Indo-Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice

I hope you all had a wonderful summer. The school season has started and with my kids back to school, I have started to become more active with my blog. In the coming weeks, I will focus on some nutritious choices which can also be served for school lunches. This fried rice recipe is a great choice for my kids as it provides lots of veggies.

Serves up to 2 people
Preparation time:30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked rice
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tbsp of chopped ginger
1 carrot
4 stems of beans
1/4 cup of shredded cabbage
1/2 of red bell pepper/capsicum
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1-2 tsp of red chilly sauce(Siracha Brand)
1 tbsp of vinegar
1 tsp of dark soy sauce
olive oil
salt as required

Preparation:

1. Chop the carrot, cabbage, red bell pepper and cut the beans in to tiny pieces.Cook the rice with 2 cups of water. Allow the rice to cool.
2. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to the pan, add ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute. 

3.Then add the veggies(carrot, beans, red pepper and cabbage) and saute for 3 minutes. Add black pepper and salt to the veggies and saute well for a minute.

 4.Now add the red chilly sauce, vinegar and soy sauce to the rice. Make sure the crunchiness of the vegetable remains.

5. Add rice and saute gently. Switch off the flame and close the lid. Let it steam for 10 minutes. Serve it with yoghurt or chips. Other options could be with vegetable manchurian.

Mint rice/ Pudina rice

 Variety rice is a common recipe in Tamil cuisine. Some of the common ones are tamarind rice, lemon rice, coconut rice, mango rice, yoghurt rice etc. Mint rice or Pudina rice falls under the same category. The flavor of the rice is enhanced by all the spices and the mint. 

Serves up to 2 people
Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of Basmati rice
1 red onion
1 cup of mint leaves and coriander leaves
2-3 green chillies
1 inch of ginger
1 tbsp of broken cashew nuts
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 pieces of clove
1/8 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tbsp of ghee
oil as required
salt as required

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice with 2 cups of water. If I have a choice between gas/electricity, I usually prefer cooking in a gas instead of electricity. Allow the rice to cool. 
2. Add little oil to the pan, then add the chopped onion, ginger, green chillies and garlic. Saute well for 2 minutes and then add the cashew nuts.

3.Add mint and coriander leaves and salt to the pan. Saute well till the leaves are wilted. Allow them to cool and grind them together with little water.

4.Add ghee to the skillet and add 2 cloves. Then transfer the ground paste to the skillet. Add turmeric and cumin powder to the paste. As the raw smell disappears and the ground paste thickens, switch off the flame.

 

5.Add the rice and saute gently. Close the lid. Let it steam for 5 minutes. 

6.Mint rice is ready, serve with papad.

Channa Pulav/ Chickpeas Pulav

    My friend made this pulav for our potluck dinner. Everyone appreciated this dish and I wanted to share her recipe with some minor improvisations. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of  Basmati rice
1/2 cup of chickpeas
1 3/4 cup of water
10 pearl onions
3 medium tomatoes
4 red chilies chopped (per spice level)
1/2 tbsp minced ginger
2 cloves garlic
pinch of turmeric
1 tbsp of kasoori methi/ dried fenugreek leaves
1 1/2 tbsp of oil/ ghee
salt as required

Seasoning:

2 pieces of cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
3 cloves
2 small bay leaf

Preparation:

1.Soak the chickpeas overnight and pressure cook them separately with water and salt. Drain the water and keep them aside. Soak the rice in water for half an hour. In a preheated pressure pan add ghee or oil. Add the seasoning.

2.Cut the onion in half. As the nice aroma comes, add the onions. Saute till they turn golden brown.

3.Grind the chopped tomatoes, ginger ,garlic and red chillies in to a paste. Add to the pressure pan. Saute well till the tomato paste thickens.

3.Add the cooked chickpeas, turmeric, rice, kasoori methi, salt and water. Close the lid and pressure cook them

5.Channa pulav is ready. Serve with raitha.

*To improvise add 1/4 cup of coconut milk. This definitely makes the dish rich and really delicious. Reduce the amount of water accordingly.

Tomato rice

  I have received a few emails from friends (especially those who are working long and busy hours) saying that they would like to see some recipes that can be done quickly. This recipe is fairly easy to make with some basic ingredients. 

Serves up to 2 people
Preparation time:30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of Basmati rice
1 cup of crushed tomatoes (available as cans at local grocery stores)*
2 green chillies
1 handful of green peas
1/2 tbsp of red chilly powder
1/2-1 tsp of garam masala powder
1/2 tbsp of ginger paste
1 tbsp of ghee
coriander leaves for garnish
salt as required


Preparation:

1. Cook the rice with 2 cups of water. Allow the rice to cool.
2. Add ghee to the pan, then green chillies and ginger. Saute well and add the crushed tomatoes. Saute well till the tomatoes starts to thicken.

 

3.Add red chilly powder, garam masala, green peas and salt to the pan. Saute well till the peas are cooked.As the raw smell disappears and the paste becomes like thokku, switch off the flame.

4.Add the rice and saute gently. Close the lid. Let it steam for 5 minutes.

5.Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with papad/ chips.

*crushed tomatoes can be replaced by fresh tomatoes ground to paste.

Paneer fried rice

  My mami made this fried rice when I was in college. She shared this recipe long back and I always tried this for some nice occasions and has been received well. This recipe is very simple, delicious and easy to prepare. 

Serves up to 2 people
Preparation time:30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of Basmati rice
1 carrot
4 stems of beans
1/4 cup of shredded cabbage
1/4 cup of shredded paneer
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of green chilly sauce
1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
olive oil
salt as required

Preparation:

1. Grate the carrot and cut the beans in to tiny pieces.Cook the rice with 2 cups of water. Allow the rice to cool.
2. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to the pan, then add the veggies(carrot, beans and cabbage) and saute for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add black pepper and salt to the veggies and saute well for a minute.

4.Now add the paneer, green chilly sauce and soy sauce and rice. 
Saute gently.

5.Switch off the flame and close the lid. Let it steam for 10 minutes. Serve with channa masala/ any other gravy.

Yogurt Rice/ Thayir sadam

    Thayir sadam is a very popular dish and everyone makes it in a unique way. This is my mother-in-law's version. I remember she made this really tasty yogurt rice when we were going on a trip to Mahabaleshwar. My mom makes it with green chillies and ginger. In a way, I am lucky that I get to taste and experiment both the versions and relish it!

Serves up to 2 people
Preparation time:15 minutes 


Ingredients:


1 cup of rice
3/4 cup of yogurt
1/4  cup of milk
2 moar milagai/ dahi mirchi
6 curry leaves
1/2 tsp of mustard
1/2 tsp of urad dhal
1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp of oil
salt as required


Preparation:

1.Pressure cook the rice with 3 cups of water.Allow the rice to cool.
2.Heat oil in the pan and add the mustard, urad dhal, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and broken moar milagai.
3.As the milagai turns brown, transfer the seasoning to the rice.Add the yogurt, milk and salt to the rice and mix well.
4.Yummy yogurt rice is ready. Serve with pickle.