Let's Cook: Rice

Coriander is my the most favourite herb. In the US it is generally known by the Spanish word cilantro. Coriander leaves have an extremely pungent odour and flavour that lends itself well.

I have always been using coriander leaves to garnish most of my cooking. I was wondering if could use it in the cooking itself. I was inspired by a rice dish that I ate at my uncle's place. It was curry leaves rice. Curry leaves were ground into paste and rice was cooked with it. It was not rich but very spicy and garnished with fried peanuts.

I have used the idea of grinding coriander into paste and cook rice with it. I followed my mom's way of cooking ordinary ghee rice. I have used ghee and evaporated milk for the richness and vegetable stock to give it body.

The ratio of rice and liquid may vary from rice to rice. So, be cautious with the amount of liquid used. The ratio below is just a guide.

Coriander Rice

What do we need:

3 cups basmathi rice

Grind into paste
2 cm ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 green chilli
1 bunch coriander leaves

1 cinnamon bark
1 star anise
2 cloves
2 pods cardamom
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp ghee
salt to taste

How do we do it:

Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes. Later, drain and set aside.

Heat ghee. Fry cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom until fragrant. Pour the ground ingredients and fry until aromatic and the oil separates. In goes the rice. Fry the rice until well coated with all the ingredients. Pour in vegetable stock and milk. Season with salt to taste. Cook until the rice fluff up.

Serve hot with your favourite dishes.

Submitting this entry to:

Jihvā for Ingredients - Toor Dal

Toor dal or Thuvaram paruppu is the most popular and widely used lentil in India. This highly digestible South Indian staple has a thick gelatinous, meaty consistency. Toor dal looks very much like Chana dal but it is smaller. It has a mild and nutty flavour. With its skin on, it is greenish-brown in colour and without its skin, it is yellow.


Toor dal is usually sold and cooked skinned and split. Sometimes it is sold with an oily coating, which should be rinsed off before cooking. It takes a little longer to cook than masoor dal. Toor dal is often used in sambar, cooked as a side dish or ground into flour.

Lately, I have been craving for mutton briyani. Finally, found my way to cook it, after such a long time. I thought of cooking sambar to accompany the briyani. While preparing the ingredients, suddenly something struck me. Hey, why don't I cook both the briyani and sambar together as one meal???

Mutton and Toor Dal Briyani

What do we need:

2 cups basmati rice
1/2 kg mutton, cubed
1/4 cup toor dal
1 carrot
1 onion
1" ginger
1 bulb garlic
2 green chillies
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch mint leaves
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup milk
2 cups water
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp oil
1 bay leave
1 star anise
4 cloves
a pinch of saffron
2 tbsp cashew nuts, halved
2 tbsp sultanas
2 tbsp fried onion crisps
salt to taste

To grind:
2 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp fennel
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp poppy seed
1 tsp black pepper corns
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
3 cardamoms
3 dried chillies

How do we do it:

Marinade the mutton with half of the yoghurt, turmeric powder and salt. Set aside, preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Soak the toor dal. Wash and soak the rice. Then, drain the water and set aside.

Soak the saffron strands in the milk. Set aside.

Dry fry the spices to be ground and grind them into powder form.

Thinly slice the onion. Half the chilli lengthwise. Grind the ginger and garlic into paste.

Heat the ghee. Fry the cashew nuts and sultanas. Set aside.

Add oil to the remaining ghee. Fry star anise, bay leaf and cloves. Add ginger and garlic paste. Then, onion and chilli. Sautè until aromatic. Add the chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes turn pulpy, put in the marinated mutton. Add the ground spices, the remaining yoghurt and lime juice. Cook until the mutton is half cooked. Then, add the soaked toor dal. Cook until the mutton is well cooked. Then, put the rice and milk in. Sprinkle the chopped mint and coriander leaves. Season with salt. Cook until rice is fluffy and does not stick together.

Finally, sprinkle the fried cashew nuts, sultanas and the onion crisps. Serve hot.


This is the end product. It was wonderful. As usual, I cooked the biryani directly in rice cooker. I made sure that the toor dal does not over cook and becomes soggy. It was crunchy and just perfect. I am submitting it to JFI-Toor Dal event.

Ginger Rice

Ginger has a refreshing lemony aroma and a warm pungent taste. This rhizome has been used in cooking and baking for centuries. I incorporate ginger in almost all of my cookings.

My mom cooks excellent ginger rice. I wish to share the recipe with everyone.

Ginger Rice

What do we need:




2 cups rice
3 cups water
1 tbsp ghee or butter
1 inch ginger
1 inch cinammon stick
1 lemon grass, bruised
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
salt

How do we do it:


Wash the rice and drain. Set aside.

Julienne the ginger. Set aside.

Switch on the rice cooker. Melt the ghee or butter. Add the julienned ginger, cinnamon stick, bruised lemon grass, cloves & the cardamoms seeds. Fry until it is aromatic. Add the rice. Fry for 5 minutes. Pour in the water. Season with salt. Cook until done.

Ginger rice with Acar and Mutton Masala

Serve ginger rice warm with ur favourite curry and vegetables.

A Vegetarian Treat

Last week, I did an online chat with my brother. While chatting, asked him what did he eat for lunch. He said that he ate a super delicious vegetable briyani. It seems that there is an Indian restaurant that has opened it's new branch in my hometown and the food are very tasty. I have got to try them on my next visit back home.

Vegetable briyani has stuck in my mind ever since my brother mentioned about it. As its Friday today, the only day in a week that I practise vegetarianism, I thought of cooking the briyani for dinner tonight. Cooked it directly in the rice cooker, for convenient purpose.

Vegetable Biryani

What do we need:

The Vegetables

The Spices

2 cups rice
2 carrots
2 potatoes
10 button mushrooms
3 baby corn
1 small broccoli
1 red capsicum
1 onion
1" ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 green chilli
1 bunch coriander leaves
4 tbsp yoghurt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups water
1 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp fennel powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp poppy seed powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2" cinnamon stick
1 bay leave
1 star anise
2 cloves
3 cardamoms
a pinch of saffron
salt to taste

How do we do it:

Wash and soak the rice. Then, drain the water and set aside.

Soak the saffron strands in the milk. Set aside.

Dice the potatoes. Mix with a touch of salt. Heat oil and fry the potatoes until golden brown. Set aside.

Cut the rest of the vegetables in the same size. Marinate them with yoghurt, turmeric powder and a little salt for 10 minutes.

Slice the onion. Half the chilli lengthwise. Grind the ginger and garlic into a paste.

Heat the ghee. Fry cinnamon, star anise, bay leaf, cloves and cardamoms. Add ginger and garlic paste. Then, onion and chilli. Sautè until aromatic. Now in goes the marinated vegetables. Add all the spices. Cook for 5 minutes. Then, put the rice in. Fry for 5 minutes. Pour the milk and water. Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves. Season with salt. Cook until rice is fluffy and does not stick together.

Vegetable Briyani with Tomato Salad

Serve Vegetable Briyani hot with raita or salad.

A Complete Meal

When I´m too tired, the only food that I could think of cooking would be fried rice. It is very fast and easy to prepare yet a completely balanced meal with carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals.

I had some frozen mixed seafood in the fridge. So, made up my mind to cook fried rice using it. When cooking fried rice, never use freshly cooked hot pipping rice. This is because it will turn soggy afer being cooked again as fried rice. Always use leftover rice or cook the rice few hours ahead and let it cool completely.

Seafood Fried Rice




What do we need:

2 cups cooked rice
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup canned corn kernels
1-2 cups mixed seafood
1 tbsp, finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp, finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp chili paste or 1 tsp chili powder
2 eggs
oil
onion crisps, garnishing

Seasoning:
2 tbsp tomatoe ketchup
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
a splash of sesame oil
salt to taste

How do we do it:

Heat oil and fry ginger, garlic and chili paste until aromatic. Add the seafood and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Now, in goes the vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the rice gradually while stirring. Season and stir.

Make a hole in the middle. Pour a little oil & break the the eggs. Season it with a pinch of salt. When the eggs start to set, quickly stir the rice together with the egg thoroughly to ensure the eggs cover all the rice.



Serve seafood fried rice immediately with a sprinkle of onion crisps and few slices of cucumber.