Brussels Sprout Curry / Brussels Sprout Poriyal

Brussels Sprout is a kind of green leafy vegetable and looks like a mini cabbage. These tiny ones contain a chemical which has high anticancer properties. Its recommended to steam cook this vegetable in order to retain its nutrient values and fiber. As boiling this vegetable reduces its anti cancer compounds, its recommended to either steam cook, microwave or stir fry this vegetable. Its always challenging to introduce new vegetables in our regular cuisine. Initially, I added this tiny cabbage in our regular sambar, pappu charu. But I tried making few curries earlier. This version is the simplest one and also it retains the taste and nutrient values considerably as I adopt the steam cooking method.

Ingredients

Brussels Sprout -  Between 15 to 20 of uniform size

Oil - 3 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Hing/Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds -1 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Minna pappu - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 5 or 6

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies - 1

Green chillies - 1 slit into two.

Grated Ginger - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Pick tiny Brussels sprout of uniform size if possible. Take out the extra stems from the sprouts and trim them. Wash them thoroughly and slit the sprouts in the middle into four or five portions.  Don't cut the sprouts while making slits from the centre. Like how you make slits in a brinjal while making Brinjal Masala, you make similar slits into the sprouts too. Keep them ready.
2. In a frying pan/kadai, add Oil first. When its heated, all the other ingredients for tempering. When its done, add all the Brussels sprouts at one shot and mix them well.
3. Sprinkle few water and little salt and close the pan/kadai. Let the sprouts get cooked with the steam inside for few minutes. ( mostly 5-6 minutes)
4. Add some more salt now and fry them openly for two minutes.
5. Finally add the grated ginger, coconut flakes into the curry and serve.
6. Its definitely a healthy curry and be a good substitute for our regular cabbage curry.

Tips

Don't overcook the tiny sprouts which in turn makes the curry soggy.

Mango Kesari and Tomato Rava Bath Combo

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, I made another version of  Chow Chow Bath this morning for breakfast. This time, I made a combo of "Mango Kesari" and "Tomato Rava Bath/Upma".  Using this concept, try creating chow chow bath with different combinations of Kesari and Upma and enjoy...

My Hearty Thanks to all my dear blogger friends for visiting my food blog. Today I am happy to see that the Blog visits crossed 10000. Thank you all once again for your support.

Mango Kesari

I used a fresh Mango for making this yummy kesari. Peel the skin and take out all the mango flesh. Follow the same method of preparing regular kesari and add the mango flesh when rava starts cooking. For good flavour and colour, I added few strands of Saffron to this Kesari. Did not add food colour to this version. All other ingredients and method of preparation remains the same as normal kesari.

Tomato Rava Bhath / Upma

We love to have a tangy, spicy upma any time of the day. In this version, I just added 3 tomatoes along with some red onion, peas, green chillies and ginger. Again, the ingredients and the method remains the same as normal rava upma.

Dondakaya Masala / Kovakkai Masala / Tindora Masala

Kovakai / Dondakaya / Tindora / Ivy Gourd vegetable is widely used in Indian Cuisine. We prefer to make a simple fry using this vegetable as its a good accompaniment in any meal. But I tried to give a twist with an idea given by my friend and made a gravy " Kovakai Masala". It goes well with both chappathis/ rotis and rice. My dear blogger friends, try this masala once during parties or during the get-together in our regular party menu and I am sure you will elated with the appreciations.!!!

Ingredients

Kovakkai / Dondakaya - 15 to 20 fresh.

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - 1 Pinch

Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

For Tempering

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 stick

For the Gravy Paste

Cashew Nuts - 6 or 7 full

Khus Khus - 2 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 5 or 6

Coconut flakes - 2 tsp

Ellu / Sesame Seeds - 2 tsp

Groundnuts / Peanuts - Around 10 full

Method

1. Wash the Ivy Gourd thoroughly and slit them lengthwise and keep them ready.
2. In a frying pan / kadai, dry roast all the ingredients for making the gravy paste. Transfer them into a mixer grinder and grind them into a thick gravy paste.
3. In the same pan, add oil first. When its heated, finish the tempering process by adding all the ingredients.
4. Then, add the cut Tindora into the kadai and fry them for 2 minutes.
5. Add the turmeric powder and a pinch of sugar and sprinkle some water for the vegetable to get cooked. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the vegetable to get cooked three fourth and not fully.
6. When its done to that level, add required amount of salt and the grounded paste. Pour some water to the pan if its too thick and not in gravy consistency.
7. Mix the contents completely and allow them to cook for 5-6 minutes. Stir the masala in the middle to make sure that its not turning black at the bottom.
8. Cook for few more minutes and switch off the flame after you get the desired gravy consistency. Raw smell of the paste should be off completely and you would notice the oil getting visible on top of the gravy which indicates the completion point.
9. Switch off the flame and transfer the Ivy Gourd Masala into a serving bowl.
10. Enjoy this yummy Masala with your favourite rotis/ chappathis or white rice.

Tips / Variations

1. You can add some red chili powder if the gravy spiciness is not enough.
2. Don't overcook the vegetable in the beginning stage itself. 

Puran Poli / Bobbatlu / Poli / Bobbattu / Healthy Bobbattu

Its all always difficult to control the tongue especially during the festival days. But at least, if we try to make it little more healthier with less oil, we can have one without guilt. We try to make the Poornam Poli / Bobbattu with whole wheat flour only in our house. For Ugadi, I made Poornam Bobbatlu using wheat flour and enjoyed.

Ingredients

For the Dough

Whole Wheat Flour - 4 Cups

Maida - 1 Cup ( For easy spreading )

Salt - To Taste

Oil - 1 tbsp ( for making the dough )

Water - As required for making the dough

For the Poornam

Jaggery - 2 cups ( Depending on your taste )

Toor Dal ( Thuvaram Paruppu in Tamil / Kandi Pappu in Telugu) - 2 Cups

Channa Dal ( Kadalai Paruppu / Senaga Pappu) - 1/2 cup

Cardamom Powder - 1 tbsp

Nutmeg Powder - 1/4 tsp ( Jaathikai / Jajikai )

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 cup

Variations 

1. You can add a pinch of Kesar Yellow food colour if you want your Poli to be colourful but its  optional.
2. You can add mashed sweet potatoes 1 or 2 with the cooked dal to make it more tastier and healthier. 

Method of Preparation

1. Make a dough out of whole wheat flour, little maida , salt and oil like how you make  a dough for a normal chappathi. Keep it aside for sometime.
2. Wash the dals and cook it in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles till it becomes soft and mashy.
3. On a thick bottomed vessel, add the cooked dal, fresh coconut flakes, crushed jaggery to make the pooranam. Mix thoroughly and stir for sometime till the jaggery gets melted and form a thick paste.
4. Finally add the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, ghee to the pooranam.
5. Stir patiently on a medium heat so that it does not stick to the bottom.
6. When it comes to a texture enough to make small balls, turn the heat off and allow it to cool.
7. When you are ready to make the Poli, start making small balls of pooranam and keep it ready.
8. Make a big round chappathi using the dough, keep the pooranam in the centre and cover it fully.
9. Then slowly roll it bigger and bigger by flipping it with that maida flour. Here, the maida really helps to make the Poli in proper shape with all pooranams inside.
10. Then fry the Poli on both sides on a frying pan on medium heat with little oil.
11. This is one of our favourite sweet in our house as it consumes very less oil and good for kids as it has very good protein value too.

Tips

1. While making the Poornam, try not to add water as it might get sticky. This in turn makes it difficult to spread the Poli / Bobbattus.
2. While making the dough, try to make it in right consistency like not too loose and not too tight. Should be medium easier for us to spread the bobbattus.
3. While frying the Polis/Bobbattus in the frying pan, try not to add ghee at that stage. Store all the Polis/Bobbattus in a plate. Just before serving, add some hot ghee and enjoy. I personally feel that adding at the end makes it tastier and better.

Ugadi Festival

Ugadi Festival is celebrated by the people of Andhra Pradesh on the first day of the "Chaitra" month, which is considered to be the beginning of their New year. This festival symbolises the arrival of Spring ( Vasantha Rutu) which is the first season of the Year. On this auspicious day, people decorate their houses with mango leaves, put rangoli in front of their houses, decorate the home with many fresh flowers, clean the Pooja room and make it ready for the festival. People wear new dresses on Ugadi day and visit the temples in the evening to pray for a prosperous new year. Ugadi Bhojanam is very special on this day which starts with the Ugadi Pachidi first followed by Puliogare, Paramannam, Mango based food items, Garelu, Bobbatlu, Boorelu, etc., On this day, people generally hear the yearly "Panchangasravanam" told by priests which is the prediction for the coming year.

Ugadi Subhakankshalu to all my dear bloggers and friends.

We celebrated Ugadi at our house with both Bhakti and Bhukthi.!!! In the morning, my husband did the Ugadi Pooja elaborately and offered the Prasadams paramannam, puliohara and ugadi pachidi to God. Then, we had a typical Andhra Buffet Lunch with our guests. Our menu included :

Menu :: Kobbari Mamidikaya Pachidi, Paramannam, Alasanda Vada, White Rice, Potato Fry, Cauliflower Fry, Vankaya Masala, Mango Pappu, Puliohara, Pappu Charu, Bobbatlu, Ugadi Pachidi

1. Kobbari mamidikaya Pachidi / Coconut Mango Pachidi

2. Mamidikaya Pappu /  Mango Dal

3. Pappu Charu / Andhra Style Thin Sambar

4. Cauliflower Tomato Koora

5. Potato Fry

6. Vankaya Masala

7. Alasanda Methi Garelu / Blackeyed beans vada with methi and onion.

8. Bobbatlu

9. White rice

10. Fresh Curd

11. Appadalu, Vodiyalu...

12. Pulihara

13. Paramannam

14. Ugadi Pachidi

For Ugadi recipes, please see the links as below :

 Ugadi Pachidi
Paramannam
Andhra Puliohara
Alasanda Garelu
Bobbatlu
Mamidikaya Pappu / Mango Pappu
Vankaya Masala

Beetroot Halwa

Made this halwa due to my daughter's request. She has been an ardent fan of beetroot halwa since her childhood. Instead of grating the beetroot for the halwa which I regularly do, I steam cooked the beetroot and grinded it. This process was super quick and the halwa consistency was achieved faster than expected. As Beetroot is very healthy vegetable, this sweet item is very sutiable for kids.

Ingredients

Beetroot - 2 Big ( 4 Cup )

Sugar - Between 1 Cup and 2 cups

Cardamom Powder / Elachi Powder - 3 tsp

Cashewnuts - 1 Handful

Melted Butter / Ghee - 3 tbsp

Rose Essence - 2 Drops

Method

Peel the skin and steam cook the beetroot using a pressure cooker. Grind the beetroot using a mixer grinder and transfer it into a thick bottomed pan/ kadai. Add the sugar, cardamom powder and a drop of rose essence and stir them well.  When the consistency of the Halwa is perfect, then add the ghee to the halwa and stir them for few more minutes. After the halwa is done, transfer the halwa into a serving bowl. Decorate the halwa with ghee roasted cashew nuts on its top just before serving..

Tips/Variations

Grate the beetroot using a grater and cook them directly in the kadai/pan and try..

Karadaiyan Nombhu / Karadaiyan Nombu / Karadayan Nombu

Karadaiyan Nombhu / Savithri Vratham festival is celebrated by all married women in the state of TamilNadu. Married women generally observe fasting during this auspicious festival and pray for their husband's long life, good health and good relationship. They pray to Goddess Kamakshi on this day and offer Vella Adai ( Sweet ) and Uppu Adai ( Salt) and a cup of butter to the Goddess and finish their fasting. They tie a sacred yellow thread while chanting the mantra and even girls of all ages in the house will tie this sacred thread on this day. I started liking this festival since my childhood without knowing its significance as I liked the Prasadams very much.!!! After knowing the real purpose of doing this festival, lots of thoughts crossed my mind and many times I debate with my other self. Still I have not won the other side of myself and the war keeps going...( Sadly there is not a single festival celebrated for the wellness of the wife, her long life, etc.,by a husband or by any family members..!!). Well, I also did the pooja  and offered the prasadams to Goddess Kamakshi and prayed for my husband, parents, kids and for the whole family and thanked God for everything in life.

Happy Karadaiyan Nombu to all my dear blogger friends. 

For the Kadaiyan Nombhu recipes, click here...

Karadaiyan Nombu Adai

Dill Leaves in Brown Masoor Dal

Dill is an unique plant whose seeds and leaves are both used for seasoning in many cuisines. They are a good source of Calcium which in turn helps in reducing bone loss which occurs generally after menopause. They have good source of dietary fiber and good source of many minerals like Iron,Magnesium. They are also called as "Anti Bacterial Spice". Dill leaves are widely used in Indian Cuisine too due to its numerous health benefits. I wish to combine this healthy leaves with one of many favourite protein rich lentils and make a super healthy side dish for our Lauki / Doodhi parathas.

Masoor Dal is always one of the favorites I pick while making a Dal. There are two varieties of Masoor Dal. One is the light orangish variety and the other one is the brown colour Masoor. First one is the polished variety which takes lesser amount of time to cook whereas the latter one is unpolished and have more dietary fiber, good amount of protein and takes a little longer to cook. This time, I combined Dill leaves and Brown Masoor Dal as they both are very healthy and blend well.

Honestly, there is no leftover of  this Dal. All of us enjoyed this dal very much. Its an ultimate accompaniment for chappathis/ rotis or any type of parathas. My Dear bloggers/friends, just try to grab one bunch of Dill leaves and try this Dal once. You will love it and keep substituting Brown Masoor with your favourite Dals every time you make and enjoy...

Ingredients
Brown Masoor Dal - 1.5 Cups
Fresh Dill Leaves - 1 Bunch
Tomato - 1
Green Chillies - 2 Medium
Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
Hing - 1 Dash
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Garlic Pods - 2
Salt - To Taste
Sugar - 1 Pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Dry Red chillies - 2
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Dhana Jeera Powder ( Corainder Cumin Powder ) - 1 tsp
Melted Butter / Ghee - 1 tsp ( OPTIONAL )

Method

1. Soak the Brown Masoor Dal in warm water for 30 minutes. Take out the leaves from the Dill Bunch and chop them nicely and keep ready. Chop the tomato, green chillies, garlic pods and keep them ready.
2. Add the chopped dill leaves, brown masoor dal, green chillies, hing, turmeric powder, garlic pods along with some water in  a separate vessel.
3. Pressure cook them for 5-6 whistles as the Brown Masoor might take longer time to get cooked.
4. After its cooked to your satisfaction, mash the dal and allow the dal to cook directly.
5. Mean time, add all other powders, salt , pinch of sugar and grated ginger and cook them for 4-5 minutes.
6. Do the tempering and pour them over the dal. Just before serving, you can add a tsp of ghee or butter on top of it if its for a gathering or for kids.  

Tips / Variations

1. If you want a pasty dal, you might have to cook for few more whistles. Also, try to soak the brown masoor dal for a longer time.
2. You can substitute Brown Masoor Dal with your favourite dal variety and try..

Healthy Evening Snack - Healthy Chaat Variety - Avacado Corn Chaat

Got some fresh avocados this week and decided to utilise those before they get too mashy. As its an evening time, I made a chaat variety using the fresh avocados. It was very tasty, healthy and got over very quickly.  This chaat variety is also simpler, easier to make using fresh ingredients and a healthy choice with a cup of hot tea. As Avocados are highly nutritious and have numerous health benefits, its wiser to include them in our regular food items as much as possible. As Spring and Summer are going to visit soon, make this yummy chaat in one of your outdoor parties and enjoy...

Ingredients
Fresh Avocados - 3 Big
Sweet corn - 1/2 cup
Red Onion - 1 cup ( finely shredded or cut )
Tomato - 2 Medium ( cut into small cubes )
Roasted Groundnuts / Peanuts  - 1/2 cup
Green Chilli Paste - 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves - To Garnish ( I add generally 2 to 3 tbsp of shredded coriander leaves on top )
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - To Taste
Chaat masala powder - 1 tsp
Method

• Cut all the vegetables as desired. In a mixing bowl / vessel, add all the cut vegetables and other ingredients as mentioned above EXCEPT avocado. Mix them uniformly in all directions. Finally, just before serving add the fresh avocado pieces and mix them slightly.
• On a serving plate, put 3 servings of the Avocado chaat in each plate and garnish with coriander leaves  and serve.
• With a side of garam chai / hot tea, a healthy evening snack is going to satisfy your taste buds for sure.

Tips / Variations
If you have some boiled chickpeas / vella kondakadalai, you can add them in place of roasted peanuts/ groundnuts.
If you dont like sweet corns in your chaat, you can omit them too and substitute with tiny pieces of green capsicum / green pepper.

Multi Beans Adai / Multi Beans Crispy Dosa

Beans Adai with a side of a cup of Blueberry Kesari and Aviyal ( Vegetable Stew in coconut gravy ).

Legumes ( Beans ) are generally referred as "poor people's meat" but i prefer to call them as "healthy people's treat".  Legumes supply more amount of  Good Protein to the body and there are many varieties of legumes found in the world which are widely used in many cuisines across the world.

One of the important health benefits of  legumes ( beans ) is its rich source of cholesterol reducing fiber. It reduces the blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal so its a best choice for diabetic people.  It also protects against breast cancer. In addition to the high fiber content, beans also contain lots of antioxidants, folic acid and other vitamins.

Another important issue that stuck in our mind is the  gas problem due to the intake of Legumes / beans. Its natural for any human digestive system to produce gas ( intestinal gas ) during regular digestion. But after consuming beans, we might feel that excessive intestinal gas getting produced. In order to minimize this excessive intestinal gas, its always suggested in many health magazines to break down the fiber in Beans by mashing, grinding..etc., Also by adding good amount of ginger into the recipe, this problem could be minimised and helps in easy digestion.

Multi beans Adai is one of the food items I tried out last week. I followed the same method of making  traditional adai but substituted legumes ( Beans ) instead of lentils ( Dals / Paruppu ).  As I mentioned, ginger is always a good accompaniment for any legume based food item. So it is a good idea to make some spicy Ginger Chutney and serve this as a side for the Adais.

Ingredients

Black Eyed beans ( White Karamani ) - 1/4 cup

Rajma - 1/4 cup

Soy Beans - 1/4 cup

White Channa Dal ( White Kondakadalai ) - 1/4 cup

Red Moth - 1/4 cup

Brown Masoor Dal - 1/4 cup

White Beans ( Lima Beans ) - 1/4 cup

Green Gram ( Pesara pappu ) - 1/4 cup

Idly Rice - 1 Handful

Ginger -  1 inch square or 3 tbsp grated

Hing - 1 Dash

Dry Red chillies - 3 or 4

Salt - To Taste

Oil - Enough to fry the Adais on the kadai / Pan.

Method

• Soak all the Beans and rice in water for 4-5 hours. Then drain the water and grind them coarsely in a wet grinder along with ginger, dry red chillies.
• Add required amount of salt, dash of Hing, crushed curry leaves to the Adai Batter and leave it aside for an hour.
• Then, heat the frying pan and pour the Adai over the pan, spread them uniformly and make a round shaped Adai.
•  Add few drops of oil along the edges of the adai. Fry them till it turns golden brown in colour on both sides.
• Continue the process for the rest of the batter. Serve the crispy hot Beans Adai with a side of spicy Ginger Chutney and a small bowl of fresh curd.

Tips / Variations

You can add different varieties of legumes of your choice and try it out.

You can add finely grated red onion pieces into the batter and make some yummy Onion Adais too..

A Side of Aviyal is also a good choice for this Beans Adai.

Ragada Patties/ Ragada Pattice/Aloo Tikki Chat

Ragada Patties / Pattice also called as "Aloo Tikki Chaat" in Northern India is one of the famous Street foods in India. Its really difficult to resist a plate of Aloo Tikki Chaat with a cup of Garam Chai on a cold....windy day. More than the aloo patties, the semi gravy Ragada is my favourite. I can even have a bowl of hot spicy watery ragada without a tikki.. The Ragada serves as the main base for many chaats. Also its highly nutritious and adds more value to the Chaat. "Ragada" is a semi gravy made out of white peas / vatana along with tomatoes, onion and other spices and the "Patties" is a round shaped tikki made out of boiled potatoes. The Process of making is also simpler and its an excellent food variety and an after school snack for the kids.

Ingredients

For the Pattice/Patties/Aloo Tikki

Potatoes - 2 big or 3 medium

Multi grain bread corner ones / Brown Bread corner ones - 2

Peas - 1/4 cup

Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Dhana Jeera Powder - 1 /2 tsp

Salt - To Taste ( Less than regular as you would be soaking the tikkis with Ragada )

Oil - Enough to Fry them in a pan.

For the Ragada

Vatana / Dried White Peas - 1 Cup

Tomatoes - 2

Red Onion shredded - 1 cup

Green Chillies shredded - 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp

Pav Bhaji Powder - 1 tbsp ( Not used garam masala powder for this recipe...)

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 tbsp

Tamarind Extract / Thick Tamarind Pulp - 1/2 cup

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp ( To garnish)

Method

Ragada Preparation

1. Pressure cook the vatana/white peas for 4-5 whistles till they get cooked softly but not mashed. Drain the water and keep it aside. Take 2 tbsp of cooked vatana and mash them nicely and keep the paste ready.
2. In a cooking pan, add oil first. Add cumin seeds followed by ginger garlic paste. When the raw smell goes off, add the finely shredded onion and fry them till they turn golden brown. Add the cut tomatoes, green chillies and all powders and fry them till the tomatoes get mashy.
3. Add the tamarind extract, sugar, required amount of salt and the drained cooked vatana/white peas into the cooking pan and mix them well.
4. Add the drained water also into the pan and allow them to boil for 4-5 minutes. Finally add the mashed vatana paste and mix well.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves and keep it ready for serving.

Patties / Aloo Tikki preparation

1. Cook the potatoes in a separate vessel thoroughly. Peel the skin off and keep the mashed potatoes in a big mixing bowl.
2. Add fine cooked peas also into the bowl. Soak the bread loaf in water and squeeze the water completely. Add them into the mixing bowl.
3. To that, add all the powders, salt and mash and mix them without lumps. Make small rounds of tikki using the mashed mix and keep the rounds ready on a plate.
4. In a flat frying pan, add little oil and fry the tikki rounds to golden brown on both sides. Keep them ready for the chaat.

  

Final Ragada Patties Chaat Making

Take a plate which is slightly deeper in the center. Arrange 2 or 3 Patties / Aloo tikki in the middle.Pour 2-3 servings of hot ragada over them. Sprinkle fine cut red onions and squeeze little lemon juice on its top. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve. Likewise, make other chaat plates and enjoy the evening.

Mint Pulav/ Mint Pulao / Pudhina Pulav/ Pudina Pulav

Mint Leaves also called as "Pudina" is one of the oldest medicinal herb grown around the world. Its widely used in many range of dishes in Indian Cuisine and its an essential ingredient in many food items. Looking at its medicinal benefits, mint is the best cleanser for the entire body and blood. Crushed mint leaves whiten the teeth and fight against bad breath. Though we regularly stock atleast a bunch of Mint Leaves in the kitchen, we mostly exhaust the bunch by adding them in all of our regular food items.  This time, I exclusively got 2 additional bunches mainly to make my favorite Mint Pulao, which i had forgotten for a while. Nice Aroma was emanating from the Kitchen while making the Mint Pulao, which in turn triggered the tongue to taste it immediately...Definitely an awesome pick for any gathering, parties..

Photo Courtesy by Wiki

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 3 Cups

Mint Leaves Bunch / Pudina Bunch - 2 Big or 3 Medium

Green Chillies - 5 Big

Oil - 2 tbsp

Melted Butter or Ghee - 3 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Red Onion shredded - 1/2 cup

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Cinnamon Sticks - 2 Big

Lavang/ Cloves - 5 or 6

Marathi Moggu - 1

Bay Leaves - 4 or 5

Cardamom Seeds / Elachi - 4 or 5

Cashew Nuts - 1 Handful

Red Potato / Golden Potato cubes - 1 Cup

Method

1. Wash the Pudina leaves and make a smooth paste of Pudina and green chillies using a mixer grinder and keep them ready. Soak the Basmati Rice in water while starting the process.
2. In the big cooking pan ( I used a big non-stick pan), add ghee and oil first. When its heated, add the cinnamon stick, lavang, marathi moggu, cardamom seeds and fry them for a minute.
3. Add the ginger garlic paste next and fry them till the raw smell goes off. Next add the onions and fry them to golden brown. After that, add the grounded paste of mint leaves and green chillies to the pan and fry them for 2-3 minutes. A nice aroma would start filling the kitchen now...
4. Finally add the cashew nuts, potato cubes, bay leaves to the contents and fry them again for a minute.
5. Add 6 cups of water to the cooking pan / vessel, required amount of salt, 1/2 tsp of sugar and mix them well. Allow them to cook on  a low flame directly. When its completely cooked, the cooked mint rice would nicely come up till the rim of the vessel.
6. Switch off the flame and allow them to settle down for a while.
7. Serve this with a side of any raita and enjoy...A healthy mixed rice treat with excellent aroma for us.!!!

Tips / Variations

If its for a special party, add little more ghee and make it rich. Instead of cooking directly on the vessel, you can transfer the contents to an electric rice cooker and cook them outside too...