Pudina Aloo Baath

Ingredients:

1. Pudina - one bunch

2. Ginger - 2 inch piece

3. Garlic - 3-4 cloves

4. Green chillies - 3-4

5. Coconut shredded - half cup

6. Potatoes - 3 - peeled and cut into cubes.

7. Onions - 1 - chopped fine

8. Oil - 3 tblspns

9. For seasoning - turmeric powder, fennel seeds, cinnamon 2 inch piece, cloves - 2, cardomom - 1, bay leaves -2

10. Salt - as needed.

11. Cooked basmati rice - about 2 cups

Method:

1. Grind the items mentioned 1 through 5 into a paste

2. In a kadai, pour oil, and season with items mentioned for seasoning.

3. Add onions. Saute until they are cooked.

4. Add the ground masala. Saute until the raw smell goes.

5. Add the potato cubes. Add salt. Cook until the potatoes and well-done. 

6. Add the cooked basmati rice to the cooked curry. Mix without breaking the rice.

7. Enjoy with a raita of your choice.

Tomato Pulav by Shripriya

Party menu recipe posted by Shripriya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Tomato - 2 chopped fine.

Red onion - 1 big chopped fine.

Tomato puree - half cup

Coconut milk (thick) - half cup

Cloves 2

Poppy seeds - 1 teaspoon

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 5 cloves

Red chillies - 4

Oil, Curry leaves - few springs, Cumin seeds and bay leaf for seasoning.

Salt - as needed.

Method:

Soak cloves and poppy seeds in warm water for 30-40 minutes.

Grind the soaked items and ginger, garlic, and red chillies into a paste.

Fry the basmati rice in a tbspn of oil and keep it aside.

In a kadai, pour about 2-3 tbspn of oil, then add the items mentioned for seasoning. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the chopped onion. Then add the ground paste. Fry until raw smell goes.

Then add the tomatoes and salt. Once all the water evaporates and it is a fine tomato-onion curry, add the fried basmati rice, mix it and turn off the stove.

Transfer into a pressure-cooking vessel or in the rice cooker, add the tomato puree and coconut milk and one cup of water. 2 Whistles enough in the pressure cooker.

This is the tomato pulav....or we can even call it as red pulav.

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.

Cheese Pulav

Ingredients:
Basmti Rice - 2 cups
Cheese - 100 gms (grated)
Onion - 2 nos
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Green Chillies - 4 nos
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup finely chopped

Method:
Wash and soak the rice for about 10 to 15 mins. Drain thoroughly. Fry in 1/2 tbsp of ghee and set aside. Chop the onions finely.

In a shallow pan or pressure pan, add the remaining ghee and when hot add onion, green chillies, ginger garlic paste and a pinch of salt. When the onion turns glassy, add the rice and add just 3 cups of water.

Cover with a lid leaving a little space for the steam to escape (if it is a pan) or close it with the lid of the pressure pan and let the steam escape. Let the rice cook for about 10 to 15 mins. (It will not take more than this time).

Reduce the flame, add the grated cheese and coriander leaves. Remove from flame and mix the cheese to the rice. Simple and easy to make Pulav.

Variations:
      Can add fried cashew nuts, raisins too to this pulav.

Recipe for simple Peas Pulav

Though today is Sunday, as my husband went for official meeting, kids wanted to have Pulav (husband dont take masala items normally). So made some easy pulav.

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice - 2 cups
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Green Chilly - 1 no
Peas - 1 cups
Onion Big - 2 nos
Cardamom - 2 nons
Bayleaf - 1 no
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Coriander Leaves - 1 cup (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

Method:
Soak Basmathi rice for 15 mins. Drain water and keep it aside. In a flat bottom deep pan heat 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the drained rice. Remove and let it cool. Slit the Green Chilly. Chop the onions into thin slices.

Add the remaining ghee to the pan and add cardamom, Bayleaf, Cinnamon leaves and fry them for a min. Add the onions, green chilly and ginger garlic paste. When all the ingredients are mixed together, add green peas. Add 2 and a half cup of water and salt. When it starts boiling add the rice and mix thoroughly. Cover it and keep it in medium flame.

The Pulav will get cooked in a few mins. Remove from flame and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves