Khichedi, Spinach Curry and Kachumber - Comfort Dinner for tonight

Colleagues in my office had a cold and I seem to have caught it.  So I was in the mood for some good old fashioned comfort food.  Several of my facebook friends had suggested that I should have khichedi and kadhi.  Khichedi is really easy to make. The full recipe has been posted here.  You just mix an equal proportion of rice to green lentils and  (some friends like to use one portion rice to two portions lentils) add in salt to taste, some  turmeric, pinch of asafoetida and some water and cook it gently on a medium heat. Once cooked it can be served in lots of ways. Some add butter to it, some have it with various curries and some have it with milk or yogurt.  It's a real old fashioned dish which is very filling.  I served it with spinach curry as it's one of those curries which is also quick and easy to cook.  Whenever I have a cold, I really enjoy having an onion and tomato salad  with my dinner. I felt a lot better after I had my dinner.  Recipes for all the dishes mentioned in today's article are in my blog and I have given you the links wherever I could.

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Puran puri and Peas and potato curry

Last Thursday's Evening Standard had an article about a blog called "Eating the year Blog" where the blogger Virginia Patania photographed all her meals evryday and blogged about it.  I thought that that was a great idea and might try to do something similar but at the same time - give you a link to the recipe for people who may be interested.

Todays's dinner was Puran puri which is a chapati made with sweet lentils stuffing. It is the festival of  Holi  so I wanted to make a sweet dish which the whole family could enjoy.

For the curry option - I made a simple peas and potato curry (mutter bateta nu shak). This curry is one of my favourites and goes well with puran puri..  It's also very quick to make this which is great when you work long hours.  Traditionally puran puris are served with a curry, rice and Kadhi (a yogurt soup).  As I mention the combination, I realise that my blog does not have the recipe for Kadhi which I shall post soon.  For that reason too, I am appreciating this Post.

I also made some plain rice to go with  the meal.  I just realised that I have never posted a recipe for  plain rice so I shall be posting that soon.

Most Indian meals are served with chutneys or salad.  I made some onion and tomato and fresh ginger salad which we call Kachumber. (Recipe for the salad dressing will be posted soon)

We always eat our meals as a family round the table.  We feel that its so important for a family to sit and eat together every day.  We enjoyed this hot and delicious meal talking about our day and listening to the Radio. 

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Colourful Rice with Mixed Vegetables perfect for the Street Party

Make this quick and easy colourful rice for any meal.  It's got some spices but isn't too spicy so can be served with any salad and yogurt.  You can adapt this recipe to whatever vegetables you have available to cook with rice.  I have some of my favourite young guests coming today to join us for the Queens Diamond Jubilee street party this weekend and they love  this rice.

Ingredients

1 cup of rice

1 cup of mixed vegetables (I used green soya beans (edamame beans), peas, sweetcorn, sweet peppers, carrots)

3-4 Echalion shallots (or any small onions)

4-5 baby tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

half a teaspoon of turmeric

1 tablespon oil

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds (Optional)

Method:e

1, Cut the carrots and peppers into small cubes.

2. Add all the vegetables (apart from the shollots and baby tomatoes) to the rice and allow to soak for 20 minutes.

3.  Remove the water and add  plenty of  hot water to the rice and vegetables and allow to cook on high until bubbling. (You cook this similar to pasta with lots of water).

4.  Once the rice is cooked (You check this by taking some rice in a spoon), drain the water by using a sieve or colander- (just like you would do for pasta).

5.  Heat the oil and add the shallots to the oil. Add the cumin seeds now.

6.  Toss the onions until they are coated with oil and cook for a minute or two - until the cumin seeds brown.

7.  Add the rice to the onions.

8,  Add the salt and turmeric.  If you like your rice to be hot - you can add green chilies or chile powder to the rice)

9. Gently mix the rice with a fork.  Transfer the mixture to an oven proof bowl. 

10,  Garnish with the Baby tomatoes and cover with foil.

11.  Cook in an oven at 170 degreeC ( about 350  F)  for 15 minutes

12. Serve the colourful rice with yogurt and a nice salad.

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Stuffed Romano Peppers and Capsicums

I have always had Romano peppers chopped up either in a salad, pizza topping or rice.  I got some large peppers and capsicums from the farmer's market and I wanted to see how they would taste stuffed with vegetables or rice. I decided to try stuffing them at the same time as stuffing the capsicums.  The result was good and we enjoyed the dish very much.


Ingredients for 2 -4 servings:

2 large romano peppers

3 large capsicums

1 medium onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon of grated or blended ginger

1 teaspoon of blended fresh green chillies (can use more if you like hot food)

3 cups of cooked rice (any rice is fine.  I used Basmati rice)

2 cups of any mixed vegetables chopped finely. ( I used carrots, peas, sweet corn, peppers and green beans)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese.

1 teaspoon salt

½ teasppon turmeric

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon any cooking oil (I used sunflower oil)

Method

1.  Cut a slice off the top of each capsicum , remove centre core and seeds. Save the tops to cover the pepper during cooking.

2.   Slice the romano peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds.

3.    Brush the peppers and capsicums on the outside with the olive oil and then stand them upright in an ovenproof dish and allow them to cook in the oven for 3-4 minutes.

4.    Heat one tablespoon of oil and add in the onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies.

5.  Add the frozen vegetables stir fry the mixture.  Now add the salt and turmeric as well.

6.   When the vegetables soften, add the cooked rice to the mixture and allow the mixture to cool.   

 

7.    Transfer the mixture into the pepper and capsicum.   

8.    Add a cheese topping to the Romano peppers.    

9.  Cover the capsicums  with the tops you had sliced off.

8. Bake for 20 -25 minutes in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 4 (350°F/180°C) until the peppers and capsicums are tender.

9. Serve this colourful dish hot with a salad or any sauce of your choice.

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Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients for 4 servings:

 2 cups Basmati Rice
1 cup Mixed Vegetable (brocolli, baby carrot, peas, sweetcorn and red peppers)
4 baby potatoes
1 Onion
4-5 Fresh Green Chillies
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp Cinnamon and cloves ground powder
3 cups of tomatoes ( I used tinned tomatoes)
2 tbsp Cooking Oil ( I used sunflower oil)
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
half a cup of peanuts, cashews and almond mixture
Pinch of saffron

Method:


1. Wash and soak the rice for a minimum of 20 minutes.

2. Wash and chop all the vegetables (except the potatoes)  into small pieces.

3. Wash and boil the baby potatoes in their jackets.

4. Chop the cashews and almonds in halves.

5. Roast the peanuts lightly and remove their husks. This can be done in the microwave. I cooked them for a minute at a time for 3 minutes.

6. On one cooker hob, start to cook the rice.  When nearly cooked - add the saffron to give it an aromatic smell.

7. On a second cooker hob: Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and stir for about half minute. Then add onions and cook them for a couple of minutes.

8. Add fine chopped tomatoes.

9. Now add the salt, chilly powder, turmeric and the cinnamon and cloves powder.

10. Once the tomatoes have cooked, add the vegetables and the nuts to the mixture but not the potatoes.

11. Peel the baby potatoes, cut them into halves and lightly brown them under the grill using a small amount of oil. The idea is to make them look like roasted potatoes. So you can fry them or toast them in a frying fan as well if you prefer. Once ready, leave aside to add to the biryani.

12. The rice and vegetables should now be cooked.

13. In a baking dish, make a layer of cooked rice. Top this with a layer of cooked vegetables. Add some of the roasted potatoes to the vegetables. Cover the vegetables with a layer of rice. Finish with a layer of vegetable and roasted potatoes.

14. Cover this dish and transfer it to the oven on a medium heat – 150 degrees for 20 minutes.

15. Once ready, garnish the biryani with slices of onions and lemon and some fresh green chillies.

16. Serve the vegetable biryani hot with Naan bread and raita or khadhi.

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BHARELLA MUTTER BHAT

Bharella mutter bhat translated means - Rice cooked with vegetables that have been stuffed with spices.   In this recipe, the vegetables are stuffed with several spices.   The origins of this recipe are in East Africa.  This is a favourite recipe of my husband and his mum taught me how to make this bharela mutter bhat.  I have never known anyone else make this dish so would be very interested to hear from anyone who does make this dish.


Ingredients to make mutter bhat for 4 people.
For the stuffing:

2 tablespoons coriander powder
2 tablespoons cumin powder
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chilly powder (can use less if you so wish)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon cooking oil (I used sunflower oil)
1 teaspoon of crushed and blended garlic
1 tiny piece of jaggery

For the mutter bhat:

1 cup of basmati rice
6 small potatoes
5 small aubergines
1 onion
half a cup of peas ( I used frozen peas)
half a cup of diced carrots ( I used frozen carrots)
1 tablespoon of cooking oil (I used sunflower oil)

Method

1.  Wash and soak the rice in cold water for 20 minutes or more if possible.

2.  Prepare the masala for the stuffing. Add everything listed for the stuffing in a microwave dish and cook it for one minute, remove and stir.

3.   Wash and prepare the vegetables.   Slice the potatoes and aubergines and stuff them with the spice mixture.  Cut the onions into large pieces and arrange all the vegetables in a microwave dish as shown below: (use a fairly smart cooking dish as this bhat is usually served straight at the table)

4. Drain the water from the rice and add it on top of the vegetables:

5. Add one cup of water to the mixture. Also add half a teaspoon of salt.

6.   Add the frozen peas and carrots on top of this mixture.

7. Add any remaining spicy mixture on top of  the vegetables and rice

8.  Using a fork, mix the spices and cook the bharella bhat in the microwave for 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the mixture.

9.  The rice takes 25 minutes in a fast microwave.  I suggest that you check the bhat every ten minutes to ensure it is cooking well.  You can prick the potatoes with a knife to check if they are cooked. At no time, stir the mixture.

10.  Cooking in the microwave, seals in all the flavours and the aroma when this dish was cooking was out of this world.

11.  The rice should be served straight from the microwave dish  ensuring  that the vegetables do not get squashed.

12.  The rice can be eaten with yogurt or kadhi and hot chapattis.

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Khichedi: Rice, lentils and mixed vegetable rice

Khichedi is another traditional Gujarati dish.    Khichedi is one of those dishes you make at home for your self but don't tend to serve it to guests - although it is now becoming fashionable to serve it "kathiawadi" ( a region of Gujarat) food in certain restaurants.  Its a dish one usually makes when they aren't feeling well.  It's a very easy to eat and digest kind of a dish.  It's also the dish babies are introduced to when they start eating solids.

It is usually made from an equal  mixture of rice and split mung beans.  I mix my khichedi with one part rice to two parts lentils and keep it in a bottle.

Ingredients ( serves 4):

1 cup rice
2 cups of  split mung bean lentils with the husks on
1 cup of mixed vegetables ( carrots, peas chopped finely){Optional}
1 teaspoon salt
half teaspoon turmeric
Some butter

Method:

1.  Mix the rice and mung bean lentils and wash them well.

2. Add 4 cups of water to the mixture and start cooking the khichedi on a medium heat.

3. Add the salt and turmeric to the mixture.

4. Add the mixed vegetables to the mixture.

5. Once the khichedi starts cooking and the water is absorbed- turn the heat to low.( keep checking the khichedi whilst it is cooking (but do get tempted to keep stirring it)- in case you need to add more water)

6. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the khichedi, cover the dish and allow to cook on a low for 20 minutes. Khichedi is usually cooked until it becmes soft and mushy but shouldn't get too dry.  Keep checking to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the saucepan.

7.  Khichedi  should be served  hot with a knob of butter.  It can also be eaten on its own but the true kathiawadi style is to eat it with  some potato and onion curry, chappatis and papad!!. 

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