Quinoa Pulav/Quinoa Biryani


I was not sure what to call this recipe, as this is just my creation combining vegetables and some spices with Quinoa(which I got to know from my friend Roopa). It has several health benefits apart from being rich in proteins.


Preparation Time - 5 mins
Cook Time - 30 mins
Serves - 2


Measurements & Ingredients:

• Uncooked Quinoa - 1 cup(8oz cup)
• Chopped mixed vegetables(beans, carrot, green peas, onion) - 2 small cups
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Green chillies - 2
• Biryani Masala powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds(jeera) - 1 tsp
• Bay leaf - 2 small
• Cinnamon stick - 1/2 "
• Cloves - 2
• Salt

Method:

Bring 2.5 cups of water to boil(1 cup Quinoa needs 2.5 cups of water).  Once the water starts boiling, add the washed Quinoa.  Lower the heat to low medium, cover it and let it cook for 20 mins.  Stir occasionally.  You can know that it is cooked when you see the Quinoa being translucent with a ring around it.  Usually it takes 15-20 mins to get cooked on low medium heat.  By this time there will be no water left, or if a little is left, cook it open until the water evaporates, but on the same heat.  Let it sit.

 Heat oil in a pan.  To this add jeera, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, green chillies, onion and saute until the onion turns pink.

 Now add the chopped vegetables, salt, mix and cook it covered for about 10 mins on low medium heat.  Do not add water.  Salt and the covered cooking will give out enough moisture to cook the vegetables.

 Add the biryani masala powder(I use the store bought one), mix and leave it to cook for 3-4 mins.

 Then add the cooked Quinoa and gently mix.  Cook for 5 mins, during which all the spices will blend with the Quinoa.

The Quinoa Pulao / Quinoa Biryani is ready to be served!  Enjoy it warm!

          

Mixed Vegetable Rice

This is the best option for lunch box if you are a rice lover.  No spills, no mess...

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cook Time - 15 mins
Serves - 2

Measurements & Ingredients:

• Chopped mixed vegetables(capsicum, green peas, carrot) - 2 medium size cups
• Oil - 4 tbsp
• Mustard seeds(sasive) - 3/4 tsp
• Black gram(urad dal) - 1 tsp
• Bengal gram(channa dal) - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Vangibath powder - 3 - 4 tsp
• Cooked Rice - 2 cups
• Salt 
• Lemon juice - 3 tsp

Method:


 Cook the rice and keep it aside.

 In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves, asafoetida.  Now add the chopped vegetables and saute it. 

 Add salt, mix and let it cook it covered on low medium heat for around 7-10 mins. 
Stir in between.

 Then add the vangibath powder and mix.  Leave it for 5 mins on low heat.  Switch off the stove and add the lemon juice.

Mix this mixture with rice to make the mixed vegetable rice!

Variations:

Instead of the above listed mixed vegetables, you could add  Dill leaves with potatoes and green peas OR Avarekai(Surti papdi lilva or vaala/vaal(in marathi)) with fresh Fenugreek leaves(menthya soppu) OR just fresh Fenugreek leaves

Onion Tomato Curry/Eerulli Tomato Gojju

Onion and tomato together makes a great dish!

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cook Time - 20 mins
Serves - 2

Measurements & Ingredients:

• Onion - 1 medium, cut into small pieces
• Tomatoes - 2 medium, cut into small pieces
• Green chillies - 2
• Rasam powder(saaru pudi) - 1 tspn
• Jaggery(optional) - little, as per taste
• Oil - 2 tblspn
• Mustard seeds(sasive) - 1 tspn
• Black gram(urad dal) - 1 tspn
• Bengal gram(channa dal) - 1 tspn
• Curry leaves - a few
• Cilantro(coriander leaves) - a few sprigs
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Turmeric powder - 1/8 tspn
• Salt

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add sasive, urad dal, channa dal, green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida and then onions and fry on low medium flame. 

Once the onions turn light pink, add the tomatoes, salt and let it cook for about 7 mins.  Add little water if it is getting too dry. 

Now add rasam powder, jaggery, coriander leaves, mix well and add little water if needed.  Let it cook for 10 mins covered. 

Serve with chapathi/roti!

German Turnip Fry / Navil kosu Palya

Also known as knol kol or navilu kosu, it is a very tasty vegetable when cooked as sambar or fry.  Here is the recipe for the fry.

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cook Time - 15 mins
Serves - 2

Measurements & Ingredients:

• Tender Navilkosu - 3 medium sized, skin peeled and then cut into small pieces
• Cumin powder(jeera powder) - 3/4 tspn
• Oil - 1-2 tblspn
• Mustard seeds(sasive) - 1 tspn
• Jeera - 1/4 tspn
• Curry leaves - a few
• Red chili(spicy) - 1
• Turmeric powder - 1/8 tspn
• Salt
• Asafoetida - a pinch

Method:

 Heat oil in a pan and to this add mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves, red chili and asafoetida.  Then add the chopped navilukosu, turmeric powder, salt, little water and cook it covered on low medium heat for about 10 mins or until tender and the water evaporates.

Stir occasionally.  

Add jeera powder and mix well.  Cook it for another 5 mins and it is ready to be served with Chapathi/roti or Rice.






What's different in this recipe?
Most of them I have heard is, they follow the same procedure except for adding cumin powder(jeera powder) or some add both dhaniya-jeera powder.  I liked it when using only jeera powder.  Try this once and let me know your feedback :)  I personally felt this jeera powder gives a totally different and nice taste to the dish.

Majjige Paladya ( Majjige Huli/Spicy Yogurt Gravy)

This is a yogurt based spicy gravy with some selected vegetables like Winter Melon(Ash gourd/ Boodkumbalakai) or tender Okra(bendekai) or Amaranthus ( dantina soppu) or Cucumber (southekai).

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cook Time - 2 hrs, including soaking
Serves - 3

Measurements & Ingredients:

• Ash Gourd (boodkumbalakai) - skin peeled, seeds and the inner soft part(tirulu) removed.  Then cut the ash gourd into medium sized pieces
• Bengal gram(channa dal) - 5 tblspns, soaked in water for about 2 hrs
• Fresh or frozen coconut - 1 medium sized cup
• Green chillies - 5
• Ginger - 1"
• Cumin seeds(Jeera) - 1 tspn
• Coriander leaves - a few sprigs
• Oil - 3 tblspns
• Mustard seeds(sasive) - 1 tspn
• Curry leaves - a few
• Red chili - 1 whole
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Turmeric powder(optional) - 1/4 tspn
• Salt

Method:

Cook the ash gourd in a pressure cooker or in a pot with water.

In a blender, make a paste out of fresh coconut, soaked channa dal, coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger and jeera, with little water.

Heat 2 tblspn oil in a pan.  To this, add the paste and salt and keep frying on low-medium heat until the raw smell goes.  Add little water if needed, but do not make it too watery.  You need to keep stirring occasionally so that it doesn't get stuck to

the pan.  After 10 mins or

the raw smell has gone, add the cooked ash gourd and mix gently.  Add turmeric powder if needed.  Let it cook for 5 mins.

Then add butter milk(or yogurt which is well beaten).   

  

After you add butter milk, turn the heat to low.  If the heat is high, the butter milk will get curdled, which should not happen.  It should get cooked on a low flame.  This will take approximately 10 mins for the yogurt to start getting boiled.

Once you see the yogurt starting to slightly boil,

 switch off the stove.  In a small laddle, heat 1 tblspn of oil.  To this add mustard seeds, red chili, curry leaves and asafoetida.  Add this tempering to the gravy and majjige paladya is ready to be served with rice!

Butter Milk...

Ideally, the butter milk should be sour for the dish to be at its best.  But in different regions, sour butter milk is not available at store, which should also be okay.

Split Red Lentil Curry / Split Masoor Dal / Masoor Bele

I learnt this recipe from my MIL.  The Masoor dal has about 47g of proteins per cup(192g).  Apart from this, it has several other health benefits.


Cook Time - 20 mins
Serves - 2

Measurements & Ingredients:

• Red lentils(Masoor dal) - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1/2 onion, cut length wise
• Tomato - 1 small, cut into small pieces
• Grated ginger - 1/2 tspn
• Green chillies - 2
• Red chili powder - 1/2 tspn
• Coriander leaves - a few
• Curry leaves - a few
• Lemon juice - 2 tspns
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
• Cumin seeds(jeera) - 1/2 tspn
• Mustard seeds(sasive) - 1/2 tspn
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Jeera powder - 1/2 tspn
• Coriander powder - 1 tspn
• Oil - 2 tbspns

Method:

Pressure cook the dal(lentils) by adding 2 and 1/4 cup of water.  The dal has to be cooked well.

Heat oil, to this add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. 

Then add onions and fry until they turn pink and add the cut tomatoes and salt.  Fry for 2-3 mins on low heat. 

To this,add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric

powder, red chili powder,

the cooked dal and mix well.

Add water to make it liquid.

Let it boil on low medium

heat for 15 mins.

  

Add water in between if you feel dal is getting too thick.

At the end, squeeze in the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro.  Serve with roti or rice!

Rava Upma/Rave Upit/Sooji Upma/Vegetable Upma/Vegetable Upit


This is the most common breakfast in most of the South Indian houses.  It is a fast to cook dish which is very tasty. 

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cook Time - 15 mins
Serves - 2


Measurements & Ingredients:

• Rava(rave/sooji) - 1 big cup
• Cut vegetables(onion, green beans, green peas, capsicum, carrot) - all or any combination - 2 small cups
• Oil - 4 tblspns
• Mustard seeds(sasive) - 3/4 tspn
• Bengal gram(channa dal) - 1 tspn
• Black gram(urad dal) - 1 tspn
• Cumin seeds(jeera) - 3/4 tspn
• Curry leaves - a few
• Coriander leaves - a few
• Green chillies - 4
• Asafoetida - a pinch

Method:

 Roast the rava(sooji) without oil for 5 mins on medium heat.  Do not let it turn dark brown, it should just start changing colour. 

Keep this aside.  In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal, jeera, green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida.  Then add onions and the other vegetables, salt, coriander leaves and mix.  Cover it and cook it on low heat for 5-7 mins.  

Now add 2 big cups of water(same cup as the rava measurement), increase the heat to high and let it come to a boil.  Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to complete low and then add the rava continuously at the center of the boiling water with simultaneously mixing 

in circles in the same

direction.  Continue mixing

in circles even after all the

rava is added.  As you see,

the rava absorbs all the

water.

 Cover it and let it cook on low heat for 10 mins.  Mix occasionally.  Finally add lemon juice and mix.

Serve hot with either raitha or chutney pudi or just plain hot upma!

   



Don't skip this step...
The only trick to have a lump-free upma is to keep stirring continuously and fast as you add the rava.  If you relax on this step, your dish will be spoilt.
Additionally, you can roast rava in large quantity and store it so that you can skip roasting it when you need to prepare upma and save another 10 mins in the cooking.