Eat Perfect Curd Rice with Kodo Millets and Also Save India

Recently during my recent encounters in my grocery shopping I felt encouraged to buy millets. I researched online for recipes and came across a very important source of infomation.
 
Millet is one of the oldest foods, history goes behind 3000 years.Millets are the real god particle as it can fight the four challenges india is facing
1. Water shortage
2. Diabetes
3. Malnutrition
4. Encourage farmers livelihood from debt and drought

We use 4000 litres of water to grow one kg of rice while all millets grow without irrigation. This can turn out to be a tremendous national gain especially in the ensuing decades of climate crisis. In a future, where water and food crisis stares us in the face, millets can become the food of security.

Another advantage of growing millets for farmers is it is pest resistant so it is by default grown organic saving farmers from buying pesticides.
 
40% of indian population is heading towards diabetes. One of the main reasons for this is we are eating a single cereal diet. People are eating only rice or only wheat. It is very important to bring in a multigrain diet into our life.

It has become a recent trend to include oats in our diet.The top 5 producers of Oats is European Union, Russia, Canada, Australia and United States

It does not benefit India or Indian farmers. When we buy millets we really support our own farmers.Why should I buy something manufactured by farmers in EU and US when our own farmers produce equivalently nutritive food.A kg of millets is cheaper than a kg of oats.  When nature has provided India with a grain that has equal benefit then why eat oats. And I have also found millets taste much better than oats  and can be used to make a lot of indian recipes.

Millet and other whole grains are a rich source of magnesium, a mineral that acts as a co-factor for more than 300 enzymes, including enzymes involved in the body's use of glucose and insulin secretion

Millets are amazing in their nutrition content. Each of the millets is three to five times nutritionally superior to the widely promoted rice and wheat in terms of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Each of the millets is a storehouse of dozens of nutrients in large quantities. They include major and micro nutrients needed by the human body. Hence they can help people withstand malnutrition

Millets are alkaline in nature and hence beneficial for anti-aging

More info on millets

Varieties of millets
http://millets.wordpress.com/millets/

Saving India
http://cm.naturelabs.org/?p=552

12 Health Benefits
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/12-health-benefits-of-millet.html  

Nutritional Benefits of Millets
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=53

Millet Vs Oats
http://suryaecolife.blogspot.in/2013/04/millets-vs-oats.html

To begin with I tried curd rice with the kodo millets it tasted so perfect every spoonfull would simply slide in with joy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup kodo millet (Hindi: Kodra; Tamil: Varagu; Telugu: Arikelu; Kannada: Harka)
• 2.5 cups water
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tbsp curd
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 2 tbsp grated carrot
• 1 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
• 1 sping curry leaves
• 2-3 chopped green chillies
• 1 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Procedure
Wash the kodo millets properly and pressure cook the millet with 2.5 cups of water with 4 whistles on high flame  and 5 mins in low flame.Once it cools take the cooked millet out and mix it with spatula in a large bowl,now add the milk and mix nice till millet and milk blend nicely.Then add the curd,carrot mix again.

To prepare the tempering heat oil in a small pan ,add mustard seeds,cashew nuts and fry in medium flame till mustard splutters then add green chilli,curry leaves and fry for 30 sec and add to curd millet porridge. Let it sit for 1-2 hours

Note:
 1.If you can make the millet curd rice in the morning itself and serve it at lunch
time ,it will taste awesome as you made it fully with milk
 2.If you have lack of time then in place of milk you can directly make it with curd
but have to serve immediately
3.Milltets are pest resistant hence they are organic by nature

In chennai millets are begun to be available across many stores however I have found them priced appropriately at murugan stores (43 rs/500 gms)

Location of Murugan store: On poonamalee high road after hot breads near anna nagar arch ...
   

Sankranthi Subhakankshalu / Happy Pongal

Happy Sankranti to my fellow bloggers. No celebration is complete in south india without a sweet and rice preparation and a muggu/kolam/rangoli :) . My cousin sister who studies near chennai dropped by to celebrate pongal and made a beautifull rangoli for us !!

Today I took the opportunity to prepare a biyyam parvanam / rice kheer with a little twist to bring some magic to the flavors. With the kheer I prepared pulihora/tamarind rice.I had posted another version of pulihora earlier which was my MIL version while this one is my mothers style. 

So let me share both my festival recipes today : ) 

Rice Kheer

Ingredients

• 4 cups full fat milk
• 1/3 cup basmati rice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 pods crushed cardamon
• 8 finely chopped pista
• 1 tbsp chopped cashewnuts
• 1 tbsp condensed milk - milkmaid
• 2 tbsp kismis / raisins 
• 1 tsp ghee / clarified butter
• pinch of saffron

Procedure

Pressure cook the rice with one cup milk for 3 whistles for 10 minutes in sim. Switch it off then one the pressure releases remove the lid and mash the cooked rice to make it more soft.

Boil the milk and add the above mashed rice and let it boil, the milk will  begins to thick. Add the sugar , condensed milk and saffron and stir and let it boil for 5 minutes. switch off the flame and let it cool.

Fry the chopped cashewnuts with 1tsp ghee till light golden brown, then add the kismis and a little chopped pista, once the kismis become fluffy add the cardamom powder and then add this to the kheer.

Garnish with remaining pista serve warm or chilled as you prefer

Note: Using basmati rice brings more flavor to the kheer 

Pulihora / Tamarind Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• a big lemon size tamarind soak in 1 cup water
• 4 red chillies
• 2 tbsp channa dal
• 1 tbsp urad dal
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 3 springs curry leaves
• 2 tbsp peanuts
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 green chilli
• 1/8 tsp hing
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp jaggery
• 1/8 cup oil
• salt to taste

Cooking procedure

Soak the tamarind in warm water for 30 min ,then nicely squeeze and extract the pulp and keep aside.
Soak channa dal with enough water for 30 minutes
Cook the rice with 2 cups of water and with a 1 tsp oil in pressure cooker for 3 whistles .

Dry roast sesame seeds with 1 red chilli and a pinch of cummin seeds, once sesame seeds start to splutter transfer it immediately to a plate to cool after that make a fine powder and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan add urad dal ,peanuts, mustard seeds ,fenugeerk seeds and when mustard seeds starts to splutter add the channa dal soaked earlier and fry till it appears golden color. Then add the red chilli,curry leaves,turmeric and hing and stir for 30 sec ,then add tamarind pulp and jaggery and stir n cook till the mixture become a thick and when oil begins to saturate switch off the flame and let it cool.

Mix the above mixture to the rice till it blends nicely with rice ,then mix the sesame seed powder nicely ,then cover n keep aside for 30 min before you serve

Note :

• You can prepare the tamarind paste before ,store in the jar and refregirate it ,use when ever u want .
• If u add more jaggery then will get the sweeter version of pulihora
• Adding sesame seed powder will balance the tangy flavors

Special Paneer Pulao / Cottage Cheese Pilaf

I was looking for different flavored pulao and came across a sanjeev kapoors mushroom paneer pulao. It sounded very interesting as it didnt any khada masala. The key ingredient is crushed coriander seeds and kasuri methi. I skipped the mushrooms as it wasnt available.

One addition I gave to this dish was adding shah jeera.With the blend of all these spices with a soft undertone of paneer makes the rice very flavorful.You can feel it in every bite.

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup sweet corn
• 3/4 cup diced paneer cubes
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi
• 1/2 cup sliced onions
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1/4 tsp shahi jeera
• 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 green chilli
• pinch of turmeric
• 2 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Procedure

Soak rice with 2 cups water for one hr. Then discard the water completely and keep aside

Crush the coriander seeds and keep aside

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add shah jeera once it splutter add sliced onions, garlic and saute till onions become translucent.

Now add chilli powder, turmeric, crushed coriander seeds and fry till oil begins to saturate

Add green peas,sweet corn and mix nicely. Add kasuri methi and mix once again

Add the drained rice to above and mix nicely, add 2 cups water and pressure cook for 3 whistles, then switch it off. In the meantime in a pan add 1 tsp oil and fry the paneer carefully. Turn the cubes on each side for it to turn golden brown.

Once cooker cools open and mix the rice properly for all the flavor to incorporate. Add the paneer cubes and again mix softly.

Serve immediately

Flavorful Carrot Rice

If you are looking for a colorful and tasty rice at short notice this carrot rice would make a meal wholesome.I prepared this for my hubby recently and his friends were raving for the recipe.

The trick to make this carrot rice more flavorful is to use shah jeera also known as caraway seed which used in biryaani and some other mughlai dishes for taste and fragrance.So here is the recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 1 cup grated carrot(aprox 4 medium size carrots)
• 1/3 cup chopped onions
• 3-4 green chillies
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 4 whole black papper
• 1/2 tsp shah jeera
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
• 1 tbsp ghee(clarified butter)
• salt to taste

Procedure :
Soak rice with enough water for 30 min then drain water completly,add 1.5 cup water and 1 tsp oil to the rice for non stickiness .Pressure cook it for 3 whistles and 3 min ,switch off the flame .Once pressure release open the lid ,spread the rice on large plate.

Heat ghee and oil in a pan,then add all the spices and once it starts to splutter add onion and green chilli,once onion starts to become translucent add the grated carrot and salt ,mix nicely and cook till carrot become soft.

Once carrot done add the cooked rice to it and mix nicely till rice blends nicely with carrot and spices,let it sit on the gas with low flame for 5 more min ,stir occassionally ,now your carrot rice is ready .Serve hot .

Note:

1.Transferring  the rice to large plate prevents over cooking and makes it more non sticky   

2.You can adjust the spice according to your taste .

3.You can add veggies like peas ,corn to make it more colorful n crunchy.

Exotic Jackfruit Seed Curry With Curd Rice

Sometimes we learn a dish from the most unexpected sources. Recently my house maid who is a good cook herself taught me this dish. I told her we normally fry the jackfruit seeds with salt and pepper but she mentioned we could make a special dish that compliments with curd rice. So she taught me this dish and it seemed pretty good to have with curd rice. You can give it a try too ...

Ingredient

• 20 jackfruit seeds
• 1/2 cup diced potatos
• 1/2 cup sliced onion
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatos
• 4-5 crushed garlic pods
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cummin seeds
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt to taste 

Procedure
Peel the soft outer flesh of the jackfruit seed,cut the seeds to 3 parts,heat oil in a pan ,add cumin seeds ,once it splutters add onion and garlic and stir ,once onion becomes translucent add jackfruit seeds,potato,turmeric ,salt and mix nicely.
Now add  water to just submerge the veggies,cover and cook on low flame,stir occasionally till jackfruit seeds become tender,then add tomato ,coriander powder,chilly powder and stir till tomato become mushy,add chopped cilantro ,mix it and serve with curd rice.

Note:
1.To make this curry instantly you can pressure cook the seeds n potato before itself.
2.Some time we face difficult to remove the outer flesh of the seed hit the seed with the pestle and it will loosen up and can tear the skin easily.

Curd Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw rice 
• 3 cups water
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tbsp curd 
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp grated carrot
• 1 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
• 1 sping curry leaves
• 2-3 chopped green chillies
• 1 tsp oil 
• salt to taste

Procedure
Wash the rice properly and pressure cook the rice with 3 cups of water with 4 whistles on high flame  and 5 mins in low flame.Once it cools take the rice out and mash it with spatula as soft as possible in a large bowl,now add the milk and mix nice till rice and milk blend nicely.Then add the curd,carrot mix again.
To prepare the tempering heat oil in a small pan ,add mustard seeds,cashew nuts and fry in medium flame till mustard splutters then add green chilli,curry leaves and fry for 30 sec and add to curd rice. Let the curd rice sit for 1-2 hours

Note:
1.If you can make the curd rice in the morning itself and serve it at lunch time ,it will taste awesome as you made it fully with milk
2.If you have lack of time then in place of milk you can directly make it with curd but have to serve immediately otherwise curd rice will become sour    

Evergreen Methi Rice

Everytime I go the to store I always pick greens and methi leaves are one of my favorite choice.Methi is a wonderfull leafy delight,  this simple methi rice preparation is very aromatic tasty and quick to prepare too...adding corn kernels makes it very colorfull and little crunchy. Hope you will enjoy this recipe 
Ingredients

• 1 cup tightly packed methi/fenugreek leaves
• 7 medium size garlic pods
• 1 tsp jeera/cummin seeds
• 1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
• 2 green chillies
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp ghee
• pinch of tumeric
• salt to taste

Procedure
Soak rice with enough water for 30 min,drain the water and then again 1.5 cup water and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.Boil the sweet corn in a microwave by adding enough water for 4 minutes, drain and keep aside.
Make a fine paste of methi leaves, garlic, cummin seeds and green chillies and keep aside.
Heat oil and ghee in a pan and the above grinded paste and fry nicely on medium flame till oil begins to saturate.
Add the sweet corn and fry for 1 minute and then add the rice,salt,turmeric and stir nicely till it blends nicely.Switch off the flame and serve warm with your choice of raitha.

Easy Tasty Vegetable Biriyani

One of my favorite one pot meals is the biriyani, there are many versions however this is one of my favorite versions. It takes very little time and very easy to prepare. Hope you will enjoy preparing it too

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1/2 cup diced bellpepper
• 1 cup diced paneer
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
• 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
• 3 sliced green chillies
• 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp shahi biryani masala
• salt to taste

Procedure

Soak rice with 2 cups water for 1/2 hr. Add a tbsp of oil , 1/2 tsp salt to the soaked rice, pressure cook the rice with three whistles and 3 minutes in sim and switch it off.

Once it cools open pressure cooker and add 1 tsp ghee and keep aside.

In a deep bottom pan heat 2 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ghee, add cummin seeds, onions and fry till onions turn translucent, add garlic ginger paste and tomato puree and fry till oil begins to saturate, now add all the veggies and mix nicely and add little water let it cook till it becomes tender.

Now add salt, green chillies, mint leaves, cilantro, red chilli powder,turmeric, shahi biriyani masala and mix nicely.Once oil begins to saturate add the cooked rice and mix gently with the veggies.

Fry the paneer with 1 tsp oil till golden brown and add to the rice. Serve hot with your choice of raitha.