Vegatable Biriyani

It was a sunday. My mother in law is an expert in making vegrtable fried rice which is not chinese style,but indian..it tastes very rich and delicious.. we used to eat it definitely once in a week. so i tried to make something different for the weekend and tried this out..got different tips from different sites n tried it out.. to my luck, it came out very well.. my in laws liked it..here goes the recipe..
Ingredients:

Basmathi rice – 1 cup (Rice:water – 1:1½ )
Onion – 3
Tomato – 2
Chopped Carrot(2), beans(5),potato(2)
Cauliflower (flower)
Green Peas
Green chilli – 1
Coriander leaves – ½ bunch
Mint/Pudhina leaves– ½ bunch
Thick Curd – ½ cup
Oil/Ghee

To grind:
Cashewnut - 4
Fresh Ginger & Garlic - 6/7 pieces

Powders:
Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp
Dhaniya Powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
• Soak Basmati rice in water for 30 minutes.
• Heat oil/ghee in a pressure pan and add sliced Green chilli.
• Add onions and sauté until light brown.
• Grind the ingredients under To Grind section and add them, sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and all the powders and thick curd.
• Sauté for 2 min and add all the vegetables and the soaked rice.
• Blend everything thoroughly and stir for few minutes.
• Close the pan with weight and put off after 10-12 min.
• Open the pan and garnish with Coriander and Mint leaves.
• Serve it hot with onion raita.

Lunch Box Item 1 - Coriander-Mint Pulao

Ingredients

Boiled Rice (1 Cup of raw rice to boil, Rice:water -1:3 for ordinary rice, 1:2 for basmati rice and if basmati rice soaked for half an hour then 1:1 ½ )
Onion – 7 (For cooking and for raita, use depending on the number of people at your place, I use 3 for cooking, 4 for raita )
Fennel Seeds/saunf/chombu – ¼ tsp
Chick pea/kadalai parupu – ¼ tsp

Oil/Ghee

To Grind:
Coriander/Cilantro leaves - 1 Bunch
Pudhina/Mint leaves - 1 Bunch
Green Chillies - 4
Cashewnuts - 6/7 (soak in water for 15 min and then grind)
Fresh Ginger/Garlic - 4/5 pieces
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Bay Leaf - 1
Masala jeera/Roasted jeera - 1/2 tsp
Rock Salt to taste


Method:
• Grind the items finely under To grind section and keep aside.
• Heat oil in tawa, add fennel seeds and chick pea and let them splutter .
• Add the onions and sauté until light brown and transparent.
• Add the paste along with little water and stir for 5 min till it thickens.
• Now mix the paste with boiled rice thoroughly without breaking it. Add 1 tsp of ghee to the rice and mix it ( will )
• Serve with Curd/Onion raita.

Note: This recipe tastes great for lunch. I do it once in a week as it is simple and tasty too.

Methi Chapathi

I got introduced to methi chapathis when i was in bombay. Had it once in my relative's house. That time i was not bothered about the ingredients and stuff. Just thought they made a very different chapathi with some rare thing. Few years later my mom started making it. She used to wash the leaves and add it to the dough and add the required powders. But the one which my mother in law makes is even more good.. I simply loved it.. This recipe, I learnt it from her..

Ingredients:

Methi Leaves – 1 Bunch
Wheat flour – 4 Cups
Channa flour/chick pea flour/besan(kadalai maavu) – 1 Cup
Red Chilli pd- 1 tsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Oil – 4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:• Heat oil in a tawa, add the washed methi leaves and add salt, turmeric and chilli powder immediately (to avoid sour taste).
• Stir for 4-5 min, remove and keep aside.
• In a bowl, mix wheat flour,channa flour,salt and the above methi mixture.
• Add warm/lukewarm water gradually and make dough out of it.
• Knead the dough thoroughly for about 3-5 minutes (it will be very soft). Cover and set aside for 30 min.
• Divide the dough into lime sized balls, on a floured surface, roll out the dough into a chappathi – about 6-8 inches of diameter(any desired size of your choice)
• Heat a tawa on medium-high heat. Fry the chappathi using about 1/2 tsp oil (just apply the oil to the two sides of the chappathi) until it is golden brown on both sides.
• Serve it hot with onion raita/curd/pickle.

Simple & Tasty Paneer Butter Masala (for 3 servings)

This is a common dish which is ordered my most of the paneer lovers in the restaurants... Nowadays its more of a routine for many people to make this dish frequently but some avoid making this as it might be time consuming..buth here is a simple procedure to tasty gravy for your chapathi/roti which gets ready in minutes once ingredients are ready.
Ingredients:
Paneer loaf/Frozen Paneer( available in departmental stores)
Onion – 4
Tomatoes - 2
Fresh Ginger&Garlic - 4/5 pieces
Cashewnut – 5/6
Kasoori methi(Dried methi leaves, which adds a great flavour) – 2 tsp
Green chilli – 1
Red chilli – 1
Green Cardamom(Elaichi/Elakkai) - 3
Bayleaf(pattai) – ½
Cloves - 3
Black bell pepper – 2
Coriander – ¼ bunch
Pudina leaves – one small cup
Oil – 4 tsp

Powders:
Kashmiri Red chilli pd.(has a mild taste but gives red color to the dish) – ½ tsp
Garam masala pd - ½ tsp
Roasted jeera pd (cumin seeds) - ½ tsp
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Salt to taste


Method (Cooking time: 30 minutes)
• Grind all the ingredients (leave alone the oil, paneer and powders) finely and keep aside.(Hold some coriander & pudina leaves for garnishing)
• Heat oil in a pressure pan.
• Add turmeric and sauté for 2-3 min.
• Cut paneer into cubes and add to the pan, sauté for few minutes until light golden, remove them and keep aside.
• Add the ground paste to the pan, add salt and stir for 5-10 min.
• Add fried paneer and close the pan with weight.
• Allow for 3 whistles (which is approx. 12min) and put off. Let it stand for 5 min to let go the pressure.
• Open the pan, garnish with Coriander/pudina.
• Delicious paneer butter masala is ready.