Sev Tomato Poha

I have been eating poha for as long as I can remember. However,the poha that I grew up eating and the one that I mostly make now are rather different. Till I moved to Bombay, I was only familiar with turmeric-less poha made with a sprinkle of red chilli powder, which tinged it with a gentle pink-brown.

It was in Bombay that I learned how to make batata, kanda poha with the characteristic yellow hue. And recently, after reading Kajal's post on poha, I have started adding freshly chopped tomatoes and sev to the poha, which adds such an interesting texture and flavour to the poha that now we don't like it any other way.

I usually skip potatoes and peas, unless I am making poha or guests as I find it too 'carby' for a regular breakfast. That aside,my method almost the same as Kajal's. Thanks Kajal, for introducing us to these yummy additions to our regular poha. We totally love it !

Express Paneer Biryani

On Sundays we usually eat out. But today we wanted to :

a. stay in

b. eat good Indian food

c. not exert too much

This express biryani was just the thing to rustle up in a jiffy and the aromatic spices really hit the right notes. And it took all of 30 minutes to make, aside from the 20 minutes for soaking the rice, which I do not like to skip even when cooking in a fast forward mode.

Ingredients:

1 katori basmati rice

200 gms paneer (i used frozen)

1 katori peas (also frozen)

1 medium onion, chopped finely

1 large tomato pureed with 2 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger and 1 green chilli

1/3 packet Shan bombay biryani masala

1.5 tbsp curd

2 tbsp oil

1tsp ghee/butter (optional but recommended)

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice,defrost paneer and peas

2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the chopped onions till golden brown

3. Add tomato puree and cook until it leaves oil. Add paneer & peas

4. Add biryani masala and a pinch of salt and mix.

5. Take the cooker off the flame and add curd stirring constantly till it is incorporated nicely.

6. Keep the cooker back on the burner and add the drained rice. Mix well and add 2 cups of water.

7. After two whistles and turn off the gas.

8. Open the cooker when the steam releases, drizzle 1tsp ghee/butter and gently mix. Serve with raita, chutney and salad.

P.S : In my hunger-driven frenzy, I did not bother to turn the rice over gently , which made the it a bit mushy. Luchily, the taste was largely unaffected.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Vegetable Fried Rice

This fried rice pairs nicely with schezwan cauliflower and was taught by the same chef. Do try to use leftover rice for this as it really helps keep the grains separate while frying. From start to end, this takes a maximum of 15 minutes including chopping vegetables.

Another one of interesting his tips on chinese cooking was that the size of vegetables for any chinese dish should match th size of the carb ! So, for fried rice, the ingredients need to be diced in small cubes and for noodles, they should be chopped into thin strips resembling the noodles.The rice should not be in the wok for more than 3 to 4 minutes max !

Ingredients



Cooked Rice 2 cups

Mix vegetables chopped finely 1 cup

( I used carrots, bell peppers, spring onions, french beans and bean sprouts)

Chopped garlic 1 tsp

Chilli paste 1 tsp ( optional)

Light soya sauce 2 tsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a wok and add garlic and chilli paste. Fry for 20 seconds and add the vegetables except beansprouts and spring onion greens. Fry for 30 seconds or so and add the rice. Splash in soya sauce and salt if required and toss together . Add beansprouts and fry for another 30 seconds. Garnish with spring onions and serve.