Savory Rice

Yesterday was a bright and sunny day. I was having my morning cup of coffee when it struck me that it is already fall season and who knows how many sunny days are left before it starts snowing.  Determined to have some outdoor fun I woke up hubby and demanded a picnic. I had to do some cajoling but he finally agreed.

The next task was to call my best friend Alia and draw them (Alia and her husband) to the plan as well. At last everything was decided, Alia was to bring the main dish and I had to bring the side dish and dessert. I knew the chocolate truffles that I had made a day before would be a good dessert. But since I had no idea what would be the main dish I wanted to make a side dish which would go with everything. So the only side dish which came to my mind was Savory Rice.

Savory Rice is cooked with vegetables and boiled in stock (you can use either vegetable or chicken stock). It is quick and easy to cook, and also flavorful enough to perfectly pair with any dish.

To make Savory Rice you would need:

Ingredients:

• Onions -1 medium size
• Green Peas – 1 cup
• Carrot finely chopped  –½ cup
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Long Grain Rice – 150 gm
• Vegetable Stock cube – 1 cube
• Curry Powder – 2 tsp
• Fresh Herbs to garnish (optional)
• Salt to taste

(You can also use a mix of individual spices like cayenne pepper, turmeric powder and cumin powder if you do not have curry powder)

Steps:

1. In a wok heat some oil( preferably sunflower oil) and add the chopped onions.
   
2. Saute' it for 2 mins and then add the peas and carrots.  Mix well and cook for 2 more mins.
   
3. Add the rice and saute'
   
4. Now prepare the vegetable stock by dissolving the stock cube in about 20 ml of water. You can even use chicken stock powder or use a homemade stock.
   
5. Add the stock, about 2 cups of water , salt and curry powder to the rice.
   
6. Simmer for 15 mins , until the rice is tender and all the water has evaporated.
7. Garnish with some fresh herbs and serve hot.

This dish goes well with everything be it chicken, shrimp or Creamy Cauliflower.

Which side dish other than Savory Rice do you feel pairs perfectly with almost everything? 

Do let me know...

Stay flavorful !

Creamy Cauliflower

A few years ago I had creamy chicken at a restaurant and I loved the flavor so much that I tried to replicate it as soon as I was back home.  Unfortunately I was out of chicken at that time but I had some cauliflower in my Refrigerator, so I attempted to create the same delicate flavor of the recipe with Cauliflower instead of Chicken.  I must say it was an impressive attempt.  Creamy Cauliflower became an instant hit with my family.  Everyone loved it so much that I now get requests from my family to make the Creamy Cauliflower whenever we have a get together.  

This is a quick and easy recipe and is a fresh break from the regular cauliflower dishes that we make.  I really love this recipe and you should give it a try too

To make Creamy Cauliflower you will need :-

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower – 1 medium sized broken into florets
• Garlic – 2-3 cloves finely chopped
• Butter- 3 tbsp
• All Purpose Flour – 2 tbsp
• Milk- 1 & ½  cup (I prefer using whole milk for this recipe but 2% milk would work fine as well)
• Green Peas – 1 cup
• Crushed Black Pepper- 1/8^th tsp
• Dash of Cayenne Pepper (Red Chilly Powder)
• Mixed herbs (Oregano /Thyme/ Rosemary) - about 1 tsp to sprinkle
• Salt to taste

Steps :

1. Boil the cauliflower florets and green peas in a large saucepan. Cover and let it cook for about 6-7 minutes or till they are crisp tender(they should be soft to touch but still hold their form and should not be too mushy).
   
2. Drain  the boiled vegetables and set aside.
   
3. In another pan heat the butter. (add the butter in the pan and then turn on the stove so that you do not burn the butter) now add the chopped garlic and saute it till it start to get brown.
   
4. Add the flour to the butter and stir till it blends completely.
   
   
5. Now gradually add the milk while stirring continuously.
   
6. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 more minutes or until it becomes thick.
   
7. Remove it from heat and stir in the cauliflower, peas, salt, pepper and cayenne.
   
8. Transfer the cauliflower mixture into a greased  1-1/2 qt baking dish
   
9. Now sprinkle your herb mix. (You can use any herb that you like or use a mixture of herbs like me)
   
10. Finally sprinkle some shredded Swiss /Mozzarella Cheese.
    
11. Bake it at 400 F for 15 minutes or until all the cheese melts.
    

This is a very delicious recipe and goes great with a side of Savory Rice.

 Everyone including the kids in my family love this dish.  So go ahead and surprise everyone with this Creamy Cauliflower at your next family get together.

Hope you will like this recipe and also let me know which is your favorite cauliflower dish.

Stay Flavorful!

Paneer Peshawari

Paneer Peshawrai is a delightful paneer (Indian cottage) dish cooked in Peshawari style. Peshawar (a frontier state in Pakistan) is the home to most of the exotic, rich, creamy and spicy Peshawari food. Paneer Peshawri is one of the popular dishes in North Indian Restaurants, cooked in rich cashew-onion gravy and finished with milk and aromatic kasuri methi. The distinct flavor of freshly crushed coriander seeds and dry red chilies is the highlight of this dish.

To make this dish you will need :-

Ingredients

• Chopped onions –2 medium size
• CashewNuts –1 tbsp
• Roasted Poppy Seeds–1 tsp
• Melon Seeds –1 tbsp(optional)
• Peanuts –1 tbsp
• Cloves –2 nos
• Green Chilies –2 nos
• Cinnamon Stick–1 nos
• Dry Red Chilies–3 nos
• Coriander Seeds–1 tbsp
• Paneer Cubes–1 cup
• Capsicum(Green Bell Pepper)diced– 1 cup
• Tomato diced–1 nos
• Kasuri Methi/dry fenugreek leaves–½tbsp
• Milk/Cream–1/4thcup
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil–2 tbsp
• Cilantro(corianderleaves)–for garnishing

Steps:

1. Put the chopped onions, melon seeds, peanuts, poppy seeds, cashew nuts, green chillies, clove and cinnamon in a sauce pan and boil for 5 mins.  
   
    
2. Let it cool and then drain and grind to a smooth paste .
   
3. In a skillet dry roast the coriander seeds and dry red chillies and pound them to a coarse powder.
   
   
4. Heat oil in a pan and add the cashew-onion paste. Stir continuously otherwise it may start sticking to the bottom of the pan. Make sure that the flame/heat is not too high. Once oil starts separating from cashew paste  add the capsicum and tomato.
   
5. Cook it for 2-3 minutes then add salt, coriander-red chilly powder and mix well.
   
6. Now add the paneer and mix well.
   
7. Crush some kasori methi in between your palms and sprinkle them  in the gravy. 
   
8. Add some water if the gravy is too thick. Now add milk( you can also add cream instead to make the dish richer).
   
9. Simmer for for 10 mins or till the gravy is as thick as you want.
10. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves

Serve hot either with naan, chapatti, roti, jeera rice or ghee rice. This dish also tastes excellent with pulaos. 

Stay flavorful !

Corn & Spinach Cheese Sandwich

This is one of the quickest and healthiest recipes that I love to make. It is full of nutrition without compromising on the taste.  I always make this for breakfast when my husband is running late for his office and does not have the time to sit and have a hearty breakfast. I just pack this in a Ziploc and his take away breakfast is ready.  The crispiness of this sandwich makes it a good snack to go along with your evening cup of tea or coffee as well.

To make this easy Crispy Spinach Corn Sandwich you will need :-

Ingredients:

Spinach (blanched and chopped) – 1 Cup

Fresh baby spinach leaves – 2 to 3 leaves per sandwich

American Corn (Boiled) – 1 Cup

Grated Cheese – 1 cup

Finely Chopped Garlic - 2-3 Flakes

Chopped Parsley – 2 tbsp (optional)

Salt according to taste

Crushed Black Pepper – ½ tsp

Bread Slices – 10 to 12 slices

Oregano–½ tsp (optional)                    

Fried onion slices - 1/3 cup (optional)

Olive oil – 2 tsp

Procedure:-

1. In a pan, heat olive oil. Once oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and sauté it till the raw smell is gone. 

2. Now add the blanched and chopped Spinach. You can also use thawed frozen spinach.  Sauté the spinach for about 3-4 minutes.

3. At this stage add the boiled corn. You can also use frozen corn in this recipe. 

4. Add the crushed black pepper, oregano, parsley and salt and cook for 2 more minutes.

5. Now the next step is to assemble the sandwich. You can get as creative as you want here. I normally take one slice of bread spread the spinach corn mixture on top of it.

6. Place 2-3 fresh spinach leaves on top , then  sprinkle some grated cheese and fried onion slices. The fresh spinach leaves and fried onion provide crunchiness to the sandwich. 

7. Now cover it with another bread slice and grill it in the sandwich maker till the bread turns golden brown and crisp. You can also make this sandwich on the skillet if you do not have the grill or sandwich maker. 

This recipe is very nutritious and healthy. You can make it without the cheese for a healthier version. Also you can use avocado or tomato slices in sandwich. Tomatoes provide the citric acid which helps in absorbing the iron from spinach. 

Serve these sandwiches with a glass of orange juice.

Stay flavorful !