Vegetable Masala Bhat (Spicy Rice with vegetable)

Ingredients:

Basamati rice - 1 cup (don't use old rice)
For oil tempering - peanut oil, black mustard seeds, turmeric, hing powder
Green chili paste - 1 tsp (to your taste)
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp (to your taste)
Curry leaves - 2 branches or about 20 leaves
Ginger - freshly grated - 1 Tb
Vegetable - 1 cup - cut into 1" pieces (potato, eggplant, green peas, cauliflower, cabbage, bell peppers)
Black masala - 2 tsp
Raw masala powder - 1 Tb (or to your taste)
Gud or brown sugar - 1 Tb
Salt to taste.
Cashews - handful and raw - roast them in Microwave or fry them in little oil
Chopped cilantro leaves - 2-3 Tbs
Freshly grated coconut - 3-4 Tbs

Recipe:

Heat 2.5 cups water in a pan on another burner.
Wash basamati rice at least 3 times and keep aside.
Heat pan and add 4 tsp peanut oil.
Prepare oil tempering and add curry leaves and green chili paste.
Add cut vegetables and sauté. Cook them half way.
Add Raw Masala and cook for a minute.
Add washed rice (and green peas if using) and stir well and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add 2 cups boiling water. Keep 1/2 cup water warm on the side to use if needed.
Add black masala, chili powder, gud or brown sugar, ginger and salt to taste.
Let the rice cook until you see holes in them.
Check if the rice is al dente.
If not, add hot water and cook more until the rice is al dente.
Cover the rice with the lid and keep it on low flame to simmer for 8-10 minutes.
Sprinkle with cashews, cilantro and fresh coconut (a must).
Serve hot with ghee on top or yogurt on the side.

Variations:

1) Rice will taste different depending on the vegetable used.

2) If you use eggplant - cut eggplant into 1" cubes and soak them in salted water (1 tsp salt to 2-3 cups of water) for 10-15 minutes. Remove from water and use the eggplant. Discard blakish water that has removed bitterness of eggplant.

3) If you use cabbage - cut lengthwise into thin 2-3" pieces.

4)  You can use frozen green peas with other vegetables.

5) If you want to use frozen peas, add them with rice and saute them together and then add hot water to cook the rice.

6) As a variation - Before you cover the rice with the lid, add 1/4 cup of yogurt (full fat), stir and cover with the lid and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

7) As another variation - After the rice is all cooked, add 3-4 tsp ghee from the side of the pan and stir with a fork and serve.

8) You can add handful of raw peanuts with washed rice brfore adding water.

9) This rice recipe is specifically from my state Maharashtra.

Notes:

1) I use Tilda basamati rice from Indian store. It is not old and has no old smell. Many people like to
use old basamati rice as it absorbs more water and gets fluffier after cooking. If you cook the rice as I
have suggested, rice will be fluffy. As we are not using onions and garlic in the recipe, the smell from old rice won't be covered up)
2) You can serve the rice with ghee (add 1 tsp ghee on top of the individual servings).
3) You can serve the rice with yogurt on the side.
4)  Serve with mango pickle (buy it in Indian store and serve as a condiment - 1 tsp) and fried papad (buy them in Indian store - they have many variety of papads like moong, urad, potato, poha)
5) You can serve the rice with slices of red onion, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Yogurt Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 2 cups

Green chilies - 3-4 chopped or red dry chilies - 2-3 break into small pieces.

Curry leaves - 1 branch (about 10-15 leaves)

Cilantro - 1 handful leaves chopped finely

fresh grated coconut (optional)

Plain yogurt - 1 cup

Warm milk - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Ghee Tempering - ( ghee, cumin seeds and hing powder - 1/4 tsp)

Recipe:

Take cooked rice in a bowl and separate rice grains with a fork or use your fingers.

Add yogurt and warm milk, sugar and salt to taste.

Prepare Ghee Tempering.  Let cumin seeds cook until lightly brown.  Add hing powder.

Add chilies, curry leaves and stir well and add to rice mixture while still very hot.  Mix well.

You don't cook this rice again. 

Add chopped cilantro leaves and serve.   

Notes:

  

1) When you cannot eat green chilies, add dried red chilies into oil tempering.  You can see them and remove them before serving.

2) I usually use left-over rice for this recipe.  

3) You can also add 1 tsp chana dal and 1 tsp urad dal (wash and soaked in water for at least 10 minutes, then remove water and add to oil tempering before chilies.  Cook until lightly brown).

4) You can use oil instead of ghee and follow the recipe for ghee tempering.

5) We usually eat this rice at the end of the meal, especially when we eat very hot and spicy food.

6) We also eat yogurt rice at supper or dinner because it helps you sleep better. (Now researchers say that milk contains the amino acid L-tryptophan, which turns to 5-HTP and releases relaxing serotonin. It's also high in calcium, which promotes sleep).  

Simple Fried Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 2 cups

Onions - 2 medium or 1 large - cut thinly lengthwise

Green chilies - 3-4 chopped or red dry chilies - 2-3 break into small pieces.

Curry leaves - 1 branch (about 10-15 leaves)

Cilantro - 1 handful leaves chopped finely

fresh grated coconut (optional)

Salt to taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1/2 lemon or about 2 Tb

Peanut oil - 4-5 Tb  , black mustard seeds, hing powder, turmeric for  Oil Tempering. 

Recipe:

Separate rice grains with a fork or use your fingers.

Prepare Oil Tempering. 

Add chilies, curry leaves and stir well.  

Add onions and cook them till lightly brown.   

Add rice and mix well with onions.   Add salt to taste.  Add sugar. Add half the cilantro leaves.  Mix well and cover and let it steam for 2-3 minutes.  Remove lid.  Add lemon juice and mix well.  Serve immediately with fresh coconut and cilantro.

Notes:

1) I sometimes add 1 chopped tomato to cooked onions and stir well and then add rice.

2) You can add eggplant instead of onions and follow recipe. Cut eggplant into cubes and soak them in water. Add 1/2 tsp salt and let it sit for a few minutes. Remove water and then cook in oil tempering. Don't forget hing powder (1/8th tsp) as it acts as anti gas.
3) When you cannot eat green chilies, add dried red chilies into oil tempering. You can see them and remove them before serving.
4) You can add 1/2 cup green peas to cooked onions.
5) You can add 1/4 cup raw peanuts before adding onions and cook them with onions. They will add nice crunch to the rice.
6) You can add broccoli (cut into small florets and steamed in microwave for 4 minutes) instead of onions. This is one of my favorite rice dish.
7) I like to add fresh or dry grated coconut to such recipes as coconut adds lot of fibers and it also helps improve memory.
8) I usually add lemon juice after I turn the heat off as lemon juice does not taste very well after getting cooked.  It can makes things bitter to taste.
9) I usually use left over rice for this recipe.
10) You can also add 1 tsp chana dal and 1 tsp urad dal (wash and soaked in water for at least 10 minutes, then remove water and add to oil tempering before chilies. Cook until lightly brown).

Each variation will give a bit different taste to the rice.