Spicy Vegetable Biryani

 

Spicy Vegetable Biryani

INGREDIENTS : 

Basmati or Seeraga Samba rice - 2 cups

Water - 3 1/2 cups

Oil - 3 tablespoons

Ghee - 2 teaspoons

Cumin - 1 teaspoon

Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Cinnamon - 2 inches long stick

Cloves - 6

Bay leaf - 1

Medium sized red onion - 4

Medium sized ripe tomatoes - 6

Ginger - 2 inches size

Garlic - 5 cloves

Coriander leaves - a small bunch ( 2 handfuls)

Green chilies - 5

Carrot - 1

French Beans - 15

Frozen peas - 1/4 cup (optional)

Sweet corn - 1/4 cup (optional)

Red chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Homemade Uttar Pradesh Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon (Check my recipe on the blog)

Mint leaves - a handful for garnish

Salt - a per liking

METHOD:

1. First, let's make the green paste. Blend ginger, garlic and coriander leaves till become a smooth paste. Keep that aside.

2. Heat a wok or pan with some oil and ghee. Add, cumin, fennel seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves. Temper them lightly. 

3. Now, tip in sliced red onion. Sauté onion till slightly golden brown. Next, add diced tomatoes and green paste that we have prepared earlier. 

4. Give a quick mix. This is followed by turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. You can cook this for 5 minutes. That's enough because it will keep cooking in the rice cooker later. 

5. Wash 2 cups of basmati or Seeraga samba rice (smaller type of basmati rice) three times in  clean water.

6. Now, add the cooked items in the pan to a rice cooker, followed by the washed rice, diced length- wise carrot, beans and optional frozen vegetables like peas and sweet corn. To this you will need 3 1/2 cups of water. 

7. Cook the biryani in the rice cooker.

8. In the middle of cooking in the rice cooker, you can add the garam masala and lavish sprinkle of mint or pudina leaves.

9. Continue to cook the rice until done. Serve this vegetable biryani with your choice of curry or raita (yogurt and cucumber salad).

Thank you

Abby 

Red Rice Puttu / Sivapu Arisi Puttu

 

INGREDIENTS for making Homemade Puttu Flour : 

Red rice - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 cup

Water

METHOD:

1. First, wash the two types of rice in a clean water three times and let it soak for an hour.

2. Then, drain the rice in a basket or colander until it has drip off the excess water.

3. Now, lay a cotton cloth or wide towel on a table and spread the drained rice on the cloth. Let it dry for 30 minutes.

4. Don't dry it under the sun, dry it on a table would be suffice. 

5. Grind the rice to fine powder.

6. After that, you need to dry roast the powder in a wok under low flame. The rice powder should release nice nutty aroma and it will be ready when it resembles like sand. Let this flour to cool completely. 

7. Last step is to sieve or sift the flour and can be stored in a air-tight container for use.

INGREDIENTS for making Puttu : (serving for 5 people)

Prepared rice flour - 2 cups

Water - as needed

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Organic brown sugar or jaggery - as needed

Cooked yellow mung bean - 4 tablespoons (optional)

METHOD:

1. Take the prepared rice in a wide bowl. Sprinkle some water that has been mixed with little salt. Mix the flour using your hand with sprinkle of water to resemble like breadcrumbs. This should not neither be wet nor dry. When you clump the flour in your hand, you should be able to press together without falling apart. That should be ready to go to the next process.

2. Heat idli pan, puttu maker by adding water to it. 

3. If using idli pan, you need to spread white cotton muslin cloth on the idli mould pan, then spread the prepared puttu flour on the cloth. Close the lid and steam it for a good 20 minutes.

4. If using puttu maker, alternate between puttu flour and freshly grated coconut forming layers of flour and coconut.

5. The steamed puttu is removed from the idli pan. You need to put this in a wide bowl. Next, mix freshly grated coconut, cooked yellow mung bean and brown sugar as per your liking and serve for breakfast. 

6. This is a healthy and nutritious South Indian Breakfast menu.

Thank you

Abby