Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto - A first on Tasty treats!!

Today I have a new recipe for you - a Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto which is a first on Tasty treats. Read through the post to know about my interest in risotto.

After watching Hell's Kitchen for a couple of seasons, I was fixated by Gordon Ramsey's obsession with risotto and its preparation!! Having never tasted a risotto before, I was wondering why he is so particular on its texture and outcome. Anyways, it is not such a presentable dish at all, even if a five star chef prepares it, so what could be so hard in preparing the seemingly mushy rice dish!? But I just couldn't be far from wrong! I learned it the hard way, I prepared my own risotto at home, without a tried or tested recipe. The result was so good, sooooo good!! I have a new-found respect for risotto, its texture and the flavor combination that goes into it. So trust me, don't judge a book by its cover and don't judge a risotto by its looks!! I accomplished a couple of firsts - my first risotto and my first asparagus dish at home.

I found a recipe on Martha Stewart website and decided to adapt it to what I had at home. Sure, I tweaked the recipe to include some Italian seasoning, played with the proportion of ingredients a bit. The veggies I used were white button mushrooms and about 1/2 a bunch of asparagus (I guess my bunch was relatively huge). I also added a unique ingredient - a pinch of saffron- to the risotto. We are absolutely clueless about wines, so JM just grabbed a bottle of Pinot Grigio from the wine shop. I enjoyed the flavor of this particular wine, a lot. I also followed another advice on the internet - I used fresh Parmesan cheese grated just before use from a wedge of Culinary Circle Parmesan Cheese. The risotto turned so creamy and delicious as the cheese melted into the rice.

Recipe (Serves 3-4):

Arborio rice - 2 cups
White button mushrooms - 8oz, chopped into chunks
Asparagus - 3/4 bundle
Onion - 1 large, chopped
Garlic clove - 1 large, chopped

Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp

Dry white wine - 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup
Vegetable broth - 1 can

Water - 3 cans (or as needed)

Extra virgin olive oil -4 tbsp, divided
Pepper - to season
Salt - to season
Parmesan cheese (culinary circle) - 3/4 cup
Butter - 3 tbsp

Saffron - a big pinch

Method:

Wash the asparagus stems and cut the tips off from about 2" from the top. Cut the rest of the stems cross-wise into small pieces.

Boil water and salt in a saucepan and cook the asparagus stems for about 2 minutes until they are tender crisp. Drain and keep aside.

Repeat with the asparagus tips and keep aside.

In a large skillet/pan, heat about 2 tbsp olive oil.

Saute the chopped garlic and onions until translucent and soft.

Toss in the rice and saute for a minute.

Add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce until the wine has almost evaporated.

Pour vegetable broth and wait until the broth is completely absorbed.

Repeat twice more.

Add a pinch of saffron and mix well.

In another skillet, heat olive oil and add the chopped mushrooms.

Season slightly with Italian seasoning.

Make the asparagus tips crisper in the skillet and keep aside for topping the risotto.

Crisp the asparagus stems slightly in the skillet and keep aside.

Toss in 2/3 of the sauteed mushrooms into the rice.

Add more vegetable broth or water as needed.

When the rice is 3/4 cooked, add about 1/4 cup of wine and allow to be absorbed by the rice.

Once the rice is al dente (or cooked to your liking), add the cooked asparagus stems.

Season with pepper and salt as needed.

Stir in the butter and cheese and mix well until melted.

Serve the risotto hot with the reserved mushrooms and asparagus tips on top.

Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Inspired from: Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto on Martha Stewart website.

Hope you all enjoyed this delicious post. See you soon with another tasty treat!! Take a moment to check out the latest floral pictures from MN on "Through the looking glass".

Have a great day!!

Egg Biriyani & Pista Kulfi for an awesome treat!

I just dont know how fast each week passes by! Dividing my time between taking care of a 3 year old, her pre-school, JM's busy schedule and household chores, I just know that Monday (the dreaded day!!) comes by just as soon as the previous one is over! So these days, I havent done much of baking or cooking "specials", for that matter. I am inviting you to share two excellent recipes that I had tried out earlier, from two other talented bloggers. The first one is Shn's Egg Biriyani and to finish it off with a sweet note, there is Sujatha's Pista Kulfi.

This egg biriyani caught my interest the first time I came across Shn's post on the recipe. Immediately I bookmarked it in my favourites. Last year at Christmas, I decided to give this a try. Just because it was just the three of us on Christmas, I didnt feel like preparing an elaborate meal. And coincidentally I fell sick the two days before Christmas. By that time I really needed something simple. We were all happy with the egg biriyani which is actually a little more complex than the name suggests. One would expect the biriyani to be biriyani rice and masala with just hard boiled eggs. But this recipe is a bit more complex with egg omelettes and homemade masala. I was a bit overwhelmed with all the steps, probably because I was not feeling well. Anyways, try this out and you wont be disappointed.

Check out Shn's Egg Biriyani at Mishmash!

I really dont have to say how much I love desserts. When Sujatha posted this Pista Kulfi recipe, I was itching to make it as soon as possible. But since I am on a small sugar-high dessert ban, I had to be patient. The recipe remained attractive among all my bookmarked recipes. Finally a few weeks ago, I made the kulfi and it was out of the world!! I am not kidding, it was awesome! It was melt in your mouth kind which no one would be able to resist. The best part about the recipe is its simplicity and can me mixed together in minutes. JM absolutely loved it, he was willing to have it for breakfast, if I would let him! The recipe was enough for probably 12-14 kulfi-sicles but they were gone in a day! I just cant thank her enough for this delicious dessert. Dont believe me?, try it out for yourself......

Do try out Sujatha's Pista Kulfi recipe at Spicy Khazaana.

My dear friend Ivy of Kopiaste has bestowed upon me, the Adorable Blog award. I thank her immensely for remembering me while passing on the award.

I would love to pass it on to,

Asha of Foodie's Hope and Aroma

Divya Kudua of Easy Cooking

Priya of Priya's Easy N' Tasty recipes

Trupti of Recipe Center

Aquadaze of Served with Love

Soma of eCurry

Finally, dont forget that Lets go nuts: Almonds is the "happening thing"/ ongoing event on Tasty treats. Do check out the event announcement and rush in your delicious entries with almonds in them, before March 31.

Have a great day!

Chicken Biriyani

I have always been fond of biriyanis. It truly is a treat for all senses. The wonderful aroma, color and the taste of the biriyanis would beat any other rice dish, hands down! It also has cherished memories associated with it. It reminds me of my friends whom I am proud to have as friends even after these 5 years! Hmmm!! those really were the good times! I also prefer biriyanis for entertaining because if you get it right, you dont need many other sides to complete the meal. I have already posted another version of chicken biriyani (Hyderabadi dum biriyani) in which the uncooked meat is layered with rice in a pot sealed with dough and cooked over the flame until done. This technique is called a kacchi biriyani in which the meat is cooked after layering with rice. The other one is the pakki biriyani in which the meat and rice are pre-cooked before layering and allowing the flavors to mingle.

This recipe for Chicken Biriyani is one that JM's mother made when she was visiting. It is a very interesting recipe which makes use of both cooking and baking the rice - chicken mix. Addition of ground cashews and khuskhus gives richness and body to the chicken gravy. The other techniques are the ones regularly followed in biriyani recipes. Dont be alarmed by the long list of ingredients, most of them (if not all) would definitely be available in an Indian pantry. I have tried to break up the process into easy steps and I hope it helps anyone who wants to try this wonderful and flavorful dish.

For the rice:

Basmati rice - 1 lb 4 oz

Cardamom - 2

Cinnamon - 1" piece

Cloves - 3

Lime juice - as needed

Rinse the rice with water until the water runs clear.Cook the rice in a heavy pot with salt, cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves and lime juice or oil, to prevent the rice from sticking. Drain when the rice is just done (the grains should be cooked but separate and not mushy). Keep aside to cool.

Chicken marinade:

Chicken - 1 1/2 lb

Plain yoghurt - 3/4 cup

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - as needed

Cut the chicken into large chunks and marinate with youghurt, turmeric powder and salt for an hour.

To grind:

Cashewnuts - 8-12
Khuskhus - 3/4 tsp

Soak the cashewnuts and khuskhus together and grind to a fine paste. Keep aside. Alternatively, I used dry cashews and khuskhus and powdered them in a spice grinder.

For garnish:

Cashewnuts - a handful
Raisins - a handful
Onion - 1, sliced thin

Fry the cashewnuts until golden brown. Fry the raisins until they puff up. Keep them aside. Fry the sliced onions until crisp and brown. Drain on paper towels and keep aside.

For the chicken gravy:

Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Cloves - 5
Star anise - 1, broken
Fennel - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 3 1/2, sliced thin
Green chilli - 2, split lengthwise
Curry leaves - a handful (if using)
Ginger - 1" sliced
Garlic - 3 pods, sliced
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 2 small, chopped
Cilantro - 1/2 cup
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Ghee/Butter - 1 tsp, melted

Heat oil in a heavy pan.

Toss in cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and fennel and saute.

Add the sliced onions, green chillies, curry leaves (if using), ginger and garlic.

Saute until the onions are cooked and tender.

Measure the red chilly powder, turmeric powder and pepper powder and add to the onion mixture.

Add the marinated chicken to this mixture and toss to coat.

Cover and cook the chicken until half done.

Add the chopped tomatoes, cilantro and mint leaves to the chicken and cook until well done.

Now add the ground cashewnut-khuskhus mixture and mix well.

Allow to bring to a boil.

Remove from heat when the chicken is cooked all the way through with a bit of gravy.

Final assembly:

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Grease an oven-safe baking pan.

Layer the pan with chicken and gravy.

Line with a layer of rice.

Repeat the layering and finish off with a layer of rice.

Drizzle a bit of melted ghee or butter on the top.

Cover with aluminium foil and bake in an oven until the gravy is absorbed into the rice.

Open the foil when ready to serve.

Garnish with nuts, raisins and fried onions.

Enjoy hot with pickles, raita and pappad.

Tip:

I unfortunately dont remember the exact temperature at which I baked the rice, but I believe it was 300F for 20 minutes. Since the rice and chicken are cooked before layering and baking, I assure you that it wont be undercooked. the purpose of the baking is to allow the gravy to eveporate and flavor the rice.

I am sending this to the "Rice Mela" hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons. While I am at it, I am also sending a few of my previous rice posts to the mela.

Pineapple Fried Rice:
Coconut Rice:

Turkish tomato pilaf:


Lemon rice:

Click here for more of my rice dishes.

Pineapple Fried Rice : Main Course for AWED

I finally got around to making a vegetarian entry for AWED Chinese, not exactly vegetarian, but with eggs. I am happy the theme for this month is Chinese because I got the chance to explore a lot more recipes from the ever popular Chinese cuisine. This was a fun recipe to make with many of my favourite ingredients. The actual recipe had chicken and shrimp too as ingredients, but I made it AWED-ed by omitting those and keeping eggs. I really enjoyed this dish and it was our Sunday lunch. My lil one enjoyed picking out the green peas and pineapple whereas her dad cleaned out his share. The key is to fry the cooked rice without mashing it. Keep the ingredients ready so that they can be stir fried on high heat in quick succession. And when you do, you will have tasty Chinese food to enjoy! I am posting the modified recipe. (The actual recipe suggests using chicken and shrimp along with the eggs and veggies. It also mentions using a whole pineapple and then dicing its flesh). Do try this out when you would like a change from your daily menu. This way you can incorporate a lot of veggies into your main course without seeing grumpy faces. Enjoy!!

I am sending this to the AWED: Chinese (which includes - Sichuanese and Indo Chinese/ American Chinese versions) hosted by DK of Culinary Bazaar. The deadline is July 15, so hurry in your entries.

Recipe (Serves 2-3) :

Pineapple - 1 can (20 oz)
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp, divided
White pepper - a dash
Eggs - 1 medium, beaten
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp, divided
Cooked white rice - 3 cups
Light soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Button mushrooms - 1/2 cup
Frozen peas - 1/2 cup, thawed
Green onions - 2, chopped with tops

Method:

In a medium bowl, add 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper to the eggs.

Heat a wok until very hot.

Add a tablespoon of oil and tilt to coat the sides of the wok.

Add the eggs and cook until the eggs are thickened throughout, but still moist.

Remove the eggs from the wok and set aside.

Wash and dry the wok thoroughly.

Make sure all the ingredients are dry before cooking.

Reheat the wok until very hot.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp vegetable oil and tilt to coat the sides of the wok.

Add the rice and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat if the rice starts to burn.

Stir in the soy sauce and continue stirring until the rice is mixed well with the soy sauce.

Stir in the eggs, mushrooms, peas and the remaining salt.

Stir fry for 2 minutes or until the entire mixture is hot.

Stir in the pineapple and green onions.

Serve warm.

Source: Everyday Chinese Cooking by Leeann Chin and Katie Chin.

Tips:

1. I used canned pineapple rings (20 oz) and chopped it up.
2. Basmati rice was used for making the fried rice.
3. I added about 4 cups of rice for the given proportion of other ingredients.
4. I chopped up a small carrot for a splash of color and stir-fried it along with green peas and mushrooms.
5. The suggested serving in the book is to serve the fried rice in a pineapple shell.

Once again I would like to mention two awards that I received yesterday. Trupti of Recipe Center passed me the "Yum-Yum Blog" award and Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner passed me the "Friendship" award. I would like to pass these awards on to,

Sujatha of Spicy Khazana
Laavanya of Cookery Corner
Vandana Rajesh of Cooking up something nice
Easy Crafts of Simple Indian Cooking

Enjoy your awards and I hope you all enjoyed the post.

UPDATE: I am sending this to "Rice Mela" hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons.

Coconut rice

Nowadays I am trying out so much variety in rice itself, I am so happy I could find new favourites with almost every recipe variation of simple basmati rice. Being from Kerala, the land where coconut is added to anything and everything, I had to keep aloof from this tasty nut after coming to US. I had no means of grating or even breaking open the coconut, and ofcourse trips to the Indian store were almost unheard of (for us)! Blogging has brought me back to the wonderful Indian cuisine and is inspiring me to try almost everything that dont sound very complicated! These days trips to the Indian store is more frequent, but that too not at par with many others. Thankfully I had some frozen grated coconut that I got from the Indian store this week. Eventhough it wasnt nearly as tasty as fresh coconut, it did its purpose. We thoroughly enjoyed it. JM couldnt contain his hunger once he saw the rice, and lil LM wasnt far behind. I was surprised about the simplicity of the dish and if you have the cooked rice, its just a matter of minutes before you could enjoy a steaming bowl of coconut rice. Enjoy and have a great weekend!! BTW, this is my first time making or eating this! :-)

Recipe (Serves 2-3) :

Basmati rice (white) - 3 1/2 cups, cooked
Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Urad dal - 1 tsp (optional)
Curry leaves - 4-5
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Dried red chilly - 1 medium
Cashewnuts - 6 whole unsalted
Chopped cilantro - a few sprigs
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste
Groundnut or vegetable oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat oil in a skillet big enough to hold the rice.

Add the mustard seeds.

When they start to crackle, add asafoetida, urad dal, dried red chilly, curry leaves and cashewnuts.

Saute for a minute or two until the cashewnuts and urad dal are light brown.

Toss in the shredded/grated coconut and fry for a minute more.

Mix in the cooked rice and stir until mixed well and heated through.

Adjust the seasoning by adding salt as needed.

Sprinkle the chopped cilantro and mix well.

Serve hot with Indian curries.

Source: India with passion by Manju Malhi.

Tips:

1. I used frozen grated coconut after thawing.
2. We had it with curd, pickle and pappads.

Once again its award-time. Rachel of Tangerine's kitchen passed me two beautiful awards - The Yummy Blog award and the Rocking Girl Blogger award. At this time, I am dedicating and awarding these two awards to all of you - especially my fellow rocking bloggers, my lovely readers, all my friends and family who are encouraging me everyday to keep up the blog! Love ya all!! Again, wishing you all a great weekend!!

I am also sending this to EC's "Mixed Rice Varieties" event at Simple Indian Food. I am also sending this to Archana's "One Dish Meal event" at Archana's kitchen.

UPDATE: I am sending this to "Rice Mela" hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons.

Spiced Basmati Rice with Peanuts

This again is a recipe from Betty Crocker's Indian Cookbook, a recipe that I tried out and fell in love with. Eventhough the title name is explanatory, the common name I guess, is Masala baath. The cookbooks describes this as a Maharastrian speciality which again I would have to assume it is, since I am not familiar with Maharastrian cuisine. All that I know is I instantly fell in love with this rice dish and would make it again. A great way to add a spin to your routine menu! The fried rice with the crunchy peanuts and the slight spicy flavor imparted by the addition of garam masala and chilies is just what I would want out of a variety rice dish!! Try this out when you want something different in your menu! (BTW, I took the pictures :-))

Recipe:

Ghee or oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
Peanuts - 1/3 cup, dry roasted, unsalted
Fresh thai or serrano chillies - 2-3, finely chopped
Cooked basmati or long grain rice - 1 cup
Frozen green peas - 1 cup, thawed
Tomato - 1 medium, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
Cilantro - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Salt - 1 tsp
Spicy garam masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Heat the clarified butter or oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat.

Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 15-20 seconds.

Toss in the onions, peanuts and chillies.

Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is golden brown.

Add the remaining ingredients.

Stir fry 3-5 minutes or until rice, peas and tomatoes are warm.

Serve warm.

Source: Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking, Recipes by Raghavan Iyer.

Tips:

1. I used 2 cups of cooked rice for the same proportion of other ingredients.
2. One serrano is enough for two cups of rice.
3. Basic gara masala can be used instead of spicy garam masala.
4. I used cooked Basmati rice.
5. I just used a half of a tomato, omitted the cilantro since I didnt have any at that time!
   

Once again, it is time to thank two of my fellow bloggers, Shubha of Chutki Bhar Pyar (Yummy blog award) and Sireesha of Mom's recipes (Rocking Girl Blogger award) for bestowing upon me two different awards!! I am very thankful for all your kind gestures, and I thank all of my readers, again, for your support and encouragement!

I would like to pass on the Yummy blog award from Shubha and Rocking girl blogger award from Sireesha to,

Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons
Happy cook of My kitchen treasures
Rachel of Tangerine's kitchen
Pearlsofeast of Anyone can cook
Maheswari of Beyond the Usual

Enjoy your awards as each of you deserve these awards to the fullest extend!

Roopa, who conceived the Yummy blog award says "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos" The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Dont restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome:). Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers who's blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules:)

As per the rules of the Yummy Blog Award, I am stating my four favourite desserts:

Now many of you might know me well enough to know that I am more of a sweets/desserts person, and its very tough for me to choose four. So I am giving just a general idea,

1. Icecreams (almost any flavor except for mint)
2. Gulab jamun
3. Cakes (any flavor, but not too much of icing!)
4. Chocolates (like toblerone, bounty, ferrero rocher and good old dairymilk!)

Hope you all had a great weekend. Good day to all!!

I am sending this to the "Mixed rice varieties" event at EC's Simple Indian Food. Its also off to Archana's "One Dish Meal event" at Archana's kitchen.

Turkish tomato pilaf (domatesli pilav)

This is another one of those recipes that I got to try just because of an event in the blogsphere - AWED, the brainchild of DK of Culinary Bazaar. I chose to make this pilaf because it seemed very simple with uncomplicated steps, and simple ingredients.I dont know if the method of preparation is different from Indian tomato rice because I am not an expert in that area - other than an expert in enjoying tomato rice, I dont know how it is made. This is an excellent recipe to make when you are time-pressed but would like some change from routine menu. I was very happy with the results because it was really tasty, the highlight of the flavor being that the rice is cooked in a broth rather than water. It really was super tasty!! It had the tangy flavor of the tomato, but also the wonderful flavor of the broth and they both blended really well. I enjoyed it a lot and so did my little girl. Throw in a few fried cashewnuts and the pilaf is elevated to another level! It goes really well with yoghurt based sauces like cucumber-mint raita or plain yoghurt as such. Off it goes to AWED - Middle Eastern Cuisine over to Siri's corner. Tomato lovers need not fret, this is the recipe for you (and others too ;-)) ! Enjoy!!

Recipe (Makes 6 servings) :

Tomatoes - diced, 1 can (15 oz), drained and liquid reserved

Onion - 1 small, chopped (3/4 cup)

Vegetable oil/ Butter - 2 tbsp/ 2-4 tbsp

Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped

Long grain rice - 1 1/2 cups

Vegetable broth - 3 cups

Salt - to taste

Ground pepper - as needed

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp oil or butter in a heavy saucepan.

Add onion to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until soft but not brown.

Now add the garlic, tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Heat until sizzling.

Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thick, crushing large tomato chunks with the spoon.

Mix in the rice over medium-low heat until coated with the tomato mixture.

Fry for 2 minutes, stirring.

Add the broth, liquid from the diced tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Stir once or twice and bring to a boil.

Cover and simmer over very low heat for 18-20 minutes or until the rice is just tender.

Adjust seasonings.

Let pilaf stand, covered for 10 minutes.

Fluff the rice lightly with fork.

Serve warm with kababs, stews and or with mint-cucumber raita.

Source: Feast from the Mideast by Faye Levy.

Tips:

1. Chicken broth can be used instead of vegetable broth or a combination of broth and water can be used.
2. The cookbook hints that this pilaf goes very well with kababs and stews.
3. I used basmati rice for the recipe.

I am also sending this to the "Mixed rice varieties" event at EC's Simple Indian Food blog.

UPDATE: I am sending this to "Rice Mela" hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons.

Lemon rice and a friendly feud !

Lemon rice was not made at home frequently so it was kind of a rare treat for me. Until now, I was not that into creating variety in the preparation of rice at home. But one of my friends prepares a wide variety of food whenever I go over to her place. She has introduced me to a lot of authentic dishes of Tamilians. She inspired me to try out the wide variety of recipes especially the ones for the rice! When I saw this recipe in a cookbook, I just couldnt stop myself from giving it a try, with such appealing ingredients like lemon juice and nuts and the mellow yellow color. I also like the occasional crunch from the split peas and cashews, I added a bit of peanuts to heighten the pleasure! Hey hey, I am still talking about lemon rice! This was my first time with lemon rice, and I am happy that I tried it, because I looooved it!! I would definitely make this again.

Picture 2:

JM and I had a little disagreement on the presentation of the lemon rice. So I thought it would be fun to conduct a poll here. I am keeping the poll un-biased, so I am not revealing our individual preferences. Please vote for your favourite set of photos (upper left corner of the blog). Set 1 (photos 1 & 3) are the pictures of lemon rice in the bowls, and set 2 (pics 2 & 4) includes the ones in the platter. It would be great if you all would let me know of your choice! Its a win-win situation anyways, its either me or him! Not a great battle, just a healthy polling feud :-). Have a great weekend!!

Picture 3:

Recipe:

Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cups, uncooked
Water - 3 cups
Bengal gram or split yellow peas - 1 tsp
Split raw cashews - 1 tbsp
Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Black mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - 10 ( I didnt have any)
Ginger - minced, 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - minced, 1/2 tsp
Dried red chillies - 2-3, broken into pieces
White lentils (urad dal) - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 3 tbsp
Salt - as needed
Water - 1 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves - for garnish

Method:

Boil the washed rice in water until the grains are just tender.

Drain thoroughly and set aside.

Dry roast the bengal gram, cashewnuts and peanuts in a skillet for 2-3 minutes until lightly toasted.

Set aside.

Heat the oil in the skillet, and stir-fry the mustard seeds until it begins to pop.

Add the ginger, chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves, bengal gram, cashews, peanuts, lentils and turmeric.

Continue to stir-fry and then add the lemon juice, salt and water ( 1 tbsp).

Allow it to simmer for a few minutes.

Toss in the rice and heat through.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with pappadums, pickle and raita.

Source: Authentic Recipes from India by Brinder Narula.

Picture 4:

Tips:

1. Since I like the lentils in them so much, I added 1 tbsp of bengal gram, 1 tbsp cashews and 1 tbsp of peanuts. Adjust to your taste.
2. I usually put salt while cooking the rice, so I didnt add any extra salt in the end. Test the saltiness before adding extra.
3. I used 3 cups of cooked basmati rice (dont know if it is equivalent to 1 1/2 cups of uncooked rice).

Dont forget to vote for the pictures. You have until midnight on Monday-June 2 to vote. Thanks!

I am sending this medley to the "Mixed Rice Varieties" event at Easy Craft's Simple Indian Food. EC is always coming up with interesting events, I just wouldnt miss participating in them!

UPDATE: I am sending this to "Rice Mela" hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons.

Kashmiri pulao & Chicken Kababs

Hope you all are having a good time during the long weekend! We hadn't planned anything special for the long weekend and as usual JM is busy with work at home! So I decided to do a post on Kashmiri pulao that I made a few days earlier.

I had been meaning to make Kashmiri pulao for sometime. I've never had it before, but somehow the idea of fruits and nuts mixed-in with rice sounded apppealing. As I am readily open to sampling new dishes now, I did not think twice about preparing it the other day, when I got a chance. A foodie event looming on the horizon also helped me zero in on a recipe! I found this great recipe for Kashmiri pulao on Archana's blog spicyana. It is a beautiful blog with good recipes and great pictures! Check out her blog for the recipe. I used a brand of basmati rice which was new to me. So I was not familiar with its cooking time, hence it does not look as good as Archana's pulao or so I feel. I did not have any green cherries for the green color, so overall the rice is kind of orange-ish. I basically used dried apricots, fresh apples, raisins and red cherries. I actually used the drained left-over red cherry pie filling from my black forest cake. I also used cashews and almonds and just a few pistachios for green color. My li'l one also liked the "apricot rice".

Since it has both dried fruits and nuts, I am sending this recipe to "Waiter There's Something In My... Dried Fruit and Nuts" event hosted by Andrew of Spittoon.

We had it with raita and pan fried chicken kababs. I want to bring your attention to this wonderful recipe for chicken kababs that I had posted on my blog earlier on. It is simply superb!! It has been such a success at my house, I get requests for those kababs at home, very often now. It is inargueably one of the best and tastiest dishes I have ever made!! Please do try it out, it is fantastic. It is a very simple recipe with chicken and some basic ingredients like onions, ginger, garlic, chillies, tandoori masala, coriander leaves and yoghurt. Check out the recipe here. Dont forget to let me know if you liked it or not! Cheers !

Tips:

1. Try to find candied green and red cherries for variety in color.
2. I made the pulao in a regular pan and not in the pressure cooker. I had to add about 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups of water for cooking the rice. Since the cooking times of different varieties of basmati vary, use discretion while adding water.
3. I didn't add saffron or rose water and for cream, I used half-n-half.

Hope these tips help! Memorial day wishes to all of you!!

I am also sending this to the "Mixed rice varieties" event at EC's Simple Indian Food.