Bisi Bele Bath/ Bisi Bele Huli Anna
Cabbage Pulav/Cabbage Rice
Cabbage is one of the most underrated vegetable I feel, which remains unexplored beyond the Vegetable Manchurian, Kimchi and Poriyal(stir fry) or Subji and in salads. Thanks to the colourful varieties(read red and purple cabbage), this vegetable is gaining popularity again. Many don’t like its smell when cooked. The best way to tackle this is by open pan cooking.
Weight watchers speak about Bottle gourd, Broccoli and Cauliflower, but the cabbage always takes a back seat, never gets its due. This probably may be because, other than the everyday Kootu/subjis or the special occasion Manchurian, we don’t think about it much. I have been a Cabbage lover right from childhood. A simple Cabbage and coconut stir fry (aka Poriyal) is enough to make me happy. I have also taken to trying other recipes from this vegetable, which can be cooked on a regular everyday basis and the health benefits this vegetable has to offer can be enjoyed.
To state a few benefits of this simple and highly nutritive vegetable- It is nutrient dense. Low on calories and high on micro nutrients and vitamins. It is said to keep a check on inflammation, High on Vitamin C, Helps improve digestion, It is an excellent source of Vitamin K, easy to cook and quite inexpensive as compared to the gourmet vegetables. (source-health line). So, we should reap the benefits of this vegetable, what say?
I have come up with this simple cabbage pulav, which is tasty and easy to cook. Even your fussy and picky eaters will lap this up. I have kept the recipe and Masalas very simple here, as this is planed as a simple everyday dish, and a whole meal in itself, which can be relished with just a Raita.
While you are here check out other everyday recipes like- One Pot Tadke wali Dal, Zucchini and Potato wheat Dosa, Goan style Lobia curry, Watermelon rind Kootu, Menthiya Keerai Kootu, Corn Palak subji, Dosakaya Chutney, and more…
Here goes the Cabbage pulav recipe-
PREP TIME: 20 Mins COOK TIME: 20 Mins
TOTAL TIME:40 Mins COURSE: MAIN
CUISINE: NORTH INDIAN SERVINGS: 5
AUTHOR: Rajni Ram
Ingredients:
Rice 1 cup precooked and cooled ( I used regular Sona Masoori)
Cabbage 1/2 of a medium one. chopped to think strips
Capsicum 1 medium chopped to strips
Tomato 1 large chopped
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
Shah jeera/ Caraway seeds 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon 1 inch stick
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Salt as required
Red chilli powder(regular) 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Fennel Powder 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder 1/2 tsp
Oil for sauteing 1 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves chopped for garnish
Directions: Precook 1 cup rice, spread it on a plate to cool and keep aside. In a Kadai heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and Shah jeera, Cinnamon stick, and fry until light brown. To this add the chopped capsicum and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, and saute for another 2 minutes. Now add the tomatoes and continue to saute, until they become a little tender. Now drop in the Cabbage strips, and saute for 2 minutes. Add salt, Red chilli powder, coriander powder, fennel powder and stir fry well. The cabbage will release water, keep sauteing until it becomes almost dry and the cabbage is well cooked, but firm and crunchy. Now add the garam masala, cook for a minute, and finally add the cooked rice. Give everything a nice stir so that the rice is well coated with vegetables and spices. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with some chilled Raita.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. Precook 1 cup rice, spread it on a plate to cool and keep aside. In a Kadai heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and Shah jeera, Cinnamon stick, and fry until light brown.
2. To this add the chopped capsicum and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, and saute for another 2 minutes. Now add the tomatoes and continue to saute, until they become a little tender.
3. Now drop in the Cabbage strips, and saute for 2 minutes. Add salt, Red chilli powder, coriander powder, fennel powder and stir fry well. The cabbage will release water, keep sauteing until it becomes almost dry and the cabbage is well cooked, but firm and crunchy.
4. Now add the garam masala, cook for a minute, and finally add the cooked rice. Give everything a nice stir so that the rice is well coated with vegetables and spices. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot .
NOTES:
1. Instead of the regular cabbage one can also use Purple or Red cabbage.
2. Other vegetables or soya chunks can also be added.
If you tried this recipe and liked it please comment below. I would love to hear from you. If you have a query about the recipe email us and ill respond as soon as I can.
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Coriander Rice/Chutney Rice
My love for this herb is perennial. I love adding it to Subjis not just as a garnish but a few springs just as one of the ingredients. There are many condiments made of this humble herb like Chutneys, Dips, Raitas, Pickle, etc; Coriander rice is a simple and healthy rice variety and a great lunch box option for kids. It is healthy too as Coriander is rich in fiber and essential nutrients. It aids in digestion too. So why leave out such a beneficial herb from main course cooking and limit it to just being a condiment. Therefore I thought of adding this Coriander rice recipe to my blog post.
Try adding a few sprigs of it to any subji, not in the end but while cooking and see how the dish gets elevated in taste and flavour.
I’m calling this chutney rice as these are almost the same ingredients we use for green chutney, barring the chutney Chana. Well, tamarind/raw mango is added in green chutney though, I will try that version shortly and post. Here is the recipe for Coriander Rice…
PREP TIME: 10Mins COOK TIME: 30 Mins
TOTAL TIME: 40 Mins COURSE: MAIN
CUISINE: SOUTH INDIAN SERVINGS: 4
AUTHOR: Rajni Ram
Ingredients:
Coriander leaves 1 bunch finely chopped
Rice(regular) 1 cup precooked
Peanuts 1 tbsp
Cashewnuts a few
Green chillies 2
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Fried gram dal(chutney chana)/Pottukadalai 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Mustard seeds1 tsp
Chana Dal(Bengal gram) 1 tsp
Urad dal(black gram) 1 tsp
Dry red chillies 1-2 broken
Oil for tempering 1 tbsp
Directions:
Cook 1 cup rice in a pressure cooker( I used pot in pot method, you can cook directly too) adding 3 cups water for 3-4 whistles. Once pressure releases spread out the rice on a plate to cool and also drizzle 2 tsp oil over the rice so that the grains do not stick together. Put the chopped coriander, cumin seeds, green chillies and the fried chana/ Pottukadalai and grind at first without water, then after a spin or two add little water and grind to a smooth paste. In a karahi or pan pour some oil and heat. Add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, dry red chilli and fry until golden brown. Now add the turmeric powder, followed by the ground Coriander puree and nicely fry the paste in oil on low heat. The paste will get a little dense. Add salt and fry for another 2 minutes. Now start mixing in the cooled rice little by little into the cooked paste, and mix nicely so that the rice is nicely coated with the paste. Put off flame and garnish with peanuts and cashewnuts. The flavourful Coriander Rice is ready to serve. Enjoy the lovely green of the rice. Bon Appetit.
Serving suggestions: Raita, Potato fry, or Cauliflower roast or Colaccasia(Arbi/Sepankezhangu) roast and papad.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. Assemble all ingredients. Chop coriander leaves finely, Cook the rice for 3 to 4 whistles, cool on a plate and set aside.
2. Put the chopped coriander into the blender along with the green chillies, cumin seeds and fried chana/pottukadalai. Without adding water pulse them once or twice. Now add some water and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
3. In a karahi or pan pour some oil for tempering. Fry the peanuts to a golden colour and the cashew too and keep aside. In the same oil put in the mustard seeds. Let them crackle then add Chana dal, urad dal followed by dry red chillies. Fry until golden brown and add the turmeric powder.
4. Now pour the coriander paste into the oil and fry the paste nicely for 2 minutes. Add salt and continue to fry for another 2 minutes. The moisture should evaporate and the paste should become a little dense.
5. Add the cooked and cooled rice little by little to the paste. Mix well and switch off the flame. The flavourful Coriander rice is ready to serve.
NOTES:
1. While frying the paste in oil be careful not to evaporate it completely. The consistency should resemble sauce consistency.
2. Spread out the rice on a plate and drizzle oil or the rice will turn soft and lumpy once added to the paste.
If you tried this recipe and liked it then please comment below. I would love to hear from you.
Lemon Rice
Lemon Rice is one such recipe which is easy to make with minimum ingredients. It doesn’t need any specific accompaniment. It can be had just like that or with Papad. It’s the perfect lunchbox item. The zing and freshness of lemon is enough to bring everyone to your table for their share.
My Grandmom was an expert at making it( not that its rocket science), but her lemon rice always had that freshness of the lemon intact. So over the years I have tried and perfected it, her way and by hit and trial have found her secret of that fresh lemon flavour. I’m stressing on the flavour here because I have seen many a time the lemon flavour fails to standout the sourness is there, but the flavour is missing. This is because of cooking the lemon juice with the tempering. As the recipe proceeds, you’ll understand what I mean.
I usually don’t write so much of an introduction, but this recipe is just so close to my heart that I had to.
Let’s get to the recipe right away.
PREP TIME: 10Mins COOK TIME: 40Mins
TOTAL TIME: 50 Mins COURSE: MAIN
CUISINE: SOUTH INDIAN SERVINGS: 4
Ingredients:
Rice 1 cup ( regular rice not Basmati)
Lemon 2 medium size
Green chillies 2
Red chillies 2
Ginger 1 inch piece
Curry leaves a few
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Urad dal 1 tsp
Chana dal soaked in water( for 1/2 an hour) 1 Tbsp.
Mustard 1 tsp
Peanuts 1 Tbsp
Oil 3 Tbsp( refined or sesame) for tempering and 3 tsp for drizzling on cooked rice.
Directions:
Cook the rice in a pressure cooker. You can use 2.5 to 3 cups water for 1 cup of rice. As soon as pressure releases transfer the rice to a large plate/ tray and spread it. Drizzle little refined oil or sesame oil on it, so that the rice doesn’t stick together. Allow it to cool.
In the meanwhile take 3 Tbsp oil in a Karahi/ pan and heat it. Drop the peanuts gently into the oil and fry until you see a nice golden colour. Add the mustard, as it crackles add the green and red chillies, ginger, asafoetida, urad dal, soaked chana Dal after straining the water, curry leaves and fry them till the dals are a nice golden colour. Add the turmeric powder and salt and put off the stove. Now add the juice of 1 lemon to it and mix well. Now add the rice little by little to this tempering. Mix well so that the tempering is evenly distributed. Now squeeze the juice of another lemon on the rice and mix gently( my secret to the freshness). There the yellow beauty is ready to serve…Bon Appetit.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. Assemble all ingredients.
2. Cook the rice in a pressure cooker. After pressure settles, transfer the rice to a large plate and spread it. Drizzle some oil on it. Allow it to cool.
3. In a Karahi take oil for tempering and heat it. Put in the peanuts and fry until golden brown.
Add all tempering ingredients- mustard, soaked chana dal( water strained), urad dal, green chillies, red chillies, ginger, Asafoetida, curry leaves. Fry until they get a nice brown.
4. Add the turmeric powder and salt and put off the stove. Squeeze juice of one lemon. Mix well.
5. Mix the cooked rice little by little to the tempering. Finally, squeeze the juice of another lemon on the rice and mix gently but thoroughly. Lemon rice is ready. Enjoy with some Papads.
NOTES:1. Usually, Lemon rice recipes state adding the lemon juice to the tempering, which gives the taste but not the flavour. some other recipes recommend squeezing the lemon directly over the rice. This ensures the flavour, but not the taste as the juice will not get evenly mixed.
2. In this recipe I have divided the juice into 2 halves and added one half to tempering and another half to the rice, this gave me the perfect balance of flavour and taste.
3. Potato fry(south Indian style) goes very well with the lemon rice too, just in case you aren’t the papad person.
4. You could serve the Rice with Raita too.
If you tried this recipe and liked it please comment below. Would love to hear from you.
