Vegetable Sprouts Pulav

Pulav is a dish thats famous worldwide.
It is known by various names Pilav, pulao, palaw, pilaf, polaw.

It is made from rice and vegetable pulav has a variety of vegetables in it. It is a very high energy food.

Heres a recipe of Vegetable Sprouts Pulav

Ingredients:
1. Sprouts - 1 cup
2. Rice - 2 cups
3. Vegetables - carrot,potato,beans (1 cup)
4. Pulav Masala - 3 tsp
5. Oil - 2 tsp
6. Salt as per taste
7. Green chilly - 4
8. Onion - 1
9. Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
10. watre - 4 cups
11. Coriander

Preparation:
1. Soak the rice in water and keep aside for 15 mins.
2. Cut all the vegetables including onion and green chilly.Add garlic paste.
3. In a container - Heat the oil. Fry the onion until translucent.
4. Add all the cut vegetables and sprouts and Fry for 3 mins.
5. Now drain the water and add the rice to the fried vegetables and fry the rice along with vegetables for 3 more mins.
6. Add Salt, Pulav masala,Lemon juice. Mix well.
7. Add water - 4 cups and stir.
8. Add coriander. Pressure cook the ingredients(2 whistles).
9. Allow to cool and pulav is ready.

Vegetable Bombay Biriyani Recipe

There are a wide variety of biriyanis.
I first learnt to make biriyani from a friend and colleague, Kishwer. She prepared awesome biriyani for a weekend party.
Later inspired by the wonderful taste, I got a Biriyani Masala box, I chose MDH Bombay biriyani masala.
Here I am presenting the recipe followed by my friend which is more or less the same as the one mentioned on the masala box.I replaced the non-veg with the vegetables.

I didn't know the exact difference between fried rice, pulao and biriyani until I first cooked the biriyani myself. To prepare the fried rice the cooked rice is fried with the other ingredients,for the biriyani,one needs to cook the rice first.For the pulao, all ingredients including rice are cooked together.

Initially I would complain that "My biriyani turns out to be a pulao".Cooking biriyani needs great skill and care.Even a minute's extra heat might make it imperfect.

Ingredients:
1. Cut vegetables - Potato, cauliflower,Beans,Carrot - 1 cup each
2. Onion - 1 large
3. Tomato - 2
4. Rice (uncooked) - 2 cups ( preferably Basmati rice)
5. Cashew-nuts - 10
6. Oil - 1/2 cup
7. Salt as per taste
8. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Garlic Cloves - 3
10. MDH Bombay biriyani Masala - 5 tsp
11. Mint leaves - 5

Preparation:
1. Soak the rice is water for 15 to 20 mins.
2. Cut all the vegetables.
3. Fry the vegetables( potato, beans, cauliflower,carrot) one by one and keep them separate. Add oil while frying.
4. Fry the onion until they turn slightly brown.Then add crushed Garlic and tomato. Fry until the water from tomato separates.
5. Add salt and biriyani masala.Mix well.
6. Add all the fried vegetables and mix.Add 2 tbsp water and cook for 5 mins.
7. Now to cook the rice - add 3 cups water ( 1.5 cups water : 1 cup rice) and mint leaves and cook up to 80 %. If you use pressure cooker,cook until one whistle.
8. When the rice is ready.Take a big container and place a layer of rice, followed by a layer of vegetable mix and then again a layer of rice and so on. Pour 1 cup water and cook with the container covered for 5 mins

Biriyani can be garnished with fried Cashew and deep-fried onion.
Once the biriyani is ready the aroma spreads everywhere. Now peacefully relish the biriyani along with raita.

Spicy Green Rice / Spinach rice

Spinach rice
When one speaks of spinach the first thing that comes ot my mind is "The Popeye Show".
I used to watch this cartoon serial as a kid. Here the main character Popeye had strong muscles attributed to his spinach drink.
Popeye gained instant energy after having the spinach drink :) and could perform supernatural acts.

Indeed, Spinach is a repository of nutrients.Its rich in vitamins and minerals.
Heres a simple recipe using spinach as the main ingredient.

Ingredients:
1. White rice uncooked - 1 cup
2. Spinach leaves - 1 cup
3. Mint leaves - 10 to 15
4. Garlic Cloves - 2
5. Biryani/Pulao masala - 1 tsp
6. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
7. Coriander (optional)
8. Green chilly - 2
9. Onion - 1
10. Oil - 2 tsp
11. Cashew nuts - 4-5
12. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
13. Salt as per taste
14. Water - 1.5 cups

How to prepare Spinach Rice?
1. Wash the uncooked rice with water and keep aside for 5 mins.
2. Cut the onion and green chilly.
3. Cut the spinach and mint leaves and grind to make a paste.
4. Add oil to the container,add mustard seeds when the oil is hot.
5. Add green chilly and garlic paste. Fry
6. Add onion and fry for 2 mins.
7. Now add the green paste prepared earlier and fry for 3 mins.
8. Then drain the water from the rice and add to the container. Fry for a min
9. Add salt, masala and cashew nuts.
10. Add water and cook.

When cooked, the green rice looks yummy and tastes equally good.

Lemon Rice

Yellow Rice

Lemon rice is more commonly called as Chitranna in Karnataka.
I always wonder "why this dish is called Chitranna?". Where chitra means - strange and anna means rice.
One of my friends says, the dish is named after the place where it originated, CHITRAPUR hence CHITRANNA.
Any other thoughts?

Well,Chitranna/Yellow rice is prepared in various ways. I specially like to prepare it without onion or tomato.

Ingredients:
1. Rice (cooked) - 2 cups
2. Lemon juice - 3 tsp
3. Garlic - 3 cloves
4. Mustard - 1/2 tsp
5. Turmerric - 1/2 tsp
6. Groundnut - 1 tbsp
7. Oil - 2 tsp
8. Green Chilly - 3
9. Urad dal - 2 tsp
10. Coriander to garnish

How to make Yellow Rice?
1. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds.
2. Once the mustard start spluttering,add urad dal and groundnuts.Fry for a min.
3. Add cut green chilly and garlic paste. Fry for a min again.
4. Add salt,turmeric,and lemon juice.Mix the ingredients.
5. Finally add the cooked rice and mix well but gently.
6. Add coriander to garnish.