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

Persian Lima Beans and Dill Rice

In Los Angeles, there used to be a Persian restaurant which was my hubby’s favorite place. And my favorite was Lamb shanks with the Lima beans Dill rice. This rice is extra ordinarily delicious. I just love it.

When I give it to my kids I call it the “hairy rice” because the dill looks like little hair stuck to the rice and it adds some fun to the rice and the kids like it.

Persian Lima Beans and Dill Rice

Dill and Lima Beans rice

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups basmati rice cooked according with ½ teaspoon salt to the directions on the package.
2. 1 bunch Dill stripped form the tough steams and chopped
3. 1 can small lima beans rinsed and drained
4. 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice.
5. ½ tablespoon olive oil

In a pan heat the oil and add the lima beans to it. Cook them for 5 minutes. Mash some of them with the back of the spoon. Add dill to it and mix well. Add the rice and the lemon juice and mix well. Serve with your favorite chicken or lamb dish

Egg biryani

                                                   

Its been such a gloomy weather lately, winter just landed with a thud. We haven't seen the sun in 10 days. Its been raining non stop...man it feels more awful as I right it LOL

So...I was craving something hot and spicy and for some reason I wanted Egg Biryani...to top it of, I never had egg biryani in my life. But the recipe I followed helped me make the most delicious rice dish I ever tasted. It will be a regular in my house for sure.

Oh...and the pink spots on the eggs in my dish is because the previous day I used my cutting board to cut beetroot and even though I washed it, the color was still there and it colored my eggs when I peeled and put them on the cutting board

Egg Biryani (Spicy rice with boiled eggs)

Egg Biryani

                                             

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. 1.5 cups of  large onions, sliced thin
9. 1 cup  tomato finely chopped
10. 1/2 tsp of  red chilli powder (adjust to taste), cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder
11. 1 cups of  thick coconut milk (optional)
12. 1 teaspoon  biryani masala or Hyderabadi Hara masala 
13. 1 tsp of  ginger garlic paste (freshly made is best)
14. 6 eggs hard boiled
15. 1/4 cup of  cashew nuts and more coriander leaves and mint leaves, for garnish

Hard boil the eggs and keep aside.
In a pan and heat 2 tablespoon oil. Add the cashew nuts and fry until golden. Drain and set aside.

 To the same pan, add half of the sliced onions. Fry until golden, drain and set aside. Add the rice and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add it to a rice cooker and cook it.

 Grind together - coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chillies, ginger, garlic with salt.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the rest of the onions until brown. Add the ground paste and fry for another 30 seconds or so. Or add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste and the Hyderabadi hara masala and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add the spices and powders - coriander, turmeric, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, chilli powder. Add the coconut milk and 1/2 cup water and cook for 10 more minutes on low flame. Mix the masala well. Add the rice and mix well and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally. Garnish with the fried onions, cashew and cilantro and the boiled eggs. Enjoy steaming hot

Achari paneer with zeera rice

The other day I was searching for recipes online and you know the google autofill suggested Achari Paneer. And since I already had store bought Paneer on hand I decided to make it. And for the main course I made zeera rice and the combination was D-Vine. So here is the recipe for your palatable pleasure

Achari paneer (cottage cheese in Indian pickling spices)

Achari Paneer

Achar spice mix

Ingredients
1. 2 cups 1/2 inch cubes of paneer
2. 1/4- 1/3 cup of plain yogurt
3. 1/2- 3/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
5. 1 tablespoon oil
6. 2 tablespoons tomato sauce ( 1 tablespoon tomato paste)
7. 1/2 cup chopped onions

For roasting
1. 3/4 teaspoon each of nigella seeds ( kalongi ) , fennel seeds
2. 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seed ( methi), black pepper
3. 1 tablespoon coriander seeds or powder
4. 2 dried red chillies

Dry roast the ingredients in the roasting and let them cool. Grind to a coarse paste.
Mix the yogurt, salt, turmeric and paneer and set aside.
In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions on medium heat till they start changing color. Add the spice powder and fry for couple of minutes. Add paneer and fry for few minutes. Add tomato and cook on low flame for 5-7 minutes. Add some water if it becomes too dry. Enjoy with jeera/zeera rice