Easiest khichdi | Dheeli Khichdi | Rice and Lentils Porridge

Neither winter, nor the flu season is ending here :( It has been snowing & will continue to snow until at least till the end of this month. Because of the fluctuations in the weather, all of us are down with infections. My son has been throwing up continuously from the last 2-3 days. He is not able to take any complex food, not even vegetables, fruits or milk. I kept on giving him rice & yogurt with a pinch of salt all the time & he got bored of it, until my friend suggested me this dheeli khichdi. He loved it so much that I have made this dish back to back for him. Me & my hubby also loved eating it.

Preparation Time: Nil
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:
Rice : 3/4th cup (I have used sona masoori rice)
Skinned moong dal | Hesru bele: 3/4 cup
Oil: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida: a pinch
Cloves: 3-4 nos
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Salt: As needed
Water: 6 cups

Method:
Wash the rice & dal thoroughly. Let the rice + dal soak in water for 15 mins

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. When oil is hot, add in the cumin seeds & cloves.

When they turn fragrant, add in the asafoetida, turmeric powder, & water.

Adjust the salt & let the water boil.
Drain the water from the rice + dal.
When water starts boiling, throw in the rice + dal & cook it on med-high heat for 3-4 whistles.
Turn off the heat & allow the pressure to be released.
Remove the pressure cooker lid, add a tbsp of ghee & minx in the cooked khichdi thoroughly.

Enjoy hot.

Notes:
The water to rice + dal mixture needs to be 4: 1

Simple Vegetable Rice with no garlic or onion!

When I posted the pic of vegetable rice in FB, I got a good response from people. Also, they wanted me to share the recipe soon. Although, I have almost finished another post, I am holding it for the moment & going ahead with this vegetable rice recipe. This is a very simple pulao recipe & not a mixed rice (also known as bhath or kalasida anna). Let me bring out the difference between the bhath (mixed rice) & pulao

Mixed rice | Bhath is prepared the below mentioned ways. First the white rice is cooked & spread to cool. Meantime, the spiced up curry/gravy/palya/gojju is made. A tempering is done. The spiced curry/gojju, some salt, and tempering is added to the rice. It is mixed gently but thoroughly to ensure the spice paste is well coated on the rice.  Finally garnished with some cilantro (optional) or grated coconut and served! My blog does have many mixed rice recipes. To name a few...

Cluster beans rice
Coriander rice
Curry leaves rice
Coconut-mustard rice

For the pulao, a tempering is done, followed by the spices, veggies, rice, water, and seasoning. Then it is covered & cooked either in a pressure cooker/rice cooker or on stove top, until the rice is fluffy. Some pulao recipes are...

Rice and black eyed peas pulao
Dill leaves pulao
Beetroot rice
Coconut pulao

Now, coming to today's vegetable rice recipe! My mom is off to garlic (I might have told this a zillion times) & you all must have guessed why I try recipes with no garlic & onion :p A very simple, one pot dish that can be whipped up fast.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice: 2 cups
Chopped vegetables: 1.5 cups (I have used carrots, beans and green peas)
Water: 3 cups
Coconut milk: 1/4th cup
Salt: As needed

For the tempering:
Oil: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Bay leaf : 1 no
Cinnamon: 1 inch stich
Green cardamom: 2 nos
Star anise : 1 no
Cloves: 2-3
Green chilies: 3-4 nos, slit

For the garnish:
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp, chopped

Method:
Wash the rice thoroughly.Soak the rice for 15-20 mins.
Meantime, heat oil. When the oil is hot, throw in the cumin seeds. 

When cumin seeds turn aromatic & brown, throw in the dry spices (bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and star anise). 

After the spices are sauteed, add in the green chilies.

Follow it with the vegetables & saute the vegetables until the oil is well coated on the veggies. 
In between, drain the water completely from the soaked rice.
Add in the water to the vegetables & let the water boil. 

When water starts boiling, add in the coconut milk, salt & soaked rice.

(After this step, I transferred the contents to the rice cooker & cooked it in the electric rice cooker. This step is completely optional. Refer notes to know why I do it!)
Cook it covered on a med heat until the rice is almost cooked. Do not keep mixing. The rice grains will break & the end product will become mushy.

When the rice is almost cooked, gently mix once & reduce the heat to low until the rice is cooked to perfection. (for about 5-7 minutes). 
Turn off the heat. Add in the coriander leaves. Keep it undisturbed for another 10 mins & then fluff the rice gently. 
Serve it with a side dish of your choice.

Notes:

• This vegetable rice is not spicy & dry like the jeera rice or peas pulao. It needs some spicy side dish like vegetable saagu | dal makhani | palak paneer. Raita might not go well with this rice.
• It is very important for the rice to get cooked undisturbed. If you keep mixing, the rice will become mushy. You don't want that, right?
• I transfer the contents to the electric rice cooker because I will be sure that the rice will not stick to the bottom & burn.
• Feel free to use a pressure cooker. If you are using a pressure cooker, then cook on medium-high heat for one whistle only. Then remove from heat & wait till the pressure is released. Remove the lid & gently fluff the rice.

Kidney bean patty burger | Vegetarian Burger | Bean burger | Spicy burger

I'm introducing burgers to my son. Though he is staying in the States from the last one year, he is totally off to American food. He prefers Indian anytime. Although it is good for his health, it becomes extremely difficult when we travel. To make him get used to the burgers, I keep making burgers often.

Instead of the regular potato patty, I try with different patties each time. This time it was a kidney bean burger. Kidney bean is a great protein source. Although you could use canned beans, I prefer to use dried beans for obvious reasons.

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: Around 10 mins
Makes around 7-8 burgers

Ingredients:

For the patty:
Kidney beans : 1 cup, raw or 3 cups of cooked beans
Finely chopped bell pepper: 2 tbsp
Onion: 1 med sized, finely chopped
Finely chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Bread crumbs: from 2 slices of bread (about 1/4th cup)
Carom seeds | Om kalu: 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tsp
Lemon juice: 2 tsp
All purpose flour/Maida: 2 tbsp, optional
Salt: As needed
Oil: About a teaspoon for each patty

For assembling the burger:
Burger buns: 7-8
Slices of tomato: 2 on each burger
A slice of cheese on each buger
Lettuce or baby spinach
Any dressing of your choice (refer notes below)

Method:
Soak the kidney beans overnight. Drain the water.  Add the kidney beans + water + 1/2 tsp of salt to the pressure cooker and cook it for about 4-5 whistles.Let the cooker cool down.
Once the pressure is released from the cooker, remove the lid & drain the water from the beans. You get approximately 3 cups of cooked beans.
Mash the beans gently. To the mashed beans, add in the ingredients mentioned for the patty (except oil & AP flour).
If the mixture is gooey & sticking to the hands, add in a tablespoon of flour at a time to adjust the consistency.

Heat a griddle. Make the patties & shallow fry the patties on both sides on a medium heat.

Remove the patties from the griddle & immediately arrange the burger.

Cut the burger bun in half. Add a layer of  greens first (I have used baby spinach here).
Follow the greens with the cheese slice (I did not have the slices, hence used grated mozzarella. What matters is the cheese & not the form, isn't it ;)  )
Place in the patty. Add a tablespoon of dressing.
Finally a slice of tomato, and cover with another slice of the burger bun.
Press in the burger & serve immediately.

Notes:

• The above mentioned ingredients are a just a guideline. You could vary accordingly & it will be delicious anyways :)
• Any dressing of your choice could be used. I prefer mustard while my family loves mayo. 
• For the above burger, I have mixed equal quantities of mayo + tomato ketchup as dressing!

Flax seed and garlic dry chutney | Bellulli Agase Pudi

Chutney powders are great time savers. I store at least two types of chutney powders at home to keep things going fast. We eat these chutney powders with almost anything. This is a modified version of the North Karnataka Agashi hindi /Flax seed chutney powder.

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: Nil
Adapted from: Desivideshi
Makes around: 2 cups of chutney powder

Ingredients:
Flax seed: 1/2 cup
Grated dry coconut: 1/2 cup
Sesame seeds: 1/4 cup
Dry tamarind: 2 tsp
Garlic pods: About 15-20
Chili powder: 2-3 tsp, more or less
Salt: 1 tsp, more or less
Oil: 1 tsp

Method:
Dry roast the flax seeds & the sesame seeds separately.
Mix the roasted seeds with the dry coconut & let them cool.

Meantime, heat the oil. Throw in the garlic & roast the garlic on low heat. The garlic should become soft. Add in the dry tamarind & turn off the heat.

Allow the garlic to cool.
Throw in the flax seeds, sesame seeds & dry coconut to the food processor | mixer | coffee grinder & pulse it till the seeds turn coarse.
Add in the garlic, tamarind, salt, chili powder & pulse again.
Scoop out the powder onto a bowl. Let it cool.
Once cool, store it in a air tight container.
This powder stays good for about a month in the refrigerator.

Avarekalu uppittu | Hyacinth Bean Upma | Akki tari uppittu

At my mom's place avrekalu upma is synonymous to akki tari upma (rice rawa upma). My mom never makes avrekalu upma with the normal rava/semolina. Although, rice rawa upma is not my types, I still eat it because I love avrekalu!

I have mentioned here the method of making rice rawa. Idli rawa & rice rawa are not always the same. Idli rawa is made with parboiled rice while rice rawa is with raw rice. The raw rice rawa is what is used for making this upma. I have occasionally found the raw rice rawa in the Indian Stores here.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Rice rawa: 1 cup
Avarekalu/Hyacinth Beans: 1 cup (I used the frozen ones!)
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Urad dal/ Black gram dal: 2 tsp
Cashew nuts: 1 tbsp, optional
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos, torn
Red chilies: 3-4 nos, non spicy variety!
Water: About 2.5 cups
Salt: As needed

For the garnish:
Ghee: 1 tsp, optional
Grated coconut: 2-3 tbsp, fresh or frozen

Method:
Heat a broad pan. Add the rice rawa & saute till the rice rawa gets warm. Turn off the heat & let it cool.

Keep the water for boiling.
Thaw the hyacinth beans/avarekalu.
Heat oil in a saute pan. When oil is hot, throw in mustard seeds, cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the urad dal & cashew nuts. Allow them to turn golden brown. 

Throw in the broken red chilies & curry leaves. Wait till the curry leaves become crisp.

Add the avarekalu & boiling water to the pan. Add the salt & let the water boil again. 

Add in the rice rawa (little at a time) to the boiling water & keep stirring. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Fold in the mixture & cover it with a lid. Let it cook on a low heat for 3-5 mins

Pour in the ghee, coconut & mix well.
Serve it hot with pickle or chutney powder.

Notes:

• Rice rawa need not be roasted like the Bombay/upma rawa. 
• If you use the idli rawa instead of the raw rice rawa, the upma becomes a little sticky. 
• Hyacinth beans could be replaced with frozen peas.
• If you are using fresh avarekalu, then pressure cook it with a pinch of salt for 2-3 whistles.