Dal kichdi

We all know how to make dal. In our family, plain cooked dal is used extensively in sambar and rasam. Sometimes we make as a side dish for rotis. I have never made a one pot meal like Dal kichdi before. I came across this recipe from Sunshinemom's blog. It is the simplest and bestest comfort food.

Ingredients:
Mung dal-1/4 cup
Thur dal-1/4 cup
Salt
Turmeric-a pinch
Hing-a pinch
Rice-3/4th cup or 1 cup uncooked
Coriander leaves chopped-1 tsp

To tamper:
Oil-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Jeera-1/2 tsp
Thinly sliced garlic-1 pod
Thinly sliced onion-1/4 cup
Curry leaves- a few
Red chilli-2
Cashews-4

Method:
Cook rice and set aside.
Pressure cook both the dals together with turmeric and enough water till done.
Do the tampering till onions turn crisp and golden brown.
To the cooked rice, add salt, hing and cooked dhals. The mixture might be very thick. Add little water and bring it to desired consistency. Add the tampered ingredients and garnish with coriander leaves.

Kashmiri Pulao with a South Indian touch

I love Pineapple. I love it so much that you will find it in my fridge anytime. I grab a pineapple every time I go to Costco. They go for 3$ each which is super cheap.

This is Mrs. Chitra Viswanathan's(She posts recipes in http://www.indusladies.com. Her recipes are always a hit and I am a big fan of her)recipe. I feel it has a South Indian touch because the spice powder used here is similar to vangi bath powder. I liked it because the the taste was very mild and not overpowering. Here is how I made Kashmiri Pulao-

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice-1 cup uncooked
Salt
Onion chopped-1 cup
Peas-a handful
Oil-1 tbsp
Ghee-2 tbsp
Pineapple pieces chopped-1 cup

1. To fry in a drop of oil or ghee and grind:
cloves-4
Jeera-1tsp
Channa dhal-1 tsp
Dhaniya(Coriander seeds)-1 tsp
Red chillis-3

2. To fry in 1/2 tsp of oil and set aside:
Chopped almonds-2 tsp
Cashews-1 tsp
Raisins(I used dark colored ones)-2 tbsp or as you wish
Star anise-1
Cinnamon-1

Method:
Soak basmathi rice in water for 1/2 hour and cook till done and set aside.
In a drop of oil, fry ingredients mentioned under number 1 and grind to a fine powder.
Again, fry the ingredients mentioned under number 2 and set aside.
In remaining oil and ghee, fry chopped onions till golden brown. Add frozen peas and salt and cook for another 2 minutes.
Mix everything together(onions-peas mixture, ground powder, fried nuts and raisins) with rice adding some salt.
Finally add pineapple pieces and serve hot.

Variation:If you don't want to use South Indian spice powder mentioned under number 1, you may omit it. Instead fry green chilli and ginger garlic paste in oil/ghee along with onions- peas mixture and cook rice and saffron together. Rest of the procedure is the same. But I haven't tried it.

I was happy with the way Kashmiri Pulao turned out!




Sending this to Srivalli's Rice mela.

Spinach Carrot Pulao & Paneer Fry

One dish meal is always a life saver. Served with a simple raita, can make a very good satisfying meal. This pulao can be made in a jiffy. Not much chopping required. If you have the chopped veggies at hand, this is very simple and no grinding of masalas needed. I wanted to make a tasty one dish meal with minimum work and finally it turned out to be the way I wanted. It was very flavorful with the whole spices and crunchy while biting into the crisp carrots.

Ingredients

Chopped spinach - 2 cups Carrots chopped into small cubes - 1/2 cup Rice - 1 cup Onions sliced - 1 nos Red chilly powder - 1/4 tspn Ghee/oil - 1 tblspn saunf - 1 tspn Cardamom - 2 pods Cloves - 3 nos Cinnamom - 1" Poppy seeds - 1/2 tspn Wash and soak the rice in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes. If you are hard pressed for time, you can avoid soaking. Still it comes out well. Heat ghee/oil in a pan. Add all the spices. Roast till fragrant. Add sliced onion and suate till they turn pink. Add chopped carrots and cook till it is tender but crisp. Add chopped spinach and cook till the they wilt. Drain the rice and reserve the soaked water. Tip off the soaked rice. Saute for 5 minutes. Add salt and red chilly powder. Add the reserved water. Cover and cook in the same kadai. Stir the rice in between. Rice will be cooked in 20 minutes. You can either microwave for 25 minutes or pressure cook for 2 whistles. I have served with MW roasted papad, pan roasted paneer and cucumber raita. Cucumber Raita Grated cucumber, 3 slit green chillies, a teaspoon of jeera/cumin powder and salt is mixed to a cup of whipped curd. Garnish with some chopped coriander. Paneer fry Cubed paneer - 15 nos For marinade Hung curd - 1 tblspn Tomato sauce - 1 1/2 tblspn Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn salt Beat all the ingredients of marinade till smooth. Marinate the paneer for 30 minutes. Sprinkle few drops of oil on a tawa. Place the paneer pieces and cook on low flame. When one side is browned, flip the paneer and cook the other side too. This makes a good starter too. Spinach Carrot Pulao is going to Srivalli's Rice Mela JFI:Carrots hosted by The Cooker Sapadu Ready Event hosted by Aartee of Nalabagham