VARIETY RICE

In this age with more and more Emancipated and empowered women and career women, who work for more than 12 hours, it has become necessary for everybody to know cooking. Everyday you cannot eat out. Cooking has to be less time consuming but should also have your mother’s touch. For those people here are a few recipes. Do not think of cooking as chore. It can be a mode of relaxation.

Variety rice:

1. For variety rice the rice is cooked separately and then added to the mix.
2. Note to cook rice with less water so that the rice is not sticky and mushy but separates easily.
3. When rice is hot add a teaspoon of oil on top and then add the seasoned mix. Do not Mix when the rice is hot else it will become mashed.
4. If you like onions while preparing the seasoning onions can be fried before you add coconut/lime etc for the rice varieties given below.
5. You can use cashew nuts or groundnuts/peanuts optionally.
6. The rice variety can be normal raw rice, Boiled rice or Basmati rice.
7. Where ever coconut oil/gingelly oil is mentioned it can be substituted with any normal cooking oil.
8. If gingelly oil is not available you can substitute it with Chinese sesame oil (but use sparingly because it gives a very strong sesame seed taste)
9. For seasoning along with Urad dhall, Channa Dhall also can be used.
10. Garnish just before serving.

1. COCONUT RICE:

Pointers: Coconut rice mix if made properly can be kept in the fridge up to 20 days and can be used for two or three times.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Grated Coconut/Desiccated coconut : 2 cups
2. Chopped Green Chillies : 4
3. Chopped Red Chillies : 3
4. Urad Dhall : 2tsp
5. Mustard seeds : 1tsp
6. Cashew nuts/Groundnuts : 1tbsp (Chopped or whole)
7. Curry leaves : 2 sprigs
8. Asafoetida : 3 pinch
9. Coconut oil : 3tsp (if available else
Sunflower/ground nut/refined oil will
do)
10. optional –Channa Dhal 1tsp
11. Salt to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a Kadai/wok. When hot add mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter add urad dhall, Cashew nuts, both the chillies, curry leaves and then add asfoetida just when the cashew nuts become roasted and finally the coconut. Fry till the coconut looses the fresh sheen but it should not brown. If mix is in excess Cool and store in an airtight container. Add cooked rice to the mix.

COCONUT RICE :(2) (Ellu Thenga satham)

INGREDIENTS:

1. Sesame seeds : 4 tsp
2. Red Chillies : 6
3. Other ingredients as above.

Method:

Dry roast sesame seeds and red chillies and grind to a powder. After seasoning as given in the above recipe add the sesame powder along with the coconut. If need be the quantity of coconut can be reduced.

SWEET COCONUT RICE: (Vella Thenga Satham)

INGREDIENTS:

1. Jaggery : 1 cup
2. Grated Coconut : 1 cup
3. Cashew nuts/raisins : 10 each
4. Ghee : 3tsp
5. Cardamom powder (Elaichi) : 1tsp

Method:

Add Jaggery to coconut and add a tsp of water to it and heat in a wok/Kadai till the water content reduces and the mixture appears to have blended well. Roast the cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and add to the thickened mixture along with cardamom powder. Now add the cooked rice to this mixture.

Suggestions:
1. If you have leftover poornam which you had prepared for Kozhakattai the same can be stored and used for preparing sweet coconut rice.
2. The Jaggery can be substituted with Sugar.
3. In the event Jaggery is not available Treacle or golden syrup can be used.


2. LIME RICE:

Pointers:
1. For lime rice the seasoning can be stored in airtight container and before usage add lime juice and salt. It can be fresh lime juice or preserved.
2. The flavour of lime should be more else it will taste like plain yellow rice.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Urad dhall : 2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds : 1tsp
3. Ground nuts/Cashew nuts : 1 tbsp
4. Curry leaves : 2sprigs
5. Green and Red Chillies : 3+2
6. Sesame/Gingelly oil : 3 tsp (preferred else use available oil)
7. Turmeric powder : ½ tsp
8. Asafoetida : 1tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a Kadai/wok. Add mustard seeds and when the seeds splutter add Urad Dhall, Ground nuts, chopped green and red chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder and remove mix from fire. Add lime juice and salt to the mix and then add cooked plain rice.

3. POMEGRANATE RICE:

For this the pomegranate variety should not be sweet but tangy and sour, a bit like lime juice.

The seasoning is the same as for lime rice.

Instead of lime juice remove pomegranate seeds and extract the juice by adding a little bit of salt to it and squeezing it by hand. Add this to the seasoning mentioned for lime rice and cooked rice. Garnish with pomegranate.