Soya Chunks Vegetable Pulao
When I was a kid my mother used to make lots of dishes with Soya chunks. And being the kind of kid who eats only non-veg and hate veggies, she used to cook with soya chunks which looks just like chicken – very tender and tastes a bit like meat. So I easily agreed to eat the soyas. And after that I started liking it. It’s been a while since I cooked anything using soya chunks. Recently I went to the Indian store and I found some Soya chunks which refreshed my childhood day memories and so I bought it. I came back and made this yummy Puloa using the soya chunks and vegetables. It came out really good. Let me know if you try it. Ingredients: Basamati rice : 11/2 cups Ghee : 2 tbsp Cooking Oil :...
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Coconut Rice
Coconut rice is one of the easiest variety rice dish in South Indian recipes. Especially it’s an most famous lunch box dish. I love all types of variety rices like lemon rice, tamarind rice, tomato rice and coconut rice. When we got married, my husband and I discovered that we had varied taste in food. But we found ourselves agreeing on one dish – “coconut rice”. So sentimentally it’s our favorite dish 🙂 . It is so easy to make when you are out of vegetables in your kitchen and wondering what to make for lunch/dinner today. Eat with some potato fry trust me it tastes too good. Ingredients: Shredded Coconut – 1 cup Cooked rice : 2 cups Mustard seeds : 1 tsp Cooking oil : 1 tbsp Urad dal : 2 tsp Channa dal : 2 tbsp...
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Sweet Pongal for Makara Shankranthi
Sweet Pongal is one of the signature dishes made on Makara Shankranthi or Pongal festival. I got to spend this Pongal with my parents after a few years and it was lovely to have hot sweet pongal served on a banana leaf. Heavenly! Pongal is the Hindu festival that follows a solar calendar and is celebrated on the fourteenth of January every year. Pongal has astronomical significance: it marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the Sun’s movement northward for a six month period. In Hinduism, Uttarayana is considered auspicious, as opposed to Dakshinaayana, or the southern movement of the sun. All important events are scheduled during this period. Makara Sankranthi refers to the event of the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn. Here is how you can make it too.. Ingredients: Raw Rice: 1cup Moong dal: 1/2...
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Godhuma Rava Briyani/Cracked Wheat Briyani
My mother used to make lot of dishes with cracked wheat. I never got a chance to make anything with cracked wheat myself. Cracked wheat is healthy and you can substitute it instead of rice. If you are in a good diet I would recommend this to eat with sambar, rasam or anything. It is good for health and is low in calories. One of my good friends, Swathika from work, gave me this idea about making briyani in cracked wheat. She had actually made briyani in Rava (Sooji). So I decided to try making Briyani in cracked wheat. Ingredients: Cracked Wheat : 2 cups Onion: 1(medium) Ginger & Garlic Paste: 2 tbsp Tomatoes: 1 Curry leaves: 5-6 Mint leaves: 1/4 cup Coriander leaves: 1/4 cup Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp Oil: 3 tbsp Bay leaves: 2 Cloves: 3 Green...
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Lemon Rice
Lemon rice is one of the popular rice dishes in South India. It is easy to make and perfect for a quick lunch or lunch box. When you make lemon rice use cooked and cooled rice. Hot rice will tend to break while mixing. You can prepare this dish as neivedhyam for any pooja or auspicious day. Serve this dish with potato chips, potato fry, papad or just any pickle. Preparation time: 15 minutes No. of servings: 2 Spice level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Lemon juice from one big lemon Cooked white rice – 2 cups Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp White lentil or Urad dal – 1 tsp Channa dal or Split gram – 1 tbsp Peanuts – 2 tbsp Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Curry leaves – 5 to 6 Green chillies...
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Tomato Rice – Thakkali Sadham
Time is passing like crazy and I apologize for my absence off late. Tomato Rice has to be one of those simplest of  variety rice dishes yet can be very fulfilling to your taste buds. It’s one of my favorite lunch box meals in my school days. This is the first year we had a little garden patch in our backyard and we got plenty of tomatoes this season. Tomato rice being like my most favorite of variety rice dishes, I made it from our own garden tomatoes. It’s actually very easy to cook too. This is my mom’s special recipe and I can’t believe I am letting the family secret out. Just kidding :-). I love sharing those secrets with you. Ingredients: Tomatoes : 2 (make it into puree) Onion : 1/2 ( Medium) Green chili : 4...
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Coriander-Peas Pulao
Coriander-Peas Pulao is a simple and tasty rice dish. I learnt it from my friend Krupa. This is a perfect dish for a quick lunch or dinner. Enjoy this recipe and let me know your comments. Preparation time: 40 minutes No. of servings: 4 Spice level: 2.5 out of 5 Ingredients I: Basmati rice – 1 and 1/2 cups Bay leaf – 1 Cardamom – 1 Fennel seeds -1 tsp Oil – 2 tbsp Ghee – 2 tbsp Green peas – 1/4 cup Chopped onion – 1/2 cup Tomato – 1 Chopped cilantro for garnishing Ingredients II: Coriander leaves – 1 and 1/2 cups 1″ Cinnamon stick – 1 Cloves – 3 Ginger – 3/4 inch Garlic cloves – 3 Coconut – 4 tbsp Green chillies (2″ size) – 2 Method of Preparation: Grind Ingredients II and make a...
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Seafood Paella (Traditional Spanish Recipe) and an Award
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish. But it tastes almost like Indian Biryani. The speciality of paella is its used to cook in a special paella pan which is a large, shallow, flat pan. From Wikipedia, Paella is a typical Valencian rice dish from Spain. The origin of the name paella is in the Valencian for frying pan. This word in turn derives from Latin patella and is akin to French poêle, Italian padella, Old Spanish padilla and New Mexican Spanish Paella. Paella is usually garnished with vegetables and meat or seafood. The three key ingredients are rice , saffron, and olive oil. An important part of the flavor comes from the addition of saffron and the sofrito, or the combination of tomatoes, and garlic (and sometimes peppers). if you are a vegan one can substitute vegetables instead of...
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Vegetable Biryani
This is a simple version of Vegetable Biryani which is served along with raitha. For a quick lunch or to serve your guests in a short notice, this is one of the best dishes. Hope you enjoy the dish. Here you go… Preparation time: 45 minutes No. of servings: 5 Spice level: 4 out of 5 Ingredients: Basmati rice – 1 and 1/2 cups Thinly sliced onions – 1.5 cups cups Tomato – 1 Vegetables – 2 cups (carrot, beans, peas, potato) Green chilly – 2 (optional) Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp Red chilly powder – 1/2 tsp Coriander powder – 2 tsp Cumin powder – 3/4 tsp Biryani masala – 2 tbsp Cinnamon – 1″ Black and green cardamom – 1 each Cloves – 4 Small bay leaves – 2 Black cumin (kala jeera) – 1/2 tsp...
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Mushroom Biryani
Mushroom Biryani is a simple and tasty dish and one of my favorite. This recipe is very easy and it is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. It is truly a delight to mushroom lovers. Ingredients-1: For masala: Cumin seeds – 1 tsp Ginger – 1/2 inch Garlic cloves – 4 Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup Mint leaves – 1/2 cup (or dried – 1/4 cup) Chilly powder – 1 tsp Green chilly – 4 (about 2″) Ingredients-2: Basmati rice – 2 cups Chopped Onion – 2 cups Tomatoes – 2 Mushroom sliced – 2 cups Cloves – 3 Cinnamon stick – 1″ Cardamom – 2 Fennel seeds – 1 tsp Bay leaves – 2 Ghee – 2 tbsp Oil – 2 tbsp Salt to taste Method of Preparation: Grind everything from ingredients-1 to a fine paste. Wash...
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Chinese Veggie Fried Rice
My husband took me to a Chinese fast food in my place. There was very less options for vegetarians and I preferred vegetable fried rice. It tasted really good and I wanted to try it from then. Today I had to do something quick and easy for lunch and I tried this fried rice and it came out really well. My husband liked it and appreciated me. This is really good for health that it has a lot of vegetables in it. Ingredients: Cold cooked rice – 4 cups Any vegetables – 3 cups (options: carrot, frozen baby peas, Green onions, cabbage, bell pepper, broccoli, bean sprouts) minced garlic – 1 tsp Hot red pepper flakes – 1/2 tsp Hot sauce – 1 tbsp (adjust to taste) Soy sauce – 1 tbsp Sesame oil – 2 tsp Vegetable oil...
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Peas Pulao
This is a another simple dish to prepare and is good for health as it has the flavor of cumin seeds and pepper. Paneer butter masala is a good combination with peas pulao. Ingredients: Basmati rice – 1 1/2 cup Onion (medium size) – 1 Green peas – 3/4 cup Green chillies -3 Ginger garlic paste – 1 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds – 1 tsp Black pepper – 1/2 tsp Cloves – 3 Cardamom – 2 Cinnamon stick – 1″ Bay leaves – 2 Cashew nut (broken) – 1/4 cup Oil – 2 tbsp Ghee – 2 tbsp Salt to taste Method of preparation: Soak the basmati rice in water for 20 mins. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Coarsely ground cardamom, cinnamon and cloves together. Add them once the cumins splutter. Add bay leaves and...
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Morkuzhambu
Morkuzhambu (Yogurt and Spiced Coconut Curry) is a popular dish in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (South India). It plays an important role in the traditional wedding menu and festivals. It can be prepared quickly and easily. Vegetables such as okra, colocasia, chayote, squash, winter melon are generally used for making this dish. Cook the vegetable accordingly before adding it to the sauce. Yogurt or buttermilk can be used to make this dish. If you want it to be thick and creamy use yogurt (2% or whole milk). For a less fat version, use low fat butter milk or yogurt. This dish is served with cooked rice and papad or thogayal (chutney). Preparation time: 30 minutes. No. of servings: 6 Spice level: 2.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Plain yogurt – 4 cups Shredded coconut – 3/4 cup (preferred fresh or frozen)...
Read MoreVegetable pulao
Ingredients: Basmati rice – 2 cups Oil – 3 tbsp Chopped carrot -1/2 cup Chopped beans – 1/2 cup Peas – 1/4 cup Green chillies – 2 Chopped Onion – 1 cup Fennel seeds – 1 tsp Cloves – 3 Bay leaf – 1 Cinnamon stick – 1″ Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp Ghee – 2 tsp Salt to taste Method: Wash and soak basmati rice for 15 mins Heat oil in a pan and add coarsely ground cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf followed by whole fennel seeds Once they splutter, add the chillies, onions, ginger garlic paste and saute Now add the vegetables and toss for a few minutes Now drain the water from the rice and add it to the above mixture and combine well Transfer the contents to a pressure cooker, add 3 1/2 cups of...
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Pongal
Ven Pongal is a popular South Indian dish made with rice and moong dal (lentils) and seasoned with spices. It is generally made for morning breakfast or dinner and served with sambar and coconut chutney or the traditional kathirikkai gothsu (eggplant chutney). It is one of the must have and must try items in the restaurant menu. Pongal Vada is the best combination to serve. It is very simple and delicious dish to make for a party or get together. There is another version of pongal which is sweet and known as Sakkarai Pongal, which is offered to the Sun God on the day of Pongal festival along with ven pongal. Ven Pongal is made with lots of ghee or clarified butter which is delicious and good to have once in a while due to calorie constraints. For those who...
Read MoreBisibela Bath
Preparation time: 50 mins No. of Servings: 4-5 Spice level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients Oil : 4 tbsp Ghee : 2 tbsp Vegetables : Carrot,Beans,Potatoes,Drumsticks,Green Peas Green chili : 3 nos(slit) Rice : 2 1/2 cups Toor dal : 3/4 cup Moong dal : 1/4 cup Onion : 1(Medium)or(pearl onions) Tomato : 2 (chopped) Curry leaves : 6 to 8 nos Red chili : 3 nos Cumin seeds : 1 tsp Mustard seeds :1 tsp Garam masala powder : 1 tbsp Turmeric powder : 1 tsp Red chili powder : 3 tsp Bisibelabath Powder : 2 tbsp Sambar powder : 1 tbsp Water :7 cups Tamarind water : 1/4 cup Cashews :5 to 6 Coriander leaves : few Method of Preparation Heat oil in a pressure cooker,add onion and fry until it turns into golden brown. Now add...
Read MoreCauliflower Rice
Preparation time: 50 mins No. of Servings: 4-5 Spice level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Rice 1½ cup Cauliflower 2 cups Cumin seeds 1 tsp Cloves 2 Green Chillies – 2 Tomato Ketchup 2 tsp Cilantro 1 tbsp (chopped) Oil Salt to taste Preparation: Cook rice and the rice should not be sticky. Separate the cauliflower into small pieces. Heat some oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, cloves and green chillies. Fry them for a minute. Add the cauliflower to the above mixture and fry until it becomes golden brown. Add salt, tomato ketchup and cilantro and mix well. Add the cooked rice, mix all the ingredients well and serve...
Read MoreBeans Pulav
Preparation time: 50 mins No. of Servings: 4-5 Spice level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Rice 1 cup Beans ½ cup Cashews 1 tbsp Raisins 1 tbsp Green Chillies 4 cilantro 2 tbsp Onions 2 (cut them into thin long pieces) Cumin ½ tsp Asafoetida powder ¼ tsp Cloves 2 Bay leaves 2 Cardamom 2 Cinnamon sticks 1 small piece Pepper 1 tbsp Ghee or Oil 3 tbsp Garam Masala ½ tsp Lime Juice 1 tbsp Water 6 cups Salt to taste Preparation: Wash rice and soak in water for 30 mins. Add a little salt to the water. Cut the beans into small pieces, boil them and keep aside In a pan, pour the oil and fry the onions. When the onions are crispy, take the onions out and keep aside. To the oil add the cashews and...
Read MoreChristmas Recipes
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