Bisibela Bath

Ingredients:

Birinjal or Egg plant - 1/4 kg
Carrots - 2
Small onions - 10 or Big onion 1
Tomatoes - 2
Tamarind - 1 small lime size
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt as required
Ghee - 2 tablespoons

For masala powder:

Split channa dhal - 1/2 teasppon
Urad Dhal - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chillies - 6
Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 2 sticks
Cardamon - 2
Sherreded coconut - 2 teaspoon

Method:

• Combine Rice and Toor dhal and pressure cook it with 4 cups of water, turmeric powder and salt to taste.
• Meanwhile fry all the ingredients in the "For the masala powder" list in a medium heat and grind to a fine powder.
• Soak the tamarind in hot water for 10 mins and extract the tamarind juice.
• Heat ghee in a frying pan and add cashews and fry for a minute then add lengthwise sliced onions and fry until onion turns brown.
• Now add the brinjals or diced eggplant and fry well. Add tomatoes and boiled carrots and fry until oil oozes out.
  
• Add the tamarind juice and masala powder and cook for 5 minutes until u get a good thick gravy.
• Open the pressure cooker and smash the rice slightly.
• Add the vegetable gravy and mix well with rice.

Serve Bisibela bath with Pappad and Coconut chutney.

Spiced Rice with Green Peas Masala

Ingredients For Spiced Rice:

Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 4 cups
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon ghee
1 medium red onion chopped
3 tablespoons cashews
3 tablespoon sultanas
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ghee, extra

Method:

1. Rinse the rice well and keep it aside. Bring the 4 cups of water to boil and add salt and lemon juice.
2. Add the rice and when the water returns to boil turn down heat and simmer for 18 minutes until rice is just tender.
3. Drain the rice and rince with warm water and set aside
4. Heat the ghee in a large frying pan.
5. Add Mustard, Fennel and cumin seeds allow it to splutter.
6. Add the onion and cook until transparent. Add cashews and sultanas and fry for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Add turmeric powder and drained rice. Toss gently to combine.
8. Rice is ready to be served.

Ingredients for Green Peas Masala:

1. Frozen Peas - 1 cup
2. Onion - 2
3. Tomatoes - 2
4. Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
5. Green chillies - 2
6. Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
7. Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
9. Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon
10. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
11. Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon
12. Coconut powder - 3 tablespoon
13. Coriander leaves - 2 sprigs

Method:

1. Slice the onions and tomatoes finely. Keep the peas in oven for 2 minutes and bring to room temperature.
2. Heat oil or butter in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and when cumin seeds splutter add onions and fry for 3 minutes until it turns light brown.
3. Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste and fry until thw raw smells oozes out.
4. Add the tomatoes and fry it until oil separates out and you get a saucy consistency.
5. Add all the masala powders from item 7 - 11 and fry for 2 minutes.
   
6. Add green peas, coconut powder and 100 ml water.
7. Cover and cook until done.
8. Add chopped coriander leaves and serve with spiced rice.
   

Beetroot or Carrot Rice

Ingredients:

• Carrot or Beet root - 3
• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Briyani Leaves - 2
• Ghee - 3 tablespoons
• Onions - 2

To powder:

1. Coriander Seeds - 2 teaspoons
2. Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon
3. Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
4. Urad Dhal - 1 teaspoon
5. Split yellow Channa dhal - 1 teaspoon
6. Cloves - 3
7. Cinnamon - 2cm stick
8. Cardamon - 2
   
9. Curry Leaves - 1 sprig or 10
   
10. Sherrded coconut - 2 tablespoons
11. Red Chillies - 6 (as required)
    

Method:

• Cook the basmati rice with 4 cups of water, required salt and keep it aside.
  
• In a dry pan first fry coriander seeds on medium heat for 5 mins
• After that add the items in "To powder" from 2 - 11 one after the other and fry for another 5 mins on low heat or when the mixture turns light brown color.
• When the mixture cools down grind it to smooth powder
• You can prepare the powder in excess quantity and can store in air-tight container in freezer for a month or so.
• Shred the Carrot or Beetroot and keep it aside.
• In a pan heat 3 tablespoons of ghee and add the briyani leaves.
• Add lengthwise cut onions and fry until onion is light brown in color.
• Add the shredded vegetable, salt required for vegetable(as rice already has salt in it) and fry for 2 mins.
• Reduce the heat, cover and cook until the vegetable is cooked. Don't add water any water.
• When beetroot or carrot is done add 2 tablespoons of grinded masala powder and mix well.
• Add the cooked rice and stir in. If required add more masala powder as per your spice needs.

Quick Egg Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked and Cooled Basmati Rice - 2 cups ( Rice should not be sticky)
Onions - 2 large
Tomatoes - 2 large
Green Chillies - 4 or 5
Curry Leaves - 2 sticks
Fennel seeds - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Chicken Masala - 1 teaspoon (optional)
Eggs - 2 or 3
Coriander leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

• Cut Onions, tomatoes and green chillies lengthwise.
• Heat 4 tablespoons of oil and add the fennel seeds, the fennel seeds will splutter and the oil will be fully flavored with fennel seeds.
• Now add the onions and green chillies fry till onions become light brown in color and add curry leaves and tomatoes.
• Fry the tomatoes till you get a paste consistency add chicken masala if required, salt to taste and fry for a minute.
• Add 1 or 2 eggs and fry the egg to 3/4 cooked and add the cooled basmati rice and fry in medium heat.
• when the rice absorbs all the ingredients add one more egg and give a stir and leave it for 2 mins.
• Garnish with coriander leaves

Easy lunch box recipe, different alternate for the normal tomato rice.

Tips:

Another variation would be instead of using tomato and chicken masala use turmeric powder and pepper.

Puliyotharai

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 2 cups
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Turmeric powder - half teaspoon
Hing - little bit
Curry Leaves - 2 sticks
Gingelly oil or Sesame oil - 50 ml
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Split Channa Dhal - 2 tespoons
Peanuts - 4 teaspoons
Cane sugar - half teaspoon
Red chillies - 2

To powder:

Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon
Sesame seeds - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - half teaspoon
Peppercorns - half teaspoon
Red Chillies - 6
Shredded Coconut - 3 teaspoons
Fenugreek seeds - half teaspoon

Method:

• Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice.
• In a dry pan fry the "To powder" ingredients on a medium heat for 5 mins until the spice smell oozes out.
• Grind the ingredients coarsely and keep it aside.
  
• In the same pan add the gingelly oil and add the mustard seeds.
• When mustard seeds splitters add the Channa dhal and peanut and fry until the dhal turns light brown.
• Add the curry leaves, red chillies and hing.
• Now add the tamarind juice, cane sugar, turmeric powder, salt and leave it to cook until all the water is absorbed and you get a thick gravy(oil floats on side).
• Now add the grinded powder and cook for 2 more mins.
• After the tamarind gravy cools down a bit add the cooked rice and mix well.

Tips:

• Prepare the tamarind gravy 6-8 hours earlier and mix it with cooked rice when you want to serve. Tamarind gravy gets added flavor when kept for a long time before you eat.
• Rice should be cooled down and separate, should not be sticky.
  

Coriander Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Cinnamon - 2 medium sized sticks
Cloves - 4
Bay Leaves - 2
Onions - 2
Tomato - 1
Ghee - 50 gm
Cashews - 10
Green Chillies - 2

To Grind:

• Coriander Leaves - 2 bunches
• Sherreded Coconut - half cup
• Garlic - 4 pods
• Split Channa Dhal - 1 teaspoons
• Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Green Chillies - 4

Ingredients:

• Cook the basmati rice and allow it to cool.
  
• Wash the coriander leaves and cut into small pieces, avoid using big stems.
• In a frying pan add 2 teaspoons of oil and fry the split channa dhal, coconut, garlic, green chillies and fennel seeds.
• When the coconut gets light brown in color remove from heat and grind all the fried ingredients to powder.
• In the same pan fry the coriander leaves for 2 mins and grind it along with the coconut mixture adding little water.
• In a frying pan add ghee, cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves and cashews and fry for a minute.
• Cut the onions and 2 green chillies lengthwise and fry it to light brown in color and add the tomato.
  
• After the tomato is cooked add the grinded coriander paste and fry until the raw smell oozes out and ghee separates. The gravy should be thick.
  
• Add the cooked basmati rice and mix well.
• Serve Coriander Rice hot with riata and pappad
  

Cauliflower Briyani

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Cauliflower - 2 cups
• Yogurt - 2 spoons
• Onions - 2
• Tomatoes - 2
  
• Coriander powder - 2 teaspoons
• Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder - half teaspoon
  
• Green Chillies - 4
• ginger garlic (finely diced) - 2 teaspoons
• lemon juice - 2 spoons
  
• Cinnamon - 2 sticks
• Cardamon - 2
• Cloves - 6
• Bay leaves - 2
  
• Coriander leaves, Curry leaves and Mint leaves
• Ghee - 3 tablespoons

Method:

• Wash and soak basmati rice in 4 cups of water.
• Dice the cauliflower and put in salted warm water and keep it aside.
• Heat a pan and add ghee, cardamon, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and fry for 30 seconds and add the onions and fry until light brown in color.
  
• Add green chillies, finely diced ginger and garlic and fry until the raw smell oozes out.
• Add tomatoes and curry leaves and fry for 2 mins.
• Add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and fry for a minute.
• Add the cauliflower, lemon juice and curd and cook for 3-4 mins until the cauliflower is coated well in the masala.
• Add finely chopped coriander and Mint leaves and mix into the gravy.
  
• Transfer the rice and cauliflower gravy into rice cooker and add required salt and cook.
• Serve Cauliflower Briyani with raita and pappad.
  

Vegetable Briyani

Ingredients:

Mixed Vegetables - 2 cups (Carrots, Peas, Beans, Cauliflower, Potato)
Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Onions (Cut lengthwise) - 2 medium sized
Tomatoes - 1 large
Coriander powder - 2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Bay Leaves - 2
Cinanmon - 2 sticks
Cloves - 3
Elachi - 2
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Ghee - half cup
Salt to taste

To Grind:

• Coriander Leaves - half bunch
• Mint Leaves - half bunch
• Ginger - small piece
• Garlic - 5 pods
• Cinnamon - 2 sticks
• Cloves - 5
• Green Chillies - 3

Method:

• Wash the basmati rice and soak in 3 1/2 cups of water
  
• Grind the "To Grind" ingredients to a smooth paste.
• Cut the vegetables into medium sized pieces
• Use a frying pan if you are going to cook the Briyani in Rice cooker or you can do the following procedure in pressure cooker.
• Add the ghee, Cinnamon, Cloves, Elachi and Bay leaves and fry for a minute
  
• Add the onions and fry until they turn light brown in color and add the tomatoes.
• When ghee separates out of the tomatoes add the grinded paste and fry until the raw smell oozes out.
• Add Coriander powder, Chili powder and turmeric powder and mix well.
• Now add the vegetables, fry for a minute so that the spices blend well with the vegetables.
• Add the coconut milk and salt as required. When the mixture comes to a boil add it to the rice(along with the soaked water) and switch on the rice cooker.
• If doing in a pressure cooker add the rice and soaked water and put the lid on. After 3 whistles, reduce the heat and put the pressure cooker over a Dosa Tava or pan. This prevents rice getting burnt.

Tip:

• Fry some diced bread pieces in ghee and decorate the briyani.
• Raita is the best side dish for briyani.
• Chili Gobi will also go along well. Refer to my chili chicken recipe in which chicken can be substituted with Cauliflower.