Glorious Rice

[Oldposts]

Topic suggested by NOV on Thu Jan 21 21:02:09 .


Rice - The staple diet of billions in the East. Unimaginable to live without it, even for a single day. Eaten steamed, boiled, crushed, ground....
Thrown at you at your wedding and also used for the last rites, the Indians have even deified it as Annapoorna!

Discussions and recipes are welcomed.

[Oldposts]

Let us examine the various forms of rice. It begins as paddy on the fields, harvested, husked, cleaned and then sold. There are many, many different kinds of rice. (Need some expert input here).

Some popular forms:

Siamese polished rice - ideal for home cooking, expensive and odour-free.

Basmati rice - ideal for special dishes such as Briyani, Ghee rice, etc. The grains are long and cooked rice is not sticky. However, the rice doesn't bloat when cooked, and therefore there is a smaller quentity.

Parboiled rice - I don't know the process for this rice, which is brownish in appearance but become fat and brilliant white when cooked. Favoured by Indians. (Pulungal arisi in Tamil).

Fragrant rice - It emits a pleasant flavour when cooked and is rather expensive. Good for Chinese cooking, where there is no gravy.

More later....

[Oldposts]

Rice is eaten in many forms:

Cooked wholly and eaten with accompaniments, such as gravy, curry, sambol, etc.

Cooked over a long period to a broth-like state and eaten as congee. Prefered form in China. Also popular among invalids and those with digestive problems.

Ground and made into various pastries, breads, etc.

Here is a recipe for Nasi Lemak (Malay for Coconut Milk Rice), a popular breakfast item in Malaysia and Singapore.

You Need

Rice Coconut milk extract
Fresh ginger
Sc-rewpine leaves (Fragrant leaves)
Salt to taste

To Prepare

Squeeze out milk extract from coconut.
Wash rice.
Slice ginger.
Combine all ingredients and cook in a rice cooker or over a gas stove.
Serve with Sambal (see recipe below), sliced cucumber, roasted peanuts, hard-boiled eggs and deep-fried anchovies.

[Oldposts]

i saw below, i could see only "back to the forum"..sambal valley kaanum..

[Oldposts]

Enna bb - romba avasaramaa? :-))

To make Sambal, you need

Dried chilly - soaked and ground with water
Small onions (shallots) )
Garlic ) Grind both with some water
Tamarind, sugar and salt to taste

To make

Heat some oil in pan and fry the onion/garlic paste till the fragrance rises.
Add the chilly paste and cook over low heat for at least ten minutes.
Add the other ingredients and some sliced big onions (if desired).
Serve with Coconut rice.

[Oldposts]

Here is an easy recipe for Ghee Rice, one of the fovaourite dishes for weddings, and festive occasions.

Ghee Rice

You Need

Rice, preferably long-grained
Onion, garlic and ginger, gound to paste
Cinammon, Star-anise &
(Kraambu, Laungam & Karuvapattei)
Ghee
Evaporated milk or Coconut milk
Cashew-nuts & raisins, fried in ghee/butter or oil
Salt to taste

To Prepare:

Wash rice and keep aside.
Heat pan and put ghee.
When hot add spices and cook till they became almost black (to release the fragrance)
Add onion, garlic & ginger paste and cook over medium flame.
Add salt and rice.
Make sure the rice is well-coated with the fried items above.
Transfer the rice to a cooker.
Add milk and cook. (Important: Do not stir rice, while cooking)
When serving, decorate the rice with the cashew-nuts and raisins.

Bon apetit!

[Oldposts]

NOV, do u have a fat-free version of this too:)

[Oldposts]

bb - Vayatrukku vanjagam panna koodaathu. Ghee rice without ghee? Aandavan thaan kaapaathanum. :-))

Okay, here is a nice touch:

Vegetarian Indian Fried Rice

You Need

Cooked rice
Frozen mixed vegetables - carrot, peas and maize
Eggs (optional), scrambled
Onions, sliced
Red chilly, sliced
Cinammon & Cloves
(Kraambu & Karuvapattei)
Ghee or butter
A pinch of turneric powder
Salt to taste

To Prepare

Coat cooked rice lightly with oil. This will prevent rice to sticking together.
Fry the spices in hot ghee.
Add onions and chilly.
Add vegetables.
When cooked, add eggs (optional) rice and salt.
(During this whole process, try to keep the pan covered as much as possible.)
Let the whole thing simmer in very slow flame for a couple of minutes.
Garnish with sliced tomato and cucumber. :-))

[Oldposts]

Nov and contributors - good - just reading all the posts under the food heading contributes a lot to my experimentation with food ( pun intended truthfully). Check out wwww.bawarchi.com .

I will try to add my 2 carrots to the Avial

[Oldposts]

<u>poruLgaL (Ingredients) </u>
* Kathirikkaay (egg plant/brinjal) - 1 big (US size) or 5 small
* Onion - 1
* Potato - 1
* Tomato - 2
* kodai miLagaay - 1
* Green Chilly - 5
* Red Chilly - 8
* dhaniyaa - 10 tbl spoons
* kadalai paruppu (split peas) - 5 tbl spoons
* Coconut - 4 paththai
* Cashews - 15
* KarivEppilai
* koththamalli
* perungaayam
* kadugu, uLuththamparuppu, kadalai paruppu (thaaLikka)
* & Rice

<u>sey muRai (Process) </u>
To make the vaangi masaala powder
* Fry dhaniyaa (10 sp), kadalai paruppu (5 sp), red chilly (8) and Coconut (cut into small pieces) in a pan without oil till it
becomes golden/read (dry fry)
* In mixie, grind it to make a powder (without adding water)

* Cut all vegetables (kathirikkaay, onion, potato, tomato, kodai miLagaay) into small pieces
* In a big pan, add 10 tbl spoons of oil
* When it is hot, add kadugu, uLuththam paruppu & kadalai paruppu. The quantities should be more than the usual
'thaaLiththu kottum aLavu', so that the paruppu & kadugu are visible and can be felt in the final product.
* Add perungaayam, cut green chilly & karivEppilai
* Once the paruppu turns golden color, add the cut vegetables and fry (without adding water) for a while
* When the vegetables are half cooked, add salt & manjaL podi
* Fry till the vegetables are cooked (should be 'well done'/well fried)
* Add the vaangi Powder prepared in the previous step to the fried vegetables.
* Add more oil/ghee and fry for 2 more minutes

* Cook rice separately in a rice/electric cooker with less than usual water (saadham konjam udhiriyaaga pola pola vendru
irundhaal nalladhu)

* Mix rice and VaangiBhathMix (adding ghee if required)
* Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves (kothamalli/cilantro) and Cashew nuts fried in ghee


The best side dish for "Vaangi Bhath" are appaLam/karuvadaam & thayir pachadi.

Recipe for a quick <u>Pachchadi</u> :
* (Very) Finely chop Carret, Beetroot, or Cucumber (one of them)
* In a pan heat oil and add kadugu
* Add finely chopped green chilly, ginger, & perungaayam
* Add the vegetable to it and fry it little bit (20 seconds).
* Turn the gas off
* Add sufficient thayir (curd) to it and add salt.
* Thayir pachadi is ready to be eaten with Vaangi Bhath

Try it out let me know if you like it...

- Venky Narayanan
VenkyNarayanan@hotmail.com

[Oldposts]

The quantity mentioned below is enough for 3-4 people.

<h2>Bisi BELa Bhath / huLi</h2>


<u>poruLkaL (Ingredients) </u>
* kathirikkay (egg plant/brinjal) - 1/4 (big) or 2 (small)
* thakkaaLi (tomato) - 4
* chinna vengaayam (small onion) - 10
* uruLai kizhangu (potato) - 1
* carret - 1 (big)
* Beans - 10
* pachchai miLagaay (green chilly) - 4
* sivappu miLagaay (red chilly) - 10
* (optional) pattai, sOmbu, Elakkay, Kraambu, poondu - little in each for masaalaa
* kothamalli virai (dhaniyaa) - 8 tbl spoons
* kadalai paruppu (split peas) - 6 tbl spoons
* thEngaay (coconut) - 3 paththai
* arisi (rice) - 1 1/2 cup
* thuvaram paruppu (thoor dhaal) - 1/2 cup
* puLi - chinna elumbichai aLavu
* kadugu (thaaLikka)
* salt
* manjaL podi
* perungaayam
* mundhiri (cashew nuts) - 10
* karuvEppilai (kari paththa)
* koththamalli (cilantro)
* Oil (preferably nalleNNey/sesame oil)
* Ghee

<u>sey muRai (Process) </u>
For the masaalaa :
* Dry fry dhaniyaa, kadalai paruppu, miLagaay vatral, pattai, sOmbu, Elakkaay, kraambu, poondu, little perungaayam in a
pan.
* In a mixie make a fine powder of these mixes
* Cut coconut (2 paththai) into small pieces and shred it in mixie (into fine shredded coconut)
* Cut the other 1 paththai into very small pieces (pallu-pallaaga)

* Soak thuvaram paruppu in hot water for about 10 minutes
* Rinse rice and mix rice & thuvaram paruppu.
* Add a little manjaL podi & salt
* Add water and cook the combo in Pressure cooker
(Imporant note: Keep more/less water depending on how you like your BisiBELaa to be)

* Dissolve puLi in water
(Note: Crush puLi in water VERY WELL : atleast for 3-4 minutes. puLiyai kaiyaal nanraaga pisaindhu thanneeril
karaikkavum)
* Heat puLi thanneer till it boils

* Cut all vegetables into BIGGER pieces
(Note: If you cut the vegetables into small pieces, it will get dissolved, and nothing will be 'visible' in the final product)

* In a big pan, add 10 tbl spoons of Oil
* Add kadugu.
* Add 2 miLagaay vaTral, perungaayam, little manjaL podi
* Add all cut vegetables and fry in medium flames
* Once the vegetables are half cooked, Add puLi thanneer
* Add salt, manjaL podi, perungaayam, karuvEppilai and pachchai miLagaay
* Close the pan with a plate and let the vegetables be cooked in high flames
* Once the vegetables are cooked, set the gas to low flames
* Add the masaalaa powder
* Add the coconut (but shredded and the finely chopped)
(Note: At this time, you can see that the solution will turn into a good thick kuzhambu)
* Add the cokked rice/paruppu combination to the kuzhambu.
(Note: If you like your bisi bElaa to be little watery, you can even (s)mash the cooked rice/paruppu a little, before adding it to
the kuzhambu)
* Add 5 spoons of ghee and in low flames, mix the rice well
* Fry mundhiri in ghee till it becomes golden color

* Garnish Bisi BELa Bhath with cashew nuts & finely chopped koththamalli

Note:
* Like vaangi bhath, for BisiBELaa pachchadi, appalam & karuvadaam go well with it.
* Depending upon your taste, you can try out different vegetables like, poosani kaay, spring onions, cauli flower etc...
* If you don't like strong masaalaa taste, you can skip pattai,sOmbu, poondu etc...


Enjoy and let me know if you like it...

- Venky Narayanan
VenkyNarayanan@hotmail.com

[Oldposts]

VEGETABLE PULAV:
********************

*1 big red onion (finely chopped)
*1/2 tsp garam masala
(I use Badshah biryani-pulav Masala)
*1 tomato(finely chopped)
*4 green chillies(slit sideways)
*1/2 tsp cumin seeds
*1/4 CUP grated coconut
*5 garlic cloves
*1/2 inch ginger
*2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
*2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
*1-1 1/2 cups vegtables
(beans, carrot, potato, cauliflower,etc)
*2cups basmati rice(Soak for 15 minutes)
*4 1/2 - 5 cups water
*salt
*1tablespoon cashew nuts fried in ghee.

1. In a big pan, heat 5 tablespoons of oil. Add the chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes. Add the garam masala, and fry for 2
minutes.

2.Add the chopped tomoto and green chillies and stir for 4-5 minutes.

3.Make a thick paste of cumin seeds, coconut, garlic, ginger, and chopped mint/coriander leaves. Add the paste to the pan and
cook for few more minutes.

4.Stir in the chopped vegetables and cook for 5-6 minutes.

5.Add the rice. Stir until all ingredients are throughly combined.

6.Add water and salt.

7.Let it come to a boil.

8.Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 - 25 minutes.

9.Garnish with the chopped cashews.


PACHADI:
**********

*1 onion (finely chopped)
*1 tomoto(finely chopped)
*1 cucumber (Peeled and finely chopped)
*2 green chillies (finely chopped)
*2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
*2 cups sour cream
*1 tsp oil
*1/2 tsp mustard seeds
*1/2 tsp urad dhal
*1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chana dhal
*1/2 tsp asafoetida
*2 red chillies (halved)
*a few curry leaves
*1/2 salt

1. In a bowl, mix the finely chopped onion, tomoto, cucumber, green chillies and coriander leaves with the sour cream.

2.Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the mustard seeds, urad dhal,cumin seeds, chana dhal, hing, red chillies, and a few curry
leaves.

3. When the mustard seeds splutter, add this mixture to the bowl.

4.Add salt. Mix thoroughly.

5. Garnish with extra chopped coriander leaves.

[Oldposts]

Nov

When you said the differant forms of rice, you probably forgot to mentioned Popped rice, or Arisi Pori used by indians to make sweets using jaggery (or gula melaka for u) This one has even been adopted by Malays.

[Oldposts]

NOV :-) nalla saapaadu !!!
what is siamese polished rice? I thought that "basmati" is the most expensive rice!!!
anyway!

Long Grain rice - ("Pachai Arisi") - similar to basmati
"Kutharisi" - similar to parboiled rice, but it has more vitamin B ("Thavidu" is the reason).

"Samba Arisi" - don't know the english name. It's mainly used for briyaani, because it doesn't stick to gether regardless of how well you cook it. !

basmati itself has so many varites with different price tag!

There are more to the list, but I can't recollect. Special rice used to make the flour, rice used to make "pongal" etc. Atlast I know something!!!

[Oldposts]

can u tell me what is the difference between

pulungal arisi and
pacha arisi


which one is used regularky in cooking at our homes ??? which one is easy to digest and more polished ...enakku romba avasarama indha info vaenum ...dayavusenju udhavi seyunnga

[Oldposts]

hi. i am new to cooking can anybody teach me how to make keerai...?

[Oldposts]

Rebecca ...just eat it raw, that is good for health.. But wash it before eating :)
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[nalabaagam]

Hi Rebeka,

I am a new entrant to this forum. Got to see your post asking for keerai recipe. Here is how I prepare keerai...

Ingredients:
---------------
Parupu keerai (or) Mulai keerai (or) Arai keerai (or) Siru keerai - 1 bunch
Paasi paruppu (also called payatham paruppu) or Thuvaram paruppu - 3/4 cup
Green chillies - 3 nos.
Tomato - 1, chopped
Medium sized Onion - 1, chopped finely
Garlic - 4 flakes, chopped finely
Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
Urad dhal (split ones) - 1 tspn
Seeragam (jeera seeds) - 1 tspn
asafoetida (perungayam powder) - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1tspn
sambar powder - 1 tspn
Tamarind (puli) - 1/4th of a lemon size
(soak in 1/2 glass water and take the juice - not very dilute)

How to make?
------------------
1.Take the bunch of keerai, pluck the leaves, wash and then chop it
2.In a pressure pan, put the paruppu and add 1 cup water. Let it boil for 10mins (in the open pan)
3. Add the chopped onion, tomatoes, green chillies, garlic and the cut keerai.
4. Add turmeric powder, salt to taste, sambar powder to it.
5. Add 1/2 cup of water till all the ingredients is fully immersed.
6. Close the pan and let it pressure cook (say for 2 whistles)
7. In a frying pan, add 3 tspn cooking oil.
8. Add the mustard seeds, urad dhal and seeragam. Let it splatter.
9. Add a pinch of asafoetida powder and pour the keerai gravy from pressure pan into it.
10. Let it boil for 5 mins.

This can be served with hot rice. Potato masala is a super combination along with keerai masiyal mixed in rice.

Hope this helps.
Let me know how it tastes!

[NOV]

Reviving thread for Dev, Madhu and Alan! :D

[madhu]

welcome all !

[dev]

Thanks NOV...:)

[Alan]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This sounds like a YUMMY THREAD!

THANKS A TON, NOV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

[Alan]

Ayyayyo! Ennamma idellam? Ellam Tamil taan: Onnum teriyilla!

Hehehe!

[Alan]

I thought ppl would be appreciating how much my Tamil has improved over the months- but not one commented.
* makes a sad face & goes away*

[dev]

I thought ppl would be appreciating how much my Tamil has improved over the months- but not one commented.
* makes a sad face & goes away*

:lol: looks like ppl here r too busy to notice such things... :wink:

[Alan]

I understand, dev!