Mujadara [Mujaddara] | Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions + Spiced Yogurt Recipe

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I forgot the count on how many times I wanted to try making Mujadara at home. All the cookbooks and blog posts I read had the same underlying theme - this dish is the essence of comfort food in the Middle Eastern cuisine. After making it at home, now I know why. There is this deep color and sweetness of caramelized onions tossed simply with rice & lentils, which makes a heady combination of flavors. Some recipes add cumin or allspice but for me just salt & pepper will do. To serve, it needs some heat and the spiced yogurt will provide the dish just enough kick along with some nice creaminess. I can go on and on, on easy it is to make and how this would make an amazing one-pot meal. I will stop here though because I want you to read and then make the recipe at home, to discover & know for yourself that what all I said here is absolutely true. :-)

[VeganMoFo 2014] Lemon Rice | Nimmakaya Pulihora Recipe

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My first memory of my grandmother's cooking is - how she made a simple, yet flavorful lemon flavored rice one night out of just a bowl of stale rice. Things were scarce, times not-so-luxurious back then and being judicious about groceries was the only way to keep the family of five well fed and nourished. Money doesn't define us as human beings only compassion will, she used to say. Whenever I make this Lemon Rice at home, I think of her immense love and exuberance. When I am 60 years old, even if I manage to imbibe half of her qualities, I would feel really accomplished in life!

[VeganMoFo 2014] Garlic Tostones | Puerto Rican Twice Fried Plantains With Rice and Beans Recipe

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I follow and read many inspiring food writers. Through them, I learn how to find the right words and express my feelings and various food experiences. One of them is Judith Jones and she once said - "One of great virtues of cooking for oneself, you have only yourself to please. If a dish isn't quite right, you'll eat it anyway and improve on it next time". But, what if the dish turns out so good that you are tempted to write almost immediately on the blog, share with others so that they can make some too!. For my Saturday lunch last week, I made some Garlic Tostones with rice & beans, ate alone, all by myself. It was just perfect, mopping the last bit of beans with a crispy fried plantain tostone. From the moment I bookmarked it and to the point I ate the first bite, I was fascinated and eager to try the combination. These little munchies were all that it promised - simple-to-make-crispy-pleasure-bombs. Ok, I will STOP right here. :-) Read on and get the recipe. 

[Meatless Monday] One Pot Sambar Rice | Sambar Sadam | One Pot Mixed Vegetable-Dal-Rice + IFBM 2014

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Learn how to make sambar rice in one pot i.e pressure cooker. One dish to clean, one plate to serve and a bunch of chips with a bowl of yogurt is all that is needed to make it a full lunch or dinner meal. On busy (read as lazy) weeknights, such recipe ideas help us fill our tummies easily and quickly. To save time, I tend to chop veggies like - okra, green beans, tomato, bottle gourd, drumstick and refrigerate in air tight boxes.

D for Dibba Rotti | Minapa Roti | Andhra Style Crispy Uttappam Recipe

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Learn how to make Andhra style crispy rotti or 'dibba (fat) rotti' as we call in Telugu. It is one of the beloved breakfast recipes and I remember devouring it as a kid. It is so filling that with just two mini rottis (or one big one), you will not feel hungry until many many hours. 

{Simple and Easy Meals} Talimpu Roti | Rice and Green Moong Dal Uppittu (Porridge)

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"I never desire to converse with a [wo]man who has written more than [s]he has read" ~ Samuel Johnson

What have you been reading lately? I, for one buried my nose into the classic Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer for past 3 straight days (and nights), reading frantically on my Iphone kindle app. Yep, on that small, tiny screen. What a fabulous read it is and what a prolific writer Jeffery Archer is! His portrayal of both the protagonists - Kane and Abel is just brilliant. As a reader, you want both of them to win and taste their share of victory. You root for both of them. There is emotion, suspense, drama in the novel and I was left with a THAT sense of sadness when it came to an end. Doesn't that always happen with every good book we tend to read? :-)

What have you been eating lately? With summer at its peak, I hardly want to enter the kitchen let alone cook. I start sweating so profusely that I feel like having a bath, again.

..a long time ago, I made some talimpu roti (rice and green gram porridge). So long ago that I forgot how it tastes like. So long ago that I almost forgot such a thing exists and it was then an easy super fast breakfast or brunch dish. So I made it again, just to savor its flavor and experience its comfort. The sun god too took a break today and the weather was a little pleasant with slight cool breeze all evening. Perfect with a cup of masala tea to finish with.

Enjoy!

..just two main ingredients...

{Recipe} Talimpu Roti | Rice and Green Moong Dal (Porridge)

Adapted from Sreelu's Tasty Travels
Serve 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup of short grain white rice
1/2 cup whole green moong dal
2 tsp vegetable/canola oil
1/2 tsp split white urad dal
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp of coarsely ground ginger-green chilli paste (or 1-2 green chillies + 1 tsp of minced fresh ginger)
few curry leaves
water

Preparation:

1. Wash and soak rice in enough water for 20-25 mins. Rinse the whole green moong dal as well. Drain.

2. Dry rice and moong dal separately on towel. Grind them together to a coarse powder (rava). You can make this mixture way ahead and store in an air tight container.

2. For 1 measure of rice-green gram mixture, we need 2 measures of water. Heat oil in a kadai, add urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ginger-green chilli paste and curry leaves. Let them splutter a bit.

3. Add 2 cups of water and let it come to a rolling boil.

4. Reduce heat to low and slowly add 1 cup of rice-green gram mixture. Keep stirring while doing so. Cover and let the water get absorbed completely. Finally add a small spoon of ghee.

Serve immediately with any podi or pickle. 

Note: The same recipe can be easily made in a pressure cooker. Follow the same steps and cook for 3 whistles. Allow it to naturally cool and Serve.

...Healthy breakfast ready in minutes...

I made few small, thin pancakes out of the left over porridge the next day. Crispy on outside and with soft insides, these tasted so good. Didn't feel like left overs at all. :-)

..left over rice and green moong dal porridge as small pancakes..

This is Recipe 28 added to my The 100 Recipe Challenge for Year 2013. Check out the rest of the recipes too!

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{Simple and Easy} Achari Chana Pulao | Pickle Spiced Chickpea Rice Recipe | Pressure Cooker Recipes

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If there is one kitchen gadget that I can never imagine myself without is my beloved pressure cooker. I have seen my mom use not one, but two of them simultaneously and to this day she swears by its efficiency. Same is the case with my mother in law too. I literally wake up every single morning with whistle whooshing across the kitchen till our bedroom. ;-) 

That my friends is the role of a pressure cooker played in our lives. In one word - Quintessential.

Now, when I read Jaya's post on how an cookbook author claimed that Indian-made pressure cookers are unsafe to use and tended to blow up in people’s faces. I was like - What The! That is a total exaggeration.  Nothing in this world in perfect, I agree on that but whenever I heard people telling me stories of their pressure cookers blowing up, its always the case where there was a human error. 

To err is human...Isn't it?

In order to prove the cookbook author wrong and to put across a point that pressure cookers, especially indian-made are indeed safe, Jaya has asked us to cook a dish in our cookers. Hence, today's recipe - Achari Chana Pulao a.k.a Chickpea Rice spiced with Mango Pickle. That sounds a little bizarre  but trust me it tastes wonderfully delicious and no one would believe it has achaar in it ;-). My mom especially was pleasantly surprised.

Go on, take out your pressure cookers today and try this super simple pulao for your meals.

Enjoy!

Also sending this as an entry to The Wellness Weekend and Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Doesn't that look yummi-li-cious? :-)

not just mango pickle, you can use any mixed pickle for this recipe..

my cute little 3 ltrs pressure cooker. It never looked this glamorous before ;-)

all whole spices, mango pickle, veggies and beans sauteed. next comes the rice..

out and done.. ready to be fluffed with a fork..

Achari Chickpea Pulao is ready and served..

{Recipe} Achari Chana Pulao | Pickle Spiced Chickpea Rice

Adapted loosely from Tarla Dalal 
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 tbsp instant mango pickle (or any pickle on hand)
1 cup long grained (basmati) rice
1 tomato, cut in long wedges
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
few whole spices - I used 3 bay leaves, two star anise pieces and a piece of cinnamon stick
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 cup soaked, boiled chickpeas (any variety is fine)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash and soak rice for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep aside.

Note: If you are using freshly boiled beans (instead of canned or frozen) for this recipe, reserve the cooking liquid (or) just use water. 

Put 2 cups of water or cooking liquid to boil.

In the pressure cooker, heat oil. Add bay leaves, cumin seeds, star anise and cinnamon. Saute for a minute. Once they start to crackle, add sliced onions and garlic. Let them brown for few minutes.

Add chickpeas, mango pickle, tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder and garam masala (if using). Saute for 3-4 minutes. Adjust salt. Then the drained rice goes innand saute for few more minutes.

Add the hot water/cooking liquid and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. Lightly fluff with a fork.

Serve hot with raita on the side.

“I boiled chickpeas and also cooked the Achari Chana Pulao with my Indian pressure cooker and it didn’t blow up in my face”..:-)

wanna grab the plate and sit down for a meal with me? :-)

This is Recipe 14 added to my 2013 Recipe Archive. Check out the rest of the recipes too!

The other day I was checking out few coupons for a pizza party at work. I have got a few good discounts here - Coupon Raja.com. Check them out and save a few bucks on your next pizza! 

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{Sankranthi/Pongal Recipe} Andhra Style Bellam Paramannam | Rice Pudding With Jaggery

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We, Indians tend to celebrate many festivals during the course of an year. Its diversity in terms of people, religions, traditions and cultures gives us a chance to ritualize each and every happiness with a lot of gusto.

The first festival of the year, which signifies the celebration first harvest (of especially rice from the paddy fields) is - Sankranthi or Pongal (as it called in the southern part of India) - a perfect time for family gatherings, super delicious foodie treats, beautiful rangolis sketched in courtyards and of course kite flying which used to be my favorite thing to do all my childhood. I was pretty darn good at it, giving a good fight to the boys! ;-). It is a scenic splendor to watch the blue sky dotted with numerous kites of varied colors and shapes. Ah! how much I miss those lovely, carefree days.

There are many recipes that are made especially for this festival. Milk puddings are a must. Today, am going to share a rice pudding recipe sweetened with jaggery. Its called Bellam Paramannam in Telugu and my family absolute beloved dish. Serve it warm or cold, it taste lip smacking!

{Recipe} Rice Pudding With Jaggery | Bellam Paramannam

Makes 6 servings
Recipe: My Mom

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice
2 cups milk
2 cups water
11/4 cup powdered jaggery
1/2 cup in total - raisins, chopped cashewnuts and dried coconut pieces.
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp ghee


Preparation:

Step 1. Cook 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water until fork tender.

Step 2. Add milk. Mix well. Simmer for 5 mins, stirring frequently.

Step 3. Turn off heat. Add powdered jaggery. Mix once. Cover. Mix again after 5 mins.

Step 4. Melt ghee in a small kadai. Add raisins, cashew nuts and coconut pieces. Fry until light golden brown. Add the contents in to the jaggery pudding. Stir well and let it cool a bit. Serve.

Notes:

1. Don't boil pudding once jaggery is added otherwise there is a risk that the milk will get curdled.

2. Save the left over pudding in the fridge and the next day reheat it with a cup of milk as it tends to thicken a bit and its ready to be devoured, for that sinful second serving!

Wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous Sankranthi. Have fun everybody!

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Doesn't it feel good to spread joy and give happiness during this festive season to those who are not as privileged as we are. Those who don't have any loved ones that they can call as their own and those who celebrate every happy occasion in an ashram, with a new extended family of kids and care takers. Help the kids of Vaidehi Ashram today for their better, brighter future. They need all our love and support. I am told that there is a constant need of funds to pay their monthly school fees and this is an appeal to everybody to contribute generously for the cause. Thanks so much in advance. Click here for more details on you can help. You can also help me by spreading a word about this ashram and their efforts to your friends and family, to encourage them to contribute as well. :-)

Click here to know more about Vaidehi Ashram

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Green Cabbage Lentil Rice Recipe + Canon Camera Giveaway (Open for Indian Readers only)

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Some tastes of childhood you can never forget and can never fade away. It is a taste you regularly try to recall. Sometimes it works and most of the time it does not, especially if you are in a foreign land away from your home where eating a home-cooked meal by your mother is a distant dream. I was in such a situation for 6 long years until we came back to India for good last year.

After hogging and devouring on festive food, my mother would always make this simple, one-pot meal of Cabbage with Lentil Rice. This year's Diwali was no exception. Its comfort food to the tee.

If you are here for to know more about and participate in the give-way , feel free to scroll down to the end of this post.

Enjoy!

Simple One-pot Weeknight Meal

Cabbage + Toor Dal 

{Recipe} Green Cabbage Lentil Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice (or any other variety)
1 cup toor dal (yellow split pigeon peas)
2 cups chopped green cabbage
3-4 green chillies
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp chilli powder
few curry leaves
1 tsp garam masala powder
salt - to taste
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
4.5 cups water

Preparation:

1. In a pressure pan, heat oil. Add green chillies, curry leaves, onions and ginger-garlic paste. Fry until light golden brown in color. Add garam masala, chilli powder and salt.

2. Add toor dal and cabbage. Saute for few minutes. Mix well.

3. Add rice and cook for 2 mins. Add water and stir everything once.

4. After 1 whistle, let the pressure cooker be on heat for 2 more minutes (don't wait until the second whistle) and turn it off.

5. Once the pressure has subsided, lightly fluff with fork and serve with any spicy accompaniment.

Below is a step by step pictorial of how to make Cabbage Lentil Rice. 

Rinse rice couple of times. No need of prior soaking.

In a pressure pan, heat oil. Add green chillies, curry leaves, onions and ginger-garlic paste. Fry until light golden brown in color.

Add rinsed toor dal . Saute for few minutes. Mix well.

Add chopped cabbage. Toss lightly.

Add rice.

Add water and stir everything once. After 1 whistle, let the pressure cooker be on heat for 2 more minutes (don't wait until the second whistle) and turn it off.. 

Once the pressure has subsided, lightly fluff with fork

Serve hot with any spicy side dish and/or raita. Yum!

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2012 Holiday Giveaway (Open for Indian residents only)

It is Holiday Season and best time to spread some happy cheer all around. Its time to give-away something special to my lovely readers who support me all along the way. One lucky winner who resides in India only (Others, Check these giveaways and enter there) will be chosen for an opportunity win this fabulous prize. A chance to win a Canon Powershot A810 Point & Shoot Camera (Choice of color - Black, Silver or Red) along with 4 GB SDHC Card + Case + Charger

Here is what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post. As simple as that.

To increase your chances in the random drawing, do one or more of the following and leave a comment once you did so. 

2. Follow Cooking With Siri on Facebook and/or Follow me on Twitter. - @sirime

3. Subscribe to Cooking With Siri feed.

4. Tweet about this giveaway. Feel free to use the below text - 

{Holiday #Giveaway} #Enter for a chance to #win a Canon PowerShot Camera at @sirime's blog. Details - http://tinyurl.com/canoncameragiveaway 

If you are already liked me on facebook, following on twitter or subscribed to RSS feed, just leave a comment letting me know and you are entered in the giveaway automatically! This giveaway is open for Indian residents only and You don't have to be a blogger to win the camera.

Last date for participation is November 30th 2012 midnight IST and one winner randomly picked will be announced on December 1st 2012. . 

Today is Day 19 of my NaBloPoMo challenge. Check out all of the posts previously published here.

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until tomorrow,

In memory of Jayasree Satish: Soya-Vaangi Bhath

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"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy." ~ Eskimo Proverb 

Image: Lata Raja

It was a dim Wednesday morning on October 12th when things were quiet.Then, Bang! I read the status message on Lataji's FB profile. I almost wanted to cry. How can somebody vanish into thin air, just like that. A fun-loving, warm and ever-smiling person is no more. She is Jayasree Satish who blogged at "Experiments in Kailas Kitchen". Her blog was full of lively conversations, sharing some snippets of life around her and featured traditional recipes. For people away home, it felt like home.

I am still in disbelief. Is Life so short and unpredictable?

It was on September 3rd she 'liked' Cooking With Siri page and within a month's time, she is gone. I just wish, I can go back in time and pray for her good health, get her back.

Soya-Vaangi Bhath

My condolences to her family and hope God give them enough strength to get through this tragic time.

In an effort to keep this amazing woman in our memories, the food blogger community gave a shout out to cook Jayashree's recipes, with no modifications whatsoever.

I made some Soya-Vaangi Bhath. Click here for the recipe.

Soya-Vaangi Bhath

People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive.  It is as though they were traveling abroad.  ~ Marcel Proust

R.I.P Jayasree.

A Trip to Leela Palace, Bangalore and {Recipe} Prune-Almond Phirni

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True to its name, "The Leela Palace" is palatial hotel & resort depicting our rich heritage of kings and queens who ruled India in the past. Rated as one of 500 World's Best hotels, it is still to-date favorite  destination hotel for many. Numerous conferences happen here on a daily basis and we were invited for an exclusive event "The Perfect Nutrition for Women of All Ages" organized by International Prune Association in association with Jade magazine and The Leela Palace itself.

I grabbed this opportunity with utmost excitement and was thrilled to experience the grandeur that Leela Palace had to offer.

The Leela Palace, Bangalore

The Interiors

We learnt a lot about how good the Prunes are in this event. When I was in California, I ate prunes on a regular basis as a snack and was pleasantly surprised to know that even in Bangalore, these are very easily available in many super markets. I made some Prune-Almond Phirni for you all today. If you just want to jump tothe recipe, scroll down to the end of the post. :-).

Smiling staff warmly greet you as soon as you enter the premises and the magnificent upholstery in the lobby area will catch your eye instantly. there are flowers, flowers and more flowers every where and you wouldn't even think for a second that this hotel is located at the very heart of the buzzing Bangalore city.

The corridors are filled with huge paintings of young Indian princes and kings.

It has an impressive lobby decorated with many rare Indian artworks.

After the informative conference, we all gathered for lunch at "The Dining Room", where things were literally served on a silver platter.

With plenty of sunshine streaming through the huge windows, it was one pleasant day to enjoy good food, good conversations and meet new people.

Here is what was served in our Leela Palace lunch.

Platter of fruit and prunes. We gobbled up so many that we lost count. ;-)

Lemongrass soup which was so refreshing and a best start for any meal.

Sago Payasam.

Ever heard of Prune Biryani? It tasted delicious.

Dal Tadka with aromatic spices.

Baby Potato Dum Aloo. Super yummy and its taste still lingers in my mouth.

the very traditional - Tindora with Coconut

Chocolate Magic, the dessert.

the entire dessert platter

Prune-Badam Phirni (Almond Rice Pudding with Prunes)

My grandparents live in Old city, Hyderabad. With many muslim friends around, Phirni (or Firni as its called) was something which we had almost in every household especially during festival time of Eid. It tastes rich, creamy and delicious. Today, I have made Phirni with Almond paste and cooked Prunes. Never expected this to be better than the original version. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

5-6 pitted Prunes (which are nothing but dried plums)
1/4 cup Almonds
1 tbsp Rice
1.5 cups Milk
1/4 cup Sugar
3 tbsp slivered almonds
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
hot water

Preparation:

For Prunes:

Soak them in hot water to soften for at least an hour. In the same soaking liquid, cook prunes on a medium-high heat, bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until they become plump. With back of a spoon, mash them and keep aside to cool.

For Pudding:

1. In hot water, soak almonds for 15 minutes. Peel and keep aside.

2. Soak rice in hot water again for atleast 1 hour.

3. Grind almonds and rice together into a very paste. Add little water if needed.

4. Heat milk in a wide pan and bring it to a rolling boil. On low heat, add almond-rice paste, while stirring constantly so that there are no lumps. Continue to stir for next 15-20 mins, when it starts to thicken and you can no longer feel the taste of raw rice.

5. Add sugar, sliced almonds and cardamom powder. Cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Finally add about 1-2 tbsp or more of prune liquid into phirni. Mix well and set it aside for not more than 5 minutes. Transfer the phirni into a bowl and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Note: If you wish to, you can mix the entire prune mixture to phirni, more or less based on the level sweetness you prefer.

Assembly: In a glass, put a layer of prune mixture at the very bottom and them pour phirni over it. Garnish with sliced almonds. Serve it chilled.

It is an universally known fact that - "Prunes cure constipation" and just 1 cup has 12g of dietary fiber. In addition to that, these are a great source of  Vitamins K and A, niacin, riboflavin and Vitamin B-6. A recent article dated Aug 22nd 2011, states Prunes could help prevent fractures and help post-menopausal women protect themselves from osteoporosis.These are a perfect as a fruit snack but limit these to 5-6 per day due to its laxative properties.

Leaving you all for now with some beautiful rose petals and hope you all have a lovely weekend ahead.

until next time,
Siri