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

Rajasthani Kheema

Kheema or minced meat, if done right is great. Every country, every region in every country has thier own way of making dishes with minced/ ground meat. This recipe is from one of the states in India...Rajasthan. Here is the  original recipe

 Rajasthani Kheema (Ground meat cooked in spices)

Rajasthani Kheema

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2. 2 Green Cardamom
3. 1 inch Cinnamon
4. 2-3 Clove
5. 1 cup Onion Chopped
6. 2 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
7. 1 cup Tomato Chopped
8. 1/2 cup plain yogurtWhisked
9. 5-6 Green Chilli Slit Into half
10. 1 teaspoon each of 
11. 1/2 teaspoon each ofTurmeric Powder ,Black Pepper , salt, garam masala powder
12. 1 lb ground chicken or ground meat or ground lamb
13. 1/2 cup Mint Leaves Chopped
14. 2 tablespoons Kasuri Methi
15. 2-3 strands of  Greens onionsChopped
16. 2 inch Ginger Julienned
17. 2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Heat theoil in a pan. Add green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Add onion and fry until slightly browned. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until golden brown. Now add tomato and yogurt and cook for 5  minutes.Add all the spices and mix well and cook for 2 more minutes

Add chicken keema and salt and cover and cook until it is cooked.

Now add kasuri methi, spring onion greens, ginger, lemon juice and mix well.

Garnish with fresh coriander.

Serve hot with any Indian bread or with Rajasthani Pulao

Another Kheema recipe

Aloo Mutter Kheema

Brussel Sprouts with Nuts and Cranberries

Its the Thanksgiving meal time again and the search for that perfect side dish continues and I think I found it this time.
Brussel Sprouts are alright...they are not one of my favs. But the recipe by Alton Brown was great. Everyone in the house loved it.

The original recipe has only pecans in it, but since I did not have enough pecans on hand, I added some walnuts to it and it was great. Also I reduced the amount of butter. SO here is my take

Brussel Sprouts with Nuts and Cranberries 

Brussel Sprouts with nuts and cranberries

Ingredients:

1. lb fresh Brussels sprout, rinsed and trimmed
2. 1/4 cup each of chopped pecans and walnuts, cranberries
3. 1-11/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground pepper

Half the Brussels sprouts and slice them. In a non stick pan toast the nuts on medium low until you smell the aroma...2-3 minutes.
Add the butter and stir to combine. Add the Brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and cook, stirring continually, until the color brightens and the sprouts are just tender, approximately 6 minutes.
Cut the heat, add the cranberries, mix to combine and enjoy

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice or yellow rice is one of those dishes which is served at South Indian weddings. It is an awesome dish and the most delicious. Its also made at many celebrations other than weddings.

This kind of rice which in another name translates to "sour rice" can also be made with other ingredients which are sour. Here are some more types of Pulihora or pulaharam

Tamarind Rice
Mango Rice
Gongura (Sorrel leaves) rice

Lemon Rice (Rice with lemon juice)

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups long grain rice cooked with salt and cooled
2. 1/3 cup vermicelli cooked (optional)
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1 tablespoon each of peanuts, cashew
5. 1 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, turmeric, Finely chopped ginger
6. handful of curry leaves
7. 2 dried red chillies
8. 3-4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Mix the cooked rice and vermicelli if using and add the lemon juice and mix. In a pan heat the oil and fry the peanuts for 2 minutes. Add all the other ingredients but ginger. Fry for 3-4 minutes. Add ginger and turmeric and fry for 1 more minute. Cut the heat out and add this to the rice and mix well. Give a taste test. Add more lemon juice and salt if desired. Enjoy Andhra Lemon rice

Chicken curry with Zucchini

I have said this multiple times but yet again I will write it again...I have been trying to incorporate more vegetables in my meals, so the chicken curry which is actually an impersonation of chicken karahi dish is with Zucchini's in it and it was super delicious.

Chicken curry with Zucchini (Chicken and zucchini Indian style)

Ingredients:

1. 1lb chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2. 3/4 teaspoon salt
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, chilli powder, cumin seeds
4. 1 medium onion chopped fine
5. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger garlic paste
6. 1 bay leaf
7. 2 large tomatoes chopped fine
8. 1 large or 2 medium zucchini quartered and sliced
9. 1 tablespoon oil

Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin and bay leaf and let the cumin splutter. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the marinated chicken and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cover and cook for 15 minutes on medium low heat. Add zucchini and cook for 7-8 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with brown rice or like me serve with rice and quinoa

Pumpkin Chickpea stew

Its the season of the pumpkin...everywhere you go you see pumpkins. But the best things are those that have real pumpkin in them.

I make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and it is the most popular item on the table for desert. This time when I went grocery shopping there were these small pumpkins...I picked the smallest one which was still close to 2 lbs. The recipe is super great, but the biggest difficulty is peeling the pumpkin. But once you peel it, all the other things are pretty easy.

This is a Moroccan kind of a recipe and I served it with home made naan without yeast. And it is the best combination ever.

Pumpkin Chickpea stew (Chickpeas in coconut and pumpkin gravy)

Pumpkin chickpea stew

Ingredients:

1. 1 small pumpkin , close to 2 lbs, peeled and cubed
2. 1 medium small onion chopped
3. 2 large garlic pods
4. 1 inch ginger peeled and sliced
5. 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
6. 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander, crushed basil
7. 2 tablespoons raisins
8. 1 tablespoon toasted cashew and almond
9. Handful of baby spinach
10. 1 can garbanzo 
11. 1 can coconut milk
12. 1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
13. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt

In a stock pot heat the oil and add the onions and fry till they become translucent. Add the pumpkin pieces and garlic and ginger and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the broth and cover and cook for 20 minutes.

With an immersion blender, blend the pumpkin to puree. Add all the ingredients and stir to combine and simmer on a low flame for 20 minutes. Serve as is or with your fav grains r with instant naan.

Note: For the soup, I added a bunch of baby spinach to a bowl and added the hot soup to it so that the spinach wilts a little. It is great.

Vegetable lamb pulao

There are a number of recipes for meat pulao and vegetable pulao and I have a few myself

Fenugreek Lamb Pulao
Chicken Pulao
Chinese Okra pulao

All of these are super delicious and the one I made today with meat and lots of vegetables is my new favorite. As usual, the thing which consumes the longest time is preparing the vegetables.

Go ahead enjoy this one pot dinner


Vegetable lamb pulao (Rice cooked with lamb and vegetables and spices)

Lamb and vegetable pulao

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups basmati rice
2. 1 lb lamb cut into bite size pieces
3.  1.2 cup each of yogurt, chopped carrot, peas, chopped potatoes, cauliflower florets, American eggplant peeled and chopped, 1/2 bell pepper of your choice of color, spinach leaves
4. 1 medium small onion sliced
5. 2 tablespoons oil divided
6. 2 cups chicken broth
7. 2 cups water
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin
9. 2 cardamom pods
10. 1 bay leaf
11. 2 cloves
12. 1 inch cinnamon bark
13. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger garlic paste
14. Heaped tablespoon each of mint and coriander leaves

In a pressure cooker add 1 tablespoon oil and fry the onions till they become dark brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minuet. Add eggplant and fry for 5 minutes. Beat the yogurt and add it to the cooker. Add all the spices and the lamb and cover and cook for 3-4 whistles.

In the mean time, wash and soak the rice in water. Prepare vegetables.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a wide heavy bottomed pan and add cumin and let it splutter. Add the cardamon, bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon and fry for a minute. Add potatoes and cauliflower and fry for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and fry for 5 more minutes. Add the liquids and bring to a boil. Add the mint and cilantro and rice and the meat from the cooker to the pan. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes or until rice is done. Enjoy with raita