Usha's Recipes

Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice

¾ cup carrots, thinly sliced

¼ cup green beans finely chopped

¼ cup capsicum, thinly sliced

¼ cup green peas (frozen)

¼ tsp white pepper powder

Salt to taste

Ajinomoto (optional)

½ tsp vinegar

2-3 green onions finely chopped

1½ tbsp oil

Procedure:

·         Wash rice and cook with 2 cups of water in a cooking vessel or rice cooker.

·         Spread the boiled rice in a platter and cool down.

·         Heat oil in a wok, add carrots, beans, capsicum, peas, salt and stir fry for 3-5 minutes on high heat.

·         Add white pepper powder, ajinomoto and combine. Add rice (completely cooled) and combine well to mix with the remaining ingredients.

·         Add vinegar and adjust salt accordingly and toss the contents well for 2 minutes and remove from heat.

·         Garnish with green onions and serve hot.

Vegetable Biryani 

                            Vegetable Biryani

                vegetable biryani served with onion raita 

Ingredients: 

For Rice:

2 cups basmati rice

1 tbsp of oil

2 cloves

½ tsp shahjeera

1” cinnamon stick

For Vegetable mixture:

1 big carrot – cut into big pieces

2 medium sized potatoes – peeled and cut into big pieces

2 cups cauliflower florets – cut into big florets

½ cup beans – cut into long pieces

½ cup capsicum slices (optional)

1/2 cup matar (frozen green peas)

1 big onion finely chopped

1 big tomato chopped

5 green chilies chopped

1 cup mint leaves tightly packed

1 cup coriander leaves tightly packed

1 cup yogurt (curd)

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp oil

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp shahjeera (black cumin seeds)

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 cloves

1” cinnamon stick

2 cardamom pods

2 bay leaves

10-15 cashews and almonds chopped

¼ tsp of saffron

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp coriander seeds

½ tbsp cumin seeds

1” cinnamon stick

4 cloves

3 cardamom pods

2 dry red chilies

·         Soak saffron in lukewarm milk for at least 20 minutes.

·         Wash and soak the basmati rice for about 30 minutes.

·         For cooking rice: Bring 8 cups water to rolling boil and add cloves, cinnamon stick, shahjeera, salt, oil, drained soaked rice.

·         Start timer and make sure turn off flame after 6 minutes, check once before turning off, rice should be 80 % cooked.

·         Immediately drain the water with help of colander and spread the rice in a platter.

·         For masala: Dry Roast masala ingredients and blend them to fine powder

·         Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide open pan and add shahjeera, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves saute for a minute.

·         Add onions, ginger garlic and chilies fry until onion become soft,

·         Add all the vegetables (carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, capsicum, tomatoes), salt, turmeric, half of dry masala powder, ½ cup mint leaves, ½ cup coriander leaves and saute for 3-4 minutes.

·         Now add half a cup of water mix well and cook covered for 8-10 minutes. Vegetables should be half cooked.

·         Now add half cup of beaten yogurt to the vegetables and mix well and let the vegetable cook in yogurt for 3-4 minutes and turn off the flame.

·         Divide vegetable and rice in to 2 or 3 equal parts. I prefer 3 layers so divided in to 3 parts.

·         Spread 1 tsp of oil in a cooking vessel (coat sides and bottom) and add 1 portion of vegetable, a tbsp of curd and spread like a layer.

·         Now spread 1 portion of rice on top of vegetable layer.

·         Again spread 2nd portion of vegetable and yogurt on the rice and sprinkle some salt, dry masala, chopped nuts, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Then add 2nd layer of rice and the same procedure for the 3rd layer also.

·         The top layer is rice; spread some mint and coriander leaves on top of the rice.

·         Sprinkle saffron milk on the top and cover the vessel with lid. If you don’t have saffron, use orange food coloring. Of course it’s not a substitute for the saffron's aroma but at least can get the color to food.

·         Now Take a wide open pan or skillet and pour half a cup of water and place the Biryani vessel in to the pan. Cook like this for about 40 minutes on low flame. This is the secret of avoiding Biryani getting burnt on the bottom and stuck to the vessel.

·         After turning off heat, transfer the biryani to a serving bowl and mix once or twice without getting rice broken.

·         Serve hot with onion raita or your favorite gravy.

Note: Do not use wooden ladle for mixing, wood tends to absorb saffron flavor easily.

Chakra Pongal 

Ingredients: 

1 cup Rice

1/4 cup moong dal (pesara pappu)

1 cup powdered jaggery

5 cardamom pods

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp ghee

12-15 cashew nuts

10 raisins

10 coconut pieces (fresh or dried)

4 1/2 cups water (3 1/2 for rice, 1 for jaggery syrup)

·         Dry roast moong dal in a pan until the color starts to change.

·         Cook rice and moong dal with 3 1/2 cups of water in a pressure cooker or on a stove top.

·         Mean while, roast cashews, raisins and coconut pieces in 2 tbsp ghee and keep it aside.

·         Mix cardamom pods with sugar and ground to make fine powder.

·         Add jaggery and a cup of water to a thick bottomed vessel or non-stick pan and stir until jaggery melts.

·         Boil the syrup for 4-5 minutes on medium flame and turn-off heat and let it cool for a bit.

·         Now add the boiled rice and dal to the jaggery syrup, mix well with a strong ladle on medium flame.

·         Add the remaining ghee, sugar-cardamom powder and combine well.

·         Turn-off heat and let it sit for 5 minutes so that rice absorbs the sweetness.

·         Garnish with cashews, raisins coconut pieces and serve warm.