Fried Rice with Veggies and Tofu

                                                                            Fried Rice

 I've always wanted to make the perfect fried rice, and one of the main things you need for that is cold, cooked rice. I usually don't have any leftover rice, so could never make it instantly. So I made the rice a day ahead of time, a first for me. I have used half brown rice and half Sona Masoori Rice. You can use any kind of rice, as long as you cook the grains separate. I mixed both the rices, and used 1:2 water ratio. I cooked it in a pressure cooker and after taking the rice out, let it cool in a tray for an hour and then put it in a container and put it in the fridge.

Fried Rice for 4 to 5 

Rice 1 and 1/2 Cups (Half Brown and Half Sona Masoori)
Tofu - 14oz  (Drained and cut in to square pieces)
Potato - 1 Large cut in to Strips
Cabbage - Cut in thin Strips
Red Bell Pepper -  Cut in thin Strips
Carrots -  Cut in thin Strips
Spring Onion - 1 Bunch (Cut in pieces, but reserve the top half separately for garnish)
Garlic - 7 to 8 Cloves Chopped in little pieces

Prep Work

 Oil - 5 Teaspoons
Soy Sauce - 2 Tablespoons
Ketchup - 2 Teaspoons
Black Pepper  1 Teaspoon (roasted and ground)
Salt to taste

Steps

---> (Medium flame)In a Pan, add 1 Tsp oil, and spread it evenly on the pan. Add the tofu pieces and sprinkle a bit of salt on them, and cook  them till they turn slightly brown.

Get all your items ready and be prepared to be at the stove for the next 12 to 15 minutes, for stirring the veggies, without leaving its side. Also you have to add a bit of salt each time you add every vegetable.
These times are given for the measurements given above, if you want to double the ingredients to feed a larger crowd, please remember to give the items a little extra time so all the veggies can cook perfectly.

---> In a thick bottomed pan, (Medium High Flame) Add the rest of the oil, add the garlic, roast them till they turn a little brown, add the spring onions, fry them for about 2 mins, add the potatoes, fry for about 3 to 4 mins, keep stirring, add the cabbage, and give it for about 3 mins, and then add the carrots and the bell pepper, and stir, and dont foget to add the salt each time you add a vegetable.

---> Check the veggies to see if they have cooked, especially the potato, and the rest can be a bit crunchy.

----> Once you have made sure the veggies have cooked, switch of the stove, and add the rice. When you add the rice, add by hand and kind of try to make the grains separate. They might be a little squishy since it was kept in the fridge. Add the Tofu, Black Pepper Powder, the soy sauce, the ketchup and salt for the rice.

----> Mix the rice, tofu, veggies and the sauces together. And start the stove again, and on a medium flame close the pan and let the items bled together for about 3 to 5 mins.

---> Garnish with the top half of the chopped Spring onions and serve.

Arisi Upma --- Broken Rice Upma

This is almost the same as Upma Kozhukattai

You can follow the recipe until you add water to the ingredients and then continue to cook it until it cooks fully. My mom would keep the stove on a low fire and let it roast underneath to create a crisp layer. It is called an adai, not to be confused with the other adai (lentil dosa). I had this for lunch with some Rasathu Vandal, another Awesome Combination.

Subz Biryani

Would you believe it if I said that I hadn't heard about or tasted biryani till I was about 15? I grew up in an orthodox tamil (Iyer) brahmin household...... In our cuisine the main spices we use are Cumin, Coriander, Black Pepper and Red Chillies and at the most Cardamom for Sweets....

So, when I had the first whiff of this dish, my instinct was to throw up :)

This dish has actually wooed me a long time, before I succumbed to it....

I agree this is not the best Biryani ever, BUT, it is a foolproof recipe and comes out well every time..

The Best Biriyani I have had is made by my friend Suhasini.... I will get her recipe and post it on this blog ...

This recipe was taken from a NITA MEHTA Book called Mughlai Cuisine....

This recipe serves 5-6

Here is the Recipe

Paste

6-7 Flakes Garlic

1" piece Ginger

1 Tbsp Saunf (Ani Seeds)

1 Tsp Jeera (Cumin Seeds)

3 Red Chillies

1 Tsp Dhania Powder (Coriander Powder)

1 Stick Dalchini (Cinnamon)

3-4 Laung (Cloves)

3-4 Saboot Kali Mirch (Pepper Corns)

Seeds of 2 Moti Elaichi (Brown Cardamoms)

Other Ingredients

2 Cups Basmati Rice - Soaked for 1 Hour

1-2 Carrots - Cut Diagonally in to slices

1 Small Cauliflower - Cut into Big Flakes

8-10 French Beans - Cut into 1"long Diagonal Pieces

2 Small Potatoes - Cut into fours

2 Onions - Sliced Finely

1/2 cup Oil

3 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Bay Leaf

Method

--->Soak Rice for 1 Hour.

---> Grind the ingredients of the paste together with a little water.

--->Heat Oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add Onions, Cook till golden brown.

---> Add the vegetables and stir fry 3-4 minutes.

---> Add the paste and the Bay Leaf

---> Measure 4 cups of water and add to vegetables.

---> Add Salt and Lemon Juice

---> When Water boils, drain the soaked rice and add to the water.

---> Put a tawa under the pan of rice to reduce the hear further.

---> Cover the pan of rice with a small towel or naplin and then with a well fitting lid. Keep some heavy weight on the lid

---> Slow down the fire and cook till the rice is done (10- 15 minutes).

---> Serve after 10 minutes

NOTES

I used a handi pressure cooker so did not do the tawa under the pan etc, i just reduced the flame to a very low level and continued to cook it.

It Tasted excellent, an easy one pot meal , I served it with some Cucumber Raita...

Bisi Bela Bath

I got this recipe from my husband's friend, Anil Parthasarathy's Mom, Mrs Padma Anandan. I think of her, when I make this. It turns out very well. I made this for a potluck party.

At this time, I must say i dont like to use the frozen mixed vegetable bag for this or for any other indian dish, be it avial or undhiu or Biriyani. I think it is a crime....

It really takes away all the taste that is intended for it.

Also I always use the REAL tamarind in all of my recipes, but if you like you may substitute it but the taste will not be awesome...

The ratio of Rice to dal is 1 is to 3/4th cup.

You Need

Rice (Jasmine or Long Grain or Ponni Raw or Sona Masoori) 1 Cup (I used Ponni )

Tuvar Dal (Split Pigeon Peas ) 3/4th Cup

Ghee 1/3rd cup

Oil (Indian Sesame Oil) 4 tablespoons

Turmeric Powder 1 Teaspoon

Sambar Powder - 1 Teaspoon

Salt - 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon

Tamarind - 1 American lime size

Water - 6 cups

Mustard seeds - 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon

Curry Leaves to garnish - about 4 strands

Vegetables

Turnip - 1 Medium Peeled and Cubed

Bell pepper Green - 1 Large Deseeded and Cubed

Tomatoes - 4 Medium Cubed

Chayote - 2 peeled, deseeded and Cubed

Indian Eggplants - 2 Large cubed

Carrots - 3 cubed

Masala

Coriander Seeds 1/3 Cup

Dry Red Chillies - 1 handful (more if you need it spicier and less if not, also depends on the spicyness of the chili)

Split Channa Dal - 4 tablespoons

Urad Dal - 2 Tablespoons

Method

---> Wash the Rice and dal together.

---> Soak the Tamarind in 1 cup warm water.

---> Start getting all the vegetables ready, i e, peel, cubed etc.

---> After about 20 minutes, squeeze the tamarind well and take out all the juice.

---> In a pan, add half the oil and ghee, and keep on medium fire, saute all the vegetables together

---> Once the vegetables are half cooked move everything to a pressure cooker

---> Add the washed rice and dal to this and then add the remaining4 and 1/2 cups of water

---> Add the sambar powder, salt and turmeric powder

---> While it comes to a boil, simultanousely start dry roasting all the masala stuff

---> Once the coriander seeds is well roasted, (you will be able to smell it) , make a fine paste, you can add 1/2 cup water to this and make a really good thick paste.

---> By now, the stuff in the pressure cooker will start to have a slow boil, add this masala to that and again wait for another slow boil

---> Close the cooker and put the wight on it and give it about 2 whistles, at the third whistle, make the fire to a low and after 5 minutes switch it off

---> Once the pressure goes down, add the remaining oil and ghee to a pan and on a medium flame, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves to it. Once the mustard seeds start to sputter, pour this over the bisibela, and enjoy it HOT ....

Since this really is a one pot meal, you can just have it or make some raita with it or have it with chips.

this measure will easily feed upto 6 hungry people! :)

I forgot to add this yesterday!

You can use shallots or onions also for this.

Taste it and see if the tamarind taste is ok, otherwise, you may add 1/2 teaspoon of tamarind paste to it, this really depends if the real tamarind is old or new.

Also, when you add the water, make sure your cooker is big enough so this wont boil over, there should some space in between.

And then, once the pressure is down, transfer the contents to another vessel, because there will be some stuck to the cooker. Be careful, not to scrape otherwise the bisi bela will taste burnt.

And then, last but not least, Keep it covered intil you eat otherwise it crusts up and form a hard covering on it.

Pongal (Rice And Lentil Grits) and Spinach Sambar (Spinach with Split Pigeon Peas)

This is one of the most easiest and tastiest meals to make, and also very healthy for you!

Pongal is kind of like Grits, although in North India they make something similar (not the exact recipe) and call it Khichdi.

I always make it in this Vengala Paanai (Bronze Pot in Tamil). The inside of this is coated with Eeyam. This is my mother's pot and the Pongal or anything made in this tastes exceptional. This also retains heat very well and cooks faster.

My Pongal links on Instagram-

Pongal with Gothsu - https://www.instagram.com/p/5CT4gwOWWl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

At a south indian wedding - https://www.instagram.com/p/3nKQjVOWSD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Alright lets come to the recipe

Pongal

The rice used to make this has to be raw rice. I use sona masoori rice to make this, you want the pongal to be soft and the grains shouldnt be noticeable after its cooked.

The measure of Rice to Mung Lentil is 1 is to 3/4th proportion. you may use more or less lentils, how ever you like.

Rice 1 Cup

Split Skinned Mung Bean 3/4th Cup

Cumin Whole (Coarsely ground) 2 to 3 Teaspoons

Black Pepper (coarsely ground) 2 Teaspoons 

Cashewnuts Sliced - a handful

Ghee - 3 tablespoons

Water - 4 to 5 Cups

Salt - 2 teaspoons

Method

---> Wash the rice and the lentils and put in the vessel you are going to make and add about 4 cups of water, add the salt and half of the cumins and let it come to aboil, keep stirring it with a wooden spoon so it does not boil over

--->after the rice is about 3/4ths cooked, check to see if the water is enough and add the extra water if needed

---> In a small kadai, add half of the ghee and let it get hot, when it is hot, add the rest of the cumin and all of the black pepper, and pout it in to the the pongal vessel and return the kadai back to the stove

--->add the rest of the ghee to the kadai and add the sliced cashews, and roast it till it gets light brown, be careful not to burn the cashews

--->Pour it over the Pongal and by now the water should all be gone. Check if the rice and the mung bean is cooked, test by taking a spoon of it and put on plate and smash with your finger lightly, it should get smashed, then it means it is done.

The other option is to make this in a pressure cooker, in that case, add all the water, rice and mung dal together in the cooker, add salt and let it come to 3 whistles. after pressure comes down you can do the tempering and garnish.

Serve hot with Sambar or Chutney or Gothsu!!

Spinach Sambar

This is even more easier than any other sambar, Just follow the same recipe as my Shallot sambar, only use a half pound of frozen spinach and boil in the tamarind water, along with the spices mentioned in the other recipe....

you don't even have to thaw it, just plop it tn the water and do your thing!

I have added a handful of soaked black chick peas to the sambar.

P.S.(I always soak a lot of chick peas once every two weeks and drain the water and store in a Ziploc in the freezer and throw some in my Sambar, or Dal to get the extra protein. If i want to add it to my salad, I just put some in the pressure cooker with some salt and water, and when it is done drain the water and add the water to my Dal or rasam and just the chickpeas to my salad)


Scaling this for a party

NOTE: The one thing about pongal is when you make it for a large group, and plan to serve it after 5 hrs, it ill go bad if you follow the same ratio above. Any dish made of Mung Dal will usually go bad if not served immediately cooking it.

So in temples when they make pongal for prasadams, you will notice that they have very less of mug dal in it. This is the reason.
Also since mung dal tends to stick after its cooked, it makes the whole pongal like a brick as time goes by and it gets worse if it gets cold.

But in case you want to make this for a party, and make it ahead of time, you can by reducing the amount of moong dal in pongal.


When you make pongal, if its the main dish then you need to count the following recipe for about 15 to 20 generous servings.
If you are making it along with idli then the following recipe will yield about 30 servings.
Either way, if you have an idea of the guests appetite, scale it accordingly.

For 15 to 20 generous servings / 30 servings if you are serving with another dish - Standard half a tray

Double the recipe for a full Tray of Pongal

Rice 4 Cups

Split Skinned Mung Bean 1 Cup 

Cumin Whole 6  to 7 Teaspoons (Coarsely ground) 2 to 3 Teaspoons

Black Pepper Whole (coarsely ground) 5 Teaspoons

Cashewnuts Sliced - 3/4 cup

Ghee- 3/4 cup to 1 cup

Water - 16  to  20Cups

Salt -  2 tablespoons (Depends on the taste)

the more ghee you add, the longer this will stay fresh. Try and keep this in a crock pot so it will be warm so the ghee or the mug dal doesn't solidify.

Pulikaichal (Tamarind Rice Mix)

This is the paste with which you can make Tamarind Rice. You get ready mix in all the Indian stores for this too, but all of them have some jaggery added in them which makes them sweet!
You can make this paste and store it either outside, at room temperature, or inside the fridge.
This is also like Milagu Kuzhambu, but has Tamarind as the main ingredient.
In temples, they offer this as prasadam, and it just tastes out of this world!
This can be used to mix with hot rice, if you are feeling too tired to cook anything.

This will not become thick if made with Tamarind Paste, so for Best Results, use real Tamarind.

Here is what you need:
Oil - 1/4 cup (preferably Gingelly or Indian sesame oil)
Tamarind - 1/4 cup full soaked in 3 cups of warm water (atleast for Half an hour)
Salt- 1 Teaspoon (more or less as needed)
Mustard Seeds - 3/4th Teaspoon
Red Chillies - 20 (more or less as needed)
Channa Dal - 2 Teaspoons (more or less as needed)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry Leaves - 2 Strands
If you like peanuts, then you can add them instead of the Channa Dal, use raw, unroasted peanuts;
If you like Whole Black Chick peas, (remember to soak it the night before and add them instead of the Channa Dal)

Method:
--->Grind half of the red chillies in your mixer, to make a coarse powder.
--->Take the juice out of the tamarind, and keep aside.
--->In a thick bottomed pan, on a low- medium fire, add the oil, and the mustard seeds.
--->Once they sputter, add the Channa Dal (or Peanuts, or Chick Peas)
--->Once they start to become red, add the curry leaves, Red Chillies, and the Red Chili Powder, curry leaves, Turmeric powder, and asafoetida, one by one, mixing after adding each item.
--->Once everything is added, pour the tamarind water sl0wly, be careful, as it may scald your hand.
--->Add the salt and let it all come to a boil (let the fire be on a low medium only)
--->Keep it on fore for aout 1 and 1/2 hours to 2 hours until the mixture becomes thick, and the oil is seperated.
--->Let cool completely before transferring to a dry container and store as you wish.


I have made Tamarind Sevai, here.



As Suganya suggested, I'll send it to JFI- Jihva for Tamarind. To know more about Jihva, please click here. Thanks Suganya!

Bell Pepper Jeera Rice (Bell Pepper Cumin Rice)

I did not want to miss the Bell Pepper JFI event hosted by Pooja of My Creative Ideas.

I have made Bell Pepper Jeera Rice.

You Need

Bell Pepper - 4 (Cut in Strips)

Oil - 4 Teaspoons

Ghee or Butter- 2 Teaspoons

Rice- 1 and 1/2 cups

Salt - To tase

(For Dry Roasting, 2 Teaspoons Jeera and 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper)

Method

----> Dry Roast the Jeera and Pepper and make a fine powder.

---->Cook the Rice with less water and let cool.

----> In a Kadai, add the oil, and then add the Bell Pepper Strips, and Saute

---->Once they start to curl, lower the heat and add the powder and the rice, and salt

---->Add the Ghee and mix Well

---->Serve Hot!