Black-eyed Peas Pulao

Winter this year has been what winter should be - cold snowy and white !! Not that I am a huge fan of winter but there is something a little unsettling about those 60F non snowy days like we had last year during the peak winter months. And on cold wintry nights the thought of piping hot food on the table is very comforting and warms us from the inside.

So here is an easy one pot meal for cold winter nights - extremely flavorful that will make you momentarily forget the below zero temperatures outside :-) Just what the doctor ordered !!

Notes:

• I have used black-eyed peas but any kind of beans (pinto, kidney beans, garbanzo beans etc) works great. 
• Cilantro/green chillies combination is the major flavor that gives the kick to this dish, so feel free to adjust the quantity as per your taste. Mint can be substituted for cilantro or a mint/cilantro combination will work great. 
• Serve this with a cooling cucumber raita (cucumber yogurt dip, recipe included) to balance the spices.

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice (soak in 3 cups of salted water for 30 min)
1/2 cup Black-eyed peas (cooked al dente or canned will work fine as well)
1/2 cup mixed vegetables, diced (carrots, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower florets)

1 small onion (red or cooking onions), finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (Jeera)
6 nos. whole cloves
3-4 Cardamom pods
1 Bay leaf
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
11/2 cup water
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

Grind to Paste
1/4 cup cilantro
2-3 serrano chillies (adjust to taste)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 inch ginger, peeled

Method

1. Heat oil in a saute pan on medium heat, add cumin. cloves, cardamom and bay leaf. Let it splutter. 
2. Now add the onion and saute until the onions are turn light brown. 
3. Add the cilantro/chilli/garlic paste. Saute for a few minutes until the raw smell disappears. 
4. Add the mixed vegetables, stir and allow it to cook for a 2-3 minutes. 
5. Drain the rice and add it to the above mixture. Now add the black-eyed peas. Stir until well mixed. Add salt to taste.

Stove-top method -

1. If you plan to continue cooking on the stove top, pour the water and coconut milk to the above mixture. 
2. Bring it to a rolling boil, reduce heat to low. And cover the pan tightly. 
3. Let it cook for 15 - 18 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Check once around 12 minutes to see if the rice is done and if necessary can add another 1/4 cup water.
4. Turn the heat off. And let it rest for 5-10 minutes before opening the lid.

Microwave method -

1. After step 5, transfer the contents in to a microwave safe bowl. 
2. Pour the liquids (water and coconut milk) to the above mixture. Stir once and cook it in the microwave for 15 - 18 minutes.
3. Check once around 12 minutes to see if the rice is done and if necessary can add another 1/4 cup water. 

Fluff with a fork and serve hot with cucumber raita.

Cucumber Raita - Mix 1/2 cup greek or regular yogurt with 1 shredded cucumber, 1 finely chopped green chillies. Add 2 tsp of finely powdered roasted peanuts (optional). Season with salt.

Enjoy !!

A Taco Dinner - Black Bean Spinach stuffed Tacos with Cilantro Lime Rice

I love Mexican food and this is one type of cuisine I instantly fell in love with when I first came to the US. Mexican cuisine is very close to Indian cooking what with the use of multiple spices and beans. This was the only food I could identify with then and could really enjoy. But over the years my taste buds have certainly evolved with exposure to so many different cuisines. In the past 10 years I have come to love my pastas, burgers/veggie patties, pitas/falafels yet my love for Mexican cuisine remains unchanged. I do like eating out at Mexican restaurants but more often than not the dishes come loaded with cheese which I actually find off putting. Fortunately cooking Mexican food at home is pretty simple and I love the fact that I can control the ingredients that go into it. I try to strike a good balance between using enough beans and vegetables with just enough cheese/sour cream to make a perfect Mexican dinner that suits our tastes.

I made corn tortilla from scratch and having a tortilla maker makes it very easy to roll out the tortillas. But if you dont have a tortilla maker, the dough can be rolled between two pieces of parchment. Feel free to use store bought ones if you are pressed for time (hard or soft shell tacos will work fine). This recipe is more of a method than a strict recipe you need to follow. Any kind of beans and greens can be used and you can vary the fixings (Salsa, sour cream, avocado etc) as you like. I have used chilli sauce that my cousin got for us from Mexico and I must say they were awesome and SPICY. I used green hot sauce and red hot sauce in place where I would normally use jalapenos.
Cilantro-Lime Rice -I normally dont make rice when I can get away with just tortillas but I wanted to try this cilantro lime rice that we had in one of the Mexican restaurants on our trip to Phoenix (the restaurant is Abuelos, in Chandler, AZ). This is a very simple rice to make, nothing too complicated with just 3 ingredients or so.Its a breeze to prepare and it makes this a complete Mexican dinner like the one you would eat if ordering in a restaurant!!

Ingredients

Corn Tortilla

11/2 cups Masa Harina (I used P.A.N pre-cooked white corn meal, available in the international section of most grocery stores)
11/2 - 2 cups warm water (or as needed)
Salt to taste

Stuffing
2 cups cooked black bean (can or fresh)
1 cup spinach, Kale or Swiss Chard, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/2 tsp Mexican hot sauce or chopped jalapeno
Salt to taste
Garnish - Finely chopped tomatoes, onions (or salsa), avocado, cilantro, sour cream

Method

1. Mix masa harina and salt in a large bowl. Add one cup warm water and mix it well into the dough. Add more water as necessary to form a soft dough. 
2. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 min.
3. Pinch a lemon sized ball from the dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat with rest of the dough. 
4. Line the two discs of the tortilla maker with plastic wrap. Place a lemon sized ball of the dough in the lower disc of the tortilla maker. Press the upper disc to form a flat round tortilla. 
5. Heat a cast iron or a non-stick griddle on a medium flame. When the griddle is hot place the shaped tortilla on the griddle. Let it cook just until the bottom gets brown spots. Flip it over to cook the other side.
6. Remove it on to a aluminum foil to keep it warm. 
7. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 

Stuffing

1. Heat oil in saute pan, add garlic, jalapeno (if using) and cut greens. Saute for a few minutes until the greens wilt. Cook a little longer if you like the greens to be soft. Add cumin powder, hot sauce and salt. Stir well.
2. Mash half the quantity of the cooked black bean. Add this to the above mixture. Add about 1/4 cup water, lower the heat and close the pan. Let this cook for a minute or two until the spices sink into the beans and the greens. 
3. Now add rest of the beans. Stir and cook for a few more minutes on a medium low flame. 

Assembling
Take a corn tortilla, fill it with 2 -3 tbsp of the beans/greens mixture. Top it with any or all of the condiments listed under garnish. Serve with cilantro lime rice.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1. Cook 1 cup long grained rice (like Basmati) with 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp salt. ( I used a microwave rice cooker but feel free to use any method you would normally cook rice). Set aside for 5 min or so, until the steam settles down. 
2. Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer it into a shallow dish. Pour 2 tsp oil (canola, vegetable oil or light olive oil) over the rice, add 1 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro and juice from 1 lime. Stir to combine and take care not to break the rice grains. Taste and adjust salt and add more lime juice if need be. Serve as a side to tacos, burritos, fajitas etc.

Enjoy !!

Coconut Milk Pulao (Pilaf) - Rice Cooker method

Coconut milk pilaf/pulao is yet another of my favorite one pot meal. This is a sure shot crowd pleaser and I make it for potlucks or parties. This is one of the recipes that I never had tasted when I was growing up - my mom very rarely made dishes using coconut milk. On the other hand my husband loves this dish. It's is one of his favorite "Mom's dish". I havent had a chance to taste my MIL's coconut biryani yet, so am not sure how the traditional recipe tastes like. But my husband assures me that mine taste really good and pretty close to what his mom makes. I think that's a good enough compliment for a dish I havent even tasted before I actually started making it myself.


Notes:

1. Soak basmati rice in generous quantities of salted water. This helps to keep the rice white as well as make sure the rice doesnt turn sticky on cooking.
2. Adjust the spices according to your tastes. Following measurements give a mildly flavored biryani.
3. Adjust green chilies according to the heat level you'd prefer.
   
4. I used rice cooker but am sure microwave or pressure cooker methods should work fine as well.
5. 2 cups liquid (1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup water) was just sufficient to get my rice well cooked. But if you feel the need for more water, do so at the very end if the rice is still under cooked.

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice (see notes)
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup diced carrots and peas (frozen or fresh)
1 tsp cumin (Jeera)
5 cloves
4 cardamom
1 bay leaf
4-6 green chilies (or as per taste)
1 tsp ginger, minced
8-10 Cashews, halved
1 tbsp butter or oil
Salt

Method

1. Soak rice in salted water for 15-30 minutes.
2. In a saute pan heat oil/butter. Add all the ingredients from cumin to cashews. Let the cashews turn light brown.
3. Add onions, saute it for 2 minutes or just until onions turn translucent.
4. Drain rice. Add this to the rice cooker. Add sauteed vegetables and 2 cups of water.
5. Switch the rice cooker on and let it cook. Add salt just before the rice is completely done. Stir.
   
6. Garnish with cilantro.
7. Serve with a spicy korma or curry.

Enjoy !!

Basil Flavored Vegetable Pulao

Vegetable pulao is one of those dishes I have been making since my first experiments with cooking and the one I do not get bored with. Its a great dish to make for a quick meal or even for one of the big meal events such as a dinner party or a pot luck. So it was one of those days where I opened my fridge to see an assorted variety of vegetables staring at me. I decided to make pulao but didnt have mint to make my usual version. But then, my grind-and-freeze habit came to my rescue (whenever I have an excess of mint, cilantro or basil I try to grind it up and store the paste in freezer) - I had some ground basil in the freezer. Time for some improvisation !!! - I decided to give my pulao recipe an Italian twist, with basil instead of mint. As with such improvisations (the ones done under "duress" :)) - the basil pulao turned out to be quite flavorful and I sure plan to make this recipe more often.

A few things to note - basil flavor is pretty subtle here so make sure to limit the amount of garam masala as it can easily overpower the basil flavor. Soaking rice in salted water ensures that the grains remain separate and the rice doesnt turn mushy. Use a 1:1 measure of rice to water if you are going to soak the rice. You can always add more along the way. But if you do not have time to soak the rice, do go ahead and use the usual 1:2 (rice:water) or the measure you would normally use.

Ingredients

2 cups basmati rice
11/2 cups mixed vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, peas, beans, bell peppers etc)
2 medium onions, chopped
4 green chillies, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
4 tbsp basil paste
2 tsp jeera
2 tsp fennel seeds
6 cloves
3 pods cardomam
2" stick cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp garam masala powder(optional)
Fried cashews (optional)

Method

1. Soak rice in generous amounts of salted cold water for 30 - 45 min. Then drain the rice and set it aside (this is optional, see above for more details).
   
2. Heat oil in a pan, add all the ingredients from jeera to bay leaves. Saute until the mixture turns brown taking care not to burn the same.
   
3. Now add the chopped onions, basil paste, green chillies, garlic and ginger and saute until onions turn golden brown.
4. Add all the vegetables, sprinkle garam masala and saute for 5 min.
5. Transfer the contents into a microwave safe bowl or the rice cooker, add rice, required amount of salt.
6. Pour 2 cups of water and cook until the rice is done.
7. Garnish with fried cashews and serve with raita.

This is my entry to Srivalli's "Rice Mela".
Enjoy!!

Puliyodarai (Tamarind Rice) - I

So, after many months of salivating looking at all the different puliyodarai recipes/photos I have come across, I decided its time to turn the page... make some puliyodarai paste from scratch. Though many of them swear by MTR's puliyodarai powder I am not one of their greatest fans. Well, the reason for this is my friend V's mom, rather her awesome puliyodarai powder. She used to send us loads of this powder all the way from Mumbai and every time we had a pot luck our go to dish was puliyodarai made with this powder. It was such an easy dish to make and also an easy item to carry coz unlike the usual puliyodarai paste which oozes with oil, this was a powder which lasted the 10,000 mile trip and the green channel with no problems at all. Another major advantage was its long shelf life, it lasted in our freezer for almost an year or even longer. Needless to say this dish turned out to be the star of the show every time we made it. I keep telling V that her mom should patent this recipe, start a small scale business and I am sure it will turn out to be a super hit :-) I will probably be the first one to stock up on it !!!
Anyway, getting back to the present, I decided to take the conventional path and make the traditional puliyodarai paste. My recipe here is based on ideas I drew from two of my most trusted sources: My mom and Google. I improvised my mom's recipe added a few ingredients of my own (such as sugar) to make one that I think turned out to be a keeper. So here is my take on the traditional puliyodarai recipe. Depending on your taste and heat level you prefer, adjust the amount of tamarind concentrate and red chillies.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
2 tbsp dhaniya
1/2 tbsp seasme seeds
1 tbsp jeera
1/2 tbsp fenugreek
10-12 red chillies
11/2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
Tempering:
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
2 tbsp peanuts
4-5 curry leaves
2 red chillies
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp hing
1 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Roast all the ingredients starting from chana dal to red chillies, individually and powder it together.
2. Dissolve the tamarind concentrate in water.
3. Heat oil in a large pan, add chana dal, urad dal, peanuts and when it is starting to brown add jeera, mustard, curry leaves, red chillies and hing.
4. Now add tamarind, salt, sugar, turmeric and allow this to boil well.
5. When the raw smell of tamarind disappears, add the prepared powder.
6. Let this cook until the mixture thickens.
7. Let cool and store it in a air-tight container.

Preparing the rice:

1. Cook 2 cups of rice and spread it in a large bowl.
2. Mix in 1-2 tsp oil, then add 2 tbsp of the prepared mixture.
3. Adjust the amount of the mixture according to taste.
4. Serve with vadaam/chips or just plain yogurt.

To store:

• Store in a dry air-tight container.
• This paste can be stored in the refrigerator for almost 2-3 weeks.
• If the paste dries out add a couple of tsp of oil to the mixture.

This is my entry to "Long live the shelf" event hosted by Roma.

Help Needed: Srivalli of "Cooking 4 All Seasons" blog is doing a great job of raising funds for a noble cause. Please visit her site and help her help a person in need.

Quick Vegetable Biryani

One of the most flavorful and aromatic rice dishes is biryani, brought to India by the Mughal rulers. For those of us interested in the history of biryani, this is a good read. Traditional biryani is labor intensive and takes a good couple of hours to get done. The final step in a traditional biryani is the layering: a heavy-bottom pan is filled with alternate layers of rice and veggie masala, top is covered with dough (made of wheat flour, similar to roti dough) and cooked on a slow fire. This dough helps to seal all the flavors inside, thus enhancing the flavor of the dish. A more modern alternative is to layer rice and veggies in a glass or an oven-proof vessel, cover with aluminum foil and bake in an oven. Here is my take on biryani: an easy and a fast one for everyday cooking!! Since my version is the quick cooking one, I skipped the layering part and just mixed the whole thing together and let it cook covered for a few minutes.

The time-consuming part in this version is marinating the veggies, longer it stands better it tastes. I like to marinate a whole bunch of veggies at a time, use half for immediate consumption and store the other half for another day. I normally freeze the unused portion and it stays good for 3-4 weeks. Once you have the marinated veggies ready, the masala takes just about 20-30 min to cook, which is normally the time it takes for rice to get done. Cook the rice just three quarters way through initially as it gets completely cooked at the end with the veggies.

Ingredients:
2 cup rice (mix rice with 2 cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 bay leaf)
1 small onion
1 big tomato
1 tsp cumin (jeera)
1 inch stick cinnamon
3 cardamom
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cup mixed veggies (carrots, cauliflower, beans, peas, potatoes, bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini)
2 tsp oil or ghee
Garam masala powder, to taste
Salt to taste

Grind together: 1/2 cup mint, 3 green chillies, 1 inch ginger, 3 cloves garlic
For Marinade: 2 tbsp yogurt, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp Coriander-cumin powder (dhaniya-jeera powder), 1 tsp dried mango powder (amchoor), 1tsp sugar, 1 tsp turmeric
Garnish: cilantro, fried cashews or peanuts (optional)

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and stir in half of the ground paste. Add veggies to this marinade and let it rest for 1 hour or so.
2. Cook rice + whole spices mixture with 2 cups of water for 20 min .
3. Add 2 tsp oil in a big saute pan. Add cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, jeera and the onions. Saute until the onions are brown. Add tomatoes, remaining half of the ground paste and saute for 2 more minutes.
4. Now add the marinated vegetables along with the marinate. Saute for 2 more minutes.
5. Add 1 cup of water and cook until the veggies are tender but firm and all the water has been absorbed.
6. At this point, add the cooked rice to the veggies. Mix well. Add salt and sprinkle some garam masala powder.
7. Sprinkle a few tablespoon of water, close the pan and let it cook for 5 - 10 minutes in a low heat (take care not to burn the dish).
8. Garnish with cilantro and serve with raita.

This dish can very well be jazzed up for a special occasion but that's for another week :-)

Happy cooking.....