Tex Mex Rice Bowl

I know that I am good at procrastinating things and thats why I joined few cooking challenges. To make me committed, to try and keep up with the end date and to never say "lets do it another day". I failed, yet again and here I am posting the dish that I made for the challenge two months later. I am really sorry Priya and Kalpana, for such a late post. I will try my level best to keep up with the dates from here on. Coming to the challenge, Kalpana, being a health freak, chose brown rice (I saw that coming!!!) and peppers. I immediately knew that I would make a one pot meal and this Tex mex rice is what I came up with.

~*What U Need*~ Boneless & Skinless Chicken - 1 cup, chopped Taco seasoning - 1 tbsp Red & Yellow peppers - 1 cup, chopped Brown rice - 2 cups, cooked Yellow corn - 1 cup, thawed Black beans - 1 can, drained Lemon - 1 Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Salt - to taste Oil - 1 tbsp sliced avocados and sour cream - to serve How I Made it: Heat oil in a pan, and when hot add the chicken. Sprinkle the taco seasoning and fry till the chicken is done. Add the peppers and fry for 2-3 mins. Remove from flame. Add the brown rice and gently mix. Add the corn and beans and mix well. Squeeze in lemon juice, add chopped coriander and toss well. Season with salt.

Serve warm topped with sliced avocados and sour cream!!!

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Three Pepper Casserole | Tomato & pepper Casserole | Easy kids Lunchbox Recipes

It was a big day for us, today. Another milestone in our lives; another day to be marked in the calendar. Today we enrolled our son into preschool and he starts school from Thursday. All these changes are really making us emotional. Well there are lots to take in, right from look he is already ready for school to how is he gonna adjust to the new environment to is he gonna be okay without me. But that needs to be done has to be done at the right time. So wish me luck everyone for all that is happening right now.

A few days back, I got an email from Indusladies about their Kids lunch box recipe book event announcement asking me if I would like to participate. With everything going on, the concept fitted the bill just right and I sent out an okay e-mail right away. And this is what I came up with. Kids love anything with cheese and that layer of melty stringy cheese will definitely ooohhh your kids to take a mouthful and more...

~*What U Need*~ Cooked rice - 2 cups Red, yellow, orange peppers - 1 cup, chopped Crushed tomatoes - 1/2 cup Garlic - 2, chopped Onion - 1, medium, chopped Olive oil - 1 tbsp Salt, pepper - to taste Italian seasoning - 1 tsp Mozzarella cheese - 1 cup How I Made it: Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and saute for a minute followed by the onions. Saute till brown. Add the peppers and saute for 2 mins. Add the tomatoes and combine together. Season with salt, pepper and italian seasoning. Transfer to a greased loaf pan and top with loads of grated cheese. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake the casserole for 25-30 mins or until the cheese is melty and bubbly.

Serve warm!!!

I am linking this to the kids lunchbox event @ Indusladies

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Mughalai Chicken Biryani

By now, you should have known about our love for biryanis. When I say its biryani for lunch or dinner, the boys keep chanting the term till they get some on their plates... I love trying new biryani varieties when the mood sets in and it happened again last week.
It was a weekday and pappu was sound asleep taking his afternoon nap... I felt like doing something and reading a book didn't help... The kitchen seemed to be the destination and biryani the solution... I was going through my biryani booklet when I came upon this mughalai biryani.. The richness called my name and I didn't waste another minute resting on my couch...

~*What U Need*~ Chicken - 500 gm, cleaned Onion - 1, large, sliced Tomato - 1, large, sliced Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup Mint leaves - 1/4 cup Oil/ Ghee - 2 tbsp Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cup Water - 2 cups To grind to a paste: Cashew - 1/4 cup Almonds - 1/4 cup Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp Yogurt - 1 tbsp For Briyani Masala Powder: Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp Cinnamon - 1" Cardamom - 2 Star anise - 1/2 Cloves - 2 How I Made it: Dry roast the ingredients under biryani masala and grind in a coffee grinder. Soak the rice in enough water. Grind cashews, almonds, poppy seeds and yogurt to a smooth paste. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and fry the green chilli. Add the onions and saute till brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and fry till oil separates. Add the spice powders and biryani masala powder. Add the chopped coriander and mint leaves followed by the chicken. Once the chicken is half cooked and leaves water add the ground cashew paste and mix well. Add the soaked rice and water and pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Serve hot!!!

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Channa Biryani / Chickpea Biryani

Did you know that my facebook id got hacked? Like really. Yes it actually got hacked and it was one hell of a day for me when I had to reply to all the messages asking if it really was me, changing my privacy settings to make it all the more private and breaking my head over how it actually happened. So let me warn you that if you are connected with me via FB and you get a second friend request from me, then DONOT accept or give your personal information at any cost. And many thanks to all my dear friends who stood by me and who felt sorry for me and who helped me in blocking that *!&*T@$%&.

Moving on to the recipe, its been a long time that I have posted a biryani recipe here or to be more specific a vegetarian biryani recipe. I like to take a break from chicken biryanis at times. And when I seek that break and something different I make this channa biryani most of the time. Completely nutritious and tummy filling this is best served with some raitha. I had to make something non-veg for the huss and so made some chicken liver fry for the side. Recipe for the same coming soon.

~*What U Need*~ Serves - 2 Basmati Rice - 1 1/4 cup Water - 1 3/4 cups Onions - 2, chopped Tomato - 1, chopped Green chilli - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Channa/Chickpea - 1 1/2 cup, ur choice, soaked overnight Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 2 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Biryani masala - 1 tsp, optional Curd - 1/4 cup Cinnamon - 1" Cloves - 2 Cardamom - 2 Coriander leaves - a handful, chopped Mint leaves - a handful, chopped Salt, oil How I Made it: Clean and soak the rice. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and fry. Throw in the onions and when brown add the slit green chilli, ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell leaves. Add the tomatoes and fry well. Add the spice powders and when oil starts to separate, add the curd and mix well. Add the chickpeas and saute for 2 mins. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves and then water and rice. Stir well without breaking the rice. Cover and cook for 2 whistles. After the pressure has completely released, uncover and fluff with fork.

Serve hot with raitha or any side dish of choice...

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Vegetable fried rice | Easy Lunchbox recipes

We are not very big fans of Chinese cuisine, to be frank the desire varies. There are days when we crave for nothing but Chinese and then there are days when Chinese seems like a distant world. Few days back I had this deep desire to have Chinese food and by Chinese, not the manchurian or schezhwan varieties. All I wanted was a simple fried rice ~ mildly flavored rice with lots of fresh crunchy vegetables. On first thought, I thought of packing some curd rice with potatoes for the huss's lunchbox and then preparing fried rice for me and pappu by around 12. But then the huss enjoys Chinese occasionally too and so I made this simple one pot meal for the three of us.

There are many versions of fried rice out there, it depends on individuals taste and what ur pantry carries too. Some use a wide range of sauces like chilli, light soy, dark soy, fish and many more while some keep it simple by adding just soy. I have even tasted fried rice with just pepper powder and that is how I like mine too. However I have given the amount of soy sauce that needs to be put in for your convenience.

Prep time: 15 mins; Cooking time: 20 mins; Serves - 2 ~*What U Need*~ Cooked basmati rice - 1 1/2 cups Onions - 1, sliced Spring onions - 2-3 stalks, chopped Carrot - 1, diced Beans - 4-5, diced Capsicum - 1/2, medium, diced Cabbage - 1/2 cup, shredded Peas - a handful Tomato ketchup - 2 tsp Soy sauce - 1 tsp(optional) Freshly ground pepper - 1 tsp, to taste Salt - to taste Oil - 1 tbsp Spring onions - to garnish How I Made it: Cook basmati rice and cool it for 1/2 an hour. Heat oil in a tawa, add the sliced onions and saute till tender but not soft. Add the veggies except the spring onions and saute till crisp and tender. Add the ketchup, soy sauce(if using) and mix well. Cook for 2 mins and then season with salt and pepper. Add the rice and spring onions and mix till evenly coated. Remove from flame and garnish with more spring onions.

Serve hot with side dish of choice... I served it with some chicken kebabs...

** My Notes:
** The rice should be non sticky and separated. You could use refrigerated rice too
** Donot overcook the veggies. It should be tender and crunchy.
** I skipped the soy sauce.

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Tomato Peas Rice | Easy Lunchbox Recipes

Deciding what to make for hubby's lunch box is becoming a big headache for me these days. Its like cooking for a kid. He needs variety it seems. I make paruppu, rasam, sambar, curd rice and then any kinda variety rice for the week in that order, but he comes back in the evening complaining about the food. Says he can easily predict what will be in the dabba for the day... That being said, on days when I wake up late in the morning, I go for some easy variety rice option like this tomato peas rice. And for side I keep some potato chips which is a pantry staple in my household. Its easy to make and the lunch can be packed in half an hours time.

~*What U Need*~ Onion - 1, large Tomato - 2, medium Coriander powder - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dhal - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Garlic - 2 cloves, finely chopped Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped Peas - 1 /2 cup, cooked and drained Cooked Rice - 2 cups Salt, Oil How I Made it: Cook the peas for 1 whistle and drain it, set aside. In a kadai, heat oil, temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dhal. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add the sliced onions and saute till brown. Add the tomatoes and cook till mushy. Add the spice powders and cook well. Now add in the drained peas and season with salt. Add the coriander leaves and remove from flame. Now add the cooked rice and mix till evenly combined.

Serve warm with side dish of choice!!!

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Prawn Biryani / Chemmeen Biryani / Shrimp Biryani ~ Pressure Cooker Version

Foreword: Me and the huss are hard-core non-vegetarians, the favorite being chicken. But considering our love for non-veg dishes, this blog holds very little NV dishes. In my quest to fill up the Non-veg index, I am starting to post a few chicken, mutton and prawn recipes here. And with Christmas round the corner, I think this is the best time. So veggie readers please ignore the next few posts.
Prawns had never appealed to me before marriage and as back as my memories can take me, I can never recall amma making prawn dishes for us. I was first introduced to prawns after my marriage when my MIL made a delicious prawn thokku for our dinner. Said hubby loved to have it with chapathis or dosas. I detested prawns then and after loads of requests and assurance from my MIL, I took a bite and from then I have been hooked to the taste of prawns. When cooked properly, I would say these are the best sea food, next to crab ~ okay atleast in my list.

I have not followed the traditional dum method here but have used the pressure cooker. To be frank, till date I have not tried making biryani using the dum method. Amma does it but me, I have never even thought about trying it. Using the pressure cooker takes half the time of the dum method but yields good results not the best but good and I am satisfied with that. Whenever Amma comes here, she makes me her chicken dum biryani and I am fine with the occasional taste.

Coming to this prawn biryani, I opted to make this when I had only 1 hour to lunch. I had to go grocery shopping and by the time I reached home it was 11. Had planned to make fish curry and prawn thokku for our lunch, but then was out of time ~ had to run to the fish market to get the prawns, had to come back, clean, de-vein them and then the clock struck 12. By the time, a curry and thokku was literally out-of-focus for me and that is when I decided to make this one pot biryani. The prep took 15 mins, another 30 mins for marination, used that to rest myself and the biryani was done in another 30 mins. Serve it with some onion raitha and it makes a lip smacking meal.

~*What U Need*~ Shrimp / Prawn - 1/2 kg Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cups Water - 2 cups To Marinate the prawns: Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Red Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Cumin powder - 1 pinch Salt to taste Cinnamon stick - 1" Cloves - 2 Cardamom pods - 2 Onions - 3, medium Tomato - 2, medium Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsps Curd - 1/3 cup Coriander powder - 2 tsp Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Biryani masala - 1/2 tsp Cumin powder - a pinch To grind Mint leaves - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup Green chilli - 1 Grated coconut - 3 tbsps Salt, Oil Ghee - 2 tbsp Chopped coriander, mint leaves - a handful

How I Made it:
Peel, de-vein and clean the prawns. Marinate the prawns with ingredients given under to marinate for 30 mins. In a non-stick pan, shallow fry the prawns for 2-3 mins on each side. Set aside. Grind the ingredients under to grind to a smooth paste. Clean and soak basmati rice for 15 mins.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add cinnamon, cloves and rushed cardamom pods and fry. Add the chopped onions, fry. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and fry till oil oozes out.

Add the spice powders and mix well. Add the ground masala and mix. Fry for 5 mins. Add the curd and stir. Next dump in the fried prawns and mix well. Fry for 2 mins.

Add water, basmati rice, chopped mint and coriander leaves and ghee, give a mix and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Once the pressure leaves, remove lid and fluff with fork.

Serve hot with raita of choice.

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One pot Vegetable Biryani ~ Pressure Cooker version

One pot vegetable biryani is an easy-to-make rice dish and one which I turn over to whenever I am out of time and energy. It is easy to put up ~ throw in basmati rice, some chopped veggies, a few masalas and viola you have a lip-smacking one pot meal which is masala-y and delicious on its own. Serve it with some onion raitha and you will have a fuss-free lunch/dinner. I served it with some brinjal thokku (recipe coming soon), that is usually served in hotels alongside chicken biryanis.

Taste-wise this biryani is nowhere near the traditional and world-famous Dum biryani but whenever you have a craving to have biryanis and if you are lazy like me then this is your our recipe. You just need half an hour to dish this out and it tastes good... Not good but too good for the too-little effort that has been put in.

Long back, and that would be before pregnancy, this was a staple Saturday lunch for us ~ reason a) I oversleep after watching the late night Friday flick & reason b) thinking of what to be put up on our lunch plate would drive me nuts and the huss would finally ask me to settle for vegetable biryani. I used to shuffle the sides. Baby corn or cauliflower manchurian goes very well with this.

~*What U Need*~ Serves - 2 Cinnamon - 1" Cloves - 2 Cardamom - 2 Basmati Rice - 1 1/4 cup Water - 1 3/4 cups Onions - 2, chopped Tomato - 1, chopped Green chilli - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Chopped vegetables - 1 1/2 cup, ur choice Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Biryani masala - 1 tsp, optional Curd - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves - a handful, chopped Mint leaves - a handful, chopped Salt, oil

How I Made it:
Clean and soak the rice. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and fry. Throw in the onions and when brown add the slit green chilli, ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell leaves.

Add the tomatoes and fry well. Add the spice powders and when oil starts to separate, add the curd and mix well.

Add the chopped veggies and saute for 2 mins. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves and then water and rice. Stir well without breaking the rice. Cover and cook for 2 whistles. After the pressure has completely released, uncover and fluff with fork.

Serve hot with raitha of choice or kathirikka thokku/gotsu...

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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