Quick and Easy Vegetable Briyani

Quick and Easy Vegetable Pulao with Pomegranate Raita

2nd Friday Aadhi Velli Menu of the day

Naivedyam was Arisi Paruppu Payasam @ Rice Kheer @ Rice Dhall Payasam and Paruppu Vada

For lunch one pot dish @ Vegetable Pulao with pomegranate raita and pappad

Ingredients
3 cups of basmathi rice - soak for 30mins
4 cups of water
1 small carrot - cubed
1 cup of cauliflower - cut
1/2 half of capsicum - cube - I used yellow to add some colours to my briyani
6-8 beans - chopped
1 big white onion
1 big tomato
3-4 green chilly
1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tbs of coarsely chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tbs of fennel powder
1/2 tbs of cumin powder
salt to taste
1 lime juice
more coriander leaves -for garnishing

Spices for pulao
1 small cinnamon
2-3 cloves
2-3 green cardamon
2-star anise
1/2 tsp  cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds


Method

1.  Wash and soak basmathi rice for 30mins. Later drain the rice, safe the water for later.
2.  Cut all the vegetables to cube size.  Set aside
3.  In a thick bottomed pot,( I used pressure cooker), heat some ghee
4.  Once hot, add the spices and fry till aromatic.
5.  Next add in the onions and fry till soft.  Add in the ginger garlic paste, tomato, curry leaves and coriander leaves, stir well for a few more mins
6.  Add in the vegetables, mix well and let it cook for 2-3 more minutes.
7.  Add in both fennel and cumin powders, mix well and cook for 2-3 mins.
8.  Add in the drained rice, stir well, pour in the water, salt to season, lime juice, mix well and cook.


Enjoy

Kushka

Kushka ||குஸ்கா

Kushka is a simple yet flavourful rice dish. It's briyani dish without using any meat. and a South Indian speciality.  Within this they are a few variants of cooking, some one with water only, some a combo of coconut milk or milk with water and some with chicken/meat stock.

This is a lunch meal that goes well together with kurma and raita.  For this kushka I paired it with bhindi ka salan and pomegranate raita.

I used basmathi. I also used the rice cooker to the rice instead of a pressure cooker. Lets look at the ingredients.

Note : 1 cup of basmathi rice liquid to be at 1.5 cups.


Kushka

Ingredients

3 cups of basmathi - washed and soaked for 20mins. and drain
4.5 cups of water
2 red onion - slice finely
5-6 green chilly - slit into 2
1 big tomato - chopped finely
2 medium sized bay leave
2 small stick of cinnamon
2 star anise
3 cardamon
3 cloves
1 tsp fennel seeds
1tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 cup of yogurt - whisked
4 tbs of ghee
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of chilly powder
1/2 tsp of garam masala
a handful of mint leaves
a handful coriander leaves - chopped coarsely

Garnishing - Mint leaves and fried onion.

Method

1.  In a pot heat ghee. Add in bay leave, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamon, cloves and fennel seeds.  Fry for a few minutes till aromatic.

2.  Add in sliced onions.  Saute with a little salt till soft and brown.  Add in the ginger garlic paste, fry till raw smell is gone.

3.  Add in chilly and all the powders and cook till mix well, stir for a few more minutes.  Add half of the mint and coriander leaves. Mix well and add in tomato.  Cook till the tomato is homogeneous and well mix into a combined paste.

4.  Add in yogurt and mixed well.  Stir in rice, stir well add in water and salt to taste, top up with the balance of coriander leaves and mint leaves and cook till it is done.

Serve with some home made fried onion and mint leaves.  Serve hot.

Curry Mee

I made Curry Mee or Curry Noodle for breakfast gathering with my girlfriends on Mother's Day.  I used yellow noodle for this.  You can use flat rice noodle or known as keow teow or even rice vermicelli aka mee hoon/bee hoon

Wikipedia's explanation - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_Mee
 

Tau pok is fried bean curd - see pictured.  See explanation from http://www.malaysianfood.net/glossaryT.htm

Tau Pok

Deep-Fat Fried Tofu, Fried Bean Curd

Chinese for a Deep-Fried Tofu. This fried tofu, usually in the form of 2 inch cubes, is often sold readymade packaged in plastic bags. It is chewier in texture, 'puff' like, and floats when first put in soups or noodle soup dishes e.g. Penang Curry Mee [Penang Curry Noodles].

Picture Courtesy of Rasa Malaysia

Picture Courtesy of Mr Google

Curry Mee
Serving 3-4pax

Ingredients
500gm of noodle (or rice noodle
2tbs heaps of chili paste (http://sathiaraniskitchen.blogspot.qa/2015/05/the-making-of-basic-ground-chilly-paste.html)
3tbs heaps of chicken curry powder
1tsp of turmeric powder
a handful of curry leaves
1-2 medium size lemongrass stalk - crushed lightly
5-6 springs of mint leaves only
400ml coconut cream/milk
200ml of water
150gms of chicken meat - I used chicken thigh only flesh - cut into small pieces
10 fish balls - halved
6-8  tau pok - halved
salt to taste
prawns -optional

For Garnishing
few sprigs of mint leaves
boiled egg - half
bean sprouts - blanched in hot water - I had omitted this as I ran out of bean sprouts
spring onion


Method

1. Heat pot with some oil.
2. Once oil is hot, add in chilli paste
3. Fry the paste till the oil separates.
4. Once the oil splits, add in curry leaves and mint leaves (halved) lemongrass, turmeric and curry powder, stir well, with the chilli paste.
5. Add 2 - 3tbs of water to the curry paste ensuring that they do not burnt. Keep mixing till the oil splits.
6. Add your chicken pieces to mixture, mix well and stir for a few minutes.
7. Add 20ml water and let it come to one boil.
8. Add coconut milk, salt and mix well, reducing fire to slow and allow coconut to come to slow boil.
9. Add the fish ball, tau pok and prawns (if using) allow it to simmer further for several minutes, making sure the coconut milk do not split. Keep on warm before serving.
10. For serving - In a bowl, place an amount of noodle, bean sprouts, egg and pour the curry (this should be steaming hot), together with the chicken meat, fish ball and tau pok pieces and garnish with spring onions and mint leaves.
11. Serve hot.

Enjoy

Sathiarani