My 150th Post, Risotto with Mozzarella and an Award

I am very happy to be here right now with these many posts and i would like to thank all my blogger friends who had constantly contributed their support with their comments and sharing of awards. Also, i thank my hubby 'Senthil', who is also my food critic, for his never-ending encouragement which kept me going.  

My friend who had recently visited Italy, bought me this Risotto Mediterraneo, knowing my fondness towards Italian dishes. Thanks to her, i made a wonderful meal thats full of flavor and it eventually puts a smile with even more cheese.

Risotto is an Italian dish of rice cooked in any(chicken or veg) broth to a creamy consistency. The mix had extra fine Camroli rice and dried ingredients like olives, bell peppers, tomato, zucchini, aubergine, carrot and parsley. Its being cooked with the stock slowly added to the rice while it is stirred constantly. This way the rice releases its starch resulting in a creamy texture. I would say the main ingredient to make a perfect risotto would be 'patience'. Yep, it holds you for the whole cooking time and its totally worth it. So, say Cheese and have fun with risotto.

Ingredients:

1 cup Risotto Mediterraneo Mix / Any Risotto rice

3 cups Chicken broth (low sodium)

1/2 Yellow onion (chopped)

3-4 Garlic pods (minced)

1 1/2tbsp Tomato-Basil sauce (optional)

1tsp Crushed Pepper

2 Large Basil Leaves (Chiffonade)

2-3 Sun dried tomatoes (chopped)

1/4 cup or more Mozzarella Cheese (grated)

2tbsp Olive Oil

Salt

How to:

• Heat the chicken broth and let it simmer at low heat.

• Heat oil in a skillet at medium heat, add onions,saute for a couple of mins or until tender, then add garlic and saute until raw smell disappears.

• Now add the rice and toast it for a couple of mins, stirring continuously, so as to coat each grain of rice with olive oil. (Careful not to brown'em.)

• Add the tomato-basil sauce along with 1/2 a cup of chicken broth and cook with lid closed until the liquid is absorbed by the rice.

• Slowly add 1/2 cup at a time and cook the rice. Do not pour the broth if the rice hasn't absorbed all the previous liquid thats already cooking.
• Add salt and adjust to your taste, as the broth and sauce has already salt in them.
• Also, if you are out of broth, substitute it with hot water. (Pouring warm or cold water while cooking may slow down the cooking and make the rice hard.

• Pour more or less liquid and taste as you cook until the rice is 'al dente'.
• Then add the crushed pepper and sun dried tomatoes, mix well and cook for another min.

• Now switch off, add the basil chiffonade followed by mozzarella cheese and gently fold in. (Actually, i added more cheese just before serving.)

•  Serve hot with roasted asparagus.

Also, am very happy to receive this award from Shoba's Food Maaza. I recently started following her and found a wonderful collection of recipes. Do visit her, if you already haven't.

Thanks again Shoba.