Jhat pat mushroom rice

This was a result of an experiment while deciding on what to pack for Paresh's lunch. Except for the mushrooms, the fridge had a deserted look. So I got rice and the mushroom together and the end result, must I say was so fantastic that I had to share it. Plus, it just took 15-20 minutes to get it all ready. Here is what it took to get this dish done.

1 cup rice
Salt
2 spoons oil
200 gm or 1 packet Mushroom (sliced)
Corriander
2 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp chilli sauce

Start of by boiling the rice in an open vessel with a tsp of salt. Boil rice till is is 90% done. Once ready, drain out the hot water and soak it in some cold water to arrest further cooking. Add a few drops of oil if you want to. This will help keep the rice from sticking to one another.
In a separate wok, heat oil and let it smoke. Throw in the mushroom and cook till it appears glossy. Note: Mushroom does not take too long to cook. To this add the soya sauce, vinegar and chilli sauce. Saute for a min and add all the rice to the wok. Cook covered for 2-3 mins. Allow the rice to stand for 5 minutes before you un-lid the container. Garnish with lots of chopped coriander.

Matar pulao recipe

1 tablespoon ghee. You can used butter or oil if you prefer.
6 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
1 Aniseed
1 tablespoon cumin
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 handful mint leaves
2 green chillies
1 onion, sliced
1 cup fresh/frozen peas
2 cups rice. (use basmati rice for added smell)
1/2 a lemon.

If you are using basmati rice, it is a good idea to soak the rice in some water while we prepare the rest.
In a pressure cooker, add ghee, then the clove, cinnamon, aniseed, bay leaf and the cumin. Next add the ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, mint leaves and the onion. Fry till the onion turns pink and then add the peas. Add rice and fry for 2 mins. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into it. Add 4 cups water and, salt, according to the taste. After one whistle, turn the gas to low and cook for 5 min. Wait till the pressure in the cooker is released. Open and serve with dal tadka.

Clear veg soup

Rainy weather, runny nose and some-one to piping hot cup of vegetable soup with lots of pepper. Only that there isn't anyone to make me the soup. So it is all up to me to make myself the soup. Enjoyable never the less. 

6 baby corns,
A handful of spring onions
Some chopped French beans
Half a carrot, sliced
A few mushroom
And finally, clear vegetable stock which was made by boiling cauliflower, cabbage, carrot and spring onions for 20 mins in 4 cups water. All the vegetables were then discarded.

Stir fry, on high heat, all the vegetables mentioned above in a spoonful of oil. 2 to 3 minutes should be enough. Add the vegetable stock to this along with salt. Let this boil for 2 min. The soup is ready to  be garnished with coriander, pepper powder, vinegar and soy sauce.

Snake beans porriyal recipe

Ingredients:
Snake beans (1 bunch/250 grms)
Potato (1 Medium size)
Lobia (A hand ful)
Mustard seeds (1 tsp)
Asafoetida (1 pinch)
Curry leaves (A few springs)
Green chilli (2, slit length wise)

Method:
Cut the potato into bite size cubes.
Boil the dal (lobia) and potato in a pressure cooker or open vessel till soft.
Heat a spoonfull oil in a pan and add asafoetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies.
Add the beans, lobia and potato.
Sprinkle some water on it and cook covered on a low flame for 10 min.

Oats dosa recipe

Time and again we have been hearing the goodness of oats. But if you are one of those who just can't seems to enjoy oats as a porridge, then this is a recipe just for you. It is easy to make, good to taste and loaded with health benefits.

To make the dosa, you will need:
Oats – 1 cup
Rice flour – 1/2 cup
Rawa - 1/2 cup
Maida - 1 cup
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Onion – 1 finely chopped
Green Chillies – 1 or 2, finely chopped
Curry leaves - few springs

Start by dry roasting the oats over a low flame. Next, mix, the oats, rice flour, rawa, maida and salt. Add water and make a batter having the consistency of a regular dosa batter.
Using a hot non-stick tawa, spread a ladle of batter. Sprinkle the chopped onions, chillies and curry leaves and cook covered on a low flame. (You do not have to cook it covered, but I notice that cooking it covered uses less gas and cooks it evenly). Flip the dosa and heat the other side as well.

Your oats dosa is ready. Enjoy with chutney podi, chutney or sambar.

Note: You can make this dish healthier and more colorful by adding grated carrot, chopped green leaves and more. Make these additions when you are sprinkling the chopped onions. You can also, sprinkle some pepper powder or chilli powder at the same time to add some zing to the taste.

Piddi or Steamed rice dumplings recipe

I am not sure what the actual name for this dish is, but when I was a baby, I used to address this dish by this name and it stuck. My grand mother used to make this for breakfast every time we visited her. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Water - to make dough
Salt - one pinch
Coconut - either grated (1 cup) or tiny pieces. I personally prefer tiny pieces.

Method:
Add a pinch of salt in the water and heat. We do not want the water to be too hot, just drinkable type hot. Add the coconut pieces/gratings to the rice flour.
Use the hot water to make a dough out of the flour+coconut mixture. I
Once the dough is ready, make lemon sized balls out of it. My grandmother used to allow us use our imagination to create various shapes like a cup, a mortar and pestle. My brother was good at making a bird out of it. So, shape does not matter.
Steam these balls using an idli vessel or in a cooker for 5 min.
To check if the dish is ready, poke a tooth pick into it. If it comes out clean, it is done, else, let it steam for a bit longer.
Our steamed rice dumplings are ready.
This can be eaten as it is, with chutney podi or you can add spices to it.
if you want to add spices,
heat a spoon full oil in a pan, tamper some asafoetida, urad dal, mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and add the rice dumplings into the pan. You may want to put the entire dumpling or cut the dumplings into half or one-forth. Just use your imagination and let your sense of smell and taste bud guide you.

Aaj ka khanna

Plain white rice with fish fry, fish curry, stuffed eggplant and papad