32 (CHINTHA CHIGURU) TENDER TAMARIND LEAVES RICE

Chintha Chiguru(aaku) or Tender Tamarind leaves Rice(Pulao/Palav)


Have already posted Pulihora with chintha chiguru(Tender Tamarind Leaves) here.

This time I posting an other interesting recipe with tender tamarind leaves. Please note that it is good to use the tender leaves plucked from the trees and also this is the best season to get those from Tamarind trees when new leaves start growing in spring/monsoon season - Just in case if you are going to look out for them. You can also get those leaves, sun dry and powder and use it later in any of your rices to get the tang taste. I tried this rice during my last visit to India and it was really good and very different. But the only part was I used some regular leaves and that was little hard to munch, that is the reason I say to use the tender leaves.

This is the right time to get tender leaves. Use it in your dishes like pappu/dal and or collect them and dry and make use of it later.

Rice - 1 1/2 cups Sonamasoori/Basmati/Jeeraga samba
Tender tamarind leaves - 1/2 cup
Onion - 2 small sliced thin
Green chillies - 5 or 6
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 6 - 8 flakes
Coconut - few pieces
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt as needed
Oil - 1 - 2 tbsp
Lime Juice - few drops(optional)

Spices
Cardamom, cinnamon, clove, bay leaf and anyother - very few


Wash and soak rice for 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove the leaves from the stalk and clean and wash them.
Heat 1 or 2 tsp of oil and add the wshed leaves. Fry till they are shrinked and cooked for 5 - 6 minutes or more. Keep aside.

Grind to paste - Few pieces of onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic, coconut, fennel seeds and half of cumin seeds to a soft paste with little water. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and the spices and remaining cumin seeds. Next add sliced onion and fry till golden brown. Then add the ground masala and fry till the raw smell leaves for 4- 5 minutes. Next add the fried and cooked leaves and stir in few times. Finally add the washed rice, salt,lime juice and water. Cook till done in a rice cooker or pressure pan.

Have a look at my Rice Dishes for this Marathon

Day 1 - Corn and Capsicum Palav
Day 2 - Spinach / Palak Rice
Day 3 - Mango Rice
Day 4 - Peas Palav
Day 5 Egg Fried Rice
Day 6 Cumin Rice
Day 7 - Tender Tamarind Leaves Rice -

Sending this to " Only Original Recipes" hosted by Nivedita an event started by Pari.



Now over to my fellow Marathoners

30 Minutes Meals: Gayathri Anand
Baked Goods: Monika,
For On Going Events: Gayathri Kumar, Usha
Kids Friendly: PJ, Savitha, Smitha, Srivalli, Veena Aravind
Rice Varieties: Champa, Divya and ME.

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23 CUMIN RICE

Jeera(Cumin) Rice / Pulao



I love the taste - flavor of cumin and try to add it in most of my dishes especially when tempering. So naturally I love this aromatic rice which is full of cumin. Is so simple and easy to prepare that even when tryint it out for the first time comes out perfect. Best when served with any spicy dish/gravy.


Basmati Rice - 2 cup
Onion - 1 sliced thin
Green chillies - 4 or 5 slit long
Ginger garlic paste - 3/4 tbsp
Salt as needed
Butter/oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Clove - 2
Cinnamon - 1
Bay leaf - 1

Wash rice and drain water. Keep it aside for 20 minutes.


Heat oil/butter and when medium hot add in bay leaf, clove, cinnamon and cumin seeds. Wait for the seeds to crackle/splutter( do not let it to darken). Next add onion and fry till light brown. Then add in green chillies and ginger and garlic paste. Fry for a minute till raw smell leaves. Add rice and saute for a minute. Finally add salt and water( 3 1/2 - 4 cups ) of water and cook till done on stove top or transfer to a rice cooker or cook in the pressure pan for one whistle. Serve with any spicy gravy.


Now over to my fellow Marathoners

30 Minutes Meals: Gayathri Anand
Baked Goods: Monika,
For On Going Events: Gayathri Kumar, Usha
Kids Friendly: PJ, Savitha, Smitha, Srivalli, Veena Aravind
Rice Varieties: Champa, Divya and ME.

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33 EGG FRIED RICE

Egg Fried Rice


My older loves egg fried rice and whenever I ask him what he wants for lunch especially on weekends and the first he says is fried rice and with lot of green onions.

Rice - 1 cup( Basmati or long grain rice)
Onion - half chopped fine
Egg - 3
Carrot and Peas - 1/2 cup
Ginger and garlic paste - 1/2 - 3/4 tbsp
Salt as needed
Pepper Powder - few sprinkles( as needed)
Soya Sauce - 1 - 1 1/2 tsp
Green onions - 1 bunch chopped
Oil/Butter - 1 tbsp


Wash and cook rice separately with 3 cups of water( 2 cups for basmati and 3 cups of water for long grain or sona masoori) and cool completely. Best for this dish is long grain rice.


Microwave chopped carrot and peas with a dash of salt for 6 - 7 minutes.

Instead of onions can use the bottom portion of green onions.
In a bowl beat eggs with little salt and pepper powder and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add onions. Saute till nice brown and add ginger and garlic paste. Mix and fry till raw smell leaves for a minute. Then add carrot and peas and fry for 2 -3 minutes. Then add half of green onions and saute till the leaves shrink. Remove these and keep separately.


In the same pan add eggs and fry to scramble them. Carefully turn them and also not do break into very tiny pieces. Fry till they are cooked. You will want to find some big pieces of scrambled eggs here and there right. Next add the cooked rice and the onion, carrot/peas mix and mix well. Also add the remaining green onions and soya suace. Gently mix well and serve with any spicy side dish like manchurian.


Now over to my fellow Marathoners

30 Minutes Meals: Gayathri Anand
Baked Goods: Monika,
For On Going Events: Gayathri Kumar, Usha
Kids Friendly: PJ, Savitha, Smitha, Srivalli, Veena Aravind
Rice Varieties: Champa, Divya and ME.

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26 PEAS PALAV

Peas Pulao/ Palav/ Biryani


A simple and delicious rice that can be made within minutes. Can cook by transferring the masala in a cooker or cook on stove top.


Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Onion - 1 sliced thin
Tomato - 2 large or 3 small chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 4 or 5 slit long
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder - 3/4 tsp
Yogurt/ Curd - 1/2 cup
Frozen/ Fresh Peas - 3/4 - 1 cup
Salt as needed
Oil - 1 tbsp

Spices-
Very few of all these
Cardamom, clove, cinnamon, cumin seeds( can also add any other spice as preferred).


Wash and soak rice for 20 - 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and add all the spices, then add sliced onions. Fry till transculent and add green chillies. Saute for a minute and add ginger garlic paste. Fry for a minute until raw smell leaves. Next add chopped tomatoes and mash and cook till pulpy and water leaves out and oil floats on top. Now add turmeric powder and chilli powder and mix well. Then add peas and yogurt. Reduce flame and mix. Finally add rice , salt and water ( 3 1/2 cups) and cook till done or transfer to a rice cooker and cook.


If you want to enhance more then can cook in dum style. My mom does this for making this rice that is when the water starts to bubble up. Reduce flame and heat a tawa. Place the pan/vessel on top of the tawa. Cover a tight plate and place a heavy vessel on top. Or can place another vessel on top with water filled up so it increases its weight. This way the rice tastes too good.




Now over to my fellow Marathoners

30 Minutes Meals: Gayathri Anand
Baked Goods: Monika,
For On Going Events: Gayathri Kumar, Usha
Kids Friendly: PJ, Savitha, Smitha, Srivalli, Veena Aravind
Rice Varieties: Champa, Divya and ME.

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27 MANGO RICE

Mango Rice / Maamidikaaya Pulihora / Manga Sadham


A perfect rice to make this season when we start getting good mangoes.

Rice - 1 cup
Raw Mango - medium sized
Red chillies - 2 or 3 broken into half
Curry leaves - few
Mustard seeds - vey little
Channa dhal and or Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts - few count
Raw Peanuts - few count
Hing/ Asafoetida - 2 - 3 pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt as needed
Oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - for garnishing


Wash and cook rice separately. Cool.
Meanwhile peel the skin of the mango( have used medium sour tasting mango ) and grate them.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, channa dhal, cashewnuts and raw peanuts and saute. Within seconds add hing, red chillies and curry leaves. Wait till peanuts turn in color. See to that it is fried in high heat or it will burn soon and dish will be bitter.


Next add the grated mango and fry in oil for 5 - 6 minutes until they shrink and nicely cooked. Also add some salt and turmeric powder. Finally add rice, chopped coriander leaves and salt if needed and mix gently until it is well coated.

Now over to my fellow Marathoners

30 Minutes Meals: Gayathri Anand
Baked Goods: Monika,
For On Going Events: Gayathri Kumar, Usha
Kids Friendly: PJ, Savitha, Smitha, Srivalli, Veena Aravind
Rice Varieties: Champa, Divya and ME.

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21 SPINACH / PALAK RICE

Spinach / Palak Rice


Blogging Marathon - Day 2

I had a big pack of spinach which needed to be used soon and I was not going to use the whole packet in making spinach palav or any gravy with it. Instead decided to use some of them in my rice and made them just like preparing Methi Rice which you can see here.

Tasted too good and everyone at home enjoyed.

Rice - 1 cup( have used Basmati Rice)
Onion - 1 sliced
Tomato - 2 chopped
Ginger and garlic paste - 3/4 tbsp
Chilli Powder- 1 1/2 tsp( or use half of chilli and half of garam masala)
Spinach leaves - 1 big bunch
Salt as needed
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Lime Juice - 3 - 4 drops
Oil - 1 tbsp


Wash and soak rice for 20 - 30 minutes and cook separately with 2 cups of water and with some salt. Once done remove and cool and fluff it up with a fork.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, wait for few seconds and add sliced onions. Fry till nice brown and add ginger and garlic paste. Saute for a minute and then add chopped tomatoes. Mash and cook till pulpy and water leaves and oil floats.


Next add chopped spinach leaves( I chopped them as thin as possibble and then a cut here and there). Fry till leaves shrink and are cooked. Also add salt . Finally
and the powders and mix well in oil. Gently add the cooked rice and mix well. Add in lime juice and mix gently so all the masala is mixed up well.


Now over to my fellow marathoners,

30 Minutes Meals: Gayathri Anand
Baked Goods: Monika,
For On Going Events: Gayathri Kumar, Usha
Kids Friendly: PJ, Savitha, Smitha, Srivalli, Veena Aravind
Rice Varieties: Champa, Divya and ME.

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34 SWEET CORN AND CAPSICUM PALAV

Sweet Corn and Capscium Palav(Pulao)


Blogging Marathon(Group 1) - Day 1

Have seen Blogging Marathon going on in Srivalli's blog for sometime and had been thinking to join sometime and when she announced it this time, I immediately sent her a mail and here I am with a group of 12 bloggers going to blog daily for the next 7 days depending on the themes chosen by each one of us. For this Marathon I have chosen " Seven days of Rice".


For the first day of the marathon am posting a simple and delicious rice prepared from corn and capsicum.

Whenever I make some simple rice or ghee rice , I usually add some green peas. For a change tried addingsome sweet and corn capsicum. Everyone at home loved the taste and also was very colorful. Can serve itwith any raita or some spicy kurma or egg masala.


Rice - 2 cups( have used Basmati)
Onion - 1 large( chopped length wise)
Green Chillies - 4 slit long
Ginger and garlic - 1 tbsp
Sweet corn - 3/4 cup
Capsicum - 2 small or 1 large( chopped thin lengthwise or cubes)
Mint Leaves - a handful( just for some flavor)
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Water - 3 cups
Salt as needed
Oil or butter - 2 tbsp

Spices
Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp
Cardamom -2
Clove -2
Cinnamon -1
Bay Leaf - 1
(can also include others like star anise, javathri....)


Wash and soak rice for 20 - 30 minutes.

Heat oil/butter in a pan and all the spices. Wait for few seconds and add chopped onions. Fry till
transculent and add green chillies and ginger and garlic paste. Saute for a minute until raw smell
leaves. Next add mint leaves and saute for a minute and then add chopped capsicum and sweet corn. Saute
for 2 - 3 minutes and remove. Cool. Add this masala to the cooked rice. Also add salt, coconut milk and
water and cook in a rice cooker till done or on stove top until rice is cooked.

See what other bloggers of the group have been cooking for the marathon.
Champa,Divya,GayathriAnand,GayathriKumar,Monica,PJ, Savitha,Smitha,Srivalli,Usha,Veena Aravind,

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