Spicy Tuna Rice

 Another rice dish. Looks like there are as many rice dishes as there are vegetables and protein in this world. So here you go...one more.

Spicy Tuna Rice (Tuna Stir fried rice with Indian spices)

Spicy Tuna Rice

Ingredients:

1. 1 can Tuna in water, drained
2. 1 cup basmati rice cooked according to package directions
3. 2 dried red chillies
4. 1/2 medium small onion sliced
5. Few curry leaves
6. 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
7. 1/ teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, split black gram (optional)
8. 1 teaspoon each of salt, Andhra fish curry powder
9. 1 medium small bell pepper cut into 1 inch cubes (optional)
10. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard and cover and let fry until they splutter. Add cumin, black grams, broken red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a 30 seconds. Add onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper if using and ginger and stir well. Add drained tuna and fry for 2 minutes. Add rice and all the spices and salt and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 2 minutes on medium low heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve with a lemon wedge

Good for you Chicken Rice

 This rice dish has good for you ingredients in it. It is like an Indian Pulao or Pilaf. You can want you can use regular white rice but since it is "Good for you" Chicken Rice, I made this with Brown rice.

Good for you Chicken Rice (Brown rice and Cauliflower with Chicken)

Cauliflower brown rice with Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups cooked chicken
2. 2 cups cauliflower rice
3. 1 cup brown rice soaked in water for 30 minutes.
4. 1 medium small onion sliced
5. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
6. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder garam masala, salt, chopped mint
7. 1-2 tablespoons oil

After the brown rice has been soaked for 30 minutes, discard the water. Cook it in a rice cooker with 2.5 cups of water.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning dark brown. Add cauliflower and all the spices and mix well and cook covered for 10 minutes. Add the cooked rice and mint and mix well. Taste test for salt and add more if needed. Serve with boiled eggs if desired. Enjoy!!!

Click here for nutritional information

two bean rice

This is the most yummy delicious one pot, super quick dinners one can make and it vegetarian.
The ingredients are minimal and everyone has them in their pantry...so go ahead, make it in the time it will take you to decide what you want to eat + order them + get them .

Two Bean Rice (Rice with green beans and kidney beans)

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups of white rice cooked with 1/2 teaspoon salt
2. 1 can kidney beans drained and washed
3. 1 can green beans drained ( I had frozen green beans instead...so used 1.5 cups thawed)
4. 1 tablespoons each of oil, lemon juice (optional), toasted sesame seeds (optional)
5. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
6. Few curry leaves + 2 dried chillies + 1 teaspoon turmeric (Just for an Indian touch...if you have them)
7. 1 large or 2 small garlic chopped fine
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Cover and let splatter for 1 minute. Add curry leaves and dried chillies if using .Add the green beans and fry for 5-7 minutes until they are cooked through. Add garlic and fry for 30-40 seconds. Add salt and turmeric and mix well. Add the rice and the kidney beans and stir to combine on low flame. Add sesame seeds and lemon juice and mix well and enjoy

Rajasthani Gatta Pulao

This is one of the very different pulao recipes. First of it has Gatte which are pieces of fried chick pea flour which have been boiled. Its is very different and quite awesome. My little fella just loved it and asked if he can pick up some form the rice and eat them, by themselves. That is a good sign.

Here is the original recipe

Rajasthani Gatte Pulao (Rice with Gatta and spices)

Rajasthani Gatta Pulao

Gatta (Boiled chick pea flour logs)
Ingredients:

1. 1 cup chick pea Flour (Besan)
2. 1/4 teaspoon each of  Asafetida,Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder 
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of Salt, Cumin Seeds , baking soda
4. 1/4 cup Yogurt
5. 2 tablespoons oil 
6. 1 tablespoon Dried Fenugreek Leaves
7. Water, If Needed

Add asafetida, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, cumin,  baking soda, yogurt, oil, Kasuri methi and knead into a stiff dough. Use water 1 tablespoon at a time if needed.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and shape each portion into logs roll (wet your hands so that the dough doesn't stick to your palms)
Boil enough water in a pan. Add rolls to the boiling water and boil for 15 minutes.
Drain and set aside

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups Basmati Rice, Cooked with salt
2. 1 teaspoon each of Cumin 
3. 2 tablespoon Oil+ 1 teaspoon oil
4. 1 Onion, Sliced 
5. 1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder 
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt. 
7. Fresh Coriander Leaves Chopped
8. 2 tablespoons each of Peanuts, raisins
9. 1 medium carrot grated wide
10.  2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Heat 2 tbsp oil in pan. Add onions and fry till they turn golden brown. Drain and set aide.
Heat the remaining  oil in the and add cumin and bay leaf and let them splutter. Add peanuts and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add shredded carrot and mix well. Add raisins and mix.
Add cooked gattas and fry them for about 3-4 minutes. Add the cooked rice, fried onions, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt, and mix well. Cook covered on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add lemon juice and garnish with coriander and enjoy With Raita and Ground meat curry

Egg pulao

Ande ka Pulao (Rice cooked in spices and served with egg)

Anda Pulao

Ingredients

1. 2 cup of  basmati rice
2. 2 tbsp oil
3. A small bunch of  coriander leaves (cilantro)
4. A small bunch of  mint leaves
5. 2 green chillies
6. 2-3 cloves of  garlic
7. 2" piece of  ginger
8. 1 medium onion chopped
9. 1 large or 2 medium  tomato  chopped
10. 1/2 tsp of  red chilli powder (adjust to taste), cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder
11. 1 teaspoon salt
12. 6 eggs hard boiled
13. 2 tablespoons grated coconut
14. 1 medium large onion cut into 1 cm cubes
15. 1/2 cup green peas
16. 1 large carrot cubed
17. 1 cup cauliflower florets if desired

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the onions till they start becoming brown. Add ginger and garlic pieces and coconut and fry for 2 more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes. Let it cool and grind to a fine paste.

Heat the rest of the oil and fry the onions for 10 minutes. Add carrots and cauliflower if using and fry for 5 more minutes. Add all the spices and mix well. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Add rice and cook for 20 minutes or until done. Garnish with cilantro and hard boiled eggs and serve with dahi/Yogurt raita

Eggplant and lamb rice

This week's trip to the Indian store got us some dill weed and I wanted to use it as fast as possible.  I made Dill and Lima Beans Rice and I was planning to make it again and make some lamb side dish to go with it. But then I decided to make some rice with lamb and I followed this Labanese lamb rice recipe to the A...meaning I changed it quite a bit

So...my recipe for today is Eggplant and lamb rice with Dill

Eggplant and lamb rice with Dill

Eggplant and lamb rice with Dill

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb lamb cut into 1 inch pieces
2. 2 tablespoons oil
3. 2 bay leaves
4. 1/2 cup chopped onions
5. 1 medium small American eggplant cut into small cubes (and if possible peel the thick skin)
6. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
7. 1 cup dill weed
8. 2 cups long grain Basmati rice
9. 1 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, coriander powder
10. 1/2 teaspoon each of chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala
11. 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
12. 1 teaspoon sambar powder (Optional)

Note: Because I was feeding kids with not so strong teeth I pressure cooked the lamb pieces for 3 whistles with 1/4 cup water and half of the salt and turmeric

In a pan heat the oil and fry the bay leaf for a minute. Add the onions and fry till they start becoming brown. Add the peeled chopped eggplant with all the spices, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the pressure cooked lamb and stir to combine. Add 2 cups of rice and sambar powder if using and stir to combine. Add 3.5 cups of hot water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the dill and lemon juice and stir to combine. Give it a taste test and add more salt if required. 

For serving, spread a tablespoon of plain yogurt on a plate and serve lamb and dill egg plant rice on top of it. And serve with sliced onions

Cabbage rice

I was going to make Chicken Tikka and I was looking to serve it with some vegetables and rice. But then I found the rice recipe which has lots of cabbage in it and thats what is our dinner today.

Cabbage rice with Chicken Tikka (Spicy marinated roasted chicken...aka red chicken)
and Raita (Yogurt side with onions)

Cabbage Rice

Chicken Tikka

Dahi Raita

Cabbage Rice
Ingredients:

1. 2 cups cabbage sliced thin
2. 1 cup rice cooked as per directions
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds, salt, finely chopped garlic
4. few curry leaves
5. 2 dried red chillies
6. 1/2 cup sliced thin red or white onions
7. 2 tablespoons sambar powder or less to taste
8. 1 tablespoon each of  oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice, roasted desiccated coconut
9. 1/2 cup fresh green peas

In a pan eat the oil and fry the cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies for a minute. Add the onions and fry for a few minutes. Add the cabbage abd fry for 7-10 minutes along with the salt. Add garlic and peas and stir well. Add flushed up rice and the sambar powder and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and  add the lemon juice and cover and let cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with dry  chicken tikka or chicken tikka masala and raita

Baingan bharta rice

In this world there are two types of people: who love eggplant and those who hate eggplant. Me and my Big B used to be the people in the second group, but one day mom sent us to buy eggplants and that was the day we tried it and shifted to the first group.

So basically I love eggplant

This rice dish with eggplant is one of those dishes which will warm you up from inside. This is a great dish when it is cold and gloomy outside

Baingan bharta rice (creamy Rice with roasted eggplant and tomatoes)

Baingan bharta rice

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized American eggplant
2. 2 cups rice
3. 2 medium large tomatoes chopped
4. 1 cup chopped onion
5. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, ginger garlic paste, coriander powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin powder, turmeric powder, garam masala
7. 1 tablespoon oil

Cut the eggplant into half length wise. Roast it over the stove flame (if your stove is gas) until the skin starts to wilt. Else roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Scrape the flesh of the roasted eggplant once it cools down.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and all the spices, stir to combine. Cover and cook till the tomatoes got pulpy. Add the roasted eggplant pulp and stir well. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add rice and cover and coo for 20-25 minutes or until rice is done. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy