespoons of ghee and add the briyani leaves.
• Add lengthwise cut onions and fry until onion is light brown in color.
• Add the shredded vegetable, salt required for vegetable(as rice already has salt in it) and fry for 2 mins.
• Reduce the heat, cover and cook until the vegetable is cooked. Don't add water any water.
• When beetroot or carrot is done add 2 tablespoons of grinded masala powder and mix well.
• Add the cooked rice and stir in. If required add more masala powder as per your spice needs.

Quick Egg Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked and Cooled Basmati Rice - 2 cups ( Rice should not be sticky)
Onions - 2 large
Tomatoes - 2 large
Green Chillies - 4 or 5
Curry Leaves - 2 sticks
Fennel seeds - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Chicken Masala - 1 teaspoon (optional)
Eggs - 2 or 3
Coriander leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

• Cut Onions, tomatoes and green chillies lengthwise.
• Heat 4 tablespoons of oil and add the fennel seeds, the fennel seeds will splutter and the oil will be fully flavored with fennel seeds.
• Now add the onions and green chillies fry till onions become light brown in color and add curry leaves and tomatoes.
• Fry the tomatoes till you get a paste consistency add chicken masala if required, salt to taste and fry for a minute.
• Add 1 or 2 eggs and fry the egg to 3/4 cooked and add the cooled basmati rice and fry in medium heat.
• when the rice absorbs all the ingredients add one more egg and give a stir and leave it for 2 mins.
• Garnish with coriander leaves

Easy lunch box recipe, different alternate for the normal tomato rice.

Tips:

Another variation would be instead of using tomato and chicken masala use turmeric powder and pepper.

Sakarai Pongal

This is a traditional, festive sweet in India, one of my favorite sweet.

Ingredients:

• Raw White Rice (Pachaarusi) - 1 cup
• Cane Sugar - 1 cup or 1 1/2 as per your requirement
• Ghee - 6 teaspoons
• Cardamon powder - 1 teaspoon
• Milk - 100 ml
• Cashews - 10
• Sultanas - 15
  

Method:

• Cook the rice with 3 cups of water. The rice should be cooked well so that you can mash it with a potato masher.
• Melt the cane sugar in 1/4 cup of water, filter the melted sugar syrup and add it to the cooked rice and mix.
• Keep the rice and sugar mixture in medium heat and add warm milk, cardamon powder and 4 teaspoons of ghee and mix all together.
• Fry cashews and sultanas and add it to the Pongal.
• Serve Sakarai Pongal warm.
  

Puliyotharai

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 2 cups
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Turmeric powder - half teaspoon
Hing - little bit
Curry Leaves - 2 sticks
Gingelly oil or Sesame oil - 50 ml
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Split Channa Dhal - 2 tespoons
Peanuts - 4 teaspoons
Cane sugar - half teaspoon
Red chillies - 2

To powder:

Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon
Sesame seeds - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - half teaspoon
Peppercorns - half teaspoon
Red Chillies - 6
Shredded Coconut - 3 teaspoons
Fenugreek seeds - half teaspoon

Method:

• Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice.
• In a dry pan fry the "To powder" ingredients on a medium heat for 5 mins until the spice smell oozes out.
• Grind the ingredients coarsely and keep it aside.
  
• In the same pan add the gingelly oil and add the mustard seeds.
• When mustard seeds splitters add the Channa dhal and peanut and fry until the dhal turns light brown.
• Add the curry leaves, red chillies and hing.
• Now add the tamarind juice, cane sugar, turmeric powder, salt and leave it to cook until all the water is absorbed and you get a thick gravy(oil floats on side).
• Now add the grinded powder and cook for 2 more mins.
• After the tamarind gravy cools down a bit add the cooked rice and mix well.

Tips:

• Prepare the tamarind gravy 6-8 hours earlier and mix it with cooked rice when you want to serve. Tamarind gravy gets added flavor when kept for a long time before you eat.
• Rice should be cooled down and separate, should not be sticky.
  

Mushroom Chops

Ingredients:

Mushroom - 250 (Button Mushrooms the small ones will be good)
Onions - 2
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 4
Garam Masala - half teaspoon

To Grind:

Tomatoes -2
Coriander - 2 sprigs
Mint - 1 sprig
Cashews - 8
Dry Red Chillies or Green Chillies - 4 or 5
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 3

Method:

• Grind the "To Grind" items to a coarse paste and keep it aside.
• In a pan add 4 spoons of oil and add cumin seeds, when cumin seeds splutters add cinnamon, cloves and lengthwise sliced onions.
• Meanwhile put the mushrooms in hot water to remove any dirt.
• Cut mushrooms into half and add it to the onions also add some salt, turmeric powder garam masala and fry until mushroom is 3/4 done.
• Now add the grinded masala and fry until oil separates.
• When masala is cooked add little water and salt for the gravy cover and cook on low heat for 4 mins
  
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve mushroom chops with roti.