Vegetable Biryani(Kerala Style)

I and my family are big fans of Chicken Biryani. So we seldom make vegetable biryani at home. I only make when my mom visits us in Singapore. Because she is a vegetarian. Last week, I had a potluck at my office and I chose to bring biryani. My colleagues Jason and Anelyn told me not to bring chicken curry as they wanna bring their style chicken dishes. Jason is from Korea and Anelyn from Philippines. Others are Indians. So we had Biryani, 2 types of chicken dishes, Udupi Sambar, Chapati and dal, Raita and Carrot Kheer. It was an awesome lunch and all enjoyed very well. But the best part is they started asking me the biryani recipe. Actually I used home made biryani masala and that gives the taste to my vegetable biryani. I have shared the home made biryani masala powder recipe in my previous post. Please try this tasty recipe and enjoy with your loved ones.

Ingredients
For Rice
Basmati Rice - 3 cups
Ghee - 2 tablespoons
Cinnamon stick - 2 small pieces
Mace leaves - 2
Cardamom - 3
Cloves - 5
Saffron - 3 strands, dissolved in hot milk
Salt - to taste
Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
Water - 3 cups
For vegetable Masala
Big onion - 1, chopped
Carrots - 1 cup
French Beans - 1 cup
Frozen green peas - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Green chilli - 2, slitted
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Salt - to taste
Oil/ghee - 2 tablespoons
Water - 50 ml
To garnish
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Cashew nuts & raisins -  a few
Onion - 1, thinly sliced

Method
Recipe for Rice

Wash and clean the rice and soak in some water for 20 minutes. Drain it after 20 minutes and keep aside. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add cinnamon sticks, mace leaves, cardamom pods and cloves and fry for a few seconds. Add basmati rice and fry for 2-3 minutes. Now add water and salt. Pour lime juice and mix well. Cover the pressure cooker and switch off after 1 whistle.

Vegetable Masala
Heat oil/ghee in a pan and add fennel seeds, then add onions and saute until onions are translucent. Add carrots and beans and mix well. Add in ginger garlic paste and chillies. Now add turmeric powder, salt and garam masala. Pour water and mix well. Cover the pan for 2-3 minutes. Now open the lid and add green peas. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook for 1 more minute. Switch off the flame and add coriander leaves.
For garnishing
Heat ghee and oil in a pan and deep fry thinly sliced onions, cashews and raisins and keep aside.
Layering the Biryani
Take a wide pan and coat the bottom layer with vegetable masala. Then rice on the top and pour saffron mix. Now spread fried onions, cashews and raisins. Repeat the process and the top most layer should be the rice. Again spread fried onions, cashews and raisins on the top. Serve hot with raita and pappad.

Home made Biryani Masala powder/Garam masala powder(Kerala Style)

Yes, this is the recipe of my biriyani masala and I use the same as my garam masala powder too.
Ingredients
Cinnaom sticks - 4, 1 inch each, break into small pieces
Cloves - 10 nos.
Cardamom - 8 nos.
Star Anise - 4
Pepper seeds - 1 teaspoon
Mace leaf - 3 nos.
Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Method
Roast all the ingredients in medium flame and keep aside. Once it cools, blend it and store in an air tight container.

Dry fruits-saffron Pulao

Here, I am giving you a recipe of flavoured rice with dry fruits and saffron. Usually we make variety biriyani dishes during weekends, but I wanted to try
something deliciously different and easy to make. Then ended up with this rice which was not disappointing😃. My hubby and kids enjoyed the rice. Actually I prepared Smoky Chicken Masala
with this flavoured rice which I liked very much. I will share the recipe later. So please try this pulao and enjoy with family!
Ingredients
Biryani rice/Jeera rice - 2 cups
Water - 3 cups
Butter - 2 tablespoons
Onions - 1, thinly sliced
Salt - to taste
Fennel seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Cardamom - 2 nos
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - half inch piece
Tutti frutti - 2 tablespoons
Dates - 5 nos, chopped
Dry figs - 3 nos, chopped
Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
Saffron - 6 strands
Raisins - 2 tablespoons
Cashew nuts - 10 nos

Method

Wash the rice well and soak for 30 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a pressure coooker and add fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Saute for a minute and add onion slices and fry till onions are transparent. Now add Tutti frutti, dates, and figs and saute for a few seconds. Now add rice, water and salt and mix well. Add saffron strands and lemon juice and mix gently. Cover the pressure cooker and lower the flame after first whistle. Wait for a few seconds and switch off before the second whistle comes (I used jeera rice and measurement of water and cooking time given here depends on jeera rice).
Open the pressure cooker lid once the pressure gets released completely. Mix gently with a fork and remove the spices which can be seen on top of the rice if you don't want to bite those while having rice. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a pan and fry raisins and cashew nuts. Garnish the flavoured rice with fried raisins and cashew nuts. Serve hot with raita, pappad and lemon pickle.

Oats in yogurt

We have heard mixing oats with milk for breakfast or dinner. I have tasted oats in yogurt without salt or tadka 6 years back when my colleague (Chinese lady) brought it to office. Actually I hesitated to try because it was totally a new combination for me. But she compelled me to try and said I will definitely like it. Finally I tried half a teaspoon of it and it was amazing. Later I modified it to our Indian version and find it really superb. If you are following any diet, you can try this recipe.
Ingredients
Oats - 5 tablespoons
Yogurt - 4 tablespoons
Green chilli - 1 no.chopped
Salt - to taste
For tempering
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Shallots - 3 nos, chopped
curry leaves - a few

Method
Mix oats, yogurt,green chilli and salt and keep for 20 minutes. Heat oil in a pan and fry shallots until it is brown. Add curry leaves and pour this mixture to oats. Mix and serve.

Green Beans/Cherupayar/Moongdal Salad

I'm here with another healthy recipe which is suitable for those who are in diet. We know that after 30 years, it's better to cut down carbs intake and increase protein in our daily diet. So here, I'm giving you the best salad with green beans.

Green beans is packed with protein and low carbs, also known as moong dal is one of the best vegetarian superfoods. An integral part of the Indian diet, it is a good and filling option for those who want to shed kilos. Compared to other dals, moong dal is one of the low carb pulses available. Other pulses are high in protein but carbs too. This salad is super tasty and good for health. It's very easy in preparation too. So let's start!
Ingredients
Green Beans - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 Medium size, chopped
Tomato - 1 small size, chopped
Green Chilli - 1, chopped
Lime juice - 1/4 teaspoon
Olive Oil - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon, chopped

Method
Wash and soak green beans overnight. Boil it for 20 minutes. Make sure it is not overcooked. Once it is cool, add other ingredients and mix well. This is a very good replacement for rice.

Healthy Oats Laddu

Oats are among the healthiest grains on earth. Oats help in weight loss, lower blood sugar levels and a reduced risk of heart disease. Oats Are Incredibly Nutritious. Today, I'm gonna present a sweet dish with oats and sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are a good source of bone-forming minerals like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium etc. Calcium and magnesium are stress-relieving minerals and thus sesame seeds hep you sleep better. Please try this healthy and easy snack at home and enjoy it with your loved ones :)
Ingredients
Oats - 2 cups
Sesame seeds - 1 cup
Almonds - 10 nos
Jaggery - 3/4 cup, grated
Cardamom - 3 pods
Ghee - 1 tablespoon

Method
Roast oats for 10 minutes and keep aside. Roast sesame seeds until it gets popped up and set aside. Also roast the almonds. Blend roasted oats, almonds and sesame seeds to a coarse powder. Add cardamom pods and jaggery and blend again. Transfer the mixture to a vessel and add 1 tablespoon ghee to it. Mix well with your hands and make small balls out of it.

Notes : - You can use any type of oats. You may find difficult to make balls out of the mixture since it is not wet. Don't worry, you can still make balls.

Ari Unda/Rice Laddu(Kerala sweet)

Ari unda is my favourite snack item. My grandma used to prepare it in 'Ural', old type of mortar which was used to pound rice. Traditionally rice is pound with this equipment to make rice flour.  This equipment is very similar to mortar and pezzle but much bigger than mortar and pezzle. A person will stand and use the ulakai, the pezzle like equipment to pound the rice. Then the pound rice is placed in a sifter and sifted to get the flour.  When sifting the rice the particles which are collected in the sifter would be put into the “ural” again and pound to make the rice flour.  This equipment is now replaced with electric equipments. Ari unda made this way used to be so yummy. You can also try making this evening snack recipe at home and let your children enjoy the traditional sweet.
Ingredients
Kerala Matta Rice/Brown Rice - 2 1/2 cups
Jaggery - 2 cups, grated
Coconut - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Method

Wash and clean the rice well and remove stones if any. Heat a pan and roast the rice. Keep stirring until the rice pops up and crispy. Transfer the roasted rice to a bowl and let it cool. Take a wide bowl and mix grated coconut and jaggery with your hands. Now grind the roasted rice to powder (not too fine) in a blender. Add the rice powder to the coconut jaggery mixture and mix well using hands. Add cardamom powder and mix well again. Make small balls with the mixture and store in an air tight container.
Notes - You may add roasted peanuts or almonds also. The rice laddu will be harder only on the next day. You can consume up to 4 days.