Tomato Rice

Tomato rice is as simple as it sounds. Rice is mixed with spiced and reduced tomatoes. Although this is a simple dish, my mom makes one of the best kinds of tomato rice! Anyone that tastes her tomato rice falls in love with the dish. It is not complicated, not fancy, yet delicious. 

It's been several years since I had her tomato rice. It was wonderful to feast on this simple dish and reminisce on those long-gone childhood weekends when she used to make this rice.

This tomato paste is also a great tomato thokku!

Sweet Corn & Mint Pulao

Summer is officially here! To kick start the summer, our group of friends got together for our annual barbecue/grill at a scenic locale overlooking a lake. It is a fun picnic with grilled and non-grilled food. Grilled corn on the cob with butter, lemon juice, chilli powder and salt is a staple at such grilling events. With the left over corn on the cob, I made this corn and mint pulao and it turned out pretty well. 

The sweet corn mingles with the delicate fragrance of mint and other whole spices to make a sweet and aromatic dish. This is a good substitute for peas pulao to update the usual menu a bit. The quantities below serve a big party of people, especially when accompanied with other dishes.

Cilantro Vegetable Fried Rice

Vegetable based flavored rice dishes are some of the most common and often-resorted-to meals in a busy household with not enough time to make two or three separate dishes. We are constantly looking for ways to combine all the dishes to make one filling dish. So, if there is a way to combine vegetables and rice to make a flavorful meal, why not?

So, in this dish left over rice / or fresh rice (or quinoa) is tossed together in fried/sauteed vegetables, similar to Asian fried rice and vegetables. Since herbs such as cilantro/coriander leaves and mint add so much flavorful to dishes, they are commonly used in Indian cooking. We make cilantro rice and pudina (mint) rice, both of which are really delicious. Borrowing from that, I make cilantro based pulao and mint & cilantro pulao. Even spicy Biryanis have mint in them. They easily enhance the taste of the dish with so little effort. 

Along those lines, this dish is not ground-breakingly different. The only difference is that this fried rice has milder spices and lets the flavors of the herbs shine through. Despite adding a little mint, this dish mainly highlights the flavor of cilantro. It's a homey, hearty dish and faster to prepare, especially if you have some left over rice lying around and you want to quickly make something with it. 

Vegetable Biryani - A Basic Version

Biryani is the quintessential Indian rice dish. It is a filling meal all by itself - it has distinct Indian spices, flavor, vegetables, meat (if adding), and an addictive quality. This is usually an ambitious dish to make because the expectations are high when you put this on the menu, and the mistakes are not easily forgiven, because it really is the Holy-Grail of Indian spiced-rices. However, if you know a few basics, it is hard to go wrong with a basic version of this dish. 

And mine is a basic, "simpler" version compared to the other versions that require marinating the vegetables in a spiced-yogurt sauce and baking the biryani with layers of fluffy saffron-flavored basmati rice, fried spicy vegetables and crispy onions. There are so many variations to preparing biryani and that's what makes this dish the most interesting. Almost every region (and city) of India has their unique version of aromatic spicy biryani that's hard to replicate. The most popular one of all is the Hyderabadi Dum Biryani that oozes with a rainbow of flavors and spices. I tried very hard to make Dum Biryani once and it was a disaster! Well, I was trying to over-achieve, but it is a story for another post when my attempt is finally successful. 

In contrast, this humble version that I'm sharing today, never fails. It is like a faithful pet that never disappoints and always comes around.

Ingredients (serves 4-5):

1. 1.5 cups uncooked basmati rice
2. 1 onion, finely chopped
3. 2 cups worth finely chopped vegetables such as - a handful of green beans, 3 carrots, 2 potatoes, and 1/3 cup peas (you can also add cauliflower, broccoli etc.)
4. 3 cloves of garlic
5. 1 inch block of ginger
6. 1-2 dry red chillies (I add just 1 and the husband still tears up)
7. 2 tablespoons fennel seeds / sombu / saumph
8. 1/4 - 1/3 cup grated coconut (thawed, if using frozen; if you are going to store this biryani for a day and the weather is hot, skip or reduce the coconut)
9. 1 bay leaf
10. 4 cloves
11. 5 cardamom pods
12. 2 inch piece of cinnamon, broken
13. 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
14. 2 teaspoons biryani masala powder (optional; I sometimes add it to amp the flavors)
15. 1 tablespoon dried mint leaves (or a handful of fresh leaves)
16. 1.5 - 2 teaspoons salt or as needed (remember to add enough salt to flavor the rice too)

Preparation:

1. Soak the basmati rice in water for 15-20 minutes. Then drain and set aside. Plan to soak the rice just in time to add it to the vegetables in step 7.
2. Grind coconut, fennel seeds, red chilli/chillies, garlic and ginger to a smooth paste with 1/4 cup of water or just as needed.
3. Heat oil in a skillet along with bay leaf, cardamom pods, cloves, and cinnamon. Wait until the spices are aromatic. Add onions and fry until pink and translucent. 
4. Add the ground paste (from step 2) and fry for 5-7 minutes on medium heat until it doesn't smell raw. If adding a biryani masala, add it now and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the vegetables (except peas, if using frozen/thawed) and some salt, and saute/cook for about 10 minutes until vegetables are slightly cooked.
6. Remove from heat, add peas and the dried mint leaves (or fresh leaves) and stir well. 
7. Mix the drained basmati rice with the vegetables and transfer to a rice-cooker. Add 2 cups of water and the remaining salt and mix well. Cook until all the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. (The ratio of soaked basmati rice to water is 1:1.25). Do not add extra water for the vegetables because the vegetables release moisture as they completely cook.

Gently mix/fluff the cooked biryani and serve with a side of some savory yogurt, like raita or pachadi.

Mint & Paneer Pulao

Mint and paneer - such perfect companions to each other. We love mint in our household. I add mint to chocolate, juices, cakes, teas, to make pizza sauce (mint chutney and marinara go so well together), and in all manners of food. When our mint plant dies every Fall, we are usually dependent on the measly few sprigs of mint that come prepackaged and yellowed in plastic strips. It's quite rare to find bunches of fresh mint at the grocery stores near our place. But I keep looking for them, regardless. During a recent visit, I happened to get a fresh bunch and I was over the moon about it. 

My husband and I love this version of pulao. It is tenderly spiced with mint, coriander, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Since he's been asking me to throw in some paneer along with it (throw in paneer with anything and he's game), that's what I did this time.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1. 1.5 cups, uncooked Basmati rice
2. 1 medium onion, sliced or chopped
3. 2 cups mint leaves / pudina
4. 3 cloves of garlic
5. 1 inch block of ginger
6. 1/2 cup cilantro / coriander leaves and stems
7. 2 green chillies
8. 2 tablespoons yogurt
9. 330 grams paneer, cubed
10. 2 teaspoons dried mint leaves (optional but recommended)
11. 7 green cardamoms
12. 5 cloves
13. 2 inch piece of cinnamon, broken into two
14. 1 bay leaf
15. 1.5 + 1 tablespoons vegetable oil / olive oil
16. 1.5-2 teaspoons salt or as needed

Preparation:

1. Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for about 15-20 minutes.
2. Grind together: mint, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves and green chillies with 1/4 - 1/3 cup of water or as little as needed to make a smooth paste similar to the consistency of chutney. This is an awesome chutney by itself (makes a great dip and spread and all around side dish). Set aside.
3. Heat 1.5 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add cardamom, clove, cinnamon and bay leaves and wait for the spices to get aromatic and sizzle in the oil. 
4. Add sliced onion and saute until translucent
5. Add the ground mint paste to the onions and fry on low-medium heat for just 2 minutes, just to remove the raw smell of the herbs. Add yogurt and continue to cook on low heat for 2 minutes until well incorporated. Remove from heat.
6.  In the remaining heat of the pan, add salt and the drained rice and stir to mix in. Remember to add enough salt for the rice.
7. Transfer this to a rice cooker, add 2 cups of water (the ratio of water to add for every 1 cup of soaked basmati rice is 1.25 cups) and cook until done. 
8. While the rice is cooking, use the same pan (in which the spices and mint were cooked), add 1 tablespoon oil and pan fry the paneer until slightly golden brown. Remove from heat and add dried mint leaves and give a stir. 
9. When the rice is cooked, add the pan-fried paneer to it and gently mix.

Serve immediately with raita (yogurt mixed with salt and chopped onions/tomato).

Variations: 1. If you are making biryani or another version of this pulao that uses vegetables, marinate the paneer cubes and diced vegetables in the mint-coriander paste along with yogurt, salt, and garam masala or biryani masala. I marinate for up to 8 hours. Then saute them along with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, onion and follow the remaining steps to cook the rice. 

2. Else, make a yummy side-dish by just sauteing the marinated paneer and vegetables with the mint paste, onion and whole spices until the veggies cook. Have this alongside roti for a heavenly fragrant and delicious side dish.

I hope to remake all of this several times in the coming wintry weeks and months. Hopefully the stores have some mint in stock and I don't have to wait until June!

Coconut Rice

Simple and flavorful. Coconut flavored rice is one of the most easiest dishes in South-Indian cuisine. It is also one of the most flavorful - especially if you love coconuts.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1. 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2. 1 cup coconut flakes / shredded coconut
3. 1 teaspoon black-mustard seeds
4. 1 tablespoon split urad dhal / ulutham paruppu / split black gram
5. 2-3 dry red chillies
6. 1 teaspoon salt (to your preference)
7. 2 teaspoons vegetable oil /olive oil
8. a few curry leaves
9. ¼ teaspoon hing / asafoetida

Preparation

1. Cook the rice with as much as water as required by the type of rice you are using. Since the coconut perfumes and flavors the rice, it’s best to not use an aromatic rice such as Basmati that would compete with the coconut and confuse the flavors. A cup of regular white rice requires 2 to 3 cups of water on average to cook. I use 2.5 cups of water for this dish.
2. Splutter mustard in hot oil. Add the split urad dhal, hing, red chillies, and curry leaves and saute for 20-30 seconds on medium heat. Reduce the heat a bit and add the coconut flakes and salt. Fry the coconut till it turns brown and releases its oil and aroma. Remove from heat immediately before the coconut burns.
3. Add the fluffed up, cooked rice to the fried coconut in small batches and stir well to combine. Taste to check for salt and adjust accordingly. It’s best to let the combined rice sit for about 30 minutes or so to ensure the flavors seep through. Serve the well-combined coconut rice!

That’s it! Serve with a spicy side-dish or with crumbly vadaams or chips.

Vegetable Pulao

Pulao, Biryani, and other such variants are flavored rice made from aromatic spices and sauteed vegetables. I have always loved Pulaos/Biryanis. I used to pester my mom to make it, but she being an authentic Tam-Brahm lady, never really liked making spicy dishes that require a dozen or so masala ingredients. Although she has made several milder and tasty versions of the dish, they were never what I was looking for. I finally started experimenting on a formula that suited me, inspired from a host of sources, I have now arrived at an easy to prepare, go-to Pulao. In my early student days in the US, this used to be my signature dish - i.e., a dish that no roommate scoffed at ;).

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium-sized red onion - sliced into long pieces.
2. 1-2 cups of mixed vegetables (neglected veggies in the fridge will do, or use some from a bag of frozen mixed vegetables)
3. 5 cloves
4. 6 cardamom pods (the whole pods with the seeds)
5. 1 cinnamon stick
6. 1 Bay leaf (optional)
7. 3 teaspoons of Sindhi Biryani Powder (I don’t know why, I picked this up a few years back, and I love the flavor of the masala). Or you can use any garam masala, or biryani powder.
8. 2 cups of raw rice (I used plain white rice, not basmati)
9. 4 - 4.5 cups of water
10. Salt to taste
11. A tablespoon of oil
12. Some coriander leaves
13. Two tablespoons of yogurt.

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a skillet.
2. Add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf and saute on medium heat until the spices turn fragrant (you could also slightly crush the spices in a mortar and pestle to bring out more flavor)
3. Once the spices are fragrant and begin to sizzle, add the chopped onion and saute till it turns translucent.
4. Add the mixed vegetables and saute till they become a little tender.
5. Add the biryani masala, and salt and stir well into the vegetables. You may additionally add chilli powder if you need more spice and heat.
6. Once the masala is well mixed into the vegetables, add raw rice and mix it well with the vegetables and the spice. If raw rice is sauteed in the oil and spices, it doesn’t stick to each other and turns out fluffy when cooked. Usually, Basmati rice is used, and it undoubtedly imparts a lovely, unique flavor. But ordinary white/brown rice should be fine too.
7. Transfer the rice+vegetables into a rice cooker (or pressure cooker).
8. Add 4 cups of water (or 4.5, if you don't like your rice to be al dente).
9. Sprinkle a handful of washed and cut coriander leaves. I add the leaves before cooking the rice, because as the coriander cooks and seeps into the rice, its flavor becomes much richer.
10. Mix two tablespoons of yogurt into the water+rice+coriander. I learnt this from my mother-in-law. The yogurt adds creaminess and a subtle flavor to the rice.
11. Cook the whole thing till the water is fully absorbed.

That’s it! Stir the cooked rice when ready so that it gets fluffed up, and serve with chips, vadaams, or raita.

As a variation, I sometimes add tomato paste to the vegetables. This turns out good too. Some friends of mine add black cardamom and star anise as well. Both are strong, potent spices, so go easy on them - perhaps add one each. Other friends add minced ginger and garlic before adding the onions. Coconut and poppy seeds are favorite spice blends too... but I will dedicate another post to one such exhaustive variation!

Since it is really simple to throw in spices, saute the vegetables and cook the rice, anybody can prepare this flavored rice dish.

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is  nothing but lemon-flavored rice! As easy as that. It’s again one of the most popular quick-fixes we South Indians rely on. Is there an outing? A long train journey? Lemon rice will surely be one of your trusted companions to keep your tummy happy. It is as tasty as it is simple. Anyone can do this! 

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups of raw rice
2. 2.5 big lemons (This is an approximate that mostly works well. The tartness of the lemons vary widely, so it’s up to your preference to either increase of decrease the quantity, although I wouldn’t advise decreasing it.)
3. 1 teaspoon of bengal gram dhal or channa dhal
4. 1 teaspoon of split urad dhal / split black gram
5. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
6. 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of Hing
7. 1 Teaspoon of Turmeric
8. 1-2 dry red chillies
9. 2 green chillies, finely diced
10. A few curry leaves
11. Some coriander leaves
12. Salt to taste - about 1.5 teaspoons
13. Two tablespoons of vegetable oil/Olive oil

Preparation:

1. Cook the 2 cups of rice (the rice:water ratio depends on the type of rice, but it is usually 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice, if you like your rice to be firm and al dente, else it is 2.5-3 cups of water per cup of rice)
2. Squeeze the juice out of the lemons. Add salt and turmeric powder to the juice.
3. In a deep vessel, heat the oil. Once the oil heats, splutter the mustard seeds. Following which, add the channa dhal, urad dhal, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, and Hing and saute for a bit. Once the pulses begin to brown a bit, turn off the heat. This is basically the seasoning.
4. When the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork to make it light and fluffy. Mix the rice with the prepared seasoning.
5. Then, slowly add the lemon juice mixture to the rice, and mix the rice with all the juice. Check for salt, and tartness. Add more salt or lemon juice as per your taste.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves.
7. Let the lemon rice rest for at least 30 minutes before serving, so that the flavors meld. Serve with papad, chips, or vadams (basically anything crispy)

That’s it! There are a few variations to these basic steps. Some people toast cashews and raisins to make the rice more rich and flavorful. Some others mix the lemon juice and turmeric along with the seasoning, and then add the rice. Having tried all these variations, I can say that the taste remains just the same. One thing I perceived is that the lemons in the US are not as tart and sharp as the little Indian ones. So, I always find myself wanting more lemons than present. I’ve never tried making this with limes though... perhaps that will make a difference!