Recipes by Rashmi

QUICK VEGGIE RICE (TAHARI)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

This recipe is specially for bachelors. Quick veggie rice can be made without much effort. As we know cooking can be a painful job for bachelors but there are some quick, healthy, tasty & easy recipes for them. For example, rice poha, bread poha, veggie rice etc. I am going to share recipe of QUICK VEGGIE RICE, which is very popular in north India. This dish is known by the name of TAHARI.

Cooking time – 15 min

Serves – 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1. Basmati rice – 1 ½ cup ( soaked in water for at least ½ hr but not necessary)
2. Butter/ghee/olive oil – 2 tbsp
3. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
4. Frozen green peas - ¼ cup
5. Grated /thin sliced carrot - ¼ cup
6. Potatoes – 2 ( peeled & cut into bite size)
7. Cauliflower florets – 4-5
8. Salt to taste
9. Garam masla – 1 tsp
10. Water – 2 ¾ -3 cup
11. ½ red onion (sliced )

METHOD:

1. Drain the water from soaked rice in colander and let it be in it for 10-15 min. If you are in a hurry then only wash the rice with water 2-3 time. Now heat a pressure cooker with butter /ghee /oil. Add cumin seeds, when they crackle, add sliced onion and fry them on medium heat for2-3 min. Now add green peas, carrot, potatoes, cauliflower florets & salt and mix them well. Stir occasionally and cook for another 2-3 min on medium heat.
2. After that add washed rice in cooker and mix well. Keep stirring for another 1-2 min otherwise rice will stick to the bottom. Now add water & garam masala and mix it well. Close the pressure cooker tightly with its cover. Increase the heat to high and cook till first whistle comes. Turn off the heat and let it cool. After 10-15 min uncover the cooker and serve hot veggie rice with salted yogurt or raita.

Labels: Breakfast and Brunch, Healthy Recipe, Healthy Recipes, Vegetarian

posted by Rashmi @ 8:45 AM, ,

CHICKEN BIRYANI
Monday, March 24, 2008

Biryani is derived from persian word 'Birian' which means fried or roasted. Basically this dish is south Asian dish made from mixture of spices, rice,meat or vegetables and curd. There is 20-30 kind of Biryani and each kind has its own taste. In India chicken biryani is very famous rice dish. We can find this dish every restaurant and parties. Its preparation took long time but finally when you have this Biryani you could realize its worth.
Servings: 4
Cooking Time: 45-60 min
INGERDIENTS:
1. Boneless chicken -1lb ( cut into bite size )
2. 1 cup non-fat yogurt
3. Ginger paste – 1tbsp
4. Garlic paste – 1tbsp
5. Cloves -3-4
6. Green cardamom – 4
7. Cinnamon stick – 1 ( about 1”)
8. Bay leaf – 1
9. Cumin seeds – 1tsp
10. Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
11. Cumin powder - ½ tbsp
12. Turmeric powder -1 tsp
13. A pinch of saffron ( soaked in water)
14. Garam masala – 1tsp
15. Red chili powder – 1tbsp
16. 1 large onion ( roughly chopped)
17. 1 large tomato (chopped)
18. 1 medium size red onion ( cut into thin slices)
19. 4 tbsp butter/ ghee/ olive oil
20. 4-5 tbsp olive oil
21. 10 cashew nuts
22. 8-10 raisins
23. 8-10 almonds
24. 2 cups white basmati rice ( soaked in water for 1 hr)
25. Salt to taste
26. 2 boiled egg ( cut into halves )
METHOD:
1. Drain water from soaked rice in a colander and let it be in it for 20 minutes. Now place the rice in a heavy bottomed vessel with 3 ½ cups of water, 1/2 tbsp of salt and few drops of oil. Cover it and bring to boil over high heat. Uncover it and cook without stirring on medium heat for about 7-8 min or until rice becomes just tender (take a few grains and chew them. Are they cooked??). Remember, rice should not be overcooked otherwise rice grains won't remain separated from each other. Turn off the stove and cover with lid.
2. Take a bowl and place boneless chicken, yogurt, cumin powder, bay leaf, garam masala powder, 2 cardamom pods, 2 cloves and garlic-ginger paste in it. Mix them well and keep this bowl in refrigerator for marinating the chicken.
3. After that, heat a pan with 3 tbsp of olive oil. Add cumin seeds, 2 cardamom pods, 2 cloves and cinnamon stick. When they crackle, add coarsely chopped onion and salt. Fry on medium heat until onions turn translucent. Now add chopped tomato and fry for another 2-3 min on medium heat. After that, add marinated chicken, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and mix well. Fry them for 4-5 min on medium high heat and stir occasionally. Add 1 cup of water and cook till chicken pieces get cooked.
4. Again heat a pan with butter/ghee/oil. Add cashews, dry grapes & almonds and fry them for 1 min on medium heat. Now add red onion slices and sauté them till they turn to golden brown. Remove this pan from heat.
5. After that, take a heavy bottomed pot. Spread a layer of nuts and onion mixture (1/3 of the mixture prepared in the previous step) in it. Now, spread a layer of cooked rice (1/3 of total rice) over it and sprinkle saffron water. After that, spread 1/3 of chicken mixture prepared in 3rd step. Repeat this procedure for rest of the nuts & onion mixture, rice, saffron water and chicken mixture.
6. Cover the pot with lid and cook on low heat for 25-30 min or until steam starts coming out of the lid. Turn off the stove. Place this chicken biryani in serving bowl and place the boiled egg halves on rice & serve with raita.

Tags in HTML

chicken biryani mughlai indian cuisine recipes recipe

Labels: Chicken, Egg, Mughlai, Traditional Indian

posted by Rashmi @ 7:44 PM, ,

RASGULLA (CHEESE BALL IN SYRUP)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Rasgulla is a traditional Bengali sweet dish, but it was invented in Puri, a temple city in Orissa, India. It is very soft, spongy cottage cheese ball cooked in sugar syrup.

Serves-4

INGREDIENTS:
1. Whole milk-4 cup
2. White vinegar-3-4 tbsp
3. Cotton cloth or muslin
4. Sugar-1/2 cup
5. Water-1 ½ cup
6. Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp

METHOD
1. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel on medium heat and keep stirring otherwise milk will stick to the bottom. When milk starts to boil, reduce the heat and add vinegar one by one tbsp and keep stirring. Within 1-2 minutes, you can see small curds floating on top. Wait till these curds get bigger. Wait for 3-4 min and turn off the heat & let it stand for 20 min.
2. After that take a colander wrapped with cotton cloth or muslin. Pour all curdle milk in this wrapped colander over your kitchen sink. Collect the curds and discard the whey.
3. Keep the curds in cotton cloth, tie a knot and hang it over the sink. Let it drip for 1-2 hr. Now open the knot. Paneer is ready. You can use it to make any other paneer dish too.
4. Now we have to knead this paneer in to a soft dough. You can kneed with your hand or can use a processor. Make a soft dough of paneer and cardamom powder.
5. Now make 10 small paneer balls with your palms. If required, grease your palm with little oil.

6. Heat a deep vessel with ½ cup of sugar and 1 ½ cup of water. When this syrup starts to boil, add paneer balls one by one. Cook them on high heat for 5-6 min. Now cover the vessel and cook them on medium low heat for 7-8 min. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 30 min.

7. Now place the all rasgullas with syrup in a bowl and keep them in refrigerator for 1-2 hr. Serve chilled rasgullas as a dessert.

Labels: Dessert, Healthy Recipe, Traditional Indian

posted by Rashmi @ 9:44 AM, ,

MATAR PANEER (INDIAN CHEESE WITH PEAS)

This dish is very common and popular in India. Basically this dish is very rich and high in calories. People use ghee /butter and purchased paneer for this dish but I use vegetable oil and home made paneer (from low fat milk) for less calories. I enjoy this curry with tandoori roti and raita.
Cooking Time: 20-25 min
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
1. 1 cup of fresh peas /frozen peas
2. 1 ½ cup of paneer cubes
3. ½ cup of milk
4. 7-8 cashews’ paste (soaked in milk& blend into paste)
5. 1 medium onion (roughly chopped)
6. 2 medium tomatoes/1 cup tomato puree
7. 1 ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
8. 1tsp turmeric powder
9. 1tsp cumin powder
10.1tbsp coriander powder
11. 1 tsp chili powder
12. 4 tbsp olive oil / clarify butter( ghee)
13. Salt to taste
14. 1 tsp cumin seeds
15. 1-2 bay leaf


METHOD:
1. Take a blender and blend roughly chopped onion into paste. If you are using fresh tomatoes then blend tomatoes separately into puree.
2. Heat oil/butter in a deep pan and fry paneer cubes until they turn to light brown. Drain on paper towel & set them aside.
3. In remaining oil, add cumin seeds & bay leaf. When they crackle, add onion paste & ginger garlic paste and fry them on medium heat until they turn to translucent. Now add tomato puree and all spices (cumin, turmeric. chili, coriander powder) & salt. Keep stirring and cook this mixture on medium heat for 5-6 min or till oil starts to separate from mixture.
4. Now add milk & cashews’ paste and mix them well. At last add fried paneer cubes and mix them well in gravy. If required then add little water and cook another 5 min on low heat. Turnoff the stove and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on this dish.
5. Serve prepared Matar paneer with naan, paratthas or chapaties.

Labels: Healthy Recipe, Side Dish, Traditional Indian, Vegetarian

posted by Rashmi @ 9:24 AM, ,

MUNG DAL KACHORI
Monday, March 10, 2008

Cooking Time - 30 min

Preparation Time – 15-20 min

INGREDIENTS :

For dough:

1. 1 ½ cup wheat flour

2. 1 cup sooji

3. 1 cup of ghee /oil

4. 1 tbsp salt

5. 1 tsp baking powder

For filling :

1. 1/2 cup mung dal ( soaked in water for 2-3 hr )

2. 2-3 green chilies

3. ½ “ of ginger piece

4. Salt to taste

5. 1 tsp onion seeds

6. Pinch of asafoetida

7. 1 tsp turmeric powder

8. 1 tsp red chili powder

9. 1 tsp dried mango powder

10. 1 tsp cumin seeds

11. 1-1 ½ tbsp olive oil/ canola oil

12. 2 tbsp gram flour

For frying :

1. 2 cup ghee / canola oil

METHOD:

For dough :

1. Take flour, sooji, salt & baking powder in big bowl. Add oil /ghee into it. Use required water and knead to make a firm dough. Keep aside for 15-30 min and cover with wet cloth.

For filling :

1. Grind soaked dal in processor with green chili, ginger & salt.

2. Now heat a frying pan with oil. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add mung dal's mixture and keep stirring till they get cooked ( If mung dal mixture does not stick to the pan then it means mixture is cooked ).

3. Now add turmeric, red chili powder, gram flour, dried mango powder & onion seeds and saute for 6-8 min on medium heat. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.

For kachoris :

1. Divide the dough into small ball-sized portion and roll into balls between your palm till they are smooth and without cracks.

2. Roll a ball into 3”-4” circle and keep 1-2 tbsp of moong dal's mixture in center. Gather the edges and seal. Now again roll it like 4”-5” of circle. Make all kachoris in the same way. Keep them aside for 15-20 min.

3. Now heat a deep pan with oil on smoking point. After that add 1-2 kachori to the heated oil and fry them till they turn to golden brown. Remove the kachoris from oil and drain on paper towel to remove the excess oil. Serve hot kachoris with tamarind / coriander chutney or potato curry.

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Labels: Appetizer, Breakfast and Brunch, Snacks, Traditional Indian, Vegetarian

posted by Rashmi @ 6:15 PM, ,