Potato Jeera Rice

When it comes to packing lunch box for kids, it is always a confusion for all the mothers. But there are lots of dishes that can be made in the morning, and pack it for the kids. One such is mixed rice. Giving kids different kinds of mixed rice will keep them energetic and filling too.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Potato - 2 nos (medium size peeled and diced)
Onion - 2 nos (finely chopped)
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Green Chilly - 2 nos
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash and soak Basmati rice for 30 mins. In a pressure cooker or pressure pan, heat 2 tbsp of ghee. Fry cumin seeds. To that add slit green chilly and layer the onions. Add the potato cubes and basmati rice in layers. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt and mix. Spread the coriander leaves and mint leaves on top and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

Remove from flame, open immediately by releasing the whistle. Fluff up the rice with a fork. Transfer it to a serving bowl immediately.

Serve with any raitha of your choice. Best will be capsicum raitha. 

Tomato Rice without Garlic

Tomato rice can be done in different ways. Many dont like the taste of masalas and garlic while having this delicay. Here is a method to make tomato rice without garlic.

Ingredients:
Tomato - 1/2  kg (Red ripe, banglore vareity)
Green Chilly - 2 to 3 nos
Onion - 2 nos (medium size)
Salt to taste
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Curry Leaves - a few
Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup
Rice - 2 cups
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Bengal Gram Dal - 2 tbsp
Broken Urad dal - 2 tbsp
Asafodeita - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Method:
Pressure cook rice with 4 cups of water and spread it on a plate. Add ghee to it and mix well with the handle of a laddle so that the rice dont break.

In a pan heat oil and when it splutters add bengal gram, broken urad dal and asafodeita. Slit green chillies and add it to the pan. Chop onion finely and add it to the pan and when it turns glassy add finely chopped tomates. Mix well. Add turmeric powder, salt and mash well. Add half a cup of water, reduce the flame and cover it with a lid. Cook for about 5 mins, remove the plate and mash well so that all the tomatoes have become soft and tender and is in a semi puree form.

Remove from flame and add little by little to the rice spread in the plate and mix so that all the grains are coated with the cooked tomato paste. If needed a bit more of salt can be added after tasting it.

Vegetable Recipe Roll

Ingredients:
Cabbage - 1/4 kg
Carrot - 2 nos
Onion - 1 big
Potato - 1
Beans - 50 gms
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Green Chilly - 2 nos
salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Chappatis - 6 nos
Butter - 1/2 cup

Method:
Make soft thin chppatis. Grate carrot, cut cabbage into thn strips. Dice potatoes and beans into small cubes. Chop onions finely. Chop coriander leaves finely. Slit green chillies.

In a pan add oil and when hot add onions. When the onions turn glassy add the green chillies, vegetables and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water to it and cover and cook for about 5 mins. When the water is obsorbed completely add salt, pepper powder and garam masala and mix well. Add the chopped coriander leves to it and mix well.

In a plate place one chappati and spread 1 tbsp of butter to it. Take 2 tbsp of the vegetable masala and spread on the butter side thickly. Roll the chappatis tightly.

This makes a great lunch box recipe.

Potato Rice

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Potato - 3 Medium sized
Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 4 flakes
Green Chillies - 8 nos
Tomato - 1
Onion - 1
Ghee - 5 tbsp
Salt to taste
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom - 2 nos
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Bay leaf - 1 no
Clove - 1
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash and soak the rice for about 15 to 20 mins. Cut the onions to thin slices. Cut tomato to small cubes. Wash and peel the potatoes and cut them to small cubes. Slit the green chillies. Chop ginger and garlic into very fine pieces.

Heat  1 tbsp of ghee in a pressure pan or hard bottom pan. When hot drain the rice thoroughly and fry it in the ghee for about a min till all the grains are coated with ghee and no moisture is left in the rice. Transfer the rice to a plate and spread it and let it cool.

Heat the remaining ghee and add cardamom, cinnamon, bayleaf, clove and saute for a few seconds. Add green chillies, finely chopped onions, ginger and garlic and mix well. Saute these items till the onions turns glassy. Add the tomato and salt. Mash the tomatoes and mix well. Let the tomato get cooked thoroughly. Add the potato and peas and add 1 cup of water. Cover it with a lid and let it cook for about 5 mins till the potatoes become soft.

Add the rice to the pan and add another 1 1/2 cup of water. Mix all the ingredients together and cover it with a lid. (If it is pressure pan, it can cook till the steam comes out, no need to put weight). Wait for about 5 mins and check whether the mixture have not settled at the bottom. Mix well again and cook for another 5 mins. If the rice is not cooked well sprinkle another 1/4 cup of water.

Can be served with onion or boondhi raitha.

Tomato Pongal

Kids like variety in their lunch box and this Pongal is something which will make even those kids who dont eat tomatoes to eat it.

Ingredients:
Rice (Raw) - 2 cups
Tomato (Banglore vareity) - 6 to 8 nos depending upon the size
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 4
Ginger - 1 inch
Clove - 1 no
Bay Leaf - 1 no
Onion - 4 medium sized
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves - a few
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Cashew Nuts - 12 nos

Method:
Pressure cook rice and moong dal with 4 cups of water for almost 5 whistles.

Cut tomato into thin slices. Slit the green chillies in the middle. Cut the onion into thin lengthy slices. In a pan add half of the ghee and add bay leaf and cloves and the add onions when the onion turns glassy add the green chillies and ginger. Add the tomatoes and salt and saute them well till the tomatoes get mashed well. Add the cooked rice and moong dal and mash well. Add curry leaves and coriander leaves (chopped finely).In the remaining ghee fry the cashew nuts till they become golden colour. Add it to the cooked Pongal.

Serve hot with Sambar

Curd Rice - A must in every South Indian meal

 Many might think that making curd rice is very easy. But if not done correctly, even the curd rice could turn out bad. The rice that is cooked for the curd rice should be soft and should be mashed thoroughly. The curd used for curd rice should be unsour. 

Many variations can also be added to the plain curd rice to make it more attractive.

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups

Fresh unsour curd - 1 cup

Milk - 2 cups

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Asafodeita - a pinch

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Green Chillies - 2 nos

Curry Leaves - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Method:

Cook the rice with 6 cups of water and 1 cup of milk in pressure cooker. Atleast 5 whistles be allowed. When it is time to open, remove the rice and transfer it to a shallow bowl. Mash well with the back of a scoop laddle thoroughly. When warm add salt and the remaining 1 cup of milk and mix again. Add the curd and mix well. 

In a tadka laddle, add ghee and mustard seeds, when it splutters add the hing, green chillies. Chop the curry leaves to fine pieces and sprinkle on curd rice. Pour the tadka on top of the curry leaves. Mix well so all mixes thoroughly. Finely chop coriander leaves and decorate the curd leaves.

Recipe for Chappati Rolls

Phulkas or Chappatis - 3
Chopped vegetables - 1cup mixed (carrot, potatoes, cauliflower, beans) each. (Boil them and mix them together)
Boiled chopped spinach - 1 cup
Ginger and garlic chopped - 1/4 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 cup
Salt - To taste
Pepper - 1 pinch
Corn Flour - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1 tsp


Method :
In a shallow kadai heat butter and when it melts add ginger and garlic and stir for a while. Add vegetables and spinach. Sprinkle the corn flour on it and mix well and let it cool. Spread the veg mix in a chappati and roll it tight, cover it with aluminium foil.

A great dish for afternoon lunch or for picnic.

Recipe for Vegetable Cutlet

Ingredients:
Sandwhich Bread - 1 packet
Carrot (Shredded) - 1 Cup
Beetroot (Shredded) - 1 Cup
Beans (stringed and sliced into very small pieces) - 1 Cup
Potato (Baked and mashed) - 1 Big
Ginger Paste - 1 spoon
Salt to taste
Corn flour - 1 Cup
Ghee - 6 Tbsn

Method:
Saute Carrot, Beans and Beetroot in a pan with ghee and salt. Mix it with mashed potato. Cut the corners of the bread pieces. Sprinkle some water on the bread pieces and mash them into small pieces. Mix the bread pieces with the vegetables and make it in the shape of your choice; it could be either in square shape or round shape or in the shape of a heart. Spread the cornflour in a flat plate. Now put the shaped cutlet in the flour and make sure that both the sides are completely covered with a thin layer of the flour.

Heat a nonstick tawa (it should not get too hot), let the flame be in moderate high. Rub a little ghee and place the cutlets in the tawa. Turn the other side after some time. Both the sides should have turned sort of golden brown and should be crispy enough.

This is a great snack for kids and adults on any day. You can have it with tomato sauce or Pudhina Chutney.

Masala Idly Upma - A recipe with left over Idlies

Always we all have Idly with Chutney, Sambar or Milagaipodi. But this Idly upma is something really yummy.

Ingredients:

Idly 12 normal size

Onion -2
Green chilly - 4 or 5 medium sized

Salt to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - ½ sp.

Urad dal - 1 sp (full Urad Dal will give more taste and flavour)

Channa dal - 1 sp (Kadalai Paruppu)


Method to make Masala Idly Upma:

Cut all the idlies into small pieces.

Pour oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, make seasoning. Add chopped green chilies and cut onions. Fry well. Add cut idlies and salt. Mix well and remove from the fire. A nice tiffin is ready.

Though this is normally made with left over idlies I do make this with fresh idlies and kids like this when it is given in their lunch box.