Vegetable Biryani | Vegetable Pilaf | Jeera Samba Veg Biryani

Vegetable Biryani | Vegetable Pilaf | Jeera Samba Veg Biryani  is the easiest one-pot healthy meal, that too when it is prepared using pressure cooker.  In my opinion, any biryani prepared in a pressure cooker is no way inferior to that prepared in a traditional way.  This pressure cooker biryani gives us a hand on busy days as well as on lazy holidays. I used to make it quite often but somehow I couldn’t make an attempt to add this in my blog even after receiving a request  for the  recipe of vegetable biryani from my friend. At last it happened today...

Let me move on to the recipe without any delay!

Ingredients:

• Seeraga samba rice – 2 cups
• Water - 4 cups
• Mixed veggies – 1 to 1 ¼ cup
• Onion (Big) –  2 Nos (chopped lengthwise)
• Tomato – 2 Nos.(Medium)(chopped)
• Green chilli – 2 Nos.
• Curd – 1 tbs
• Chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder – ½  tbsp
• Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder – ¼  tsp
• Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – ¼ cup
• Mint leaves (finely chopped) – ½ cup
• Salt to taste

To grind:

• Ginger – 2” piece
• Garlic   - 3 pods
• Fennel – ½ tsp
• Kuskus            - ¼   tsp

For seasoning:

• Bay leaf – 1 No.
• Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
• Cloves – 2 Nos
• Cardamom  - 2 Nos.
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Ghee – 1 tsp

 Method:

1. Wash the rice using water and keep aside.
2. Wash the vegetables of your choice and cut into 1” thick pieces and keep aside. Here I’ve used 1 Carrot, 5 Beans, 1 small capsicum, 4 Cauliflower florets & a handful of green peas.
3. Cut onions, tomatoes, mint & coriander leaves and keep ready.
4. Also grind the items given for grinding into a fine paste by adding little water, if necessary.
5. Take a pressure cooker, pour the oil and wait till the oil gets heated. Add the items given under “seasoning” one by one and wait until all these splutter to get the aroma from the seasoning.
6. Add a half of chopped mint leaves, onion and Green chilli (just break into 2 or 3) and sauté well until the onion becomes translucent. Then add the ground paste mentioned above under “To grind” and sauté till the raw smell of the masala goes off.
7. Add finely chopped tomato and add some salt so that the tomato will get cooked easily and sauté till the tomato gets smashed well.
8. Then add all the masala powders and sauté till the oil oozes  out from the masala. Next, add curd and sauté well until the mixture gets glossy appearance.
9. Then  add the chopped veggies, sauté well. To this add the washed rice and sauté for 3 minutes and then add the balance mint &  coriander leaves.
10. Add required salt  and  4 cups of water. You can check for spice also at this stage and you can add if needed. Stir well and close the lid. Wait for 1 whistle, then simmer the flame for 3 minutes. Open the cooker after releasing the pressure slowly. Then follow the same procedure as we have done for all other Biryani Recipes.

Your delicious, hot, yummy  Vegetable Biryani is ready to serve! I have packed this veg biryani with mixed veg raita for lunch!!

Note:

• You can use basmati rice and follow the same procedure instead of Jeera samba rice.
• You can increase or decrease the quantity of vegetables as per your choice.

Tags: Vegetable biryani recipe, Pressure cooker Biriyani recipe, how to make Vegetable biriyani at home, Vegetable biryani with seeraga samba rice, Vegetable biryani with jeera samba, jeera samba Vegetable biryani recipe, seeraga chamba rice Vegetable biriyani, jeera chamba Vegetable biryani, How to prepare Vegetable biryani with seeraga samba rice?, veggie biryani, Veg biryani with basmati rice, Vegetable biryani with raita, hotel style Vegetable biriyani recipe, pressure cooker Vegetable biryani recipe

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Masala Cheeyam | Masala Seeyam | Chettinadu Masala Paniyaram

Masala Cheeyam | Masala Seeyam | Chettinadu Masala Paniyaram is one of the traditional Chettinad dishes made by Chettiars on all auspicious days, marriage functions etc. It is a tasty replacement for our regular  Ulundu Vada (Urad dhal fritter) in the  breakfast | dinner menus  in marriage functions. It can also be had as a tea time snack.  It is prepared by deep frying the seasoned batter in oil.  

The masala seeyams, with crispy  outer layer & porous, soft, spongy inner,  taste great when  eat them hot with  any dip  like sambar | chutney. You can  try this Cheetinad special delicacy  for a change on festival days instead of urad dhal vada. It can be served hot with any chutney of your choice but I like it with coconut chutney | mint chutney. Here we go for the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the seeyam batter:

• Ponni Raw Rice – 1 cup
• Whole Urad Dhal – 1 cup
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Shallots ( Finely chopped) – 3 tbsp
• Green chillies (Finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves (Finely chopped) – 3 tbsp
• Coconut gratings – 2 tbsp
• Oil – For deep frying

Method:

1. Wash rice & urad dhal together and soak with enough water for 2 hours.
2. After 2 hours, grind into a smooth, fluffy batter by adding little water now & then. When the batter is done, add the required salt and grind with the batter and take out in a vessel. The consistency of the batter should be like thick idli batter.
3. Heat oil in a kadai, splutter mustard seeds, add the finely chopped green chillies, curry leaves  & shallots and sauté for 2 minutes till the onion becomes translucent & release a nice aroma. Finally add coconut gratings, sauté for a while  and switch off.
4. Allow the seasonings to cool. Then add the seasonings to the seeyam batter and mix everything well.
5. Heat the required oil for deep frying in a broad kadai. Keep a bowl with water ready nearby.
6. When the oil is ready, dip your hands in water, take out a small lemon sized batter, roughly roll the batter into round ball and drop into the oil. Do the same for the rest of the batter and drop them scattered in the oil one by one without touching each other.
7. Keep the flame in medium. Turn the seeyams now & then so that they get cooked evenly on all sides. When they reach golden brown colour,  take them out and drain in a tissue paper | paper towel.

Hot, crunchy, spongy Masala Cheeyams are ready to eat  with tea | coffee.

Note:

• The batter consistency is very much important for seeyams. Be very careful when you add water while grinding the batter. If the batter is runny, the seeyam cannot be formed into shape, will be difficult to drop in oil & will drink more oil too.
• By any chance, if your batter is runny, add 1-2 tbsp of rice flour and mix well.
• Always grinder makes the perfect  seeyam batter but if you are using mixer grinder, use 1 tbsp of urad dhal extra and for grinding, use ice cold water.
• Small onions | shallots will give a good taste & flavour for seeyams but you can add finely chopped big onion too instead of shallots.

Tags: Masala Cheeyam recipe, Chettinattu seeyam recipe, Chettinad masala seeyam recipe, How to prepare batter for seeyam? How to prepare seeyam batter using mixer grinder? How to make seeyam batter? Tips for preparing masala seeyam in shape, Cheetinad Recipes, Chettinad Savoury Snack Recipes, Chettinad Seeyam Recipe, Karaikudi Special Recipes, Chettinad Marriage Recipes, Chettinad Masala Paniyaram recipe, Masalai cheeyam recipe

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In the Media....Malligai Magal

My collection of recipes in Malligai Magal…

I know I had been a bit lazy the last 3 months.  I posted rarely and the front page was quite static. But I came to lament this and told my friend that I never even posted  about  my supplementary feature in Malligai Magal.  When 2014 was about to get over, my friend asked me a good question.  “Have you decided to post only 68 posts in a year?”.  Only then I realized that my blog had 68 posts in 2013  as well as  2014. What a coincidence?!!! But it is not a coincidence I’m proud of.  In 2013, I had posted 68 in a span of about only 5 months,  but in 2014, I made the same number in 12 months...  Anyway this year I don’t want to do the same. I'm sure  that this drought of posts is over.

It is old news by now but I wanted to tell you that my recipes have been featured in Malligai Magal for three consecutive months (October, November & December).

Expecting all of your support in the forth coming years too…

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Ulundhu Kali | Urad Dhal Halwa | Sweetened Black Gram Halwa

Ulundhu Kali | Urad Dhal Halwa | Sweetened Black Gram Halwa is an authentic, traditional South Indian dish. First and foremost word, I want to tell about this dish is …it is not a gorgeous | appetizing one to bring waters in your mouth but words are scarce to say about its health benefits. A healthy thickened porridge, called “Kali” in Tamil, is usually  prepared during the occasion when girls attain their puberty since it is believed to strengthen the pelvic and back bones. It is very good for girls in their teens, lactating moms, ladies in menopause, etc. Every household in Tamil Nadu have their own proportion for preparing the base flour for this kali and here is my version.

Ingredients:

• Black urad dhal  - 1 cup
• Raw rice – ¼ cup
• Jaggery - ½ cup to ¾ cup
• Gingelly oil | Ghee – 1 to 2 tbsp
• Water  - 2 cups + 1 cup + ½  cup

Method:

For preparing Ulundu Kali Flour:

1. In a thick bottomed kadai, dry fry urad dhal in slow fire until you get nice aroma & remove. In the same kadai, fry rice till its colour changes. 
2. Cool  and powder both in a mixie or flour mill.

For preparing Ulundu Kali:

1. Melt jiggery in ½  cup of water and strain the impurities. Keep it aside.
2. Take a cup of kali flour in a mixing  bowl,  add a cup of water and prepare a thick batter without any lumps. Keep it aside.
3. Boil  2 cups of water in a thick bottomed kadai and bring it to rolling boil.
4. Now, keeping the fire in simmer, slowly add the urad dhal batter, mixing it quickly with a wooden spatula so that lumps will not be formed.
5. After the mixture gets thickened and becomes glossy, add the jiggery syrup and mix well.
6. Cook in medium flame till the mixture reaches halwa consistency.

Your Ulundu Kali is ready. Now you pour the kali in  a serving plate, dig a hole in the middle, drizzle some gingelly oil | ghee over this and start eating from the outer layer when  hot.

Note:

• It is believed that Ulundu when combined with gingelly oil will give you the whole benefit of eating this kali. If you don’t like you can add ghee also.
• It is always tastier to eat hot kali, so make it in small quantity.
• The kali flour can be stored for 3 to 6 months like our regular rice flour.
• White urad dhal can also be used with the same measurements to prepare Ulundu kali flour.
• You can also use palm jaggery instead of jaggery.

Tags; Ulundu kali Recipe, Black Urad Dhal Kali Recipe, Urad dhal with skin recipes, How to prepare ulundhan kali with roasted urad dhal powder? Skinned urad dhal kali recipe, How to prepare uluththankali for girls?, How to prepare ulunthuk kali with black gram?, Ulundhu Recipes, Dhal Recipes, ulundu sweet kali, Urad dhal halwa recipe, How to prepare ulundu kali flour?, How to prepare Ulundu kali with dry flour? 

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