Ingredients
1. cinnamom: 1 inch
2. cloves: 2
3. cardamoms: 3
4. bay leaf: 1
5. black peppers: 6
6. cumin seeds: 1 tsp
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
3 onions sliced
a few cashew nuts (optional)
1 cup Basmati Rice
2 big carrots chopped
2 handful french beans- trimmed and chopped 1.5 cms long
peas
mushrooms
peppers
any other veggies
For Chutney
1/3 bunch coriander
2 chillies
2 tsp coconut (desicated/ shredded frozen/ fresh)
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1/2 onion
Grind the chutney ingredients to a paste using very little water (maximum 2 tbsp)and keep aside.
In a deep pan fry the whole spices (1 to 6) in 2 tbsp of ghee for 2 minutes. Add the sliced onion and fry till light brown. Add the cashew nuts and fry more till the onion is golden brown.
Spoon out the onion into bowl. Add 1/2 tbsp of ghee in the same deep pan and fry the vegetables till cooked. Add to this the chutney and fry a bit more. Add salt and the onion and rice and let it cook till the rice is coated with the paste (about 3 minutes). Add 1.5 cups of water and cover. Keep checking and take the pan off the heat as soon as the water has evaporated.
Serve with a raita.
Prologue
One day when I get famous and need fillers for my book, I might give this more thought ..... for now this will do.
I claim to be no expert at either travelling or cooking or the random things I write about...
But I would like to collate all my good memories (and efforts) into this space for reminiscing on those grey rainy days...
What Blog its more of a 'Brag'!!
My Thank You Speech..........
I was introduced to cooking in the early years of my life by my Aayi while I sat at the kitchen dining table while she mixed spices and vegetables to create those sumptuous dishes. My brain took in what I did not intend to learn.
My Aayi is a fantastic cook. Each day I woke up to a sit down breakfast of Idlis, Dosas, Upma, Dodak, Usli and the likes. A far cry compared to the ‘eat while you dress’ cereal we make do with these days. Any efforts Aayi made of training me in the kitchen went futile. It is hence ironic that Aayi, ‘my first teacher’ is still to taste anything cooked by my hand.
My hard core cooking days started only when I moved to UK with my husband a few years ago. My husband, like a true martyr, suffered through my numerous cooking expeditions. His encouragement, fulsome praise where due and frank critical review drives me to try something new each week. It is to these two people that I owe whatever little cooking I know or strive to know today.
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