Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Mushroom Fried Rice | Fried Rice | Rice Recipe

Mushroom Fried Rice ,an another easy to make indo chinese rice dish and it's quite popular in all restaurants in India starting from road side restaurant to 5 star restaurants.While we were in Hosur, we used to dine out in Arusuvai Restaurant atleast once in a week. ST likes their Mushroom Fried Rice a lot and ordered it most often. I was not quite fond of fried rice by that time,so just had one or two mouthful and give the rest to him. After a while, even i started to like their mushroom fried rice,the flavor of mushroom was predominant in the rice and all the other flavors was very subtle.To be honest the credits goes to Arusuvai restaurant for making me like fried rice especially Mushroom fried rice.
After complete disaster on first my first few attempts, i know the knack of making decent fried rice.The key is
  1.  Good quality basmati rice & soy sauce.
  2.  Use sesame oil to increase the flavor. 
  3.  Perfectly cooked fluffy non sticky Basmati Rice.
Got everything? that's it, your fried rice will be ready in few mins.Now let's see the procedure.

Mushroom Fried Rice

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indo-Chinese
Ingredients
Cooked Basmati Rice - 3 cups
Mushroom - 6
Mixed Veggies - 1 cup(capsicum,cabbage,carrot,beans)
Garlic - 2 tsp(finely minced)
Green onions - 1
Red Onion - 1/2 of small one 
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Procedure
First cook the basmati rice(add salt while cooking the rice) and let it cool completely. In the mean time,chop all the veggies(capsicum,cabbage,beans & carrot) into thin strips,finely minced the garlic & then slice the mushroom & onions and keep it ready.Heat the kadai with oil and then add the garlic.Saute the garlic till it becomes fragrant and then add the onions & saute it for 2 mins.Then add all the veggies except mushroom and saute in the oil for 1 min.Then add the mushroom & salt(enough for veggies alone)and saute till all the veggies are cooked.Add soy sauce, mix well into the veggies,then add the cooked rice and give a good mix gently.Finally add pepper powder and stir gently & switch off the flame.While serving, sprinkle some green onions(forgot to add 😟). That's it, Tasty and easy Mushroom Fried Rice is ready.
Notes:
  • I have already added salt while cooking the rice, so while sauteing, just add salt for the veggies alone.
  • Saute the veggies in high flame to get that smoky flavor.
  • Adjust the soy sauce as per your liking of that sauce.The amount i mentioned here gives mild flavor of soy sauce.
  • Use Sesame oil for great flavor. 
  • You can use Olive oil too instead of sesame oil
  • The veggies should be crunchy,so don't cook till it becomes soft.
  • I like to add more veggies in my fried rice, but you can add more or less of veggies as per your liking.
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Monday, June 26, 2017

Sunda Vathal Kuzhambu | Easy Vathal Kuzhambu

Sunda Vathal Kuzhambu, a spicy,tangy tamarind based curry made from dried turkey berries. I have already shared the vathal kuzhambu recipe that we used to make at our home and we all love that curry so much. But today's recipe is quite different from the already shared one and it doesn't require any grinding at all.
Last week only, we were back from our short trip to India and i'm not back to form yet to cook any elaborate meal. So i took my manathakkali vathal kuzhambu recipe as a guidance and made this sunda vathal kuzhambu  along with some keerai kadaiyal for our lunch today. It was awesome and we had a hearty meal. Because of all the junk food we ate from various places for the past one month, all we need is some simple yet healthy & tasty home made food. And it's surely satisfy our taste bud today. 

Sunda Vathal Kuzhmabu

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Sunda Vathal/Dried Turkey Berries - 1/4 cup
Tamarind - a gooseberry size
Pearl onion - 6
Garlic - 5 pods
Tomato(small) - 1 
Curry leaves -few
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1& 1/2 tbsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece

Procedure
Soak the tamarind in water for 30 mins, peal the onions & garlic and cut the tomatoes into small pieces.Heat a kadai with 1/2 tsp of oil,add sunda vathal and saute till it becomes dark brown.Remove it on the plate and in the same kadai add the remaining oil,add mustard & urad dal,let the mustard splutters.Then add the onions,garlic and curry leaves and saute it in oil for 2 mins and then add tomatoes.Saute till the tomatoes becomes mushy and the add the spices (turmeric ,red chili and sambar powder) and salt.Saute the spices(keep the flame in low,otherwise the spices would burnt) in the oil for 30 secsExtract the tamarind juice from the tamarind and add it.Bring to boil and keep the flame in medium for 5 mins.Once the gravy slightly thickens, add the jaggery and switch off the flame when the oil floats on top.That's it , Tasty & finger licking Vathal kuzhambu is ready.
Notes:
  • Saute the sunda vathal  will help to reduce the bitterness a little.
  • Keep the flame in low when adding the spices,otherwise it would burnt.
  • Adding the spices in the oil gives enhanced flavor to the kuzhambu.
  • Pearl onion & garlic give great taste to the kuzhambu,so don't skip it.
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Thursday, June 22, 2017

Samai Pongal | Little Millet Pongal | Millet Recipe

Pongal, the famous south indian breakfast made from rice & dal with some flavorful tempering. Here in the recipe,instead of rice,i have used little millet(samai rice) and it tastes exactly the same.Those who want to include millet in their diet yet bored of making regular dishes,then try this pongal.
Here in the recipe, i have used little less amount of water than the regular Ven pongal. The day that i prepared this pongal, i was planning to pack this for our lunch too. As i don't like mushy pongal when it's cooled,i reduced the water and make it as fluffy instead of mushy. But if you're planning to have immediately, then add extra one cup of water. It's really upto you how you want your pongal and adjust the water as per your liking. 

Samai Pongal

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes : 4 to 5 
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Little Millet/Samai - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1/3 cup
Water - 21/2 cups
Cumin Seed - 1  tsp
Pepper Corns - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 tbsp(minced)
Curry leaves - few
Cashew - 6 to 8
Ghee - 11/2 to 2 tbsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Procedure
Wash rice and dal well and put it in pressure cooker, measure the water & add into the cooker.Add enough salt & cover the cooker with lid and put the lid on, cook it for 3 whistle .Now for tempering,heat ghee in a pan,add asafoetida powder, cumin seeds & pepper corns.Then add cashews.Once cashew becomes golden brown, add ginger, curry leaves and saute till nice aroma comes. Add the tempering into pongal. Give a good mix and it's ready to serve.Tasty & fulfilling Samai Pongal is ready to serve.

Notes:

  • Don't reduce the amount of ghee, it gives great taste & flavor to the pongal.
  • If prefer, drizzle some ghee while serving
  • If you want mushy pongal , add extra 1 cup of water.
  • Taste best with the sambar.
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Monday, June 19, 2017

Sweet Corn Soup | Home made Sweet Corn Soup | Soup Recipe

Sweet Corn Soup , an healthy and easy to make soup from sweet corn and other vegetables. As grew up in Tamilnadu, we didn't have the habit of having soup in our homes and Amma never made any soup to my knowledge. 

After i moved to chennai for my job, i got introduced to a lot of soup from various restaurant. Out of all the soups, this sweet corn soup was my favourite, as i don't like spicy food back then, this soup suits to my taste and all other soup which i had tasted was like diluted version of kuzhambu(curry) 😞 .Though i like this soup very much, haven't try it on own for so long. ST also not fond of this soup, basically he don't like any food which has mild sweet taste in it,that may be the reason that i don't  make them frequently. 

As sweet corn is so cheep nowadays in the grocery store, i picked  a lot out of anxious and i got bored having them as steamed or grilled, so last week end i prepared this along with some garlic toast and it tastes absolutely divine.Enough with the stories, now move on to the recipe.

Sweet Corn Soup

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Soup | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Sweet Corn Soup, Easy Sweet Corn Soup, Sweet Corn Soup , an healthy and easy to make soup from sweet corn and other vegetables.
Ingredients
Sweet Corn - 1/2 cup
Carrot(small) - 1
Beans - 4
Capsicum - 1/2
Spring onion - 1
Garlic - 2 small pods 
Butter - 1 tbsp
Corn flour - 2 tsp
Water - 1 to 1&1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Pepper - as needed

Procedure
Chop the carrot, beans and capsicum into small pieces,minced the garlic, chop the green and white part of spring onions separately into small pieces. Heat the butter in a sauce pan,add the garlic and saute till becomes aromatic.
Then add the white part of spring onions and saute till it becomes translucent.Then add the carrots,beans and corn one by one and saute in butter for 1 min.
Add water and bring to boil and keep the flame in medium and let the veggies to cook,when the veggies are half done,add the capsicum and cook everything together.

Once all the veggies are cooked tender, add the salt and pepper as per your taste.
Dissolve the corn flour in water and add into the soup and cook it becomes glossy. Finally add the green part of spring onion and switch off the flame.
That's it, Sweet Corn Soup is ready.

Related: How to make Sweet Corn Curry 

Notes:
  • As capsicum cook easily, i added those when other veggies are half done.
  • Add corn mixture little by little and mix well.
  • I have used red capsicum here, but you can use any color you have.  


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Friday, June 16, 2017

Sweet Corn Masala | Corn Masala | Side dish for rotis

Sweet Corn Masala, a delicious side dish for your rotis,naan,chapathi or mild puloa.Though i had tasted sweet corn masala in restaurant many times and liked it much, i haven't tried my hands on it till last month. As we both love to have sweet corn as boiled or grilled,i haven't thought much about making this curry. But last month, i bought 6 corns/dollar and we got bored of having as it,so made this curry along with some rotis. The combination was so delicious and we love it to the core. Now let's see now to make this curry.

Sweet Corn Masala

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Sweet Corn Kernels - 1/2 cup
Capsicum - 1(small)
Onion(large) - 1
Tomato(medium) - 2
Garlic - 5 pods
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
Fennel seed - 1/4 tsp
Cashew - 5
Oil - 2 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 2 
Cardamom - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste 

Procedure
First peel the onions,garlic & ginger and chop them along with tomato roughly into pieces. Heat the pan with 1 tsp of oil, add the cumin & fennel seed let it fry in oil for 30 secs.Then add the onions, ginger & garlic along with 1/4 tsp of  salt and saute till the onions become translucent.Then add the cashews and tomato and saute till the tomato becomes mushy.Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.Put the onion & tomato masala into mixie/blender jar and grind them into smooth paste. Heat the pan with remaining oil and add the whole spices(cinnamon, cloves and cardamom),let it fry in oil for 30 secs.Then add the masala paste and spice powder(turmeric, red chili & coriander powder) and salt.If needed add some water and cover the pan with lid and cook for 8-10 mins in medium flame. By the time, the raw smell of the masala is gone,open the lid and keep in low flame until the oil separates on the top. Finally add the garam masala & mix well.In an another pan, add 1/2 tsp of oil and add the chopped capsicum and saute till it becomes soft . Keep the cooked corn ready too.Add the capsicum and corn into the masala and mix well.Let it be in the flame for 5 mins and switch off the flame. Delicious sweet corn masala for your rotis is ready.
Notes:
  • Adding cashews give creaminess & richness to the gravy.
  • If the tomato has more tart taste, add 1/2 tsp of sugar to balance the gravy.
  • To make the gravy even more richer, add 2 tbsp of cream at the end.
  • The color of gravy depends on red chili powder and the tomato, so to get bright red color, always use well ripe tomato & good quality red chili powder.
  • Cook the corn till it becomes soft.

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