Jeera Rice - Cumin flavored Rice in the Rice Cooker

The most important change I made to my original Jeera Rice recipe to make this one was adding Mint and Coriander; it added a brilliant flavorful punch to the dish. I made this in the Rice Cooker which is also something I did not previously, but now that I know how to make it in the Rice Cooker, I would prefer to cook it this way rather than on the Gas stove where I have to keep a constant watch on it. It is super easy and needs a very few ingredients as well.

Here is what you need to prepare Jeera Rice:

·         Basmati Rice – 1 Cup

·         Ghee / Clarified Butter – 2 tsp

·         Cumin Seeds / Jeera – 2 tsp

·         Green Chillies – 3-4  (to taste)

·         Mint Leaves – 7-8 (optional)

·         Coriander Leaves  - 2-3 sprigs

·         Saffron / Kesar – soaked in 2 tsps of water

·         Salt to taste

·         Fried Onions – 2 medium (optional)

How to prepare Jeera Rice:

·         Wash and drain the Basmati Rice and keep

·         Heat Ghee / Clarified Butter in a pan

·         Add the Cumin Seeds, Green Chillies, Mint and Coriander leaves and stir

·         Add the drained Basmati Rice and mix in

·         Add required amount of Salt

·         Transfer entire contents to a Rice Cooker

·         Add two cups of water and let is cook

·         After some when most of the water is soaked, add the Kesar

·         Once done, garnish with fried Onions and serve

We ate this with Murgh Achaari and a wonderful mixed Salad

Aloo Dum-e Dumdaar - Baby Potatoes with Green Peas, Tomatoes and whole spices

  

I have never been fond of any preparation with boiled potatoes in them till I ate this dish made by my Mum-In-Law. Baby Potatoes with some whole spices and deseeded tomatoes this is, to be eaten with warm Phulkas (Roasted Indian Flat Breads) on cold winter nights. No Green Chilies are used in this dish, only peppercorns, chopped Red Chillis and a dash of Chilli Flakes and Black pepper powder to garnish – that provides enough heat to the dish. The original recipe does not have Green Peas in it, I wanted to add a dash of green along with the red from the Tomatoes and the Chillies and it looked fabulous; it did not hamper the taste in any way.

I had picked up some baby potatoes from the grocery store over the weekend with particularly this dish in mind, texted my Mum-In-Law for the recipe before calling her, so that she would be ready with one of her numerous recipe notebooks (she has this huge..no HUGE collection of fantastic recipes spread across various notebooks). Later I called her and she was very kind to explain everything well. This was our dinner last night and we totally loved it.

Here are the ingredients needed to make Aloo Dum-e Dumdaar:

Serves: 4

·         Baby Potatoes – 500 gms – peeled (Quartered regular potatoes can also be used, but the dish looks much better with Baby Potatoes)

·         Onion – 2 medium – chopped

·         Garlic – mined – 1 tsp

·         Ginger – cut into fine 1 cm long strands – 10-12

·         Tomato – 1 large – deseeded and chopped

·         Green Peas – a handful

·         Whole Red Chillies – 4 (as much or as little as you want) cut into small slices using a Scissor

·         Cloves – 4

·         Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

·         Fennel Seeds – ½ tsp

·         Whole Peppercorns – 10-15

·         Some Chilli Flakes to garnish

·         A dash of Black Pepper powder

·         Cooking Oil

·         Salt to taste

·         Sugar to balance

How to make Aloo Dum-e Dumdaar:

·         Pressure cook the baby potatoes for 1 whistle on low, let the pressure go down on its own – once the pressure goes down, drain, smear the potatoes with Salt and keep

·         In a Pan, heat cooking oil, add Cumin Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Cloves, Whole Peppercorns and let them sizzle

·         Add the chopped Garlic and stir for a minute

·         Add the chopped Onions and cook till translucent

·         Add chopped Tomatoes

·         Add Sugar and stir and cook for 2-3 minutes till Tomatoes become tender

·         Add the Green Peas

·         Add the Baby Potatoes, make sure the gas is turned down to the lowest

·         Mix well, cover and cook for 3-5 mins

·         Do a taste test, add more salt if needed

·         Garnish with some Chilli Flakes and black pepper and relish with Phulkas

NOTE: Water is not required to prepare this dish, adding water will spoil the look and taste of the dish, this is essentially a dry preparation

Shrimp Pulav with Coconut Milk (in the Microwave Oven)

My love for Shrimp is unconditional, eternal and next to God! Almost every weekend when we replenish the stock to cook for the coming week, we make sure we have some fresh Shrimps, whatever size it may be, stocked! However, the fish monger has not been getting them for a couple of months now and I had to sustain on the King Prawns served by the Chinese Restaurants nearby. No, he is not the only fish monger in the market, but nobody gets better sea food than him. Last weekend miraculously he got these medium sized Shrimps after ages and we got some without any dish in mind.

I had a terrible cold coupled with an even worse sprained arm (thanks to the roller coaster rides at an Amusement Park the weekend before) and our weekend started early as I had to rest that arm for some time. The Shrimps were still sitting in the freezer and we had to eat lunch, ‘A’ insisted on home delivery as he did not want me to strain my arm any further; I was not very keen, I wanted to make something in a jiffy so that I do not end up damaging my arm further. Hence thought of throwing everything into a pan, sautéing and assembling into the Micro for it to do the work for me. The end result was finger-licking-good!

My other Shrimp Pulao recipe is here. It does not have Coconut Milk in it and is not made in the Micro.

Here is what you will need to make Shrimp Pulav with Coconut Milk in the Micro

Serves: 2

·         Shrimps – medium sized – cleaned and deveined – I kept the tails on as they are too much flavorful to be thrown away – 300 gms

·         Basmati Rice – 1 Cup (I used Gobindo Bhog Rice and it tasted heavenly)

·         Ghee / Clarified Butter – 2 tbsp

·         Cinnamon – 1” stick

·         Green Cardamoms – 4

·         Cloves – 4

·         Bay Leaves – 2

·         Shahi Jeera – 1tsp

·         Black Peppercorns – 10

·         Ginger-Garlic-Green Chilli Paste – 2 tsp

·         Onions – 2 medium - thinly sliced

·         Peas – a handful

·         Carrots – a handful, chopped

·         Spring Onions – 3-4 – chopped – I had these so added, it is totally optional

·         Cauliflower – about 15 small florets (optional)

·         Tomato – 1 medium – chopped

·         Turmeric Powder – 1 tbsp

·         Salt to taste

·         Sugar to balance

·         Coconut Milk – 1 Cup

·         Water – 1 Cup ( 2 Cups of Coconut Milk and no water can also be used - it will just make the Pulav richer )

·         1 large Micro safe bowl

·         Some Cling Wrap

Note: The Vegetables I added was what I had my stockpile, add or subtract whatever you want

How to make Shrimp Pulav with Coconut Milk in the Micro:

·         Wash the Rice and set aside

·         Heat Ghee in a Pan and temper with Cinnamon, Green Cardamoms, Cloves, Shahi Jeera and Black Peppercorns

·         Add the Onions and fry sauté till they are translucent

·         Add the Ginger-Garlic-Green Chilli Paste and sauté for a couple of minutes

·         Add the Carrots, Spring Onions and Cauliflower florets and stir for a minute

·         Add the tomatoes and wait for a couple of minutes till they are a little tender

·         Add the Salt Sugar and Turmeric Powder and stir well

·         Add the Shrimps and stir for a minute

·         Add the Rice and fry for 2-3 minutes, mix everything very well

·         Pour all the contents into a Micro safe bowl

·         Add 1 Cup of Coconut Milk

·         Add 1 Cup of Water

·         Cover with Cling Film

·         With a fork puncture the Cling Film at 2-3 places, so that the hot air can escape

·         Put it in the Micro for 20 minutes on high

·         Once done, take it out and give it 5 minutes of standing time

·         Serve hot

Grilled Pomfrets in Mint & Coriander Sauce

I served these grilled Pomfrets for Dinner sometime last week with Hakka Noodles. The paste that the Pomfrets were marinated in included mint and coriander leaves, so it was green & extremely flavorful. I have never like much of mint in my food, but this time was completely blown away by the subtle aroma. I will start using more of this is our meals as there are so many health benefits of mint.

I have no story today so will make this quick!

Here is what you need to make Grilled Pomfrets in Mint & Coriander Sauce:

Serves - 2

·         Pomfrets – 2 medium, washed and deep slit to the spine bone for the marination to get it

·         Juice of 1 medium Lime

·         Pudina / Mint leaves – 5 sprigs

·         Dhaniya / Coriander leaves – 5 sprigs

·         Ginger – 1” thick

·         Garlic – 5-6 medium cloves

·         Green Chillies – 4 (increase or decrease to taste)

·         Salt

·         Cooking Oil – 2 tsp

How to make Grilled Pomfrets in Mint & coriander Sauce:

·         Rub salt and lime juice on the Pomfrets and keep for 5 minutes

·         Grind Mint, Coriander, Ginger, Garlic, Green Chillies together in a Blender with a little splash of water, this sauce will neither be runny nor very thick

·         Smear spoonful’s of the Sauce on both the sides of the Fish and keep for 10 minutes

·         Pour a ½ a tsp of Cooking Oil on each side of the Fish so that it does not stick to the grill. I am a Bengali and used Mustard Oil, hence the gold hue :P, use the Cooking Oil of your choice.

·         Grill each side of the Fish for about 8 minutes – I did this in the convection mode of my Micro at 180C – once one side is done, turn using a tong and grill the other side for another 7-8 minutes.

·         Take it out, let it stand for 3-4 minutes and serve immediately.

·         We had this with some Hakka Noodles for dinner; this is a dish in itself and can be eaten just like that, without any accompaniments. 

Roasted Chicken Legs – with baked Potatoes, Carrots, Onions & Garlic

Easy dinner ideas are the best thing that has happened to a working couple. We crave for simple meals when we get back home after a long day at work and most Indian dishes which we love, takes a while to cook. Once I get back I have around 150 minutes in which I need to take a shower, prepare dinner, get stuff ready for next morning, do the laundry, eat and yes chit chat with my partner before we hit the bed and before we realize we have slept. In the morning, I get another rough 150 minutes in which we have tea, prepare breakfast, pack lunch, iron clothes, take a shower & jump into the cab. Week days are crazily packed for almost everyone and we are no exceptions.

I simply adore this recipe as this takes about 10 minutes to put together and an hour in the Oven to get ready. While it is in the Oven, one can run errands. I was craving for this since the start of this week, finally A could manage some juicy Chicken legs for dinner last night, normally by the time we get back, the Butchers are closed, however he discovered one yesterday, walking distance from our place and the shop is open till 10 PM! Wow!

What you need to make Roasted Chicken Legs

(Serves 2)

·         Chicken Legs – 6

·         Potatoes – 3 large, washed well, cut into big chunks

·         Carrots – 2 Medium, washed well, cut into big chunks

·         Onions – 3 Medium, peeled and halved

·         Garlic – 7-8 cloves, unpeeled

·         Lemon – 1

·         Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) – 3 tbsps

·         Italian Seasonings – 2 tbsps / to taste

·         Salt to taste

·         Pepper to taste

·         Chili Flakes – 1 tsp

(The baking dish that I used could accommodate these, it was filled up to the brink, if you wish to add or subtract any vegetables and  or increase or decrease the quantity of any, please do so, there can be a thousand deviations of this dish, it is totally up to taste )

How to prepare Roasted Chicken Legs

·         Pre heat the Oven to 220 C / 428 F (or the nearest)

·         Wash the Chicken legs thoroughly and pat dry using paper towels

  

·         Add the Italian Seasonings, Salt, Pepper, 1.5 tbsps of EVOO & chili Flakes

·         Add the juice of one Lemon to this, cut the Lemon into quarters and keep (cut down the quantity to half a Lemon if you are not fond of it)

·         Mix the Chicken legs in the marinade and keep

·         Start preparing the Baking dish by first oiling it with 1 tbsp of EVOO 

·         Put the Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Garlic and Lemon pieces in

·         Add Salt and Pepper, a little Italian Seasoning and Chili Flakes and ½ a tsp of EVOO and mix well 

·         Add the Chicken Legs to the baking dish

·         Bake this in the Oven for an hour

·         Enjoy the dish by itself fresh out of the Oven after it cools down a teeny weeny bit!