Today i prepared this Mushroom fried rice to pack for lunch. My son and hubby loves to take fried rice for lunch. even i find it easy to make. i also added vegetables along with mushroom, so that my son eats vegetables. Finding different variety rice to pack for lunch box is becoming difficult for me. hope to share more lunch box recipes here soon.


For me, spring onions is must for fried rice. spring onions add a good taste to this rice recipe. You can also add ajinomoto to make it taste just like restaurant served ones.

I made this Mint Baby Potato Pulao for Yesterday's Lunch Box. I am trying to find out different variety rice recipes for my son as he just started to have lunch at school. We all liked this pulao and that made me to click pictures of my share of lunch to share it with you all.


It is very good to eat pudhina. as it is the best for our digestive system. Making kids eat pudhina is difficult. Kids will love to eat pudhina rice when done in this way. just add 1 or 1/2 green chilly, so that kids may not find this rice spicy.

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 2 cup's
Fresh Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Appalam - 4 (already fried / ready to eat)
Sesame oil - 1 tsp

For tempering:

Coconut oil / Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Peanuts - 2 tsp's
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp's
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Green chilli - 2
Dry Red chilli - 1

Method:

Cook the rice, with right amount of water(rice:water should be 1:2) in pressure cooker for about 2 or 3 whistle count. make sure rice do not get mashy, Rice should be grains apart. you may also use basmati rice. Once the rice is cooked, spread the rice in wide bowl or plate, drizzle a tsp of coconut or sesame oil over the rice, mix with a fork and leave the rice to get cool.

Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a pan, add mustard and let it pop, then add chana dal, urad dal, peanuts green & dry red chilli and roast them till they become golden in color. add curry leaves and fry it too. then add the grated coconut's and fry in low flame for about a minute mixing with the other tempering ingredients. Now add salt to taste.

Crush the appalam with your hands and just mix up with the other ingredients in the pan, mix it all up. switch off the flame. Then add rice to the pan, if possible you can toss the pan or slowly mix the rice with the tempering without breaking the rice. Now appala poo sadam is ready to serve. 

Serve with little watery coconut chutney or with potato chips or potato roast. 

 Note:

Only when the rice is served immediately the appalam will remain crisp. if served later, appalam turns soft, but no matter, still you can enjoy its taste.

Add Salt, keeping in mind that of the salt in appalam.

Whenever my sister anu says, she fed her kid paruppu sadam, i used to think it as rice mixed with dal and ghee. When Sharmi blogged arisi paruppu sadam, i liked it much and was telling about it to my sis. then she told thats what she was feeding her kid often. she told the recipe in a flow. i straight went into the kitchen and made in minutes. Now i have prepared this several times. this is such a easy, pretty fast meal, which you can serve your kids wholeheartedly with lots of ghee.


I prefer to serve this sadam with egg poriyal or appalam. even potato roast will make a nice combination to this rice.

Heat a wide bottomed Pressure cooker, add oil or ghee, once it gets hot, start the tempering, add mustard and let it pop. then add split urad dal in medium flame, else it may get browned soon. add crushed garlic, green chilly, asafoetida powder and curry leaves.

Now add the onions and saute till it turns translucent. then add the chopped tomatoes and saute well, till they get soft and mashy. add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp of sambhar powder. mix all together.

Now add the soaked and drained rice and dal to the cooker, mix well with the onions. add 3 cups of water, and salt to taste. close the pressure cooker with its lid and put on the weight.

Let the pressure cooker whistle for at least 4 times in medium flame. switch off the flame. let the steam escape before opening the lid. Serve hot with a tsp of ghee and appalam or with any side dishes.

Notes:

You can omit mustard and urad dal and add cinnamon , bayleaf and cloves as tempering. it will be of a different taste. This is ideal for lunch boxes. so on a busy weekday, you can make this in minutes and pack for your kids.

Summer is at its peak here. Nothing seams to be interesting in this climate than the curd rice for me and my son. this carrot rice is my son's favorite.




Ingredients:

• 2 cup's of Basmati Rice (soaked in water for about 20 minutes)
• 2 carrot 
• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1/2 tsp of mustard 
• 1 tsp of split urad dal 
• 1 sprig Curry leaves 

Ingredients for Masala powder:

• 1/2 cup channa dal
• 1/2 cup dry red chillies
• 1/4 cup urad dal
• 1/4 cup dhania / corriander seeds
• 1/4 cup dessicated dry coconut / kopparai thengaai
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 1 tbsp khasa-khasa / poppy seeds
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp hing

1. Dry roast the ingredients in medium flame one by one. start with chana dal, urad dal, dhania. then dry roast cumin, fenugreek, cinnamon and cloves, khasa-khasa. following roast the dry coconut in slow flame. then roast the dry red chillies, curry leaves and hing separately.


2. Cool the roasted ingredients. using your mixie, make them into a fine powder.


3. Store the masala powder in an air tight jar. use it within a month, as it has dry coconut or store in your fridge.


4. Soak the basmati rice for about 20 minutes in sufficient water, drain the water and cook basmati rice with 1 and half cup's of water. i used my microwave and cooked in 1 and half cup's of water for about 12 minutes at 900w. rice and water ratio is 1 : 1 and 1/2. you can cook the rice on stove top with the same ratio. cool the cooked basmati rice in a wide bowl. mix 1 tsp of sesame oil to the rice and give a soft stir with a fork, so that the grains separate.


5. Peel the skin of the carrot. wash them and soak in hot water for about 10 -15 minutes. this is to help grating the carrot smoothly. after 15 minutes of soaking, grate the carrot's and set aside.


6. Heat a pan, add oil, when its heated, add mustard and let it splutter. then add urad dal and curry leaves. now add the masala powder and salt to the oil and roast the masala powder for just a few seconds in slow flame. then add salt and mix well along with the masala.


7. Add the cooked basmati rice and mix with the masala's. then add the grated carrot and mix slowly, so that you do not break the rice grains. remove from flame and transfer to the serving bowl.

Mughalai's introduced us biryani, have you ever wondered, what would our ancestors made for one pot meal before biryani. my grand mom's never prepared biryani. but they prepare delicious kadamba sambhar sadam.  it is not at all our tradition to have biryani. slowly now biryani is ruling all over here in tamil nadu. now a days its very difficult to spot kootanchoru or sambhar sadam in hotel menu(all the bhavan's have. i agree. but others?)



 Kootanchoru or Kadamba sambhar sadam is cooking rice,dal, vegetables and greens together in one pot. what a healthy one pot meal that could be.  Have you ever cooked in your childhood with your friends? or have you had your dinner with your family down the moon on a full moon day?


During my childhood, we four friends bring small amount of rice, vegetables, dal from our home's and cook in a small stove made by us with just three stones and some sticks. cooking together and eating together was so much fun then.




Kootanchoru / kadamba sambar sadam is ready, serve with appalam and some potato roast or vazhakkai(raw banana) roast.

Recipe for Vazhakkai roast:

Peel the skin and chop the raw banana(1) into small pieces. Add  2 tbsp oil in a heated pan. add mustrad, curry leaves, sambhar powder(1 tsp), dhaniya powder(1 tsp), salt to taste, asafoetida a pinch, all in the temepering stage and roast the powders. then add the chopped raw banana and mix well with the masala. let the flame be low, add another tbsp of oil, if it sticks to the pan. cook for 10 - 15 minutes in the closed pan.

Mushroom, this is one veggie(?) which cooks so fast and yet you can make super yummy dishes with it. My cook makes this mushroom biryani. mostly on weekends, i ask her to make this mushroom biryani, which she makes super fast and perfect!




If you are seeing the basmati rice grains distinct and apart, the credit goes to Rak's kitchen. she was so kind to help me with suggesting good basmati rice and the water level for it. Thanks Raks!

My hubby liked the biryani most, its not easy to impress or get a word from him, but when he told its nice, i have to believe, because i tasted it too:)

* if you are a food blogger, put the hot biryani on a fancy bowl, click pictures of the hot biryani on different angles with different props till you are satisfied and by the time you click, family leaves you and finishes off the hot biryani! finally you got to eat the cooled biryani with a high level of satisfaction indeed!!

I remember seeing this karnataka recipe on my great grand mother's recipe collection. wonder how she managed to get the traditional karnataka recipes without any cookbooks, visits to the state and all.

Vangi Bath Masala powder


Home made vangi bath masala is full of flavors, i just loved the addition of dry coconut. this is the first time i used. the aroma and taste of kopparai thengaai contributing to the dish is too good.

Serve Biryani Hot with Onion Raita.

If you are Curd Rice Lover, do give it a try. I highly recommend this for Kids. also this Curd rice will be a great treat for your Guests.

Cooking Biryani on weekends is a must for me. I just love the cooking flavour of biryani coming out of every house on weekends. So for my part, i try to tempt others.


INGREDIENTS:

Rice - 3 small tumblers
Egg's - 4
Red Onions - 3
Tomato - 1
Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Green Chilli - 1

Milagaai thool / Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

For Thalippu / Tadka :

Ghee / Oil - 6 tbsp's
Cashewnuts - 5
Pattai / Cinnamon Stick - 2 small stick's
lavang / cloves - 2
Sombu / saunf - 1/2 tsp
elakkaai / cardamon - 3
Bringe leaf - 1

For Grinding:

1. Kothamalli kaambu / Corriander Stem's - 5
2. Cinnamon stick (pattai) - 2 smal sticks
3. Lavang - 2
4. Ginger - 2' inch
5. Garlic - 7 (big cloves)
6. Green Chilli - 1
7. Tomato - 1/2
8. Yogurt - 3 tsp
9. Sombu - 1/4 tsp

To Garnish:

Mint Leaves / Puthina - 10 leaves
Corriander Leaves - 3 tbsp's (chopped)
Oil - 3 tbsp's
Red Onion - 2 no. (chopped finely)
Potato - 2 no. (chopped in shape of french fries)

Method:

Boil the Egg's with little salt in 2 cup's of water on slow flame for about 10 minutes. remove the oute shell and leave it aside.

Soak the Rice in water for about 30 mins. If you are using Basmati Rice, soak it just for 10 mins.

Chop the Onion's finely and keep aside. get ready with ginger and garlic.

Now we shall Grind the masala's.. Grind the masala, with the ingredients given under Grinding and keep aside.

Heat a Aluminium Vessel(like the one shown in pic. below) add ghee or oil and let it to heat. Now add cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, bringe leaf, cashew nuts and fry them in slow flame. add saunf and fry it.

Now add the finely chopped Red Onion's and saute them, till they turn light brown. or till u feel
the nice smell of onions.

Now add the Peas and mix well with the onions.

Add the Grinded masala's to the vessel and saute them for 2 minutes, till the raw smell of ginger-garlic goes off.

Now add the soaked rice and mix well.

Add Chilli Powder and Garam masala and mix well. also add salt to taste.

Now add exactly 5 cup's of water and stir well. (if using Basmati rice use just 3 cup's of water.)

Add Boiled Egg's, Mint / puthina leaves and corriander leaves and close the vessel with its lid.


Place a Heavy weighing vessel over the Biryani cooking vessel. I kept my Pressure cooker filled with water on top of the vessel.

Let this Biryani get cooked in slow flame for about 30 mins. Basmati rice may get cooked earlier or just take 20 mins more or less.

Heat Oil in a pan, fry the chopped Red Onions in medium flame till they are browned. this may take atleast 5 mins.

also fry the potatoes.

Now serve the Biryani with fried onions and fried potatoes.

I prepared this Tomato Rice for today's afternoon meal. I recently learned this recipe and i have tried it thrice so far. It turned out Tasty and Perfect every time. This Tomato Rice is cooked in Pressure Cooker with the juice of tomato and spices, as a result every rice grain tastes fabulous.

You can prepare this very fast with less work. it tastes equal to Briyani. If you feel, there is no nutrition in it, try adding Mushroom, while sauting the onions, and let us call it as Mushroom Tomato Briyani.

Ingredients:

1. Tuvar Dal - 3 tbsp's

2. Tomato - 1

3. Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tsp

4. Cumin - 2 tsp's

5. Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

6. Rasam Powder - 2tbsp's

7. Water - 1 and half cup's

8. Chopped Corriander Leaves - 2 tbsp's

9. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp


Method:

1.Pressure Cook the Tuvaram Paruppu / Toor / Tuvar Dal with 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of turmeric powder with a small drop of ghee. for about 4 whistle's or till the dal is cooked well.

2.Heat a pan, add a tsp of ghee, add cumin seeds and asafoetida powder. wait till the cumin seeds are roasted.

3.Now add the chopped tomato and saute them along cumin in ghee.

4.Add the Pressure Cooked Toor Dal and one and half cup's of water and stir well.

5.Add Turmeric Powder, Rasam Powder and salt.

6. Add Chopped Corriander Leaves and Let the rasam get heated. do not let it to boil.


Serve Paruppu Rasam Hot over Rice with a tsp of ghee. Make Pappad's and serve it along.