Moong dhal Vegetable kichdi

If you want to prepare a nutritious and wholesome meal  for kids, I would recommend this dish.It was delicious and my daughter absolutely loved it. We are going to use Rice and dhal just like Pongal,  but the consistency is going to be like Porridge. It can be prepared with Tuar dhal or Masoor dhal too. Whatever measure I have given serves 2 people, so adjust your measures accordingly. If you want the dish to be spicy, add dried red chillies along with green chillies, also you can increase the chilly powder ratio. I have made it a little bland.

Coriander rice

During Navrathri it's a tradition to make one variety rice every day as an offering to God. I am not sure whether I will be able to post Sundal varieties as I don't keep Golu at all. This coriander rice is really simple, healthy and tasty and this can be prepared with left over rice too. You can substitute coriander with Mint leaves and prepare Mint rice.

Brinjal rice

I love brinjals in any form, be it our normal podi curry or Bagara baingan(this recipe is in my to-do list for a long long time) or Brinjal Kothsu. I have tried to give a very simple Brinjal rice recipe. If you want to make vangi bath, use cloves and cinnamon while making the masala. This measurement is for one cup(150 gms) of uncooked rice.

Puliyodharai (Tamarind rice) Adi Perukku special

The eighteenth day of the month of Aadi in the Tamil lunar calender is important for people living along rivers banks, especially, the Kaveri.  The festival is a thanksgiving celebration to the sustaining power of water. Called Aadi pathinettu, or Aadi perukku, the day is also a celebration of the onset of monsoon in this part of the country.  This day also starts the sowing season for the main crop of the season - Rice.

The festival is celebrated, as usual, by cooking different types of rice dishes, such as coconut rice, lemon rice, tamarind rice and so on, and the carbohydrate extravaganza is traditionally partaken along the banks of the nearest river.

Ellu podi sadam(Sesame seeds rice)

With adi perukku on August 3rd this year I will try post more variety rice. Instead of the usual lemon rice and coconut rice, we can try to make something different.
Ingredients
Cooked raw rice or boiled rice
Sesame seeds- ellu- 1/4 cup(I have used white seeds, if you want you can use black also)
Channa dhal- kadalai paruppu- 1/2 cup
Red chillies- 6-7
Salt to taste ( I have added a tablespoon of salt for the above measure as we are going to mix it with rice. Always add less salt as it may be added after mixing with the rice)

Cabbage rice

Ingredients

Basmati rice or raw rice -1 cup
Shredded cabbage -1 cup
Fresh peas- 1/2 cup

water- 2 cups for 1 cup of rice

Vegetable fried rice(stir fry method)

I am sure  stir fried rice is everybody's favourite.  I would like to call this stir fried rice as I feel whatever chinese food we are tasting in India is not exactly CHINESE. It's all Indianised version of chinese food. To ensure this I just googled out for the list of chinese food..Here is what I found----http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_dishes.

Ingredients

Capsicum rice

This recipe I prepare when I have leftover rice. If you plan ahead, use Basmati rice. Soak the basmati rice for half an hour, completely drain the water, saute in ghee until it loses the water content.Then add 2 cups of water for one cup of rice, pressure cook with salt. Spread the rice on a plate and allow it to cool until the grains stand separate. Don't mix using a ladle as it will become mushy.


Ingredients

Cooked rice-1 bowl(serves 2)

Capsicum Green Bell pepper-1 

Onion-1

Potato-1 medium-(all the above three chopped lengthwise)

Green chillies-2 slit into two

Channa masala powder-2 Tablespoons

Salt to taste

Ghee- 1 teaspoon
Oil-2 tablespoons
Coriander leaves to garnish

Sambar rice

Ingredients
(The measurements which I have given serves 6 people. So when you are preparing for 3 people, take only half the measures)
Rice-1 1/2 cup(250gms)
Thuar dhal(Yellow lentil/Thuvaram paruppu)-1 1/2 cup(250 gms)
Mixed vegetables-1 big bowl
(I have used potato, carrot, radish, beans and snake gourd..As I always say choose the vegetables according to your taste bud)
Onion-Preferably small onions-1 cup
Tomato-2 finely cut
Tamarind- 1 big lemon size
Turmeric- 1 Tablespoon
Mustard and Hing powder for seasoning.

Vegetable Briyani-Simple method

Making Authentic Briyani needs lot of patience and preparation itself consumes lot of our time.With my friend Anuradha's help, I tried to make this simple dish and the result was really delicious.Kids loved it.

Ingredients

Vegetables- beans,onion,carrot,peas,tomato
Mint leaves-a hand ful
Chilly powder-1 teaspoon
Coriander powder- 2 tablespoons
Gingergarlic paste-1 teaspoon
Cloves, Anise, Cardamom, Cinnamon- 2 each
Basmati Rice-2 cups(soaked in water for half an hour)
Water-4 cups
Oil-4-5 Tablespoons(you can use a mix of oil and ghee)
Cashews and mint for garnishing

Peas Pulao

Peas pulao can be made in different ways.This one I found to be simple and tasty which can be served with Raitha or a Potato curry/Paneer curry.
Ingredients
Basmati rice-1 cup
Water-2cups
Onion-1 medium-chopped into thin slices
Frozen peas or fresh peas-1/2 cup
Mint leaves-one handful
Green chilly-2 slit into half
Ginger-1 inch
Garlic-5-6 cloves(grind these two to a coarse paste)
Cardomom,cloves,cinnamon-one each