Paneer and mix vegetables Polau-rice

About the food:  
I made this polau-rice after quite a bit of experimentation with the ingredients and the flavours. This one turned out to be absolutely brilliant, and I am absolutely happy with it. For sure, there are no fixed recipe for polau-rice, and it could be made in variety of ways. You can definitely play around with the recipe, and I would love to hear about any variations or alterations made. This recipe is really simple, and I hope you enjoy this.

Preparation time: 15 mins. 

Cooking time: 30 mins.


Ingredients: (serves 4) 

For Pilau-masala: (powdered spice)
5-6 cloves
5-6 cardamon pods
2 inches cinnamon stick
1/2 nutmeg
4-5 mace florets
4-5 black pepper seeds
1/2 teaspoon shah jeera (optional)
1/2 teaspoon shah marich (optional)

For Pilau-rice:
2 medium size cups of Basmati rice 4 cups of water 1/2 cup of green peas, fresh or frozen 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 cup of cauliflower florets, chopped in small pieces
1/3 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/3 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds 1 bayleaf (optional)
150 grams of paneer (cottage cheese), diced in1 inch squares salt to taste

 Method: 
For the Pilau-masala:
Dry roast all the spices, until they start to crackle, but do not over-roast. Grind the spices to a powder, and store in an airtight container. It could be kept for several months.
For the Pilau-rice:
1. Measure the rice in a pan and rinse it 2-3 times with plain water. Add the measured cups of water in the rice ( it is double the quantity of rice), and soak it for 20 mins. The measure of the water is absolutely critical for cooking a pilau rice, so take care while measuring.


2. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Fry the paneer pieces lightly until light golden brown. Take them out from the pan and put them in a bowl of cold water for a couple of minutes. Drain the water and reserve.

3. If using frozen peas, defrost the peas, and dry it by spreading on a kitchen tissue.

4. Put the cauliflower florets in a pan of boiling water, and simmer for about 3 minutes. Drain and reserve.

5. Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle, but take care not to burn them. Add the chopped onions, and saute over a medium flame until they are translucent. Add the green peas and cauliflower and continue to fry for about 5 mins. Add the garlic and ginger paste, and the bell peppers, continue to fry for about 2 minutes. Add the rice with the water, and mix it well in the pan. Add salt to taste. 

6. Cover the pan and let it come to boil. Uncover the pan, put the flame to medium, and let the rice simmer, turning it occasionally with a flat spatula, taking care not to break the rice. Also take care that the rice does not burn or stick to the base of the pan. Mix the paneer pieces with the rice when it is done.

5. When the water had dried up, put the flames off. Lay one layer of the rice immediately in a rice plate or a flat serving bowl, and sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of the pilau spice. Put another layer of rice on top and repeat the sprinkling of spices. Serve hot. Best with any Indian style curries.

Italian style poached white fish and vegetables in white wine

About the food:  


This dish is cooked in Italian style and tastes and smells delicious. I got the idea of this recipe from a friend, on which I experimented and elaborated in my own style. The taste and smell of white wine,
tangy lemon, fresh parley, basil and garlic makes this food a heavenly treat.

Preparation time: 15 mins. 

Cooking time: 15 mins.

Ingredients: (serves 2) 

2 white fish fillets, defrosted if frozen
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inches squares
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 2 inches squares

1 cup of mushroom, sliced in small pieces 6-8 cherry tomatoes 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup green olives
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
2 tablespoon peppercorn powder
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh/dried parsley leaves
1 tablespoon fresh/dried basil leaves
150ml white wine 
2-3 sliced pieces of lemon
salt to taste

 Method: 

1. Sprinkle the fish fillet with black pepper powder and salt and keep it aside for 15mins. Heat olive oil in a flat pan, and lightly fry the fish for about 1minutes each side, taking care not to break the fish, and take the fish out of the pan.

2.  Put a little more olive oil if needed in the same pan, add the whole peppercorns and chopped garlic. After 1 minute, add the bell peppers, mushroom and tomatoes and lemon wedges. Continue to fry over medium flame, for about 6-7 minutes, or until the tomato skin splits and the bell peppers soften. Add the wine, and season with salt.

3. Carefully place the fish in the pan, cover and simmer for about 6 minutes. The fish would be cooked by then. Open the lid and simmer for a little while, to make the gravy thick and saucy, if necessary.

4. Sprinkle generously with chopped parsley and basil and serve hot. Best served with garlic bread and a glass of red wine. Enjoy!

Peas Pulao-rice

                                              

About the food:  

Peas Pilau-rice is a very popular Indian dish and also very easy to make.  It tastes delicious and aromatic infused with all the Indian spices and makes a very good lunch or dinner.  It is particularly very favourite among children.  Below is my recipe, however, there are many variations of this, and in time, the reader could also experiment with the flavours and ingredients and can come up of a new variety. 

Preparation time: 15 mins. 

Cooking time: 30 mins.

Ingredients: (serves 4) 

For Pilau-masala: (powdered spice)

5-6 cloves
5-6 cardamon pods
2 inches cinnamon stick
1/2 nutmeg
4-5 mace florets
4-5 black pepper seeds
1/2 teaspoon shah jeera (optional)
1/2 teaspoon shah marich (optional)

For Pilau-rice:

2 medium size cups of Basmati rice
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of green peas, fresh or frozen
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 bayleaf (optional)
salt to taste


 Method: 

For the Pilau-masala:

Dry roast all the spices, until they start to crackle, but do not over-roast. Grind the spices to a powder, and store in an airtight container. It could be kept for several months.

For the Pilau-rice:

1. Measure the rice in a pan and rinse it 2-3 times with plain water. Add the measured cups of water in the rice ( it is double the quantity of rice), and soak it for 20 mins. The measure of the water is absolutely critical for cooking a pilau rice, so take care while measuring.

2. If using frozen peas, defrost the peas, and dry it by spreading on a kitchen tissue.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle, but take care not to burn them. Add the chopped onions, and saute over a medium flame until they are translucent. Add the green peas, and continue to cook for about 5 mins. Add the rice with the water, and mix it well in the pan. Add salt to taste. 

4. Cover the pan and let it come to boil. Uncover the pan, put the flame to medium, and let the rice simmer, turning it occasionally with a flat spatula, taking care not to break the rice. Also take care that the rice does not burn or stick to the base of the pan.

5. When the water had dried up, put the flames off. Lay one layer of the rice immediately in a rice plate or a flat serving bowl, and sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of the pilau spice. Put another layer of rice on top and repeat the sprinkling of spices. Serve hot. Best with any Indian style curries.