High Protein Mexican Rice

 

INGREDIENTS:

Kidney Beans - 40 gms

Basmati Rice - 1/4 cup

Garlic - 2 to 3 no.s

Red and Yellow Bell Pepper - 1 cup chopped

Spring Onion - 1/2 cup chopped

Corn - 1/4 cup

Tofu/Low fat Paneer - 50 gms

Tomato - 2 medium sized

Chilli Flakes - 1/2 teaspoon

Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Black pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Oil - 2 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Soak rajma/kidney beans overnight. Next day, pressure cook it. 

2. Cook Basmati rice and keep it aside. Stir fy tofu or low fat paneer , with 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan.

3. Chop tomatoes and puree it. In a pan, add 2 teaspoon of oil. Then add garlic and spring onions and fry for sometime. Then add, bell pepper,corn , salt and sprinkle some water and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Now add pureed tomato.Also add salt, chili powder, chili flakes and black pepper powder. Keep sauteing for sometime, till the tomato puree thickens . 

5.  Now add the cooked rice, stir fried tofu, cooked kidney beans to the tomato puree and mix well. Keep the flame in low, so the contents doesnt get over cooked . 

6. Switch off the stove. High protein mexican rice is ready. Serve with cucumer raita or greek yogurt.

SEE ALSO:  Arisi paruppu saadham , Beetroot peas pulao, Capsicum Rice

High Protein Veg Gravy with Spiced Rice

 

VEG GRAVY:

INGREDIENTS:

Mixed Vegetables - Carrot, broccoli , red pepper, yellow pepper ( Any vegetables of your choice)

Garlic - 3 no.s

Tofu - 100 gms

Tomato - 1 large ripened

Black pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Paprika / Kashmiri chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Chili Flakes- 1/4 teaspoon

Oregano - 3/4 teaspoon

Salt - as required

Oil - 2 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. In a pan, take some oil. Add all the vegetables , little salt and pepper . Sauté for sometime and add little water, cook covered and keep it aside.

2. In a mixer, add 100 gm tofu ( I used dry firm tofu), tomato, garlic and grind in to a smooth fine paste by adding little water.

3. In a pan, add little oil, Now add the paste which you prepared in step 2 . Also add black pepper powder, paprika, oregano powder and mix well and let it cook in simmer mode for 5 minutes. 

4. Now add cooked vegetables to the gravy. Adjust salt as per your taste. Tofu veg gravy is ready.

ONION RICE:

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati Rice - 50 gms

Onion - 1/4 cup chopped fine

Cumin seeds- 1/4 teaspoon

Garlic - 2 no's

Salt- as required

Black Pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Chili flakes - 1/4 teaspoon

Oil - 1 teaspoon

1. Cook basmati rice and keep aside.

2. In a pan, add oil. Add garlic and fry for sometime.

3. Then add onion , cumin seeds and fry , till onions turn translucent. Then add salt, black pepper powder, chili flakes.

4. Add cooked rice to it and mix well . Onion Rice is ready.

Garlic Pepper Rice

Serves - 2 people

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Red and yellow peppers - 1 cup chopped

Onion - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Garlic - 10 pods

Cashews -10 no.s

Curry leaves- a handful

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder -3/4 teaspoon

Black pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Oil - 2 tablespoon

Ghee - 1 tablespoon

Coriander leaves - for garnishing

METHOD:

1. In a pot, take sufficient water. Once it starts to boil, add 1 cup of washed basmati rice and mix well. Keep the flame to sim, and cover and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Filter the remaining water. You can see the rice cooked well and also not sticky . Also chop onions, garlic and yellow and black peppers fine and keep aside. 

2.  In a pan, add oil and ghee. To that, add mustard , fennel seeds and curry leaves . Once it crackles, add garlic and cashews and fry till they turn to golden colour. 

3. Now add onions and fry till they are translucent. No need to fry till they turn brown.

 

4.  Now add Turmeric , kashmiri red chilli powder , black pepper powder.  Mix well  and fry until the raw smell is gone. 

5. Now add yellow and red peppers . Sprinkle some water. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Do not over cook the peppers. The rice will be tasty, if they are slightly crunchy.

6. Now reduce the flame to sim and add cooked basmati rice and mix gently. Also add chopped coriander leaves.

7. Garlic pepper rice is ready !. Serve plain or with yogurt.

Veg Mexican Rice

 Mexican Rice , also known as red rice, is a spicy rice meal that originated in Mexico. Rice cooked with tomatoes , onion , garlic and spices. Usually, mexican rice is made with chicken broth, making a non vegeterian dish. I have tried this mexican rice in vegeterian way, by adding only veggies, tomato puree, onion and spices. The taste was very good and spicy lovers would definitely like it. 

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati Rice - 1/3 cup

Tomato - 1 medium sized

Onion - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Carrot - 1/2 no chopped fine

Red ,Yellow bell pepper - 3/4 cup chopped fine

Green peas - 1/4 cup

Garlic - 3 to 4 pods

Water - 1 cup 

Salt - as required

Chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon( Adjust according to your spice level)

Pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin powder - 1/4 teaspoo

Oregano - 1 teaspoon

Oil - 1 teaspoon

Butter - 1 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Soak basmati rice in cold water for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Chop all the vegetables finely and set aside.

2. In a pan, take some water. Once it starts boiling, add a whole tomato and let it boil for couple of minutes. You can see, the skin of tomato getting peeled off. Remove the skin, and grind the tomatoes along with red chilli powder in to a puree. 

3. In a flat pan, add oil and butter. Once it gets heated, add garlic and after some time add onions. Saute , till they turn transparent . Then add required salt, pepper, cumin powder and mix well.

4.  Now add the soaked basmatic rice and mix it without breaking the rice. Toast the rice for about 2 minutes on medium flame.

5. Now add the vegetables. Also add the tomato puree , oregano and mix well. Also add 1 cup of water. When it all starts to boil, keep the flame to sim and cover with lid . Let it cook for about 20 minutes in slow flame. 

6. After 20 minutes, the rice cooked well. Now garnish with some coriander leaves. Mexican rice is ready! 

Quinoa Khichdi

 An easy breakfast or lunch , that can be made in few minutes and healthy too !. Try this quinoa khichdi to save your time .

INGREDIENTS:

Quinoa - 1/4 cup

Moong dal - 1/4 cup

Water - 1.25 cups

Carrot - 1/4 cup chopped thin

Brinjal - 1/4 cup chopped 

Small onions - 4 to 5 no.s

Ginger - 1/2 inch sized chopped

Garlic - 2 to 3 pods

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch sized

Cloves - 2 to 3 no.s

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Red chili powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Fresh coriander leaves - for garnishing

Oil/ghee - 1 tablespoon

Salt - as required

METHOD:

1. Chop carrot, brinjal, small onions, ginger and garlic. Soak moong dal in hot water for about 20 minutes.

2. In a mixer, grind ginger, garlic, cinnamon and cloves without adding any water . Now in a pressure cooker, add oil or ghee. Then add small onions and also add the ginger,garlic, cinnamon and cloves paste. Fry for 2 minutes, till the onions turn translucent. 

3. Now add carrot , brinjal .Also add turmeric powder , red chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well.

4. Now add soaked and drained dal . Also add quinoa( no need to wash quinoa as it is prerinsed). Also add 1.25 cups of water and required salt. 

5. Now, cover with lid and pressure cook in high for 1 whistle and simmer for 10 minutes and switch off. Once the pressure settles, open the lid and garnish with coriander leaves. Quinoa khichdi is ready to serve ! It taste better , when served hot !

Quinoa Khichdi, pepper tofu , cauliflower curry

Sambar Rice (Another Version)

 Sambar rice is one of the tastiest and nutrition rich one pot meal . You get the essential carbohydrates from rice, protein from dal, vitamins and minerals from vegetables, fat from oil/ghee. Earlier I have shared another version of sambar rice recipe, cooking all the ingredients in a single shot in pressure cooker. Please click here for that recipe. This one is slightly a different version. In this, we cook only the rice and dal in the pressure cooker and mix the rice,dal with spices, vegetables . This sambar rice is made with fresh home made sambar masala paste , with minimal ingredients available in your kitchen. Try it, you will like it for sure. It is very filling and you will not feel the hunger for a long time.

Cooking Time: 35 to 40 mintes

Serves : 1 to 2 persons

INGREDIENTS:

FOR SAMBAR MASALA PASTE:

Oil - 2 teaspoon

Channa dal/ kadalai paruppu - 1 tablespoon

Coriander seeds  - 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Black whole pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

Dry red chilli - 6 no.s ( Reduce the chilli, if you want less spicy)

Coconut powder /fresh grated coconut - 1 tablespoon

Water - 1/2 cup for grinding

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

Rice - 1/2 cup 

Toor dal - 1/ 4 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Water - 2.25 cups

Ghee - 2 teaspoon

Mustard - 1 teaspoon

Dry red chilli - 2 no.s

Onion - 1/2 cup chopped ( Preferrably small onions)

Carrot - 1/2 cup chopped

Chayote / chow chow - 1/2 cup chopped

Green peas - 1/4 cup

Garlic pods - 3 no.s

Tamarind extract - 1/4 cup

Salt - as required

Coriander leaves - For garnishing

Asafoetida powder - a pinch

METHOD:

1.  Wash and soak 1/2 cup of basmati rice and 1/4 cup of toor dal in sufficient water for about 30 minutes. Then drain the water and add 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder , required salt and 2.25 cups of water and pressure cook them in high flame for 1 whistle and then sim for 12 minutes. 

2. In a pan, add 2 teaspoon of oil. Now add 1 tablespoon channa dal, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, 6 no.s of dry red chilli and roast all of them in a low flame, until the colour changes and nice aroma comes. Now swich off the stove and add 1 table spoon of coconut powder to the hot pan and mix well. Now grind them all with 1/2 cup of water to a smooth paste. Your fresh sambar masala paste is ready !

3. Now, in a pan, add 2 teaspoon of ghee. Add 1 teaspoon of mustard, 2 dry red chilli. When it splutters, add 1/2 cup of chopped onion and garlic pods. 

4. Now add 1/2 cup of chopped carrots, 1/2 cup of chopped chayote and 1/4 cup of  green peas. Also a pinch of turmeric and pinch of salt and saute for sometime. Then add tamarind extract water and cover and cook the vegetables , until they are soft. 

5. Once the vegetables are  cooked ,  add the fresh sambar masala paste which you prepared in step 2 and also 1/2 cup of water . Let it boil for 2 to 3 minutes. As the masala paste has been already roasted and grinded, no need to cook the masala paste for longer time, as it will lose its fragrance. 

6. Now add the cooked rice and dal. Also add some water to adjust to your desired consistency. Mix the contents well and boil for a minute or two and switch off. Sprinkle some asafoetida powder and garnish with coriander leaves. Sambar saadham is ready to serve. You can serve it with pickle and papad . Sambar sadham taste better, when served hot !

SEE ALSO: Vegetable sambar rice , Bisi bela bath

Arisi Paruppu Saadham(Masala Dal Rice)

 Today I would like to share a famous recipe which is very popular in Coimbatore. Arisi paruppu saadham, a one pot dish made with rice, lentils and spices . I happened to know about this dish through my friend Pavithra, who is from Ooty. It was absolutely delicious and quite easy to make for lunch. 

INGREDIENTS:

Parboiled Rice - 1 cup

Toor Dal - 1/4 cup

Water  - 2 cups

Sesame or gingely oil - 3 tablespoon

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Curry Leaves - a bunch

Dry red chilli - 2 no.s

Onions - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Tomato - 2 medium sized chopped fine

Garlic - 3 to 4 pods

Salt - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Sambar powder - 1 teaspoon

Ghee - 2 tablespoon

METHOD:

1. Soak parboiled rice and Toor dal for about 30 to 45 minutes.

2. Chop tomatoes, onion and garlic into fine pieces.

3.  In a pressure cooker ,add sesame or gingely oil.  Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and dry red chilli . Now add garlic and fry till they change color.

4. Now add chopped onion and fry till they change colour. 

5. Now add chopped tomatoes . add turmeric powder, salt and sambar powder. For this recipe, store bought sambar powder tastes better. Fry, till the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

6. Now add 2 cups of water . Also add soaked and drained  rice and toor dal . 

7. When it starts to boil, cover with lid. Cook for 3 whistles on medium flame. Switch off the stove. Let the pressure settle by itself. Arisi paruppu saadham is ready .

8. Serve with any dry curry of your choice !