Srilankan Yellow Rice (Kaha Bath)

I learnt this flavourful recipe from my baking teacher - Shyamala Mam who is a sri lankan settled here. She is an amazing cook and a home baker with a rich experience of over 36 years. It was so nice of her to share this authentic sri lankan recipe with me. You can find the original recipe posted on her Page. Any day, Rice has always been my favorite main course and I you can find a lot of rice varieties on my page.

This is a non spicy yet flavourful, aromatic rice cooked with coconut milk and butter and garnished with loads of kaju and kishmish. Coconut milk has been a very important ingredient in all of the sri lankan cuisine recipes. I have always found a similarity in the cuisines of all coastal regions - be it Goa, Kerala or Sri Lanka- Coconut Milk is just inevitable. :):)

The original recipe uses Pandan Leaf which is grown in Sri Lanka. However, I don't think one can get it here in India and hence I have skipped it. Any spicy accompaniment from GB'S Gravy Bowl goes well with mild aromatic Rice. The Golden Color of the rice comes from our Golden Spice - Turmeric :) You can wither use samba or Basmati Rice. I have used Basmati Rice for the preparation. Curry leaf is another important ingredient in this recipe. In the picture, I have added it in the start itself. I suggest you to add the curry leaves during garnishing so that the flavour is fresh and the curry leaf is crisp.

Let's now jump to the recipe.

 

Ingredients

1. Basmati Rice/Samba Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Coconut Milk(Thick) - 1.5 cups
3. Water - 1.5 cups
4. Ceylon Cinnamon - 1 inch Piece
5. Bay Leaf - 2
6. Cardamom-2
7. Cloves-2
8. Onions - 2 medium (thinly sliced)
9. Butter - 2 tbsp
10. Garlic Pods - 4 (chopped)
11. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
12. Salt to taste

Garnishing

1. Butter - 1.5 tbsp
2. Cashews - 2 tbsp
3. Raisins - 2 tbsp
4. Curry Leaves - 10

Method

1. Wash nicely and soak the basmati Rice for about 20 mins.

2. In a pan, add butter, cinnamon, cardamom,cloves.bay leaf, garlic. Saute well.

3. Add Onions and saute until brown.

4. Add coconut milk, water, salt and turmeric and bring it to boil.

5. Add the basmati rice,mix well, cover the pan and simmer until the rice is done.

6. In a separate pan, add butter and roast cashews, raisins and curry leaves until crisp and golden brown.

7. Garnish the rice well and serve hot with your favourite accompaniment.

Methi Chaman Briyani (Paneer Methi Briyani)

Another interesting recipe from the masterchef Venkatesh Bhat from his briyani special episode (Watch the full episode here) which I tried for a sunday lunch. I have always been a big fan of him and I still have plenty of recipes from his collections yet to be tried. Never knew Briyanis can be made in so many different variations with different ingredients and flavours. He comes out with varied briyani varieties, that too vegetarian :):)

This is one such vegetarian briyani recipe, that uses juicy paneer(cottage cheese) and Methi. This aroma of Methi is the punch for this recipe. Hence, I do not add coriander or pudhina to this briyani as it might overshadow the significant aroma of Methi leaves.

This is my favourite combo and making this into briyani was really exciting. Let's quickly check out the recipe for this mild, aromatic and flavourful chunky Briyanis.

Ingredients

1. Fresh fenugreek leaves (methi) - 1/2 small bunch
2. Paneer (cottage cheese) - 200 gms (cut into cubes)
3. Basmati Briyani Rice - 1.5 cups
4. Saffron (kesar) - 6-7 strands
5. Milk - 1/2 cup
6. Ghee - 3 tablespoons
7. Onions - 3 large (Thinly sliced)
8. Green chillies - 2 slit
9. Fried onions - 1/2 cup
10. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
11. Salt - 1.5 tsp

Masala Ingredients

1. Green cardamoms - 2
2. Black cardamom - 1
3. Cloves - 3-4
4. Cinnamon -1 inch stick
5. Bay Leaf - 1
6. Black peppercorns - 5-6

For Marination

1. Thick Yogurt - 1 Cup
2. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
3. Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
4. Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
5. Roasted Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
6. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
7. Garam masala powder - 2 tsp
8. Needed Salt

Method

Marinating the Paneer

1. Marinate the paneer cubes with ingredients listed under "Marination". Let the paneer cubes remain soaked in the marinated yogurt mixture for half hour. This helps all the flavours to be absorbed inside the paneer and also helps it become soft.

Paneer cubes marinated in yogurt and spices

Cooking the Basmati Rice

2. Wash the Basmati Rice 2 times well for the excess starch to get rinsed off. Boil the basmati rice with a tbsp of ghee ,enough water and 1.5 tsp of salt till it is cooked about 90 percent. Drain the rice and keep it aside for dum cooking with the gravy. You can feel it by breaking the rice. 

90 percent Cooked Basmati Rice

Preparing Methi Paneer Gravy

3. Discard the roots of the methi leaves. Chop the leaves and tender stem part finely. Wash them thoroughly to get rid of mud and the bitter taste.

4. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee and all ingredients under "Masala". Add Onions,green chili and ginger garlic paste. Saute well until the onions are cooked and become translucent.

5. Add the marinated paneer, methi leaves and fried onions and mix well. Add needed amount of salt after checking. Cook the mixture on low flame for about 10 mins.

Preparing the Methi paneer gravy

Layering of Briyani

1. Soak strands of saffron in 1/2 cup of warm milk overnight or for about half hour.

Saffron soaked milk

2. Take a big heavy bottomed pan/cooker for dum cooking.

3. Layer the Methi Paneer gravy first. Add the remaining rice on top of the gravy as second 
layer.

Layering of Paneer Methi Masala

4. Sprinkle the saffron + milk all over the rice as shown in the picture.

Layering of rice topped with Saffron milk

Dum cooking

5. Place a Dosa Tawa on flame. Transfer the dum cooking handi/pressure cooker pan to dosa tawa and cover the pan tightly so that no heat escapes.( as shown below)

6. Cook for about 15 mins on low flame with the pan fully sealed.

7. Methi Chaman Briyani is all ready and piping hot to be served along with any raita of your choice :)

Nizami Sarkari Briyani - Dum cooked Vegetable Briyani

I have been wanting to try briyani for a long time at home. But I was not very sure what is the right method of making it and how to get the perfect dum cooked style briyani. Predominantly, briyani is always done with non veg items and is never considered an ideal vegetarian dish. But when made in the right way, Vegetable briyani can be as tasty as its non veg counterpart. I haven't tried Briyani at hotels much as the Veg Briyani they serve at veg hotels are very average. I wanted to make the best one at home and relish to my heats content.

When I googled to find the perfect recipe,I found Chef Venkatesh Bhat had made a special episode on briyani where he had made this nawabi sarkari briyani. You can watch the episode here. 

I have been a great fan of him. In the world of fast cooking and 1 minute cooking videos, one really can't learn the right techniques of cooking. He teaches you the perfect techniques and why it is done that way. This helps us to understand and learn better and fine tune our cooking. All the recipes tried from watching his samayal samayal has been a great hit. If you blindly follow his techniques, I am damn sure you can never go wrong in getting the right taste and texture.

This is a hyderabadi style dum cooked vegetable briyani. I have explained the techniques that suits the best for a perfect home cooked dum style briyani. Making this has been a great learning experience for me. I will try to provide as much details I can to make the best briyani easily at home.

serves:3

Ingredients

1. Good quality Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups ( I used Kohinoor Briyani rice)
2. Ghee - 3 tbsp
3. Unsalted Butter - 3 tbsp
4. Green Chili - 2 big
5. Tomatoes - 3 big
6. Ginger garlic paste - 2.5 tbsp
7. chopped mint leaves and chopped coriander - 1 cup each
8. saffron strands - 4 soaked in 1/4 cup of warm milk
9. Whisked thick curd - 1/2 cup
10. Needed salt

Masala Ingredients

1. Shahi jeera- 2 tsp + 1 tsp
2. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
3. Black cardamoms- 3
4. Green cardamoms - 3
5. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
6. cloves- 3
7. javithri/Mace-2
8. Bay Leaf - 1 
9. Star Anise - 2 for cooking rice

Powders

1. Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
2. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
3. Garam Masala - 1 tbsp
4. Red Chili Powder - 3 tsp (depending on how spice you want)

Vegetables Used

1. Potato - 1 big (cubed)
2. Cauliflower - 7 florets
3. Green Peas-1/4 cup
4. Carrot - 1 big
5. Beans - 6 (chopped big)
6. Onions - 2 (Thinly sliced)

Method

1. Rinse the Basmati rice for 2-3 times to remove the excess starch from rice.

2. Soak the basmati rice for 20 mins in normal water.

3. In a pan, heat ghee and butter on a low medium flame. Add all masala ingredients and give a good saute.

4. Add onions and saute until nice golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute well for the raw flavor of the paste to go off.

5. Grind Tomato with green chili to a puree and add it to the above pan and give it a good mixing.

6. Add all the powders. Add whisked curd and 1 tbsp salt.

7. Cook the vegetables in gravy with closed lid for about 7 mins on medium low flame.

8. Switch off the flame after 7-8 mins and garnish with some mint and coriander leaves.

Cooking the Basmati Rice

1. In a big pan, take 4 cups of water, add a tbsp of ghee, tsp of shahi jeera,2 star anise and 1 tbsp of salt. Bring the water to boil.

2. Strain the soaked basmati rice and add it to the above boiling water. 

3. Add some chopped mint and coriander leaves to the above.

4. Cook for 5 to 6 mins with occasional stirring. Please Note: Rice should not be fully cooked but only 90 percent done. The remaining cooking will happen during the dum process.

5. When the rice is 90 percent done, you can feel it with hand. The rice should break yet it should not be too soft.

6. Strain of the rice and washe once again in cold water to prevent further cooking.

Layering and Dum cooking

1. Take a heavy bottomed vessel, I used my pressure cooker bottom for layering.

2. The first layer will be vegetable gravy followed by layer of rice.

3. Another layer of vegetable gravy followed by layer of rice. Add the saffron milk, a tbsp of ghee, some crushed mint and pudina leaves.

4. Seal the vessel tightly so that no heat is escaped. You can use wet cloth, atta dough or any mechanism, but the criteria is heat should not escape.

5. Heat a dosa tawa and place the pressure cooker bottom/heavy bottomed vessel on top of it.

6. Dum cook on low flame for about 20 mins. 

7. Open after 20 mins.There you are into heaven of aromatic rich flavorful Briyani.

Serving Suggestions

1. Take some layer of rice and some layer of vegetable and place it on a plate. Do not completely mix it. Briyani should be served layered and that is the best presentation way.
2. Serve with Mixed veg raita or cucumber raita.

Cook the vegetables in in tomato butter gravy with spices

Subzi ready to be layered

Basmati Rice ready to be layered

Alternate layers of rice and subzi

Warm milk with soaked saffron

Adding fresh chopped coriander and pudina leaves

Dum cooking

After 20 mins of dum cooking

Yummmmm Briyani Ready:)

Shahi Pulao

I have been wanting to try this pulao for a long and was waiting for a right occasion to make it. I had invited my sis -in law and her husband for a lunch after a very long time. So I really wanted to make something special and surprise them. I was thinking hard as to what to make for rice as my husband doesn't like briyani much.As far pulao, I wanted to make sure this should be something unique and different. So this has been inspired from various recipes like mughlai pulao, jaipuri pulao and finally I devised this recipe of "Shahi Pulao".

This is highly rich in flavor,ingredients and aroma. This does not taste sweet and is a mildly spiced pulao which is made using fresh cream,Ghee,saffron milk and cashews and is truly a Royal Delight.:) The color to this pulao which you see in the picture is purely from saffron milk and I have not added any extra color.Everyone just loved this and this is sure to make your guests fall for your cooking:)

I have skipped adding paneer to it as I had already made Paneer Kurchan as one of the side dish separately on that day of lunch. 

Let's look at the preparation.

serves:3

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Paneer/cottage cheese-1/2 cup cubed
3. Ghee - 3 tbsp
4. Pepper powder-2 tsp
5. Garam Masala powder-1 tsp
6. Coriander powder-1 tsp
7. Saffron strands -4
8. Warm milk-1/4 cup
9. cashews and raisins -2 tbsp each
10. Coriander leaves - for garnishing
11. Salt to taste

To Grind-Shahi Paste

1. Fresh Cream - 1/4 cup
2. Green Chilies-2 (slit lengthwise)
3. Ginger - 1.5 inch with skin peeled
4. Garlic Pods-5

Masala Ingredients

1. Star anise(anaachi poo) - 2-3 
2. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
3. Cloves - 3
4. Green Cardamom - 2
5. Black Cardamom - 2
6. Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
7. Shahi Jeera - 2 tsp
8. Bay Leaf-1 big crushed
9. Mace/Japathri -2

Vegetables Used (Can be anything of your choice)

• Beans - 6-7
• Carrot – 1
• Onions -1 medium sized
• Cauliflower florets-5-6 
• Potato-1 small

Method:

1. Rinse basmathi rice well and soak it in lukewarm water for 20-30 mins.

2. Soak the saffron strands overnight in warm milk.

3. Grind all the ingredients under "Grind" to a smooth paste and keep it ready.

4. Boil cauliflower with a pinch of salt and turmeric separately for 2 mins and then strain them. This is to get rid off worms present in the cauliflower.

5. Fry the raisins, cashews and paneer in a tbsp of ghee, gently on low flame until they turn golden brown .Keep them separately.

6. In a pan, heat ghee and add all the masala ingredients and saute for 2 mins on low-medium flame until the jeera and fennel seeds crackle completely.

7. Now, add onions and saute until the onions become transparent.

8. Now, add the shahi paste and saute until the raw flavor of ginger and garlic goes off.


9. Next, add all other vegetables(including cauliflower) to the pan and mix gently.

10. Strain the soaked basmathi rice completely and add it to the pan.

11. Add garam masala,coriander powder and pepper powder and mix evenly and gently in low flame till the rice is fully covered with masala mixture and evenly coated.

12. Now transfer the content of the pan to a vessel for pressure/electric cooking.

13. Add salt and soaked saffron milk to rice and cook the rice as mentioned here.

14.  Add the fried cashews,raisins,paneer and mix gently.

15. Garnish with tender chopped coriander leaves and some cashew-raisins.

16. Shahi Pulao is now ready to be served hot with papads or raitha.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Use good quality saffron to get the bright golden color and aroma.
2. Adding paneer definitely adds richness to the pulao. So do not skip it:)

Kaju Paneer Pulao

Finally,I come up with a very special recipe after a gap.I am sorry for posting it after a long break.This recipe is taken from Sanjeev Kapoor's kitchen Kaju Moti Pulao. I made this for dinner. It turned out really delicious. Kaju and Paneer make the richest combo in a vegetarian meal.This make a sumptuous main course. This is sure to be a feast to your taste buds. This is a very simple and rich recipe with No onion, garlic or any masala. This is so flavorful and gentle on stomach  - Sattvik Cuisine.

serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Cashew nuts- 10
2. Paneer/Cottage Cheese-250 gms(grated)
3. Basmati rice-1.5 cups
4. Salt to taste
5. Cornflour- 3 tsp
6. Oil for frying
7. Ghee- 3 tbsp
8. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
9. Black cardamoms- 2
10. Cloves- 2
11. Cinnamon stick-1
12. Black peppercorns- 4
13. Turmeric powder-1 tsp
14. Milk- 3 cups

Method

1. Add salt and cornflour to the grated paneer and shape into small marble-sized balls. Heat sufficient oil in a pan and deep-fry the paneer balls till golden. Drain on absorbent paper and keep it aside. In the same oil, deep-fry the cashew nuts till light golden. Drain on absorbent paper and keep it aside.

2. Heat the ghee in a non stick pan, add the cumin seeds, cardamoms, cinnamon,cloves, peppercorns and turmeric powder. Saute for one minute.

3. Drain the rice and add it to the above content. Add milk and cook the rice as mentioned here.

4. Once the rice is done, add the fried cashews and paneer balls on top and give it a gentle mixture.

4. Transfer the rice onto a serving plate, garnish with the paneer balls and serve hot.

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. You can also use coconut milk instead of normal milk. This gives additional flavor and taste.

Baby Corn & Capsicum Pulao

To all the capsicum and baby corn lovers out there. Here comes an interesting recipe.I had made this for pot luck at my office and it was widely appreciated.This is one easy crunchy and a colorful pulao that can be made specially when you are inviting guests!! The combination of roasted capsicum with mint topped with baby corn is sure to tingle your taste buds!!!

serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Basmati Rice-1.5 cups
2. Baby Corns- 6-7 nos.(cut into thin disc shaped sizes)
3. Red/Yellow/Green Capsicum - 1/4 cup each (chopped)
4. Onion-2 medium sized (Cut length wise)
5. Mint Leaves-fistful (finely chopped)
6. Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp
7. Green Chili-2 
8. Ghee-2 tsp
9. Salt to taste

Masala Ingredients

• Cloves-3
• Cinnamon stick-2
• Bay leaf-1
• Star anise-2
• Green Cardamom-3
• Black Cardamoms-2
• Fennel Seed-1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Mace/Japathri -2

Method

1. Rinse well and soak the Basmati rice for  30 minutes in water.

2. Heat ghee in a pan and add all masala ingredients into the pan. Saute for 2 mins on medium low flame.

3. Add onions , green chili and saute till the onions turn nice golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for another 1 min for the raw flavor to go off.

4. Add the sliced baby corns and chopped mint to the pan and saute for few mins.

5. Strain the soaked basmati rice and add it to the above pan.

6. Mix the rice along with the sauteed masala mixture.Ensure the rice is evenly mixed and covered with the masala mixture.

7. Now transfer the content of the pan to a vessel for pressure cooking.

10. Add salt to rice and cook the rice with 1:2 ratio of rice:water.

11. Now,heat the butter in a pan a and saute the chopped capsicum with a tsp of salt for about 1 -2 mins on a low flame.The capsicum should be crunchy.

12. Add the sauteed Capsicum to the cooked rice and mix gently.

13. The Baby corn-Capsicum pulao is now ready to be served with raitha or any other spicy accompaniments.

Cashewnut / Kaju Pulao

Cashewnut Pulao is one of my favourites whenever I am at Hot Chips Restaurant.A mild aromatic pulao seasoned with roasted cashewnuts and ghee.This is a very simple yet delicious and rich pulao that can be done in a jiffy.The coconut milk adds to the rich taste and hence I have used it.

serves:3

Ingredients

1. Basmathi rice-1.5 cups
2. Cashew nuts-2 tbsp (chopped into medium size)
3. Onion - 1 big (thinly sliced lengthwise)
4. Coriander leaves-fistful
5. Green Chili-2
6. Coconut Milk- 3 cups (diluted - 2 cups milk with 1 cup water)
7. Ghee-1 tbsp
8. Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
9. Salt to taste

Masala Ingredients

1. Bay Leaf - 1 Medium or Big
2. Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
3. Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
4. Cloves - 2-3
5. Green Cardamom- 3 
6. Black Cardamoms - 2 
7. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
8. Star Anise - 2
9. Mace/Japathri -2

Method

1. Rinse well and soak Basmathi rice in water for about 30 mins.

2. In a pan, heat some ghee,add Bay leaf and saute for 2-3  mins.

3. Add cumin seeds and fennel seeds.After they crackle,add all other masala ingredients and saute for 2 mins on a low flame.

4.  Add Onions and green chili. Saute well until onions turns translucent. 

5. Add Ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell of garlic and ginger goes off.

6. Strain the soaked rice,some chopped coriander leaves and add it to the above pan.

7. Mix the rice well with masala and saute well.

8. Once the rice is mixed evenly and gently with the masala paste, remove the pan from the flame.

9. Transfer the rice to a pressure cooker,add salt and diluted coconut milk.

10. Cook the rice as mentioned here for 1:2 ratio.

11. Roast the cashew nuts in a tsp of ghee until they turn light brown in color.

12. Mix the roasted cashew nuts with cooked rice gently. 

13. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and some roasted cashews and serve hot with spicy accompaniments. 

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Instead of coriander,you can use mint or celery leaves.
2. Remove the bay leaf from rice before serving as it is used only for infusing aroma.

Curd Rice (Bagala Bath)

Needless to say,coming from a tambrahm family, we just can't live without this yogurt rice.My friends always tease me and wonder how I could be so crazy about curd rice. Leave me in an island with nothing but just curd rice, I would happily survive :). This will always be the finishing touch in any south Indian meal course.I always like to have curd rice in its virgin form with not much of add-on's. I have posted the recipe with simple and minimum tempering.Here is the recipe for yum yum curd rice:)

serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Raw Rice - 1 cup
2. Milk -1.5 cup (Boiled and cooled)
3. Fresh Curd/yogurt - 1.5 cup

Tempering

1. Oil - 2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3. Urda Dhal-1 tsp
4. Green chili - 1-2(finely chopped)
5. Curry leaves - 3-4
6. Asafoetida - a pinch
7. Salt to taste

Garnishing

Grated carrot/pomegranates/green grapes/Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Pressure Cook rice with 1:5 ratio (Rice:Water) so that the rice is overcooked.

2. Smash the rice,add yogurt, salt,milk and mix nicely.

3. Heat some oil in a pan,add mustard seeds.Once the mustard crackles,add urad dhal,green chili,curry leaves and saute for a minute.

4. Pour the above temper mixture over curd rice and mix well.

5. Garnish the Curd rice with either small pieces of carrots,pomegranates,grapes or even small pieces of cashews.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. I always like curd rice in its virgin form, So I have used less ingredients for tempering and garnishing.
2. In case, the curd rice becomes hard, you can add some milk and salt and adjust accordingly.
3. Tastes best when served with mango pickle.