Janeiiong ( Black Sesame Pulao )

For this month's Ssshhh secretly cooking , we are cooking from Indian State Meghalaya . I was paired with Aruna  of Aaharamonline.com . She gave me sesame and ginger as secret ingredients . 

     Shillong also known as ‘the abode of clouds’ is capital of Meghalaya in North East India.The state is the wettest region of India, recording an average of 12,000 mm (470 in) of rains a year. Meghalaya has predominantly an agrarian economy with a significant commercial forestry industry. The important crops are potatoes, rice, maize, pineapples, bananas, papayas, spices etc. Like its beautiful climate and scenery and friendly people the dishes are also unique and with different taste.

   Khasi Cuisine of Meghalaya is famous cuisine and uses mostly pork as meat  and sesame , ginger are commonly uses. I prepared this simple and easy Janeiiong with sesame seed . It is the black sesame seed pulao of meghalaya cuisine. There were few vegetarian options to cook.

Recipe Source : https://www.indiamike.com/india/indian-cooking-and-cuisine-f12/khasi-cuisine-t214839/3/

Requirements :

      1 cup cooked Rice 
       Quater cup Black sesame seeds
      1 onion chopped 
      2 Green chilli chopped 
      1 tsp ginger paste 
      1 tbsp oil 

Method  :

 Dry roast the black sesame seeds , it will splutter when roasted . Switch off flame when the splutter stops . Keep stirring while roasting.

 Grind the roasted sesame seeds with little water to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan , saute onion , green chilli and ginger paste for five minutes.

Add in the sesame paste and saute for another five minute.

Now , add the cooked rice and mix well.

Keep stirring for five minute and take off flame .

I garnished with cut onion and capsicum.

Serve hot. This tastes similar to south Indian Ellu Sadam.

Gongura Pulihora

    Gongura Puliohara is a famous variety rice of Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu especially in our  kongu region we make Pullicha keerai kadayal. Gongura is the telugu name for sorrel leaves. We usually use gongura which are from our home garden. 

  This Pulihora will tastes different from regular pulihora and will be green in colour as we used green coloured sorrel leaves. No tamarind is used in this rice as the tanginess is enough from the leaves. 

 For this month's Ssshhhh secretly cooking the theme was Cuisine of Andhra Pradesh . I was paired with Sujitha Ruban of  Sujitha Easy Cooking and she gave me Gongura and a ingredient of my choice as the secret ingredients. 

  This is a excellent rice variety to make with a greens and an easy way to make kids eat greens.

Requirements : 

2 cup cooked rice 
2 cup gongura ( Sorrel ) leaves 
2 tbs gingelly oil 
2 tbs Peanuts
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
a sprig of curry leaves
Salt to taste

For Masala : 

 3 dry chillies 
 1 tbs channa dhal 
 1 tsp coriander seeds
 1 tsp sesame seeds 
 2 garlic cloves
 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds 
 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
 A pinch of Hing 

Method : 

Wash the gongura leaves and let it dry. 

Heat a tbs of gingelly oil and saute the gongura leaves for two minutes and let it cool. 

In the same kadai , roast each  ingredient given under for masala separately and let it cool.

Grind the roasted masala to fine powder and transfer to a bowl.

In the same mixer add the sauted gongura and grind to a fine paste.

Heat a kadai and add the gingelly oil followed by mustard seeds .

 When the mustard seeds crackle , add the peanuts and roast then add the curry leaves .

Now , add the ground gongura and salt. Let it cook for ten minutes.

Add the ground masala and mix well . Taste the gongura mixture and adjust the salt if needed.

Add in the cooked Pooni Rice and mix well.

Gongura Pulihora is ready to serve.

Serve along with Fryums or Pappad.

Nellikai Sadham / Indian Gooseberry Rice / Amla Rice – Lunchbox special #RecipeRedux

    The theme for April 2016 

     Limpin’ Along for Lunch

Ever get in a lunch rut? Need new ideas for packing your kids’ or your own lunch? Are packable noontime options dwindling? Surely you’ve met the ‘What shall I pack for lunch?” question head-on with creative ideas. Please share your healthy lunch recipe - so we can swap it into our own rotation.

     Any rice preparation will be the choice for our lunchboxes. Be it a onepot rice or a plain rice with sided like curry , stirfry and yogurt.

 We south indians prefer rice over any other meal. This rice is a simple fried rice with the addition of Indian Gooseberry to add the taste and flavour to the rice. I want to post this rice preparation as it was simple and quick fix lunch recipe.

Nellikai as the gooseberry is known in Tamil is the wonder fruit and ancient fruit known. In the Tamil Literature it was described as the Gooseberry will gives long life and a King gave this wonder fruit to Avvaiyar , a great Tamil Poet.

 This fruit is rich in Vitamin C and has anti-aging property. As we have the Indian Gooseberry Tree / Arinellikai in our garden , this rice is common during the fruit bearing season.

  This rice is tasty and can be prepared in a jiffy if you have cooked rice in hand. This will be excellent dish for lunchboxes and during travel. As the summer has started in India , many will plan for a short trip , most of them carry packed lunch.

  I had used the small type gooseberry in this rice , big Indian gooseberry can be used.

Requirements :

Indian gooseberry – ½ cup (Grated )

Cooked plain rice – 2 cup

Oil – 1 tbs

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Onion – 1 small

Green chilli – 2

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Salt  - ½ tsp

Curry leaves a sprig

Method :

          Take a handful of gooseberries wash and pat dry.   Use a grater to grate the flesh  and discard the seeds .

 If you like sour taste can include more gooseberries.

Peel and chop the onion. Chop the green chillies.

Heat oil in a pan , add the mustard seeds and let it crackle .

Add the chopped onion and green chillies , sauté till the onion turns translucent .

Add in the curry leaves and grated gooseberries, mix well.

Add the turmeric powder , salt and sauté for 2 minutes.

Now , add the rice and give it a quick stir  / toss on medium flame .

Let the rice to heat up for 2 minutes.

Take flame and serve along with any pickle of your choice.

Gooseberry rice is ready to serve.

An InLinkz Link-up

Vetrillai Poondu Sadam / Betel Garlic Rice

     
I am happy to share this healthy recipe to all mothers..................




                                 

     Vetrillai / Betel leaf is used as offering to god in India. Betel plant is a symbol of Goddess Lakshmi. We have the plant in our garden but it was a small leaf variety with more hotness. I had seen many grandma chewing betels. Thambulam / Betel , supari and calcium ( vetrillai paku ) will be served in most festive occasions and celebrations in south India, while in North India , it was in the form of Pann.

          This vetrillai has many health benefits – aids in digestion , acts as a antiseptic along with pepper. It is coated with castor oil then shown in flame , then applied on young children’s chest to loosen the sputum in case of cold.

          This also helps lactating mothers as it increases milk secretion.

          I had seen this recipe in Reva’s Blog long before. It was first in my to do list , still I was hesitant how the rice will taste. Once I tasted , I want to make it often………

Requirements :

Cooked Rice – 2 cups

Salt to Taste

For Seasoning :

 Gingelly oil – 1 tbs

Fennel Seeds / Aniseeds – ½  tsp

Cinnamon stick – 1 small stick

Garlic cloves – 10

Curry leaves – a sprig

Small Betel leaves  - 15 – 20

For Masala :

Dry / fresh Turmeric – 1 inch

Dry Red chilli – 2

Black Sesame seeds – 1 tsp

Black Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Dry Ginger / Sukku – ½ inch

Method :

 I used normal pooni rice . if you want can use basmati rice or seeraga samba rice.

 To prepare Masala :

     Dry roast the turmeric , sesame seeds , red chillies , pepeprcorns and ginger for few seconds or till the sesame seeds stops spluttering. Allow to cool and gring to a coarse powder. I didn’t add water for grinding.

Making of Rice :

Heat gingelly oil in a kadai . add the fennel seeds and cinnamon stick , fry on medium flame.

Add in the curry leaves and ginger flakes. Sauté till the  aroma from garlic comes out or garlic becomes slightly brown.

Add in the cooked rice and required salt and toss well.Then add the chopped betel leaves and mix well.

Add the grounded masala and mix well. Sprinkle little water and mix once. Cook in medium flame with lid for 5 minutes.

Betel garlic rice is ready to serve.

Healthy and nutritious rice will be best to carry on lunch boxes.

Indianised Curried Panner Pasta - Indian Twist to Italian pasta

      A twist to the Italian pasta with the Indian cottage cheese and flavorful masala. Panner - Indian cottage cheese  with pasta to suit the Indian taste buds .
             These days I became so lazy in editing pics and writing a post. This recipe was made in July itself . I can cook so many recipes at a go , but writing up a post seems a huge task to me............

      As we Indians like spicy foods rather than bland dishes, I want to try my hands on this Italian favorite dish to make it to a Indian.

    I added panner to make it richer and tastier dish. Panner is the milk based product which is rich in calcium.

 This recipe will be a sure hit to kids. Even elders will like to have this flavorful and delicious curried panner pasta.

                       

Requirements :

Uncooked Pasta - 200g

Panner / Indian Cottage Cheese – 150 g

Capsicum – ¼ cup

Carrot  - ¼ cup

Butter / olive oil – 1 tsp

Onion - 1

To marinate :

Curd / Yogurt – ¼ cup

Chillipowder – ½ tsp

Garam masala – ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut the panner into cubes of desired size.

Mix all the ingredients under to marinate in a bowl, add  the panner cubes and let it be for 15 minutes.

In the mean time…

Bring the water to boil. Add in the salt and oil.

When the water boils well, add the pasta and stir once. Cook for 5-6 minutes.

Strain under running cold water.

Cooked Pasta is ready to use.

Chop the onion ,capsicum and carrot into juvenile.

Melt the butter in a pan , add in the onion and sauté till it turns translucent.

Add the chopped carrot , capsicum and sauté for two minutes.

Add the marinated paneer along with the marinade and cook in slow flame for 2 minutes.

Add salt to taste if needed.

Now , add in the cooked pasta and toss for few minutes.

Indianised curried panner pasta is ready to serve.

Note :
  Tofu can be used instead of indian cottage cheese.