Vegetable Birnji Rice

Vegetable brinji is a rice preparation in which rice is cooked with freshly ground garam masala and coconut milk with veggies.This rice is milder than biriyani,bit spicier than pulao,a one pot meal easy to cook.Here follows the excellent recipe....

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Basmathi rice	2cups
Onion	2no.(medium size)
Tomato	3nos.(medium size)
Ginger&garlic paste	2tsp
Green chilly	5-6nos.
Carrot(diced)	2nos.
Beans	10-15nos.
Green peas(fresh or frozen)	1/2cup
Red chilly powder	1/4tsp
Coriander powder	1tsp
Coconut(grated)	4tbs
Mint leaves	1/4cup
Lemon juice	1tsp
Coriander leaves	to garnish
Cloves	5nos.
Cinnamon	2 inch piece
Fennel seeds	1+1/2tsp
Ghee	1tsp
Oil	3tbs
Salt	to taste

Method

                  Soak the basmathi rice  and keep aside,grind the cloves ,cinnamon,fennel to a powder, then add in the green chilly, mint and grind it to a fine paste.Finally grind the coconut and 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds to a fine paste separately.

Heat the pressure cooker or pan with the oil and ghee,saute the onion then ginger&garlic paste.Now add in the ground paste and saute it for a minute.Then add the tomatoes and cook it until mushy.Add the vegetables and mix it well.

Add the coconut paste,chilly powder and coriander powder and give it a stir,add the required water and let it boil.Finally add the coriander leaves and rice,cover it with the lid and cook it for two whistles in a medium flame.Open the cooker after the pressure subsides and fluff it with a fork gently.

Brinji is ready to enjoy.

Enjoy it with raitha and veg or non- veg curry.

• Potatoes can be used and added in the end(after adding the rice).
• Cashews can be added for extra richness.
• I used 11/4cups of water for one cup of rice and soaked for 20 minutes.

Sending this to Cooking with Seeds - Rice Event.

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WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY AND JOYFUL DIWALI

Hello friends wishing you all a happy and joyful Diwali.

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Madras Mixture

Madras mixture is a crunchy snack with a combination of omapodi,boondhi,fried peanuts and cashews mixed together with other flavorful spices.I make this mixture for Diwali and here follows the recipe ....

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Omapodi	3cups
Boondhi	2cups
Sev	1/2cup
Peanuts	3/4cup
Cashews	1/2cup
Pottukadalai(fried gram dhal)	1/2cup
Beaten rice(poha)	1/2cup
Curry leaves	2sprigs
Redchilly powder	1tsp
Salt	1/2tsp
Asafoetida	1/4tsp

For Omapodi and Sev

Ingredient	Quantity
Besan	2cups
Rice flour	2tbs
Butter	1tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	for frying

For Boondhi

Ingredient	Quantity
Besan	11/2cups
Rice flour	1/2cup
Cooking soda	a pinch
Salt	to taste
Oil	for frying

Method

Omapodi and Sev

                      Mix in all the ingredients except oil and make a soft and stiff dough with water.Take the murukku press with the omapodi disc and fill it with the prepared dough.

Squeeze it in the hot oil and drain it on a paper towel.Once it becomes cold crumble it to small pieces.

For the sev use the murukku disc and squeeze it in hot oil for a single layer.Break into pieces with the ladle when it is half cooked to get a crunchy and crispy sev.Once its cooked crispy drain it on the paper towel.

Boondhi

                  Mix the beasn and rice flour with a pinch of cooking soda and salt.Make a dropping consistency batter with the water.Hold the boondhi ladle on top of the hot oil and pour the batter,tap it gently.The batter will start dropping into the oil and fry it crispy.Drain it on a paper towel.Boondhi is ready.

Fry the peanuts,cashews,pottukadalai and beaten rice in the oil separately and drain it.Finally fry the curry leaves.

Now put everything together in a big wide mouth bowl,sprinkle salt,chilly powder and asafoetida.Mix it well.Yummy and flavorful Madras mixture is ready.Store it in an air tight container.

Yummy and flavorful Madras mixture is ready.

• Crushed garlic can be added for extra flavor.
• Fried corn flakes,diamond cut biscuits,Potato chips can be added for extra richness and taste.
• Instead of deep frying the peanuts and cashews,it can be fried separately in a pan with a tsp of oil.

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Kanchipuram/Kanjeevaram Idly

Kanchipuram is a place famous for temples and silk sarees.Its also popular for a nice flavorful and fluffy idlies in which crunchy cashews and spices incorporated in the idly batter and steam cooked.Originally this idly is steam cooked in thonnai(dried banana leaf cup)which gives a nice aroma to the idly. Today I steamed in a round  vessel and cut into pieces or it can be steamed in a small cups or tumblers.Here follows the recipe for tasty and flavorful Kanchipuram idly for the 7th day of Blogging Marathon.

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Idly or boiled rice	1cup
Raw rice	1cup
Urad dhal	1cup
Mustard seeds	1tsp
Cumin seeds	1tsp
Black pepper(coarsely ground)	1tsp
Cashews(broken)	1tbs
Ginger(chopped)	1tsp
Curd	1/2cup
Cooking soda	a pinch
Asafoetida	a pinch
Curry leaves	2sprigs
Oil	1tbs
Salt	to taste

Method

                   Soak the rice and dhal separately for 3-4 hours and grind it to a smooth batter.Mix in salt and allow it to ferment for atleast 6-8 hours.Heat a pan with oil and crackle the mustard seed,cumin  seeds, chopped ginger and ground pepper.Finally add in the cashews and curry leaves,turn off the stove.Add this to the fermented batter,add the curd,cooking soda and mix it well.

Grease a round,flat base vessel or a steel plate (with side rim)and fill the batter to 1 inch thickness,steam in a idly cooker for 10-15 minutes or till it gets cooked.Once it is done take out and let it cool down for 2  minutes.Remove it from the dish by invert it on top a plate and cut into wedges.

Yummy Kanchipuram Idly is ready.Serve it with sambhar,chutney or idly podi.

• Grinding the rice and dhal in the wet grinder results in soft and fluffy idly.
• A pinch of turmeric powder can be added to the batter to get a nice yellow colored idly.
• Soak the urad dhal and keep in the refrigerator and grinding it with ice cold water gives nice and fluffy batter.

Check here for the marathoners in Blogging Marathon#9.

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Kumbakonam Kadappa

Kadappa  is a famous side dish which goes very well with idly,dosa,idiyappam and is popular in temple town Kumbakonam and nearby areas.We make this for breakfast in special occasions and get togethers.Today is the 6th day of Blogging Marathon and here follows the tasty and simple Kadappa recipe....

 Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Moon dhal	1/2cup
Potato	2 (medium size)
Onion(thinly sliced)	1no.
Tomato(optional)	1no.
Green chilly	5-6nos.
Garlic(thinly sliced)	3 pods
Fennel seeds	1/4tsp
Cloves	2nos.
Cinnamon	1(small piece)
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Coriander leaves	to garnish
Salt	to taste
Lemon juice	2tsp
Oil	1tbs

To grind

Ingredient	Quantity
Coconut(grated)	5tbs
Fennel seeds	1tsp
Garlic	1pod

Method

              Pressure cook the moong dhal ,potato and cube the potato.Grind the coconut with fennel and garlic to a fine paste and keep aside.

Heat a pan with oil and season it with fennel,cloves and cinnamon.Saute the green chillies,garlic and curry leaves then onion.Once the onion becomes transparent add the tomato and cook till gets soft.

Now add the cooked dhal ,potato,salt,add a cup of water and bring it to a boil.Add in the ground coconut paste and cook it till the raw smell goes away.Finally add the lemon juice.Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Enjoy it with idly or idiyappam.

• Adding tomato is optional,original recipe doesn't have,only lemon juice for sourness.
• The original color will be pale yellow but I added a pinch of turmeric powder in the dhal.
• It becomes thick once its cool down so adjust the water to the desired consistency.

Check my friend's recipe here.

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