Vegetable Briyani

Ingredients:
Basmati or ponni raw rice            : 1 cup
Onion                                          : 2 nos.( medium size )thinly sliced                                              

Tomato                                       : 1 no. diced
Garlic                                           : 6 to 7 cloves nicely chopped
Ginger( optional)                          : a small piece chopped
{or ginger-garlic paste                  : 1Tsp}
Beans                                           : 1/2 cup cut pieces
Carrot                                           : 1/2 or 1 cup
Green peas                                    : 1/4 cup

Capsicum                                      : 1/2 cup diced
Coriander leaves                            : 1/2 cup chopped
Green chilly                                   : 1 or 2 
Red chilly powder                          : 1/2 to 3/4 tsp
Jeera( cumin )                                : 1/2 Tsp
Sombu( fennel )                             :1/2 Tsp
Cinnamon( pattai )                        : 2 sticks
Jeera powder                                : 1/2 Tsp
Garam masala                                :1/2 Tsp
Cardamom                                     : 3 nos.
Cloves                                            : 4 nos.
Brinji leaves                                   : 2 nos.

mushroom optional

cooking oil                                     : 4-5 Tsp
water                                            : 1 1/2 cup for basmati rice
                                                    : 2 cups for raw rice

Note: Instead of 2 cups of water can use 1 cup milk( or coconut milk ) & 1 cup water

Method :
Keep a thick bottomed kadai or cooker on a slow flame.
Add cooing oil.
When the oil is hot splutter jeera, sombu, cardamom,cloves & pattai.
Immediately add green chillies & then red chilly powder.
Do not allow the red chilly powder to turn black.
Add onions & saute till it completely loses its water content.
keep stirring onions & in the mean time wash rice once & soak.
Once the onions are done, add coriander ( save a small quantity for garnishing ) & then add tomatoes.
When the tomato completely blended with onions add vegetables one by one & all the other powders mentioned.
Now drain water completely from rice and add to the kadai keeping flame on HIGH till the water in the rice goes off.
Now bring back the flame to SIM.
Keep stirring till the rice turn slightly bright white.

Now transfer it to cooker & add water.
Add salt & stir to completely dissolve salt.
Close the cooker & put on the weight.
Keep on HIGH flame till one whistle & then let it be on SIM for 5 minutes.
Switch OFF & open when the steam has gone off.

Mix the briyani very lightly & garnish with coriander leaves.

Note: If you are doubling the amount of rice, double the water and other ingredients.
But take salt 1 1/2 times.
If the salt seems to be less we can add while eating.

Rasam

#Rasam - a South Indian dicoction of various spices.
It  is one of the main items of the Tamil Nadu lunch.
Even though the required ingredients are common and the method of preparing seems to be simple, making a tasty rasam is bit tricky. Only by trial and error we have to learn the art of making rasam.

Ingredients :
Dhal water                       : 1 cup
Pepper                             : 1/2 Tsp
Jeera                                : 1/2 Tsp
Dhaniya                             : 1/2 Tsp
Red chilly                           : 2 nos.
Garlic cloves                      : 3 to 4 nos.
Tomato                              : 1
Salt                                    : 1 3/4 Tsp
Tamarind                            :small marble size
Turmeric powder                : a pinch
Asafoetida                          :1/3 Tsp
Mustard                             : 1/2 Tsp
few curry & coriander leaves.
Above ingredients are just enough for making rasam for 3 to 4 persons.
If you would like the rasam to be more spicy add 1/4 to 1/2 Tsp of chilly powder.

Method :

for tamarind (puli - புளி) ரசம்

Soak tamarind in luke warm water.
Take a cup of dhal water in a vessel.
If dhal water is not available, take a Tblsp of cooked dhal

and dissolve in 11/2 cup of water.
To the above dhal water add turmeric powder, salt, coarsely ground ingredients highlighted above and cut tomato pieces.
Switch on the stove & keep the vessel on medium flame.
Now squeeze the soaked tamarind with 1/2 cup of water and
strain into the vessel.
Let it boil for sometime.
When it starts foaming on top switch off the stove.

Add curry & coriander leaves.
Keep a kadai with 1 tsp of oil & temper mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour it onto the cooked rasam.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
HA! Haa! HAHA! what an aroma! hot spicey rasam is ready.

Mix with hot white rice & enjoy eating with any vegetable curry,

Onion vathal or pappad.

for lemon rasam
lemon juice is used instead of tamarind.
Proceed as tamarind rasam.
But add a split green chilly.
Add lemon juice after switching off the stove.
Temper only mustard seeds & curry leaves.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note :
The highligted ingredients barring garlic in the same ratio can be ground & stored.
When You need to do rasam add 2 to 3 Tsp of this powder along with smashed garlic & follow the same steps to make tasty rasam.

Other rasam recipes you might like to try

Kokum rasam

Vilampazham Rasam

kollu rasam

lemon rasam

madras rasam powder

Dishes for Lunch

Recipe Index

cleaning cooker

how to clean a cooker?
If your cooker is made of aluminium material, the inside of the cooker will become
black after repeated use.
So squeeze some lemon juice with a cup of water in the cooker.
Heat the cooker with lemon water for few minutes closing the lid.
Wash with soap water after it is cooled down.