Tindora Masala Rice in Instant Pot

(From Banu's Cookbook)



Ingredients:

2 Cups of Basmati Rice - Washed and soaked for 10-15 mins.
2-3 Cups of Vertically sliced Tindora (I used Frozen Tindora 12 oz pack)
1 Cup of Green Peas (I used Frozen)
1 Large Onion Chopped lengthwise
1 Can of Coconut Milk (I used 13.5 oz can)
3-4 Tbsp of Vangibhath powder (I used MTR)
Salt to Taste
Ghee for Sauteeing
1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder
1 Tbsp of Channa Daal for Seasoning
1 Tbsp of Urad Daal for Seasoning
2 tsp of Mustard seeds for Seasoning
A few curry leaves for Seasoning
Chopped Cilantro for Garnishing

Method:

1. Put the Instant pot on Saute Mode. Once it is hot, add ghee. Add mustard seeds.
2. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add channa daal, urad daal and curry leaves. Saute for a few mins until daals turn golden brown.
3. Add chopped onion and saute until onion turns pinkish brown. About 5-7 minutes.
4. Now add the Tindora and Peas, turmeric powder and saute well until the Tindora is almost cooked.  Add Vangibhath powder and mix well and saute just for minute. At this point the whole masala and vegetable will burn quickly, so keep sauteing it and do not leave it unattended.
5. Drain and add the rice to Instant pot along with coconut milk. Mix well.
6. Now add 2.5 cups of water to the mix and mix it all well. Water should be about 1 inch over the rice mixture. This way you can adjust the water.
7. Add salt and mix it all well, scraping the bottom of the instant pot. Close the lid, put the vent to sealing. Cancel Saute mode and chose rice mode. By default this should be 12 mins on low pressure.
8. Once the rice mode is done, let it release pressure naturally. Be careful when you are opening the lid as there can be water condensation there that you do not want falling on the rice.
9. Take a fork and poke and rake the rice a bit to release any steam that is still lurking. Add chopped cilantro for garnishing.
10. Serve it hot with some yogurt, raita and/or papad.

Notes:
1. Do not add too much coconut oil as the rice will become sticky and a bit gooey.
2. Do not over soak the rice as it will become mushy.
3. You can use Fresh or Frozen Tindora. I used Frozen because they are easy and I always have them handy.

Palak Paneer Pulao

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
2-3 Cups of Pre Cooked Basmati Rice
4-6 Cups of Fresh Spinach
2-3 Green Chillies
2-3 Garlic Cloves - Chopped Fine
1 Small Onion - Chopped Fine
1 Cup of Paneer Cubes
1 inch piece of Cinnamon Sticks (Dalchini)
2-4 Whole Cloves (Lavang)
5-6 Bay Leaves (Tej Patta)
2-3 Whole Green Cardamom (Tej Patta)
2 Tsp of Garam Masala
Salt To Taste
Oil for Frying

Method:
1. Wilt the Spinach in very little water along with the green chillies. Once this is cooled, blend it into a paste in the blender.
2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the Cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and Cardamom. Saute these for a while until they turn brown and you start smelling them.
3. Add the Chopped onions and garlic and saute them well until the onion gets slightly browned. Do not burn them, just a bit brown.
4. Add salt and Garam Masala and cook for a few more minutes. Add the chopped Paneer pieces, reduce the flame to medium and cook until you feel that the paneer pieces are cooked and lightly browned.
5. At this point add the Spinach Puree and some more salt and cook for a few minutes until you see the whole mixture mixed together well.
6. Add the cooked rice to this mixture and mix well. Let it cook for a few minutes on low flame.
7. Take it off fire and serve it hot either with Raita or chips.

Notes:
1. You can use frozen spinach instead of Fresh one.
2. You can even use pre sauteed paneer cubes - if you do so, do not saute them much after you add them to the onion mixture, else it will get very hard.
3. You can also add some red chilli powder along with Garam Masala if you want it more spicy.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and let me know your comments if you do try it. When I was cooking this, I was wishing if I could capture the aroma of it..:))

Spinach Rice

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
2 Cups of Basmati Rice
2 Cups of Chopped Spinach
3/4 Cup Thawed Frozen Peas
1/4 Cup of Chopped Cilantro
1 Medium Onion Chopped Fine
1/2 inch Ginger
1-2 Cloves of Garlic
5-6 Green Chillies (More if you want the rice to be spicy)
2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1 Tsp Garam Masala
2 Tsp Dhania-Jeera Powder
Oil for Seasoning
Salt to Taste
4 cups of water to cook the rice.

Method:
1. Wash and Soak the Basmati Rice for 15 or 20 mins and also keep the 4 cups of water to boil.
2. In a pan, heat the oil, add Cumin seeds. Then add the finely chopped onion and saute for a few mins.
3. Then add the finely chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute until Onion is translucent. You can even make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies if you prefer it that way. I personally liked it chopped fine.
4. At this point add roughly chopped (washed and drained) Spinach, Cilantro and Peas. Also add the powder Masala's - turmeric, garam masala and the Dhania-Jeera Powder.
5. Mix all the ingredients well. Once the spinach is wilted (which is quite quick), add the drained Basmati Rice and salt and saute for a few more minutes.
6. Now add the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium and cook the rice. You can cover the pan, but keep an eye open so that the rice does not burn.
7. At the very end when the rice was almost done, I reduced the fire to low and let it cook on low fire for some time. This removed the remaining moisture from the rice while not burning it.
8. Spinach rice is now ready. Serve it hot with some salad, Raita or Papad.

Chinese Fried Rice

From Ning's Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 small bok choy
2 large bok choy
4-5 medium size leaves of cabbage
2/3 cup of mixed carrot and peas
1 cup of rice
2 eggs
4-5 tbsp cooking oil (you can use olive oil if you are conscious about calories)

Method:

1) Cooked the rice one day ahead and store it inside refrigerator over night.
2) Thin slice bok choy and cabbage.
3) Heat Oil in a pan and sautee cabbage for about 2 minute. Add bok choy into cabbage. Add salt and stir them.
4) When bok choy and cabbage are soft and tender, remove them out of pan.
5) Warm 2-3 tbsp cooking oil. Add cold rice, stir fry.
6) When rice is warm, make a hole in the middle and crack 2 eggs there. Scramble egg and mix egg with rice when egg is solid but not too hard.
7) Add bok choy and cabbage back into rice, mix well. Add more salt or few drops of soy sauce.
Turn burner to low heat and let it stay for 5-8 minutes (this dependents on how you like the fried rice, if you like it a little sticky and soft, 5 minute, if you like fried rice not sticky at all, take long time to keep it on low heat).
9) You can also add black mushroom (the chinese type) into your fried rice. Thin slice mushroom the same way as bok choy

Lemon (Yellow) Rice

From Banu’s Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of basmati rice cooked
Salt to taste
2 tblspns of oil/ghee
A pinch of asafoetida
2 dried red chillies
1 tblspn of split black gram (urad dal)
1 tblspn of split gram (chana dal)
½ tspn of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
½ cup of peanuts
½ tspn of mustard seeds (optional)
10-12 of curry leaves
3 tblspns of lemon juice
½ tspn of turmeric powder
1 tblspn of grated fresh coconut (optional)

Method:
1) Cook the rice as per directions.
2) Heat oil/ghee in a shallow pan or a kadai.
3) Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add dried red chillies broken into two, urad dal, chana dal and methi seeds. Cook until dals change colour to light brown.
4) Add peanuts and mustard seeds. Let mustard seeds crackle, then add curry leaves.
5) Mix turmeric powder in this. Stir fry for half a minute.
6) Add cooked rice, salt and lemon juice.

Garnish with grated coconut.

Notes:
1) You can use roasted or fried peanuts for this recipe
2) YOu also add Onions, Peas, Finely Chopped Bellpepper to this recipe as well.

METHI RICE

Ingredients

2 cups of Precooked and cooled rice
1 medium sized Onion, chopped
1 medium sized Potato, chopped into small pieces
1-2 Cups of Methi Leaves, washed and chopped
1 tablespoon Vanghibhaath Powder
1 teaspoon of Mustard Seed
Few Curry Leaves
1/2 teaspoon of Turmeric Powder
Tamarind and salt to taste.


Method

Heat oil in a saucepan and add the seasoning of mustard seeds, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add onion and fry until golden brown.

Then add potatoes, add a little water and a pinch of salt. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the cut methi leaves and roast it for few mins. Then add tamarind, vangibhaath powder and salt. Mix with the rice after it cools.

You can eat it either with plain yogurt or Tomato Cucumber Raita.