Bisi bele bath

Bisi bele bath is ready-to-eat cooked rice. Tasty and nutritious, it can in fact be consumed without any accompaniments, since it has, within itself, all the ingredients that go into making sambar plus an assortment of vegetables, rice and spices.

Items required
Tamarind (the size of a small lemon)
12 red chillies
A pinch of asafoetida powder
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
3 tablespoons grated coconut
20gm cashewnut
3 tablespoons ghee
10french beans
4 carrots
1 knolkhol (small)
10 madras onions
2 tomatoes
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
4 cloves
A small piece cinnamon
4 cardamom
1/2 teaspoon aniseeds
1 cup (200ml) rice
1/2 cup (100ml) thoor dal
A pinch of turmeric powder
2 teaspoons mustard
A few curry leaves
A few coriander leaves
4 green chillies
Salt to taste
Oil for frying and seasoning
Preparation method
1.Soak tamarind in a little (say 100ml) of water and keep aside.
2.Fry 6 red chillies, asafoetida powder, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds and grated coconut in a little oil until the fenugreek seeds turn golden brown in colour. Take out this fried mixture, grind into fine powder and keep aside.
3.Fry cashewnuts in 1 tablespoon of ghee until they turn golden brown in colour and keep aside.
4.Cut french beans and carrots into bite-sized pieces; as for knolkhol, peel it before cutting it. Madras onions being small, need only to be peeled. Quarter the tomatoes; keep all these vegetables aside.
5.Fry poppy seeds, clove, cinnamon, cardamom and aniseeds in a little oil, grind into a fine powder and keep aside.
6.Squeeze out the tamarind, retaining the tamarind and water solution.
7.Take rice and thoor dal in a vessel (ensure that the vessel fits into the cooker properly) with a capacity of atleast 3 litres; wash the rice and dal thoroughly and strain off the water.
8.Add the tamarind and water solution , the ground powder, turmeric powder and chopped vegetables to the rice and dal, mixture and mix well by hand to eliminate lumps.
9.Pour appropriate quantity of water into the cooker and bring the water to a boil; place the vessel in the cooker and pour 1 1/4 litre of water into the vessel. Close the lid of the cooker correctly.
10When steam issues steadily from the vent tube of the cooker, press down the weight valve reduce the flame to the minimum.
11.Shut off the flame when the first whistle issues from the cooker; it will take between 30 and 45 minutes, assuming that cooker is kepton ‘low’ flame as suggested above; putting the cooker straight onto a “high” heat may result in more whistles in a shorter time but it need not mean that the contents of the cooker have cooked properly; it is recommended that the cooker be put on a steady ‘low’ flame for 30 or 40 minutes for the first whistle to issue and the contents to cook well.
12.After the cooker cools,remove the weight valve, open the cooker and take out the vessel. If the cooked food, calledbisi bele bath, is too thick to your liking, thin it down to the required consistency by adding a little water.
13.Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add mustard, curry leaves, green chillies and the remaining 6 red chillies. Remove from fire when the mustard crackles and add to the bisi bele bath.
14.Add the fried cashewnuts, the powdered poppy seeds, etc. and salt (to taste) to the bisi bele bath, and mix well.
15.Add the remaining ghee, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Serves 4.

Spiced brinjal rice

This “Spiced brinjal rice” recipe is a delightful mish-mash of spices and rice with nutritive.If u cut the brinjals too fine, they will get mashed up and will lose their taste.

Items required
1 1/2 cup rice
Oil for frying and sprinkling
200gm onion, large
200gm brinjal, tender
3 teaspoon bangal gram dal(chenna dal)
6 red chillies
2 lemon
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
4 cloves
4 cardamom
3cm length cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon mustard
6 green chillies
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
15 curry leaves
Preparation method
1.Reduce the quantity of water used slightly and cook the rice to ensure that the rice does not become mushy and the grains remain separate.
2.Spread the cooked rice evenly on a large tray to let it cool; sprinkle a teaspoon of oil over it.
3.Peel the onions, chop them fine and keep aside.
4.Chop the brinjals fine and keep aside.
5.Soak the bengal gram dal (chenna dal) in a little water and keep aside.
6.Halve the red chillies and keep aside.
7.Squeeze the lemons into a sleve and collect the juice in a cup.
8.Heat oil in a frying pan and fry poppy seeds, anise seeds, cloves, cardamom and the cinnamon bit; grind into a fine powder and keep aside.
9.Drain the bengal gram (chenna) dal.
10.Heat oil in a frying pan and add mustard, halved chillies, bengal gram dal (vide 9) and saute until the water content in the dal evaporates; add the chopped onions (vide 3) ,chopped brinjals (vide 4) and a little salt and saute until the onion turns brown; now, add the lemon juice and turmeric powder, mix well and saute for a few more minutes and remove from fire.
11.Empty the contents of the frying pan into the tray with the rice, add the powdered poppy seeds etc. (vide 8), curry leaves and salt (to taste); mix well and serve.
Serve 4.

Kuma pilau

Kuma pilau is a special preparation of the dish which is again cooked with mutton and with the latter being the more popular variety.

Item required
1 onion, finely sliced
250 g ghee
500 g lean meat, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
few strands saffron
3 cups (500 g) rice
8 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
Preparation method
1 Saute onion in the ghee until golden.
2 Add the mince, ginger, chilli and coriander. Saute until mince is browned, add yoghurt and fry until rich brown.
3 Soak the saffron in 1 tablespoon water and add to the mince.
4 Combine rice, cloves and cinnamon in a large pan. Add enough water to come 6 cm above the level of the rice. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer until the water has almost evaporated and the rice nearly cooked. Remove from the heat.
5 In a 2 litre heat-proof dish, arrange in a layer of rice then a layer of mince and so on until all the mince and rice are used up. The last layer must be rice. Cover, bake in a slow oven for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. Before serving, mix the pilau very carefully so as not to break the rice grains.
SERVES 6 TO 8

Saffron kedgeree

Spices it right in this fragrant and flavoursome take on a traditional kedgeree.Kedgeree flavoured with Saffron.

Item required
1A teaspoon cumin seeds
10 cardamom seeds
180 g ghee
15 g slivered almonds
15 g currants
3 medium onions, thinly sliced
1′/4 cups (250 g rice), washed
3/4 cup (120 g) lentils
4 threads saffron
1′/4 cups (310 ml) coconut milk
8 green chillies, sliced and seeds removed
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
10 cloves
4 small sticks cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
Preparation method
1 Coarsely grind the cumin and cardamom seeds.
2 Heat the ghee and saute the almonds and currants till the almonds are medium brown. Remove and reserve.
3 Saute onions in the ghee, until crisp and brown. Set onions aside, reserve ghee.
4 In a medium saucepan, put Y3 cup water and the rice. Half cook the rice and put into a large saucepan.
5 In a medium saucepan put X cup water and lentils, cook for 20 minutes or till half done. Add this to the rice.
6 Add saffron, coconut milk, half the almonds and currants, fried onions, green chillies, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, sugar and the reserved ghee. Mix thoroughly and cover.
7 Bring to the boil and simmer till rice and lentils are cooked. Stir the kedgeree with a fork and leave on a very low heat for
5 minutes more. Serve sprinkled with remaining almonds and currants.
SERVES 4 TO 6

Chicken biriani

Chicken biryani is a set of primarily South Asian rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat.

Item required
4% cups (750 g) rice
pinch saffron strands
1/2 cup (125 ml) water
125 g ghee
2 large onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 green chillies, chopped and seeds removed
1 kg chicken pieces
VA cups (310 ml) plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds
4 cloves
1 stick cinnamon few sprigs mint
Preparation method
1 Soak rice in cold water for 30 minutes, drain.
2 Soak the saffron in the Y, cup water.
3 Melt ghee in an oven proof dish. Saute onions, garlic and chillies until onions are tender. Add chicken, yoghurt, ginger, cardamom, cumin, cloves and cinnamon. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
4 Add mint sprigs, top with rice, saffron and water, cover, bring to the boil. Transfer to moderate oven for 45 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
SERVES 8 TO 10

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