Khara Pongal

I spent 10 hours travelling by train yesterday. 10 long HOURS.
Can you imagine starting out at 5am, travelling by train for 5 hours and then spending a few hours at your destination and then travelling 5 hours in train coming back and then charging through the horrible HORRIBLE traffic home and having to cook your own dinner???

5am is close to mid night for me. I'm so not a morning person.

I was exhausted. I was more than exhausted, I don't even have a word for it. It was late to order food or parcel something from a restaurant. I was hungry and I had to eat. At times like this, come out the simplest recipes where I don't need to do a thing and magically delicious food appears on the table.

Khara Pongal is one of those magic recipes. Pongal is a South Indian version of Khichdi. To make khara pongal, all you need to do is dump rice, moong dal, water, ginger and a few other things into the rice cooker or pressure cooker and let it do its thing. And VOILA! 15-20 mins later, food on your table. It is just as simple as that.

So I washed and soaked my rice and moong dal as soon as I walked into the house. You can skip the soaking and directly cook it together but it may take you a little more time than what I took. Soaking for at least 30 minutes is recommended.

I'd never had Pongal until I moved to Bangalore. I'd never eaten rice for breakfast either until I moved to Bangalore. Then in the office cafeteria, I had khara pongal with masala vada for the first time for breakfast and it was love at first bite. Since then, I've been making it when ever I'm short of time.

Pongal is meant to be mushy, so don't worry about overcooking it. In fact, go ahead overcook it. This is why is generally fed to little kids as it needs no chewing. If serving it to kids, do not add the peppercorns and the chilli. 

Pongal is a vegan dish, but what takes it to a totally different level is the Ghee or clarified butter tempering that's poured over it. I say, the more the ghee, the better it tastes. If you are not vegan, don't forget this step. 

Khara Pongal

Khara Pongal is a quick dish made by cooking together rice and moong dal with ginger and tempered with ghee.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Rice (uncooked)
1/2 cup Moong Dal (uncooked)
3 cups Water 1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns
3/4" Ginger
1/2 tsp of Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
3-4 tsp Ghee
8-10 Curry Leaves
1 tsp Cumin seeds

Method:

Method:

Wash the rice and dal and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Add the washed rice and dal to a pressure cooker with the water, turmeric powder, black peppercorns, grated or sliced ginger and salt.
Pressure cook for 15 minutes or for 5-6 whistles. Pongal is meant to be mushy so don't worry about overcooking it.
Heat the ghee in a small pan and add cumin seeds to it.
Once they brown slightly, turn off the heat and add the curry leaves.
Pour this tempering over the khara pongal and mix well.
Serve hot with some raita

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Coorg Pumpkin Curry

This Coorg style pumpkin curry is made with ripe pumpkin, coconut and spices. It is a spicy curry unlike most other pumpkin curries.

I don't usually crave pumpkins, at least not like I crave chocolate. But recently after eating a small bowl of pumpkin curry in office, I wanted more. And telepathically, my mother in law gave me a huge organic homegrown pumpkin. What's better than a pumpkin? A HOMEGROWN one.

The thing I hate most about pumpkins is actually peeling them. By the time I got through peeling this huge pumpkin, my palms were sore with the knife handle rubbing against them, my arms ached with all that effort. But the slightly sweet yet hot spicy coconut-ty curry made it totally worth it.

I usually make a simple dry pumpkin curry by boiling diced pumpkins with some fresh green chillies and garnishing it with freshly grated coconut. Simple and easy. It lets the sweetness of the pumpkin shine through. But this time I did not want a very sweet pumpkin curry. I wanted a change. I had something in mind but absolutely no idea how to make it.

Coorg is this beautiful place nestled among the Western Ghats of India. A bunch of friends went there several years ago and we stayed in this humble but beautiful homestay with a wonderfully warm family. The family cooked up all the traditional Coorgi delicacies and I remember one of them was this pumpkin curry with coconut, unlike I had ever eaten before. So I searched online for this curry and as usual Google spewed off many results, so I had to mix and match recipes to find the ONE. I tried this dish until I made something closer to the one in memory. 

Coorg Pumpkin Curry

Coorg style Pumpkin curry made with ripe pumpkin, coconut and spices.

Recipe Type:  Side
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Yield:                Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

3 cups diced Pumpkin
3-4 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
6-8 Curry Leaves
1 Onion
2-3 Garlic cloves
2 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 cup grated Coconut or 1 cup of Coconut milk
1 tsp Tamarind pulp
3-4 dry red Chillies or 1-2 tsp of red chilli powder
1-2 tsp of Jaggery powder or Sugar
1 cup Water
Salt
Fresh Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, finely chopped onion and garlic. Fry until the onion is translucent.
Add the pumpkin.
Add the turmeric and water and cover and cook until the pumpkin is done.
If using grated coconut, grind together the coconut, tamarind, dry red chillies or chilli powder, cumin powder and the coriander powder with a little bit of water to make a fine masala paste.
Add it to the pumpkin in the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes.
If using coconut milk, then add the coconut milk along with the coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and the tamarind paste to the pumpkin and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
Add salt and the jaggery powder or sugar and mix well.
Serve hot.

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Gojju Avalakki | Tamarind Beaten Rice

Some things get better with time - wine, cheese, wounds are some. I am inclined towards believing this Gojju Avalakki is one of them too. 

I made it for breakfast yesterday, and I thought it was good. But was it good enough to surpass all those Drafts I have and immediately make it to the blog? I wasn't so sure. May be it could wait a week? This was the first time I made it. I've eaten it before but never cooked it myself, so I overestimated the quantity and made enough for breakfast and more. So when I had my 5pm hunger pangs, I took it out of the fridge and microwaved it. One spoon down and I was thinking, this is good... Second spoon and I was like this IS GOOD and I have to take photos before I finish this entire bowl.

Then it was a rush to catch the last few rays of natural light and no time to think about composition or background or anything, just click click click and hope they turned out good enough. I'm happy with the clicks. 

Gojju Avalakki or Huli Avalakki is a simple and quick dish from Karnataka that is made with beaten rice or poha or avalakki and tamarind. It is flavored with Sambar or Rasam powder. 

I searched online for recipes and found so many different versions. A lot of them powdered the beaten rice and somehow that did not appeal to me. I like the texture of the beaten rice flakes, so I skipped that step. A lot of the recipes also used both rasam and sambar powders, so did I since I had both at home. You can use either one or both depending what is stocked in your house. I used store bought ready made powders. 

There were many complicated recipes, but I made my own that is extremely simple. All you need to do is squeeze out the juice of tamarind and add all spices to it. Add it to the tempering and then add washed beaten rice to it. Very simple and easy - I guarentee you.

Have I mentioned how much I love fresh coconut? I love to garnish anything and everything with coconut. I was super generous with it, I definitely used 1-2 Tbsp more that what I have in the recipe, but I listed down what any normal person without my fetish for coconut would add. I always believe the more the coconut the tastier the dish. I even used coconut oil. 

I have mentioned 2 Tbsp for peanuts too, but then you can go all NUTS over peanuts and add more. 

Gojju Avalakki | Tamarind Beaten Rice

Gojju Avalakki or Huli Avalakki is a simple and quick dish from Karnataka that is made with beaten rice or poha or avalakki and tamarind. It is flavored with Sambar or Rasam powder. 

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:      15 minutes
Yield:                 Serves 3


Ingredients:

3 cups of Beaten Rice or Poha or Avalakki (Use the medium or thick variety, not the paper thin one)
1/2 cup warm Water
1 big lemon sized ball of Tamarind
2 tsp of Rasam Powder
1 tsp of Sambar Powder (Replace with 1 tsp of Rasam powder if you don't have sambar powder)
1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder (Optional)
A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
2 Tbsp of Peanuts
2 Tbsp of fresh grated Coconut
3-4 tsp of Coconut Oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp of Mustard seeds
1 sprig of Curry Leaves
1 tsp of Jaggery Powder or Sugar
2 Tbsp of finely chopped Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

Method:

Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water and keep it aside for 10 mins.
Squeeze the tamarind pulp into the water to get tamarind juice.
Add the rasam powder, sambar powder, hing, red chilli powder, jaggery powder or sugar and 1 tsp of salt and mix well.
Wash the avalakki twice and drain the water completely and keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadhai or pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the peanuts and fry until the peanuts turn slightly dark.
Add the curry leaves and the tamarind juice.
Cook on medium low heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add the avalakki and mix well. Add salt as needed.
Cook for 4-5 minutes on low heat.
Garnish with fresh grated coconut and finely chopped coriander leaves and serve.

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Maavina Hannu Seekarne or Aamras

The best thing about summer??? MANGOES. My sweet dreams are made of eating a ripe juicy mango dripping juice all over my hands. I never saw any other reason for the month of May to appear on the Calendar. I mean, May is the HOTTEST month of the year. In school, it marked the end of one month of summer vacations. The only saving grace for the month of May was the mangoes it brought with it.

Every Indian household I know uses mangoes to make either their favorite milkshake, or lassi, or dessert or pickle. There are so many dishes that you can make with Mangoes - both raw and ripe. I've made a few in the past:

Mavinkayee Chitranna or Mango Rice - Flavored rice made with grated raw mangoes and leftover rice.

Hagalkai Mavinkayee Gojju or Bittergourd & Raw Mango Curry - Bitter sweet sour and spicy curry made with bitter gourd and raw mangoes

Sweet and Sour Mango Curry or Saasav or Pashingiri - Mango curry made with ripe mangoes and fresh coconut famous along the Konkan coast of India.

Aam Panna or Sweet and Spicy Raw Mango Cooler - A sweet and spicy beverage made using raw mangoes

Mango Cheesecake - Cheesecake made using fresh mangoes, paneer and agar agar.

Raw Mango Gojju - South Indian raw mango curry and coconut curry

Corn and Raw Mango Salsa - A Simple Salsa made with boiled sweet corn and raw mango.

Don't you just want to grab that bowl of luscious Seekarne and eat it right now?

Maavina hannu Seekane or Aamras is probably the easiest delicacy you can make with Mangoes. All you need are ripe fresh JUICY mangoes. India is the birthplace of Mango and every state has it's own favorite. Alphonso, Kesar, Dasheri, Badami, Mankurad (Being a Goan, I had to list this one), Raspuri etc.There are so many more varieties, I don't even know all the names. 

Maavinahannu Seekarne or Aamras was my Mom's favorite Mango dish, she made it every summer, without fail. I made this today as a dedication to her. 

Maavinahannu Seekarne can be made in two ways, either by finely chopping the mangoes, like my mom made it or squeezing the mango to get a fine puree, the way my grandmother made it. The only difference in the 2 methods, is the way the mango pulp is treated - chopped or pureed. It is typically flavored with cardamom and almost always has a little milk added to it.

Traditionally, the Maharastrians eat their aamras with deep fried puris and here in Karnataka, it is eaten with chapati - the pan fried wholewheat flatbread. But you can eat it just like that as a dessert. Seekarne tastes best chilled for an hour or two in the fridge. But you can eat it at room temperature as well.

Maavina Hannu Seekarne or Aamras

Maavina Hannu Seekarne or Aamras is a simple traditional dessert made with mango pulp and milk and flavored with cardamom.

Recipe Type:  Dessert/ Drink
Cuisine:         Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Yield:             2-3 bowls

Ingredients:

2 ripe Mangoes
1/2 cup of Milk
1 tsp Cardamom Powder
1-2 tsp Jaggery Powder or Sugar

Method:

Peel the mangoes and chop the mango cheeks finely. Alternatively, instead of chopping it, you can just puree the mango.
Add cardamom powder and milk. Mix well.
Taste and check if you want it sweeter, then add jaggery or sugar.

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Churmuri Soosla | Puffed Rice Breakfast

I LOVE ___ This is usually how I start my posts. You must think I love practically everything that I can eat (i.e. Vegetarian). I do hate some food. Well, hate may be a strong word. More like dislike. And I dislike something that more than half the world loves - Breakfast Cereals.

I'll replay a usual breakfast discussion between me and my hubby dearest Raj.

Me (crestfallen, yet optimistically looking for answers) - "I don't know what to make for breakfast"

Raj - "Don't worry, lets eat cornflakes"

Me - "Nooooo... I'll make something, give me 10 minutes"

He loves it, I dislike it (at least the ones currently in the market). All those cereal lovers out there, please FORGIVE me for my next statement. I somehow feel Cereals are just loaded with sugar and offer nothing health wise. And I'm somehow not a big fan of sweet breakfast.

So this promise of 10 minutes isn't always upheld, but then, he's out there with the Newspaper and doesn't really keep track of time.

Isn't a girl allowed plus or minus 10 minutes? I'm sure she is. This wonderfully light breakfast of puffed rice (Churmuri or murmura or mandakki or kadle puri. Whew! that's a lot of "or"s) is done and on your plate in less than 20 minutes. And no - I'm not exaggerating at all.

Puffed rice is exactly what the name says - it is puffed up rice. It is basically Rice Popcorn (more like popRICE). There are varieties in it - salted and unsalted. They both differ slightly texture wise. I've always used the salted variety.

This Churmuri Soosla as I call it, it my goto breakfast when I'm short of time. It's light, quick and it has the sweetness from the onions, tartness from the tomatoes and the lime, the heat from the green chillies and freshness from the coriander leaves. Basic spices like cumin seeds (jeera) and turmeric (haldi) just make it all the more delicious. You can skip the roasted gram, but I highly recommend it. If you cannot find it, I'd say try replacing it with powdered roasted peanuts and that should do.

Churmuri Soosla | Puffed Rice Breakfast

A light South Indian breakfast made with puffed rice.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:          South Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Yield:              Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

150 gms of Puffed Rice / Churmuri
1 small Onion
1 medium sized Tomato
1-2 Green Chillies
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 Lemon / Lime
1/3 cup of Roasted Gram / Puthani
3 tsp of Oil
1 tsp of Cumin seeds
6-8 Curry leaves
1 Tbsp of finely chopped Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan or kadhai.
Add the cumin seeds and allow them to brown slightly.
Add finely chopped onions, curry leaves and slit green chillies. Cook until the onions turn translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes and fry them for around 2 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
Add the turmeric powder and mix well.
Wash the puffed rice and squeeze out the water.
Add to the pan and mix well.
Now add salt and lemon juice.
Grind the roasted gram into a fine powder and add to the pan. Mix well.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

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Vangi Bhaat | Eggplant Rice Pilaf with Raita with Step by Step Instructions

Vangi Bhaat or Eggplant Rice Pilaf is perfect for those weeknights when you are tilting towards ordering that pizza or planning to drive to the closest restaurant for that greasy take out but your head is making you feel guilty over that restaurant food.

Isn't it true that we all get burned out sometime? All that going to work, doing the laundry, dusting the house, exercising and cooking.... seriously tires me out. Sometimes a little retail therapy aka shopping is what helps ease all that stress. Thank heavens for those little pleasures of life !!

Vangi Bhaat is always my GO TO dish when I'm not in the mood for too much of work and I want something home cooked, quick to make and as comforting as rice. It sometimes takes less time to come home and make Vangi Bhaat than wait for my take out at restaurants. And I know what goes in it and I can tweak it to my liking. And to add to it, it is a ONE POT recipe. Just one pot to wash, HURRAY!!!

There are absolutely no more excuses to not make it anymore - Quick, Tasty, Healthy and less pots to wash. What more can one ask for, right?

Vangi Bhaat is rice cooked with brinjal or eggplant along with some basic spices. Toss in everything in a pot and cook until the rice is done. I use a pressure cooker and I recommend it as it cuts the cooking time by half. 

I usually pair it with some cooling mix vegetable raita. The raita can be made while the Vangi Bhaat is cooking away.

Step-by-Step Recipe:



1) Wash the rice in sufficient water. Drain and set aside.
2) Roughly chop the onion, tomato and the brinjal.
3) Heat oil in a pressure cooker or a deep pan.
4) Add the cumin seeds.
5) Once they brown slightly, add the onions and fry until translucent.
6) Now add the tomatoes and brinjal and fry for 1 minute.

7) Add water, all the spices and salt. If you are not using a pressure cooker, the quantity of water may vary. Adjust accordingly.
8) Add the rice and cover and cook until the rice is done. In a pressure cooker, that will take you around 3-4 whistles or approximately 10-12 minutes.
9) Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve with Raita

10) To make the raita, just mix all the ingredients well.

Vangi Bhaat | Eggplant Rice Pilaf with Raita

Vangi bhaat is rice cooked with brinjal or eggplant and a few spices. It is vegan and gluten free.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:          Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:              Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

Vangi Bhaat:

200 gms of Brinjal or Eggplant
1.5 cups of Rice
1 Tomato
1 Onion
1/2 tsp of Turmeric Powder
1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp of Cumin Seeds / Jeera
1 Maggi Magic Cube (Optional)
4-5 tsp of Oil
3 cups of Water
Salt
A handful of fresh Coriander leaves

Raita:

1 cup of finely chopped mixed Vegetables (Tomato, Carrot, Cucumber, Onion)
1 Tbsp of finely chopped Coriander leaves
1.5 cups of Yogurt or Curd
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the rice in sufficient water. Drain and set aside.
Roughly chop the onion, tomato and the brinjal.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker or a deep pan.
Add the cumin seeds.
Once they brown slightly, add the onions and fry until translucent.
Now add the tomatoes and brinjal and fry for 1 minute.
Add water, all the spices and salt. If you are not using a pressure cooker, the quantity of water may vary. Adjust accordingly.
Add the rice and cover and cook until the rice is done. In a pressure cooker, that will take you around 3-4 whistles or approximately 10-12 minutes.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve with Raita
To make the raita, just mix all the ingredients well.

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Vegetable Stew Recipe [Video]

Vegetable Stew recipe with video instructions. Vegetable Stew is a mildly spiced vegan stew made by cooking colorful peppers, cauliflower, carrots and beans in coconut milk. Vegetable Stew is a gluten free curry.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

The weather is confusing, on some days it feels like summer and on others it looks like the monsoons are already here. Today was one such a day. It started out sunny and ended up wet.

When it rains, I feel like having some warm comfort food. Don't you?

And a vegetable stew is just that. It is comfort food personified. I made it with rainbow veggies. You can make it with what you have available, but I find that colorful food cheers me up. I watched this food truck on Eat Street that seemed to have the same thinking. It was a healthy food truck where the chef served everything with a colorful salad. Oooh! today's newspaper is saying food trucks are in town. Yeah, baby! I hope I find myself in the neighborhood of one interesting truck. Let me know if you try one out. Until then our little bhel puri carts will have to do.

Anyway back to the stew. I will not call this a Kerala veg stew, but it is inspired from Kerala. I made this stew with coconut milk like a lot of Kerala curries. This is my sister's recipe. So its been tried and tested on other people before me :)

I made it with cauliflower, tri-colored peppers, carrot, and french beans. You can add green peas, potatoes, frankly, any vegetable you fancy in a curry. Anything tastes good with coconut milk, I swear. This curry is mildly spiced, so it does not take you away from the delicate taste of coconut milk and the vegetables.

It can be eaten with rice or bread. The choice is yours. We enjoyed the stew with rice and spicy jeegujje podi. Ummm... my mouth is watering just remembering my lunch.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

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Video Recipe

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Vegetable Stew

Mildly spiced vegetable stew made by cooking colourful peppers, cauliflower, carrots and beans in coconut milk 

Recipe Type:  Main Course
Cuisine:          South Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Yield:              3 Servings

Ingredients:

1 cup Capsicum ( red, yellow, orange, green)
0.5 cup Cauliflower florets
1 Carrot, diced
6-8 Beans, chopped
2 cups Coconut Milk
3 tsp Oil
2 Cloves
0.5 tsp Black Pepper
0.5" Cinnamon
1 sprig Curry leaves
1 Onion, sliced
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1-2 Green Chillies, sliced
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the whole spices and curry leaves.
2. Once curry leaves splutter, add the sliced onion and fry until translucent.
3. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute until fragrant.
4. Add the vegetables that take longer to cook like the cauliflower, carrot and beans.
5. Add half a cup of water and salt and cover and cook until the vegetables are partially cooked.
6. Then add the capsicum or bell peppers and cook until all the vegetables are cooked.
7. Add in the coconut milk and salt to taste.
8. Simmer the stew for 3-4 minutes.
9. Enjoy it hot/warm with rice/bread.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Punjabi Dum Aloo

Raw Banana Kofta Curry

Eggplant Coconut Curry

Read more ...

Pudina Majjige Soda | Yogurt Soda with Fresh Mint | Pudina Chaas Soda

Summer is here... yippee... isn't that your first thought when the sun comes out of its winter snooze and begins to shine down with all its warmth? Well... that's how I feel in the initial days of April, until the sun really begins to scorch us poor little earthlings.

As a kid, I did not mind it though. I simply loved summers. 2 months vacation from school, it is definitely any kid's best dream come true.. well, may be except Lisa Simpson. Be it 30 degrees C or 40 degrees C,  we played outdoors until we were called indoors for lunch/dinner.

Now a days, without the blissful ignorance of childhood, I actually feel the temperature outside and it makes me want to sit inside all day in the cool confines of the house and keep drinking something cool. But cool drinks aren't very healthy, right? What if there was one that was refreshing and healthy?

South Indians have housed this secret all through the ages - Buttermilk. Known for its cooling qualities, every South Indian meal in summer ends with a tall glass of mildly spiced buttermilk. Spices can range from cumin to ginger to asafoetida. Traditional buttermilk is actually the milk from which butter has been churned. I don't like that too much, so what I make is actually a watered down version of yogurt.

Add to add a little twist... add plain soda water instead or regular water and see the difference...

Pudina Majjige Soda | Yogurt Soda with Fresh Mint | Pudina Chaas Soda

A healthy low fat fresh mint and yogurt soda

Recipe Type:  Beverage
Cuisine:          South Indian
Prep Time:     5 minutes
Cook time:     10 minutes
Yield:              2 Glasses

Ingredients:

Yogurt / Curd - 1 cup (Taste better if the yogurt/curd is sour)
Fresh mint leaves - 1 cup (washed and chopped)
Plain Soda - 400ml
Salt to taste. 

Method:

Grind the mint leaves into a fine paste along with a little yogurt.
Add the yogurt, salt and mint paste to a blender and blend until combined.
Strain well and pour equally into the serving glasses.
Add the soda, stir and enjoy the refreshing goodness of this drink

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Mexican Green Rice with Spicy Fried Potatoes

Work has been very stressful lately. All I want to do is get home and start blogging. But at the end of the day I have literally no energy left. In fact, hubby dearest has been cooking dinners too. It’s been raining outside, and I have no time to enjoy it :( . I’m missing watching MasterChef on TV :( . I am craving for my end of the month vacation. I hope for it to be my much needed relief. Until then, my blog will have to be my only source of relaxation. *End of ranting*

Now, back to my sane self. Forgive me, sometimes “Hyper-Stressed out-Worried Anu” makes an appearance here. This post is going to cater to those with lack of time – like me. One pot meal. The answer to a busy night. I know the name sounds simply Exotic. I’ll let you in on a secret *hush* it is only coriander rice *hush*. Yup, you heard it right. Coriander/Cilantro is abundantly available in India, albeit it’s gotten really costly off late. I pay Rs.40 for a bunch :( in Bangalore. I did try growing it. It grew too, though not enough to suffice and the heavy rains killed almost half of my saplings :( . Too many sad smileys. Isn’t that an oxymoron? Sad smiley. Or is there a more appropriate name for it?

For a lot of communities, rice is a side dish and the main is something else. But for us Indians, especially South Indians, rice is the star. Everything else is a side dish. I have seen a lot of friends for whom a meal isn’t complete if they don’t have a spoonful  of curd rice at the end. If you have never seen a paddy field, I suggest you do see one, especially in or after the monsoons. That is probably the brightest green nature can throw at you. It really relaxes the eyes and the mind.

The original Mexican rice obviously uses Mexican chillies, I had no time to find exotic chillies, so I just used the regular desi chillies. They are probably a little spicier than their Mexican counterparts, so use it carefully to match your taste buds.

I toyed with the idea of different accompaniments and finally settled on the spicy potato fry. I did seriously consider the raita, but gave it to my greediness of having some fried potatoes *feeling guilty*

So on a slightly free weeknight, we enjoyed a part Mexican and part Indian meal of Green rice with spicy fried potatoes watching another exciting episode of MasterChef. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Mexican Green Rice with Spicy Fried Potatoes

Rice flavored with Coriander and Spinach served with spicy fried potatoes 

Recipe Type:  Main Course
Cuisine:          Mexican
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     60 minutes
Yield:              2 servings

Ingredients:

Mexican Green Rice:

3/4 cup Basmati Rice
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup spinach leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic
1-2 green chillies
4 tsp oil
1 Onion
1 tsp Lemon juice
1.5 cups Water
Salt

Spicy Fried Potatoes:

2 Potatoes
3 tsp oil
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
4-5 Curry leaves
Salt

Method:

Mexican Green Rice:

• Wash and drain the rice.
• Lay it out on a towel to dry.
• Grind the spinach, coriander, garlic. onion and green chillies into a coarse paste
• Heat oil in a pan/kadhai and add the rice
• On a medium flame fry the rice until it is slightly golden appx. 5 mins
• Add the green paste, water and salt
• Cover and cook on low flame until the rice is cooked
• Add lime juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot

Spicy Fried Potatoes:

• Peel and chop the potatoes
• Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds
• Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and the potatoes
• Add the spices and salt and mix well
• Cover and cook until the potatoes are done
• You can have this with roti/chapati also

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Raw Banana / Plantain / Balekaayi fry

For the coastal people of Konkan, the banana plant forms an integral part of life. Every part of the plant is used for something. The fruit is eaten when ripe, it is used in cooking when raw, the blossom and the stem are also used for cooking. Of all these, the raw banana is probably the most versatile. We make chips out of it, bhajji, sabzi / palya etc. But I recently learnt that a few Jains use it as a replacement to potato in sabzis and paratha. I'm yet to try that out, but apparently you just cannot make out the difference once you add all those aromatic spices...

The recipe serves 2-3

Raw Banana / Plantain / Balekaayi fry

Raw banana fry/dry curry.

Recipe Type:  Side
Cuisine:          South Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Yield:              2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

2 Raw banana/ Plantain/ Balekaayi
2-3 tbsp Oil
8-10 Curry leaves
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt to taste
A handful of Coriander leaves (Optional)

Method:

• Cut off the edges of the banana and peel it.
• Slice the banana lengthwise and then cut into semicircle.
• Heat oil in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds
• Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and the banana
• Stir well
• Add the turmeric, red chilli powder and a little salt and mix well
• Cover and allow it to cook until the banana is cooked through
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis

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Mirchi Ka Salan

Did you know, that India is the largest producer and consumer of chillies?  And Andhra Pradesh accounts for 30% of production... No wonder when we think of Andhra food, we think spicy... It is fitting that AP has a dish showcasing their favorite hot chilli. This is generally served as an accompaniment with Biryani. Now, although, I can eat spicy food, I cannot go all the way and eat it as spicy as the Andhraites, so instead of using spicy green chillies, I stuck to using the yellow ones which are generally used to make bhajjis. I also cut them into chunks rather than use them whole, this just made it easier to eat with chapati... 

Mirchi Ka Salan

Spicy Andhra curry made with chillies and peanuts. Usually served as an accompaniment to Biryani.

Recipe Type:  Side
Cuisine:          South Indian / Andhra
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Yield:              2-4 Servings

Ingredients:

4-5 Banana pepper / Wax chili / Bhajji mirchi
4 Tbsp Peanuts
3 Tbsp Coconut (desiccated)
1.5 Tbsp Sesame seeds
½ cup Curd/ Yogurt
1 tsp Tamarind
1 Onion
2-3 cloves Garlic
1” piece Ginger
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1-2 tsp Red chili powder
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2” stick Cinnamon
1 Cardamom
1-2 Cloves
2 dry Red Chilies
5-6 Curry leaves
1 tsp Jaggery or 1/2 tsp Sugar
5 tsp Oil
Water
Salt


Method:

• Heat a tsp of oil in a kadhai and add the peanuts once the oil is hot.
• Fry the peanuts on low flame until slightly brown.
• Add the sesame seeds and continue frying until the sesame is slightly browned.
• Now add the desiccated coconut and fry until the coconut browns slightly.
• Do this on low flame and not on high. You want them to cook, not just color.
• Keep this aside to cool.
• Soak tamarind in half a cup of water.
• Crush and grind the ginger and garlic into a fine paste. Alternatively, you can use 1 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste.
• Heat 3 tsp of oil in a kadhai.
• Once it is hot, add the red chilies (either whole or you can break them), cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
• Fry for about 20 secs and then add the mustard seeds.
• Once the mustard crackles, add the cumin seeds.
• After the cumin seeds have browned, add the onions and fry until the onions are golden brown.
• Now add the curry leaves and ginger-garlic paste and fry until fragrant
• Add the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and red chili powder and fry for 30 secs – 1 min.
• Add ½ cup water and cover and cook until the oil oozes out.
• Now add the whisked curd, tamarind water and jaggery and cover and cook until the oil oozes out. I did not add all the tamarind juice at once, added ¼ cup first and tasted it later and added the rest.
• Grind the coconut, peanut and sesame into a fine paste with some water.
• Add this paste and salt and cover and cook for 15-20 mins until the raw taste disappears.

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