Raw Banana Kofta Curry Recipe [Video]

Raw Banana Kofta Curry is a spicy, sweet and tangy coconut based curry with fried raw banana (plantain) dumplings. This curry is vegan and gluten free.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

We are mid way through January already!! I must say, time literally flies. It feels like just yesterday it was December and I was getting all excited for the New Year, and today we are already well into it. So did you start all that you planned to do in 2019? I'm still dragging my feet on my checklist. 

In other news, I've been at home an awful lot lately, mainly because of some trade union strikes last week that stopped public transport and we were all forced to work from home, and I had some personal commitments that made me still work from home for a few days here and there. While you would think being home and cutting out all that stress of travel, I'd be more productive in the kitchen. But the truth is, when I'm home I'm super lazy. Sometimes, I make instant noodles or just buy bread to mop up leftover curry. 

I finally decided it was time to stop being lazy and cook up this amazing Raw Banana Kofta Curry that I had in my mind for so long. I found this recipe in a magazine at the doctor's. I actually dread doctor visits. I can probably count the number of visits I've made in the last 2 years on the fingers of one hand. Raise you hand if you dread doctor visits like me! While I waited for my turn for my annual checkup, I leafed through a magazine on the coffee table and this recipe kind of jumped at me. I made Raj take a quick photo and stored it away. Finally I got around to making it, thankfully.

This Raw Banana Kofta Curry is spicy, sweet and tangy! Flavor explosion in your mouth.

The curry or the gravy is what gives all the flavor. Tomato and Tamarind impart the sourness to the curry, the jaggery adds sweetness, the high count of red chillies gives the curry heat and color and the coconut milk just mellows down everything with it's rich creaminess. My mouth still waters when I reminisce about this curry, it was SO delicious. This curry really had the balance of sweetness, sourness and heat. Take the ingredients below as more of a direction than rigid quantities. Your palate may prefer the curry being less sweet and more tart. Adjust the ingredients to your liking. Start with less jaggery and tamarind and add more as you go along. The red chillies are deseeded so that the curry is not too hot but still has the vibrant color. You can leave the seeds in for a spicier curry.

The Raw Banana Koftas are really easy to make. They taste good just by themselves too. So you can make more and serve them as snacks at tea time. The original recipe called for raisins but I replaced them with cashew nuts. Add any nuts you like into the koftas. I also added in grated Tofu instead of the grated Paneer, because I had tofu in the fridge. The koftas can be either shallow fried or deep fried. You may even try to bake it. Add the koftas just before serving to retain the crispness of the koftas.

Raw Banana Kofta Curry is best served hot with naan or rotis.

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 upto.

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

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Raw Banana Kofta Curry

Raw Banana Kofta Curry is a spicy, sweet and tangy coconut based curry with fried raw banana (plantain) dumplings. This curry is vegan and gluten free.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Total time:     50 minutes
Yield:                Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

For the curry:

10-12 Dry Red Chillies
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
0.5 tsp Peppercorns
2-3 tsp Jaggery or Sugar
1 large Tomato
1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
1 cup thick Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Kasuri Methi
2 Tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves
3 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
Salt to taste
Water as required

For the Koftas:

2 raw Bananas or Plantain
10-12 Cashew Nuts, chopped
1 cup grated Tofu or Paneer
1 Tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
Oil to fry koftas

Method:

1. Cut the edges of the raw bananas and dice them roughly. Boil them with a pinch of salt until soft.
2. Peel the bananas and keep aside.
3. Deseed the dry red chillies and add to a mixer/blender. You can keep the seeds in if you want the curry to be very spicy.
4. Add turmeric powder and black peppercorns to the mixer and grind until you get a coarse powder.
5. Add 2 tsp of jaggery or sugar along with the tamarind pulp and chopped tomato to the blender.
6. Add a little water and blend until you get a smooth paste.
7. Heat oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds.
8. Once they splutter, add the masala paste and cook for 7-8 minutes until the raw smell disappears.
9. Add 1 cup of water and a little salt and allow the curry to boil.
10. Once the water has evaporated, add in the thick coconut milk and allow it to come to a boil.
11. Adjust salt and sugar as required.
12. Once the curry has reached a rolling boil, add in the dried kasuri methi.
13. Allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes.
14. Remove from heat and add in chopped coriander leaves and keep aside.
15. Mash the boiled raw bananas and add in the chopped cashew nuts, grated tofu or paneer, chopped coriander leaves and salt.
16. Mix well until combined and shape into koftas.
17. Heat oil in a shallow pan for frying koftas.
18. Add the koftas to the pan and fry until all sides are browned. You can also deep fry the koftas.
19. Add the koftas to the curry and mix well.
20. Serve hot with rotis or naan.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Lauki Kofta Curry

Raw Banana Fry

Banana Blossom Cutlets

Read more ...

Vegan Laksa Soup Recipe | How to make vegan Malaysian Laksa Lemak [Video]

Vegan Laksa Soup or Curry Laksa or Malaysian Laksa Lemak is a spicy noodle soup from Malaysia that has a rich creamy base made from coconut milk and topped with noodles, blanched vegetables and fried Tofu. The soup is spicy, sweet, salty and creamy. It is perfect for a cold winter day. This recipe includes video instructions to make the Laksa Soup.

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Hello friends, wishing you a very Happy New Year once again. Are you excited for what 2019 holds for you? Have you made resolutions yet?

I sure have. As every year before, I resolve to eat healthier, blog more and just spend contribute more time towards home. I would also love to reduce stress, and interact more with you on social media. I also want to go on more vacations and carve out some "me" time. A lot of resolutions and I hope can follow them through.

Now that we have our new year courtesies off the table, lets get on to the recipe - Vegan Laksa Soup.
The Laksa Soup is an uber-delicious Malaysian Noodle Soup. While there are different varieties of Laksa, this is the recipe for Curry Laksa or Laksa Lemak which is a spicy soup finished off with rich creamy coconut milk.  Which is perfect for this weather. Something weird is going on with the weather in Bangalore and we've had just about the coldest January in ages. Temperatures are dropping to 8-10 degree C and that's not really normal. So cozying up under a blanket and enjoying some delicious spicy soup is just perfect. I mean the weather calls for it!

My inspiration for recreating a Laksa at home came from the Laksa I ate at FoodHall in December. You have got to try theirs! It was so deliciously flavored, that I wanted more. When you want more and more of something, you have to make it at home, especially when they don't do a home delivery. So I looked up several recipes, and came up with mine. I mostly followed Adam Liaw's recipe, but kept it vegan.

The Laksa Soup has 3 main parts to it:

• Laksa Curry Paste - The curry paste is what gives the soup its flavor. The Laksa I had was spicy and hence, I added enough chillies to give the same heat. This heat is eventually balanced by the sweetness and saltiness, but I'd say add just as many chillies as you can tolerate. The curry paste is simple to make, just blend all the ingredients together and you will get your smooth curry paste. If you don't have access to fresh lemongrass, use lemongrass paste or lemon zest (lots of it!). Candle nuts can be replaced with cashew nuts like I did. Use fresh turmeric if you have access to it, else use the ground powder like me. 
• Laksa Soup - The soup I had was spicy, sweet, salty and sour (from the lemongrass).  It had the perfect balance of flavors (MasterChef judges would be proud of me!). To get the best flavor our of the soup, the laksa paste has to be fried until the oil separates or at least for 15-20 minutes. After that just add in broth or water to thin it. Add the thick coconut milk towards the end to get the creamy richness.
• Toppings/Additions - Since it is a noodle soup, noodles are kind of mandatory. Use any noodles you have accessible. If you are not  purist, you may also use spaghetti. After this it is totally up to you to add whatever vegetable you want. I added blanched broccoli, capsicum, snow peas and mushrooms. I blanched my veggies instead of cooking them in the soup because I wanted my vegetables to retain their crunch and texture. Since I did not have Tofu Puffs, I added pan fried Tofu and it was delish!

Enjoy this bowl of heartwarming deliciousness before the Winter is over! See you next week.

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 upto.

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

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

Vegan Laksa Soup | Malaysian Laksa Lemak Recipe

Vegan Laksa Soup or Curry Laksa or Malaysian Laksa Lemak is a spicy noodle soup from Malaysia that has a rich creamy base made from coconut milk and topped with noodles, blanched vegetables and fried Tofu. The soup is spicy, sweet, salty and creamy.

Recipe Type:  Soup
Cuisine:            Malaysian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     50 minutes
Total time:     60 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the Laksa Curry Paste:

6-8 Dry Red Chillies
2-3 Fresh Red Chillies
10-12 Cashew Nuts
3 Lemongrass Stalks (white part only)
1 small Onion
1 Tbsp Garlic
1 Tbsp Ginger
0.5 tsp Turmeric powder
1.5 Tbsp Coriander Seeds

For the Laksa Soup:

2-3 tsp Jaggery or Sugar
1 cup thick Coconut Milk
4 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Water or Broth as required

For the Crispy Tofu

100 gms firm Tofu
2 tsp Corn Starch
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Oil

To assemble the Laksa Soup

2 cups cooked Noodles
1 cup Broccoli Florets
8-10 Snow peas
0.5 Capsicum
5 Mushrooms
1 Tbsp chopped Coriander leaves

Method:

1. Soak the dry red chillies and cashew nuts in hot water and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then discard the water.
2. Blend together the soaked red chillies, cashew nuts along with all the other ingredients for the laksa curry paste along with a little water to a smooth paste.
3. Heat 4 Tbsp of Oil in a thick bottomed pan and add the curry paste.
4. Fry the paste for 15-20 minutes on low heat or until the oil separates.
5. Add 1 cup of water or broth and bring to a boil.
6. Add salt and sugar to taste.
7. Add in the coconut milk and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and keep aside.
9. Boil water in a pan and add a pinch of salt.
10. Dab the Tofu with kitchen towel to extract as much water from it as possible.
11. Dice the Tofu into cubes and add to a large bowl.
12. Sprinkle the corn starch, salt and pepper to the bowl and toss until the tofu is coated with the corn starch.
13. Heat 2 Tbsp Oil in a frying pan and place the tofu in one layer. Flip the tofu until all sides are browned and crisp. Remove from heat until time to serve. Alternately, you can deep fry or bake the tofu.
14. Drop in the vegetables - broccoli, snow peas, diced capsicum and sliced mushrooms, one by one and blanch for few minutes until the vegetables are slightly soft.
15. To assemble the Laksa Soup, spoon the soup into a bowl, add the cooked noodles and the blanched vegetables. Top with crispy tofu and chopped coriander leaves before serving.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Miso Noodle Soup

Broccoli Almond Soup

Mushroom Leek Soup

Read more ...

Popular Posts of 2018

A compilation of top five most popular recipes of 2018 on One Teaspoon Of Life.

Hi All, Happy New Year to you!!

I hope you had the best holidays ever. Did you spend quality time with family? Did you party hard until you dropped?

Whatever you did, I hope it was fun and it involved a lot of food.

As we start a brand new year, I looked back on the progress I made on the blog over 2018. It was one of my best years, here on One Teaspoon Of Life. My reader base grew, my reach and impressions on social media grew so much, plus, I started my own YouTube Channel. It was a fun filled year here in the kitchens of One Teaspoon Of Life.

In December, I decided to look back and identify what you guys loved. Here are the top 5 posts of 2018 from One Teaspoon Of Life:

5) How to make Tofu

This post showed how to make tofu when you don't have access to nigari. It contained a video with step by step process on making tofu with lime juice and DIY tofu press. It also contains links to make your own Soy Milk. 

4) Lauki Kofta

This recipe is a delicious take on an otherwise boring vegetable. The bottle gourd was mixed with chickpea flour and spices to make a kofta ball that was later simmered in a spicy tomato based masala. This recipe also included a video that gave you step by step instructions to make Lauki Kofta.

3) South Indian Chana Masala

How much this recipe was loved actually surprised me at the time. I've posted various recipes of chana masala or chhole on One Teaspoon Of Life, but this South Indian version was the most appreciated. Unlike the North Indian versions, here the chickpeas are simmered in a masala made with fresh coconut and spices. No video here, but some really good photos.

2) Iyengar Bakery Style Masala Bread Toast

You guys loved this simple local bakery style dish. I love it to. Masala Bread Toast is a simple dish in which spicy sauteed onions are topped on a piece of toasted bread. This post included a video that provided step by step instructions.

and the Number 1 recipe is....

1) Dahi Bread Chaat

I loved this one sooo much. It is such a simple and flavorful dish. Toasted bread topped with whisked yogurt and sweet and spicy chutneys, colorful pomegranate, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and what not. It was my quick take on a more complicated Dahi Bhalla and it was loved my all of you. This recipe contained step by step photo instructions on how to assemble this plate of beauty.

Special mention...

10 Vegetarian Snacks | 6 Vegan Finger Foods

You guys loved this compilation too, a little more than few of the recipe posts. Hope you have a snackalicious 2019.

Read more ...

Mangalore Buns Recipe | Banana Buns Recipe [Video]

Mangalore Buns or Banana Buns are deep fried slightly sweet puris flavored with ripe bananas.
These Mangalore buns are vegan and are popularly enjoyed as breakfast or tea time snacks.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

Hi Peeps, how are you doing? All set for the holiday season? Plans made with family?

Holidays with family are the best, aren't they? You create so many memories that you can feel nostalgic about in the future. Most of my favorite memories are of vacations with my family. This dish of Mangalore Buns features prominently in one of my childhood vacation memories.

Memories....

Early in the 90's Indian Railways started changing all meter gauge trains to broad gauge and that meant that trains were no longer accessible to the general public. Until then, we always traveled by train to my grandma's house, a tiny village near the city of Mangalore. Then started the days of bus travel. Since the village was so tiny, there was no direct bus from Goa. We had to alight at the closest point and wait for a connecting bus, all at 5am in the morning. While waking up that early was a torture, there was a silver or rather golden lining there. Before the first connecting bus arrived, a small restaurant would open its doors and start selling breakfast and these golden Mangalore Buns were always on the menu. My mom introduced us to these buns, and what an introduction it was. My love affair with these Mangalore Buns started back then!

Till today, when we are around Mangalore, we go in search of tiny restaurants that make fresh buns. If you want to know some of my favorite places, ask me in comments.

What is not to love? The buns are banana flavored and deep fried. They are more like Banana Puris. Mildly sweet with specks of cumin all over, they are just super delicious. Mangalore Buns are one of the only sweet breakfast that I enjoy, otherwise, I'm a savory breakfast girl. Mangalore Buns are commonly served with a simple coconut chutney and a piping hot sambar.

Traditionally, all purpose flour or maida is used to make the Mangalore Buns. But I usually use 50% all purpose flour and 50% wholewheat flour (atta). I've made it also with 100% wholewheat flour and it did not absolutely take away from the flavor, the texture however wasn't as spongy and the bins were slightly flat. I still did not mind that, they still tasted amazing. The dough can be rested overnight if the temperature is lower, else you can rest it in the fridge in warmer weather. These buns are a perfect way to use overripe bananas that you may have discarded otherwise. Ripe to overripe bananas work best in this recipe. Serve the buns with chutney or just plain.

Go ahead, make them this holiday season, and create your own special memories.

Fun fact - No matter whether it is just one bun or multiple, it is always called "buns". 

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 upto.

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

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Mangalore Buns Recipe | Banana Buns Recipe

Mangalore buns are banana flavored deep fried buns made from either all purpose or whole wheat flour. These vegan buns are a popular breakfast around the city of Mangalore.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     2.5 Hours (includes dough resting time)
Cook time:     20 minutes
Total time:     3 Hours
Yield:                Makes 10-12

Ingredients:

2 ripe Bananas
0.25 cups Curd (Yoghurt)
3 cups All Purpose Flour or Wholewheat Flour
3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
0.25 tsp Salt
A pinch of Baking Soda
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
Oil to fry

Method:

1. Mash the bananas with powdered sugar until smooth.
2. Add in the cumin seeds, whisked curd, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
3. Add in the flour and knead into a stiff dough.
4. Apply a little oil on the dough to prevent it from drying. Cover and rest for 2-4 hours. The dough can be rested overnight too. If the weather is warm, rest in the fridge.
5. Dust the kitchen counter with some dry flour.
6. Pull out a ball of dough and roll it out on the dusted counter.
7. Heat oil for deep frying.
8. Carefully drop in the rolled out buns and fry on medium high heat until one side browns.
9. Flip over and fry until the other side browns.
10. Remove from oil and place it onto a absorbent kitchen towel to cool.
11. Serve hot or at room temperature with chutney.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Banana Bread

Cucumber Pakoda

Menthe Pathrode

Read more ...

Avarekalu Saaru Recipe | How to make Hitikida Avarekaalu Sambar (Huli) [Video]

Avarekalu Saaru or Avarekaalu Huli is a winter special curry made in Bangalore, with seasonal hyacinth beans by double peeling them and cooking them in a coconut and spice based masala. This Avarekalu Sambar is vegan.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

Avarekalu, is a delicious bean that is very local to the region around Bangalore-Mysore. It is very similar in profile with edamame beans, just much smaller in size. They flood the markets in Bangalore around this time of the year aka winter. They are either sold whole, with the beans still in their pods or sometimes, loose beans removed from the pods. There is even an entire fest dedicated to these beans at the Food Street near V.V. Puram in Bangalore. The entire food street gets obsessed with these avarekalu and you will see them being used so creatively in so many recipes. There are dosa, thalipettu, curries, sweets, and what not. If you are in Bangalore, this is one traditional fest you should not miss. 

I first ate avarekalu when I moved to Bangalore. The first time I ate in this avatar of Hitikida Avarekalu Saaru was when my friend got it for lunch at work. It was her grandma's specialty and it was super delicious. I managed to get the recipe from her and after several confusions about the quantities of the ingredients, I finally got it right to suit my palate. Since then, come winter, I make this curry multiple times.

When I first posted this recipe back in 2014, I never imagined it would be my most popular recipe on the blog. Come winter and the popularity of this Avarekaalu Saaru recipe starts rising. After 5 years, I decided it was time I reposted this recipe along with a video that gives you step by step instructions on how to make this Hitikida Avarekaalu Saaru.

(Clockwise from top left) Whole avarekai, Shelled avarekalu, peeled avarekalu, peeled and unpeeled avarekalu

Hitikida Avarekaalu Saaru is a South Indian vegan curry made from double peeled avarekaalu or hyacinth beans. You can make this curry with any fresh beans you have available - edamame, fava, double beans, toovar or even avarebele (lentils of hyacinth beans). Hitikida refers to the process of squeezing out the beans from their cover. The beans are double peeled to make the curry, first the beans are removed from the pods and next from their really thin cover. If you are bored to do the second step, you can cook it with the cover on, only they will take a tad longer to cook. While soaking the beans in water before squeezing them out is the traditional way to peel them, I found that freezing them overnight in a bag works wonders. It is much easier to squeeze them out when frozen and thawed. 

The curry is actually a sambar or huli which is made with freshly ground sambar masala. The masala is simple and contains coconut, aromatics, whole spices and ground spices. The curry can be enjoyed as a side with akki rotti or chapati when it is thicker in consistency and with rice when it is thinner in consistency. 

Enjoy!

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 upto.

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

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Avarekalu Saaru | Hitikida Avarekaalu Sambar

Avarekalu Saaru or Avarekaalu Huli is a winter special curry made in Bangalore, with seasonal hyacinth beans by double peeling them and cooking them in a coconut and spice based masala. This Avarekalu Sambar is vegan.

Recipe Type:  Curry
Cuisine:          South Indian 
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Yield:              2-4 Servings

Ingredients:

2 cups Avarekalu or Hyacinth Beans
0.75 cups grated Coconut
1 Tbsp Poppy seeds
1 small Onion
1 Tbsp chopped Garlic
A pinch Asafoetida
1 - 2 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1.5 Tbsp Coriander seeds
1/2" piece Cinnamon
1-2 Cloves/
1 tsp Tamarind
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
8-10 Curry leaves
2 tsp Oil
Salt
Water

Method:

1. To double peel the avarekalu or hyacinth beans, remove the beans from their pods.
2. Soak the beans in water for 30-45 minutes or freeze them ovenight in a ziploc bag or a box.
3. Pat the beans dry on a kitchen towel.
4. Gently squeeze out the bean from its peel.
5. Boil the beans in mildly salted water until soft.
6. While the beans cook, make the sambar masala by grinding together coconut, onion, garlic, poppy seeds, coriander seeds, asafoetida or hing, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and tamarind along with a little water.
7. Once the beans are cooked, add the sambar masala along with 1-2 cups of water and allow it to reach a boil.
8. If you are planning to eat it with rice, add more water, and if with chapati or rotti, add less water.
9. Add salt as required. Remember the water was salted while cooking the beans.
10. Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds.
11. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves.
12. Pour this tempering into the curry and remove from heat.
13. Serve hot with rice, rotti or chapati.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Avarekalu Uppit

Rasam

Kaalu Palya

Read more ...

Jeera Rice Recipe | How to make Jeera Rice [Video]

Jeera Rice or Cumin Rice is a simple flavorful rice main made by cooking Basmati rice with whole and ground cumin seeds. Jeera Rice is earthy, fragrant, healthy and delicious. It also fits into various diets - vegan, gluten-free and plant based with no or minimal alterations.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

I always considered December as the slowest month of the year at work. With everyone in the world looking forward to the holidays and doing their last minute holiday shopping, baking boozy cakes, and making travel plans. This year hasn't turned out to be that - Slow. Come December, and I've been busier than usual at work, and it may have something to do with the holidays. May be everyone wants to complete what they started before going off to enjoy some quality time with family. And that means we are all working twice as hard and scrambling to get stuff done at office. All in all, extremely exhausting and stressful. Add in all those pending treats from friends and dinners with family. It's led to me barely cooking on weekdays.

And when I am stressed out or busy, all I look forward to is comfort food. And my idea of comfort food is simple Indian food, especially, Rice. I hate to say this, but I think I secretly like rice. I spent a better part of my life, telling people how much I hate rice and how much I love wheat. If it was a battle of the cereals, my teenage self would have fought front and center of the wheat army. But now a days, I realize that although I eat wheat more regularly than rice, I tend to lean towards rice when I need comfort. And with such chaos at work, I've never needed more comfort. And this Jeera Rice is that and more. It is flavorful comfort food that is easy on your body and time.

This Jeera Rice is not hot nor heavy on the spices, but it is definitely not flavor less. It has loads of that earthy cumin flavor. Plus it has the fragrance of Basmati Rice. You can get all chefy on this recipe and add all sorts of whole spices, but I kept it simple. Of all the spices out there, Cumin has to be my favorite. I add cumin to my tadka all the time.

You can make Jeera Rice two ways, one by tempering leftover rice with cumin seeds and the other by cooking raw rice along with cumin seeds. This recipe is the latter. I made this Jeera Rice in a pressure cooker, you can also make it in a pan or in a rice cooker. Jeera rice is Vegan, gluten free and healthy. It can also fit into a plant based diet, by totally eliminating the oil in the recipe.

Jeera Rice is almost always accompanied by a flavorful Dal. There are several recipes of Dal on One Teaspoon Of Life that will go wonderfully with this Jeera Rice.

• Restaurant style Dal Fry
• Pancharangi Dal or Panchmel Dal
• Palak Dal
• Heerekai Tove
• Dal Makhani

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 upto.

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

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Jeera Rice Recipe

Jeera Rice is a vegan and gluten free rice main dish made by cooking basmati rice along with cumin seeds.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Total time:     50 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked Basmati Rice
1.5 cups Water
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 Green Chilli, chopped
3 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash the basmati rice 5-6 times until the water runs clean. Drain and keep aside for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds.
3. Once they brown slightly, add in the chopped green chilli.
4. Add the basmati rice and mix until the oil coats the rice grains.
5. Add in the water and cumin powder.
6. Add salt to taste.
7. Cover and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles or 5-8 minutes after the pressure builds up.
8. Serve hot with dal.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Corn Spinach Pulao

Ghee Rice

Mint Rice

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Mint Rice Recipe | How to make Pudina Rice | Pudina Pulao Recipe [Video]

Mint Rice or Pudina Pulao or Pudina Rice is a simple vegan one pot dish of fragrant Basmati rice cooked along with a fresh mint puree, vegetables and spices. Perfect for weeknights when you are short of time.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

Monday blues came in early this week. I had a one day weekend. Just Sunday… Sigh! I technically had a Saturday, but that was spent attending an event at Office and all my usual Saturday stuff landed into my Sunday and I was left with no rest day.

Between my load of laundry and dusting the house, I have absolutely no idea where that Sunday just disappeared into thin air. Literally, I blinked and my weekend was over.

I’m a planner, at least I try to be most of the times. Not necessarily execute all that I planned but plan I do. My weekly meals are all well planned on Saturday. I buy all the groceries and vegetables over the weekend and chalk out a small menu on a post it and stick it onto my fridge. This way I don’t need to stress out on weekdays wondering what to cook next. I still fret around about what to cook, but that fretting is now limited to Saturdays. I also wash all my vegetables and fruits on the weekend and sometimes chop them and store them in the fridge to make my weeknights easier. With my erratic work schedule, I need all the prep I can do.

Guess what happens when the planner loses one day of prep time. She panics!!!

That’s when come out simple recipes that can be whipped up in a jiffy. And so I made this evergreen Mint Rice or Pudina Rice. I did not have to go out and buy anything. Well… at least not the hero of the dish – the Mint. I’ve spoken a lot about my little Mint patch many times before, so I won’t bore you with that once again. 

This Mint Rice requires no prep in advance at all. It also uses exactly 2 vessels – the blender or mixer and the pressure cooker. Just blend together the mint, coriander leaves, spices, ginger and garlic and cook it along with the rice and some optional vegetables in the pressure cooker. You can use your rice cooker or even a deep saucepan to make this Mint Rice.

I added potato, tomato and green peas. You can skip them or go ahead and add vegetables like green beans or broccoli. I assure you it will taste amazing. 

Mint Rice tastes great with mixed vegetable Raita or plain yoghurt.

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 upto.

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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Mint Rice | Pudina Rice | Pudina Pulao

Mint Rice is a one pot dish of rice cooked along with a mint puree, vegetables and spices.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Total time:     35 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped Mint leaves
0.5 cup chopped Coriander Leaves
0.75 cup Basmati Rice
1 Onion
1 Tomato
1 Potato
0.25 cup Green Peas
1-2 Green Chilli
1 Tbsp chopped Ginger
1 Tbsp chopped Garlic
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
0.25 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 Cloves
1" Cinnamon stick
1 Bay Leaf
0.5 Lime
3-4 tsp Oil
1.5 cups Water
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash the basmati rice until the water runs clean. Drain and keep aside.
2. Slice the onions and chop the tomato. Peel and dice the potato.
3. In a blender or mixer, blend together the mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander powder, cumin powder and juice of half a lime along with 1-2 Tbsp water to a smooth paste.
4. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon and the bay leaf.
5. Fry for 1 minute on medium heat or until fragrant.
6. Add the onions and fry until browned slightly.
7. Now add the green peas, potato and tomato and fry for 30 seconds.
8. Add the mint-coriander paste and mix well.
9. Add in the rice and mix well.
10. Add 1.25 cups of water, garam masala and salt to taste.
11. Cover and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles or 5-8 minutes after the pressure builds up.
12. Serve hot with raita.

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