Masala Rice

The other day, i was searching for a flavored rice and started googling, i chanced upon this masala rice at http://showmethecurry.com/. The recipe was for leftover rice, but i used freshly cooked rice and was very much pleased as the ingredients seemed very simple and adding chana masala  to rice is something i would have never thought of. Also the flavor from chana masala was a total knockout, especially when fused with the aroma of freshly cooked basmati rice. This is a quick rice dish, which you can make it in less than 10 mins. If you are using leftover rice, just reheat the rice, in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 secs, with some water sprinkled to prevent drying out.

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati Rice

1tbsp Chana masala powder

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

1tbsp Peanuts (roasted)

2 Green chillies (minced0

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2tsp Urad dal

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

5-6 Curry leaves

1 pinch Asafoetida

1tbsp + 1tsp Oil

Salt

How to:

• Pressure cook the rice along with 1tsp oil and required salt.
• Fluff it and transfer to a bowl or plate. Add the chana masala powder, mix well and keep it aside.

• Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal, cumin seeds, asafoetida, followed by turmeric powder.

• Then add curry leaves, green chillies and roasted peanuts. (If you have raw peanuts, add it before curry leaves and roast'em.)

• Now reduce the flame, add the cooked rice into the skillet, gently toss and cook until rice is all heated through. Check salt for taste.

• Switch off and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with raita or chips.

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread is eaten in Ireland as breakfast soaked in gravy. The name "soda" comes from the ingredient 'baking soda'. The bread is kneaded slightly and made into flattish-round shape. Also, a deep cut is made before baking, for the bread to stretch and expand when it rises in the oven. With no addition of yeast, this is the bread that can be made in no time. With very few and simple ingredients, you can make it  just before breakfast and serve warm. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup All Purpose Flour + some (for dusting)

1 1/4 cup Buttermilk

1/2tsp Baking Soda

1/2tsp Salt

How to:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. (You can also grease the baking sheet and dust it with flour.)
• In a big bowl, add the dry ingredients together i.e; flours along with baking soda and salt.

• Make a well at the center of the flour mixture and pour the buttermilk.

• Start kneading lightly by bringing the dry flour together, resulting a sticky dough.

• Transfer the dough on a flour-dusted surface, keep kneading until you get a round and somewhat smooth top. (If the dough is too sticky and tough to handle, add some flour and knead gently. Do not knead more than a min.)

• Gently press the dough to make it a little flatten. With a knife, make a deep cross on the dough and immediately transfer it to the baking sheet.

• Bake for 40-45 mins or until evenly browned.

• Remove the bread and insert a knife, when the knife comes out clean, its done. Let cool on a rack for 20 mins.

Slice it up and serve warm slathered with butter.

Tips:

• If you do not have buttermilk handy, you can use 1 cup milk with 2tsp lemon juice or vinegar  to make it sour. (Let the mixture rest for 10 mins before using it.)
• After baking, to get a crunchier crust, let the bread completely cool, wrap it and store. To get a softer crust, wrap it up with a clean cloth once taken out from the oven and store.
• The bread goes stale after 2-3 days at room temperature, so finish it fast. Else, wrap it tight and freeze it in a zipper bag, which you can thaw or reheat it in a oven, later.

Brinjal (Indian Eggplant) Kothsu

I had some tender brinjals lying in the fridge for more than 5 days. Thats actually weird in my kitchen, because i cook brinjals the next day i buy it and the reason is, rarely i get good tender brinjals in our Indian store nearby. And this time it was fresh and  i bought a lot to try some different dish other than usual fry and making sambar. 

When i was looking for a recipe in my old note book, i found my MIL's kothsu recipe which i had written in a small paper. I remembered the day (after my marriage) my husband asked me to prepare the dish 'just like his mom' makes. That time i was not much of a brinjal person and i didn't care to try the recipe. But now, i buy brinjals every week and i really liked the taste of kothsu.

Kothsu is kind of a dip or chutney famous in Tamilnadu. It is made with simple ingredients in a quick time. I found other kothsu recipes made with tamarind for sourness, but MIL's recipe says' tomatoes'. Maybe next time i would try it with tamarind. Alright, here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

15 tender Brinjals (bite-size pieces)

6 red Pearl onions

2 Green chilli (slit)

2 Roma Tomatoes (chopped)

1/2tsp Turmeric powder

1tbsp Sambar powder/Kuzhambu milagai podi

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2tsp Urad dal

3 Dry red chilli (broken)

5-6 Curry leaves

2 pinches Asafoetida

1 cup Water

1tbsp Oil

Salt

How to:

• In a cooker add brinjals, pearl onions, green chilli, tomatoes, turmeric powder and salt along with water and pressure cook'em for two whistles.

• Coarsely mash the cooked brinjals with a hand masher and keep aside.

• Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.

• Then add sambar powder dissolved in some water and cook for 30 secs. (Water is added to prevent the sambar powder from burning.) (Sorry, don't have the pic.)
• Now, transfer the cooked brinjal mixture into the skillet and cook for 6-8 mins at medium flame or until it starts thickening a bit. (Do not overcook the mixture or it will turn into chutney consistency.)

• Switch off and garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with idli, dosa or steamed rice.

Chow Chow (Chayote) fry

I was looking for a quick and simple dish with chayote and came across Nithu's kitchen (http://www.nithubala.com/ ) and got this recipe. She has already done some changes to the original recipe from Geetha Achal's blog (http://geethaachalrecipe.blogspot.com/). Here goes the recipe with my alterations, 

Ingredients:

1 medium Chow Chow

2 Green Chilli (chopped)

4-5 Curry leaves

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

1tsp Cumin seeds

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2tsp Urad dal

1 pinch Asafoetida

1/2tsp Black pepper powder

2tsp Oil

Salt

How to:

• Wash, peel the skin, discard the seed and dice the chayote into bite-size pieces.

• Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal, cumin seeds and asafoetida.

• Then add green chillies, followed by turmeric powder and the diced chayote.

• Add salt and saute until it starts browning slightly.
• Now add curry leaves and continue sautéing until tender and crispy.

• Switch off, sprinkle black pepper powder, mix well and let sit for a min.

Serve hot with sambar rice.