Brown rice Bisi bele bath

  I already previously posted the BBB in my blog. This time I have used brown rice instead of white rice. And I made some changes in these recipes.  I made this recipe as simplest as one and made it very quickly.  Its very healthy and tasty too.Try this one and give your feedback.

Ingredients:

Brown rice                             1 cup

Toor dhal                               ½ cup

 Frozen Mixed vegetables         1 cup (Carrot, lima beans, and peas)

Potato                                   2 no (peeled and cut medium pieces)

Tomato                                  1 no (chopped finely)

Turmeric Powder                     ¼ tsp.

Green chilies                          4 no
Bisi Bela Bath Powder              2 tbsp.

Tamarind   juice                       2 tbsp.

Melted Ghee                            2 tbsp.

Jaggery powder                        1 tsp.

Salt to taste

For Seasoning:

Ghee                                       1 tsp.

Cahewnuts                               4 no

Curry leaves                              few

Dry coconut                               2  tbsp
Green Bell pepper                     1/2 no

Method:

• Mix all ingredients (expect Jaggery) in a pressure cooker and add enough water and cook it till 3-4 whistles.  Lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes.
• Switch off the stove. Let it cool down. After that, take out the rice from pressure cooker and slightly mash it well. Keep aside.
• Heat the pan with ghee and fry the cashews, curry leaves, dry coconut till brown. Keep aside.
• Transfer the cooked rice into pan, add little ghee/oil and Jaggery (if you want more spicy, you can add  more BBB powder, chili powder) and mix well.  Add little water and cook it till boil.
• Now add all fried seasonings and fried bell pepper in it and mix it well.
• Serve hot with raita.

Note: Add more ghee according to your preference.

Peas and Paneer Pulao

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice                     -  2 cups
Water                               - 2 1/2 cup

Green Peas -                       1 cup
Carrot                                - 1/4 cup

Cardamon                              3nos

Cinnamon -                            1 " piece

Cloves                                 - 4 nos

Black Peppercorns                 - 8 nos

Ghee                                   - 1/4 cup

Dry fruits                             - 1/4 cup

 Fried Paneer                         1/2 cup

Cilantro                            -  for decoration

Saffron                               -  a pinch

Mint                                   - few leaves

Salt                                      to taste

Method:

• Wash and soak the rice for  35 minutes . Drain it
• Saute the green peas . Keep aside
• Heat the ghee in wok add the whole spices  When it splutters, add the rice and fry well.
• Put it in the rice cooker vessel, add hot water , saffron and salt . Cook it.
• When rice gets almost cooked add the sauted green peas in it and cook it.
• When rice is cooked add the fried paneer . Mix with fork, so that the rice retains its shape and does not get smashed.
• Transfer the rice to the plate and decorate with nuts ,  and cilantro and mint.
• Serve hot with Raita

Kashmiri Pulao

The Kashmiri Pulao is a very tempting recipe from the Kashmiri cuisine. Although it is a deep cold region high in the Himalayas, Kashmir lies along the ancient overland trade routes between Persia and India, and the cuisine is famous for using a huge assortment of nuts and dried fruits from all over Central and Western Asia.

Paddy took me to a fancy restaurant called “Subhikha” in Cochin. First time in my life I enjoyed this pulao. It was so yummy. That day onwards I am very crazy about this fancy pulao.  Whenever I am tired to make same food, I always prefer to make  this pulao and Dum Aloo for a change. This pulao is all time favorites for me and Paddy.  This recipe is long time due. Here you go…

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice                              – 2 cups

Milk -                                        1 1/2 cups

Water                                       – ¼ cup

Fruit water _                                 ¼ cups (drained from mixed fruit can)

Cream                                       – ¼ cup

Paneer cubes                            – 4 no (optinal)

Ghee                                        – 4 tbsp

Saffron-                                        3-4 strands (soaked in ½ tbsp of milk)

Ginger paste                               – 1tsp

Rose water                                – 2 drops (2 - 3 Edible Rose Petals)

Sugar                                        - 1/2 tsp

Fruits& vegetables:

Apple                                       – ½ (Peeled and cut small pieces)

Mixed Fruit can                          – 1 ( drain )

Chopped carrot                          – ¼ cup

Green chillies                             – 2 no (split lengthwise)

Green Peas                                – ½ cup

Nuts:

Raisins                                       –3 tbsp

Cashew nuts                              – 2 tbsp

Pistachio nuts                             – 2 tbsp

Almonds, blanched and diced          2 tbsp

Masalas:

Cloves                                       – 5 no

Green cardamom                       - 4 pods

Cinnamon                                 – 1’’

Bay leaves                                 -2 no

Cumin seed                              – ½ tsp 

Method:

• Wash rice and soak it for 30 minutes.  Drain rice and keep it aside. 
• Soak the strands of saffron in milk, mixing until the milk turns orange.  Keep aside.
• In the meanwhile take a bowl and mix milk, cream, sugar and salt in it.  Keep aside.
• Now, take a pan and heat ghee in it. Put ginger paste,  green chilies,cumin seeds, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamoms and cloves in it and fry for few minutes. 
• When the seeds start to crackle, add rice and fry in ghee for 2 minutes.
• Add milk, saffron and cream mixture to it along with ¼cup water, fruit juice (drained from fruit tin) and mix well. Shift to Rice cooker. Let it cook. Make sure that the rice is not overcooked and it can be separated too.
• In meanwhile take a pan heat the ghee add vegetables and fry for few minutes. Keep aside.
• Fry all the nuts in the ghee and keep aside.
• Peel and cut apple very small pieces. Keep aside.
• Pour the cooked rice into the pan and add vegetables, fried Paneer (optional), fried nuts, and apple pieces. Stir very carefully so as not to break or mash up the rice grains.
• Now, gently mix it in drained fruit and sprinkle Rose Water or finely broken rose petals over it. 
• Serve hot with Aloo Dum, Fruit Raita.

Note: Add more ghee according to your preference.

Kashmiri Pulao

Bengali Kichadi

Bengali cuisine traces its root to the region of Bengal, which is now divided between into Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. Food is important part of Bengali culture, which can be seen in the bold flavors of delicious and delicate Bengali dishes. Bengali cuisine also uses pungent flavored mustard oil, which is not commonly used in other Indian cooking. Other common five spice mixture used in Bengali cuisine is Panch Phoron.

Usually this mixture of five spices is fried in ghee or oil, which is known as Panch Phoron in Bengali. After drying, the mixture is added to vegetables or dal. 

Panch Phoron

These are the spices:

Fenugreek

Nigella seed (Nigella seeds are also known as Kalonji in India. They are also often referred to as onion seeds even though it is not related to onion plant. Nigella seed gives flavor nutty bitter flavor similar to oregano.)

Black Mustard seed

Fennel seed

Celery Seed (Radhuni) or Cumin Seed

Bangla Khichdi Recipe

Rice -                                 1 cup (washed and soaked for 30minutes)

Masoor dal -                      3/4 cup (washed and soaked for 30 minutes

Chenna dal -                     1tbsp (washed and soaked for 30 minutes)

Turmeric powder                1/2 tsp

Salt                                to taste

Water                             5 Cups

Ghee –                           6 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves, for garnish

Spices:

Bay leaf                           2 no

Green cardamoms-            3 no

Stick cinnamon                  1 ‘’

Cloves                             4 no

Garam masala powder       1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds                    1/4 tsp

Panch Poran –                   1 tbsp

Vegetables:

 Frozen Baby potatoes, washed clean           - 6 no

 Carrot and Peas                                     1 cup (diced)

Cauliflower-                                            1 cup

Grated Ginger                                        - 1 tbsp

Green chilies,                                         3-4 (finely chopped)

Method:

• Drain dals and rice in a colander and keep aside. 
• Cook the baby potatoes in microwave for 5 minutes.
• Semi crush spices (cardamom, cinnamon and cloves). 
• Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a large heavy skillet and add cumin seeds, bay leaf and crushed spices and Panch Phoron. 
• Add ginger, and chilies, potatoes and Stir-fry for 4 minutes.
• Add  all vegetables, turmeric, garam masala and salt. 
• Add dals and rice. Gently stir-fry for 1 minute.   Add water.
• Shift to a rice cooker and cook till done.
• When done, pour remaining ghee and sprinkle coriander leaves. 
• Serve piping hot, with curd and chutney. 




Vegetables and Spices



Bengali Kichadi

Bisi Bela Bath

Karnataka is known for its great hospitality, filter coffee and Bisi bele bath. BBB aka Bisibelebaath (Bisi=Hot, Bele=dal/lentil, baath=rice), is a traditional food in Karnataka.  You can use homemade or MTR BBB powder. Here I used homemade Bisi Bela bath powder.

 Ingredients

Rice                                         3/4 cup

Toovar dal                                1/2 cup

Chenna dal                               ¼ cups

Turmeric Powder                        ¼ tsp

Tamarind                                  a small lemon size

Bisi Bela Anna powder -         3 tbsp OR MTR BBB powder

Jaggery                                    1 tsp

Ghee                                        2 tbsp

Salt                                          to taste

Vegetables:

 Chopped French beans             ¼ c up

 Chopped Carrot-                      ¼ cup

Chopped Potato                        ½ cup (cubes)

Chopped Capsicum                    ¼ cup

Curry leaves                             2 stems

Green chillies                            2 no

Seasoning:

Oil/ghee                                  1 tsp

Mustard seeds                         1/4 Tsp.

Hing                                        ¼ Tsp

Cashew nuts                              few

Curry leaves                             1 stem

Method

•  Peel and cut vegetables into 1"  pieces.
• Soak tamarind in water and extract juice.
• Wash rice and dal together and put it in the pressure cooker. Add 6 cups of water and 1 tsp of ghee. Pressure cook them till 4 whistles.  Take out from the cooker and transfer into heavy bottom pan. Gently mash them.
• While the rice and dal are cooking, in another kadai, heat a tablespoon ghee or oil. Add the seasoning ingredients and roast the tadka them.
• Now add the cut vegetables and saute. When they start to get tender, add the tamarind pulp, Jaggery, turmeric, BBB powder and salt.  Boil for few minutes. Now add the cooked and mashed rice- dal mixture. Stir in the masala along with two cups of water. Combine well. Adjust the spices to your liking. Cover the pot and simmer for about ten to fifteen minutes on medium-low heat.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and add some ghee just before serving.
• Serve hot with a teaspoon of ghee drizzled.

Bisi Bela Bath with Pappad and Zucchini 

Pachadi

Traditional Iyengar Dhadiyonnam - Curd Rice

If you want this recipe as low fat, please use 2 % milk, low fat yogurt and low fat sour cream.  In traditional dahi Annam, they won't use jalapenos& sour Cream. But I used  jalapeno& sourCream , it came out very tasty.

Ingredients:
Rice                                       1 cup

Whole milk                              2 cups 

Water                                     1  cup

Sour cream                             1/2 cup

 Thick Yogurt                            ½ cup

Ginger cut into small pieces        2 tbsp

Green chillies chopped finely       5 no

Jalapenos chopped finely            1 no

Salt                                         to taste

Seasoning:

Oil                                         ½ tsp

Mustard seed                           1 tsp

Curry leaves –                          1 stem (chopped finely)

Hing                                        1/8 tsp

Method:

• Wash and clean the rice.
• Add water and whole milk and pressure cook it for 4 whistles.
• Take out from rice and smash well and keep aside.
• Add ginger, jalapenos, green chills and salt into it and mash well.
• Whisk sour cream and yogurt very well. And add to the rice.
• Fry all seasonings and add to the rice.
• Serve with lemon pickle, or  Puli Millaghai.

Tips

• Don't add curd to the hot rice. It will leave water.
• Before serving the rice, add fruits and veggies to the curd rice and mix it well then serve. 
• In summer season, add very  little sour cream to the rice. 
• You can add more milaghai to the seasonings. It will increase the flavor and taste to the curd rice.
• Always mix the rice with big spoons. Don't use your hands for mixing the rice. It will become too sour.

Venn Pongal

This is the prasadam in all Vishnu temples during Margazhi month.

Ingredients

Rice                                        1 Cup

Moong Dal                               1/4 Cup

Whole  milk                            3/4 cup

Water                                     2 1/2  cups

Whole Black Pepper                  1 tbsp

Jeera                                      1 tsp

Dry Ginger powder (Sukku)        1/4 tsp 
 Grated ginger                        1 tbsp

Hing                                     1/2 Tsp

Curry leaves                          1 stem

 fried Cashew                         for garnishing

Ghee                                    3 tbsp

Salt                                      to taste

Method:

• Wash rice and dal together and drain nicely.
• Heat 1 tbsp of ghee fry the rice and dhal for  2 minutes.
• Add water and milk and cook it in the pressure cooker till 3 whistles.
• Take out the rice from cooker and smash it well.
• Heat ghee fry the cashews  and keep aside
• Heat 1 tsp of ghee and fry black pepper, Jeera, dry ginger powder  & grated ginger and curry leaves
• Add the above ingredients to the rice .
• Add salt and mix it well. Add the left over ghee and nuts on it.
• Serve it hot with coconut chutney and Brinjal Goshthu
• Best Side dish for venn pongal is Ezhu kari kootu

Note: For Low Fat use: 2% milk, Less Ghee and nuts

Sarkarai Pongal (Sweet Rice)

The word Pongal means “boiling over” - refers to riced cooked in milk and Jaggery. This festival is celebrated on January 14^th, the first day of the Tamil month Thai. This is a harvest festival in Tamil Nadu. Pongal is the main preparation of the festival. The ingredients of this preparation have some symbolic meaning attached to each.People wish each other good times, happiness, peace and prosperity. They also greet each other saying "Pongalo Pongal" and "Pongum Mangalam Engum Thanguga" in Tamil. Rice and milk are signs of prosperity, sugarcane for happiness, while turmeric augurs the good things to come. Two varieties of Pongal- the salty one known as 'venn Pongal' and the sweet one known as 'Sarkkarai Pongal' are prepared on the second day of the Pongal festival. Sarkkari pongal also a Marghazi Prasadam for all Vaishnavate homes and Temples.

Hope you all have enjoyed the Pongal festival.

Ingredients

Raw Rice                                     1 cups

Moong dhal                                  1/4 cup

Jaggery powdered                          ¾ cup 

Whole milk                                   1 cup

Water                                          2 cup

Saffron                                         1 pinch

Ghee                                            ¼ cup

 Crushed Cardamom                         4 nos

Nutmeg powdered                           less than ¼ tsp

Pachai Karpuram                              1 pinch

Cashews                                       10 pieces

Raisins                                          10 pieces

Method:

•  Clean the rice and moong dhal.  Heat 2 tsp of ghee and fry it for few minutes
• Mix rice, dhal, water, milk and saffron. Cook it in pressure cooker for at least 3 – 4 whistles. Switch of the gas.
•  When steam goes away takeout the cooked rice from pressure cooker and smash it very well. Keep aside.
•  Melt the Jaggery with 3 tbsp of water.Filter it and keep aside.
• Fry the nuts, nutmeg, and cardamoms in ghee. Keep aside.
• Mix the Jaggery syrup with rice and cook it in low flame for 5 to 10 minutes. If rice is too thickening, you can add little bit of milk in it.
• Add the fried nuts, nutmeg, keshar or yellow color and ghee in it. Cook it for few more minutes.
• Finally add a pinch of Pachai Karpuram (don’t add too much. It will spoil the Pongal taste).
•   Hot Sweet Pongal is ready. 

Tips

•  Frying rice and dhal gives more delicious taste. Cook it  along with whole milk gives you more richness in the dish.
• You want authentic taste,use jaggery and no other substitutes.
• Pongal has the tendency to be thick after cooling down. so remove pongal when it is semi solid.

Note:    See my other Pongal Recipes (click the link)

Nawabi vegetable Biryani

This name itself explains this dish is a Mughlai dish. This recipe is very famous in all Indian restaurants. I tried to make this recipe, as simple as possible. Please try this  and give me your feedback.

 Ingredients:

 Basmati Rice                  2 cup

Potatoes                         ½ pound

Carrots                           2 nos

Paneer                            1/4 pound

Green Beans                    ¼ pound

Cashews                          150 gms

Raisins                             50 gms

Thick yogurt                     1 ½ cup

Saffron                             2 tsp

Milk                                 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves               1 small bunch

Mint leaves                       1 small bunch

Fried bread cubes               7 nos

Salt                                  to taste
Ghee                                 ½-3/4 cup

Masalas:

Cardamoms                      7 nos

Cloves                              4 nos

Cinnamon stick                 1”

Green chili   (Slit)             8  no

Ginger paste                    2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder              ½ tsp

Chili powder                     2 tsp

Method:

• Soak the rice in water for ½ hour and drain.
• Boil 2 ½ cup of water, add salt and half of the whole garam masalas. Add rice and cook until almost done.
• Dice the vegetables and chop the mint and coriander leaves.
• Whisk the yogurt and divide into 2 parts.
• Dissolve the saffron in warm milk. Add one portion of yogurt and mix well.
• Heat ghee in a pan. 
• Add the remaining whole garam masala, when it begins crackle add ginger paste and green chillies. Fry for few minutes
• Add chili powder and turmeric powder. Stir and add vegetables.
• Now add one portion of yogurt. Add one cup of water; simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Now add nuts and raisins.
• In a wide skillet put the cooked vegetables, sprinkle the ½ of the saffron yogurt (curd), mint and coriander leaves.
•  Then spread ½ of the rice over vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining saffron yogurt, mint and coriander leaves. 
• Spread the remaining rice. Cover with foil and load it in the preheated oven for 15- 20 minutes.
• Deep fry bread pieces in oil. keep aside
• Sprinkle some nuts and raisins and fried bread pieces  . 
• Serve hot with raita

Iyengar Puliyodarai

Puliyodarai is a standard item in traditional Iyengar feasts. Triplicane Parthasarthy temple’s Puliyodarai is very famous.  It tastes so different from other Vishnu temples. This is easy to prepare,once its basic paste pulikachal is ready in hand, you can make puliyodarai rice any time.

 For Pulikachal
lFor Powder:

Coriander seeds                    2 Tbsp

Black Pepper                         2 Tbsp

Fenugreek seeds                   ½ tsp

Curry leaves                         2 stem

Red chili                               4 nos

Method:

• Dry fry all above ingredients and grind coarsely.  Divide into 2 parts.One part you use it for pulikachal paste and other one part you use it for rice. Keep aside.

Ingredients for Pulikachal.

Tamarind:                              1 small apple size

Turmeric powder                     1 Tsp

Bengal gram                           2 Tbsp

Urdu dhal                               2 Tbsp

Whole red chilies                     10 no( broken into pieces)

Peanuts                                  2 Tbsp

Asafetida (Hing)                       2 Tsp

Gingili oil                                ½ cup

Jaggery                                  2 Tsbp

Curry leaves                           1 stem

Salt                                       as required

Method : 

• Soak the tamarind in hot water for ½ hour.  Make tamarind into a thick pulp.
• Heat the thick bottom pan add oil, when oil gets fuming add mustard seeds. When mustard seed starts spluttering, add dhals, chillies, curry leaves and Hing on it. Fry till the dhals, curry leaves are golden brown. Now add the tamarind pulp, salt, ½ of the ground powder and Jaggery.
• When pulp gets thicken oil will ooze out. Switch off the stove. 
• Transfer into airtight container.

Ingredients For Rice:

Raw Rice                     2  cup

Water                          2 1/2 - 3 cup

Turmeric Powder          ¼ tsp
Pulikachal                    6-7 Tbsp

Gingili Oil                     4 Tsp

Salt                             to taste

Seasoning: Peanuts, curry leaves, cashews (Fry it in oil and keep aside)

Method:

• Wash and clean the rice.
• Add water, oil, turmeric powder, salt,  3 tbsp of Pulikachal paste.
• Cook it in the Electric rice cooker.
• After rice is well cooked, transfer the rice into big plate. Add above seasonings, the left over part of the powder (PULIKKACHAL POWDER) , Pulikkachal paste and mix well with flat ladle, so rice will not get smashed.
• Serve with Vadams, Fried pappad.

Note: This recipe,I used Basmati Rice. But Ponni or Sona Masuri rice is the best for Puliyodarai.