Rajma Chawal Recipe ~ Step by Step

There are certainly some recipes that kindle your memories. Rajma has always been that for me. Be it my Gujju friend, whose Mom used to make delicious Rajma or my neighbour who used to make either Rajma or Channa with Chawal. Memories of that taste will forever remain fresh. Maybe I have tried it or not, yet the taste remains fresh and the quest till on.

Infact so much so that I have got in touch with both those friends of mine and verified the recipe. Yet the memory is always strong. Maybe it's got to do with what I call the first time experience. Anyway that happens for the first remains so fresh and unsurpassed in my minds right, same way the taste of Rajma chawal will always be fresh.

Not to say this didn't turn out great. It was so delicious. Maybe I should have remembered to make the rice in rice cooker than the pressure cooker. But then I was running for the Mela and couldn't take a chance.

Rajma Chawal 

Ingredients Needed

Rajma - 1 cup
Bay leaf - 2 small
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil few drops

For the paste:
Onion - 1 big
Garlic - 2 big cloves
Ginger - 1/2" piece
Green chillies - 2 long
Coriander - few leaves

For the gravy

Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Tomato, puree - 1 big
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

How to make Rajma

Soak a cup of beans over night. Change water couple of times. In a pressure cook, transfer the beans, add twice the amount of water along with salt, bay leaf and a few drops of oil. Pressure cook for 4 -5 whistles or till the beans are soft. Allow for the pressure to subside.

Meanwhile for the gravy, grind to a coarse paste all the ingredients for the paste, except tomato.

Wash and puree the tomato.

Heat a non stick pan, add butter and oil, then add cumin powder, saute for a min, then add the ground paste. Saute till the oil leaves the masala

Next add the tomato puree, salt and turmeric. Simmer and let cook it cook for few mins.

Now add Coriander powder, red chilli powder. After few mins, add the cooked beans and combine everything well. Add water and bring to boil. When the gravy thickens, finally add the garam masala and remove.

It may take about 10 mins or so for the gravy to thicken

 

For the Rice:

Rice - 1 cup

Jeera - 1 tsp

Bay leaf - 1

Salt to taste

Ghee - 1/2 tsp

Water - 2 cups

Wash and soak the rice for 10 mins. 

In a pressure cooker take all the ingredients and pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Sending this to my 30 Minutes Meal Mela

Vendaya Keerai Sadam | Methi Rice

With the thought of 30 mins meal mela in mind, it's invetiable that we come up with yet another simple and easy to make Methi Rice. This is Athamma's creation and needless to say it always turns out so good. Though she was hesitant that the rice might turn out a wee bit bitter, we couldn't find it at all after making it. 

Vendaya Keerai is a healthy option for Diabetes. Athamma tends to include this in as many forms as she can in her regular diet. Though rice is normally not advised for diabetic, there is no harm in including a cup of rice in your meal, especially if it's packed with so much beneficial things.

The rice was so good on it's own, that I didn't have to make any side dish to be served with it. However you can serve with curds.

Sending this to my 30 Mins Meal Mela

Vendaya Keerai Sadam

Vendiya Sadam

Ingredients Needed:

Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Methi Leaves. trimmed - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 medium

For the paste

Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1/2 medium
Clove - 2
Cinnamon 1"
Cardomon - 2
Coconut - 2 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger 1"
Green Chilies - 2 long
Coriander leaves few

For Tempering

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal - 1/4 tsp
Roasted Groundnuts - 1 tbsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts few

How to make the Methi Rice Mixed rice

Wash and soak rice, cook in your regular method. Keep it aside.

Wash and drain the methi leaves.

In a mixer take all the ingredients for the ground masala along with the methi leaves. Grind to a smooth paste using little water.

Heat a non stick pan with oil and ghee. Temper with tempering ingredients. Saute for couple of minutes.

Now add the ground masala and saute well till the raw smell leaves. This may take about 5 - 7 mins.

When the oil starts coming out from the masala, add the cooked rice and mix well. Finally mix in the lemon juice and remove.

Serve hot.

Methi rice

Notes:
Saute the ground masala till the raw smells leaves.
Make sure you don't add lemon juice still on stove.

Since this has masala in the rice itself you don't really have to serve anything special for this.

Karivepaku Pulihora | Curry Leaves Tamarind Mixed Rice ~ Step by Step Recipe

Couple of weeks back when we went out for a buffet, one of the dishes was karupevelli sadam. I was thinking it was similar to the way I make. On tasting it, I realized it was differently made. So I had to investigated further and saw that the rice had tamarind in it. The rice had the spice, sour and was tangy.

I had been planning to make this for a while. One pot meal fits in well for the 30 mins meal. We enjoyed our meal. Though my kids are yet to start on these mixed rice, I am glad I have a list ready when they are ready to eat these mixed rice varieties.

Sending this to my 30 Mins Meal Mela
 

 Step by Step Picture Recipe

Ingredients Needed:

Cooked rice - 1 cup
Tamarind extract - 2 tbsp thick syrup
Curry leaves - 1 cup loosely packed
Whole pepper corn - 1 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

For the Seasoning

Curry leaves few
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Roasted ground nuts - 1 tbsp
Dry Red chilis - 4 long
Turmeric powder a pinch
Mustard seeds, Urad dal - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

How to make the karuvepillai sadam

Wash and soak the rice. Keep it aside.

Wash and dry the leaves. Shade dry under fan.

Soak tamarind and extract the pulp.

In a kadai, add ghee and roast the curry leaves and pepper corns. Continue till the leaves becomes crispy. allow it to cool down. Then grind to a powder.

In another kadai, add oil. When oil becomes hot add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilis, channa dal, groundnuts and saute for couple of mins.

Then add tamarind pulp and bring to boil. When the sauce becomes thick, add the curry leaf powder and mix well.

Spread the rice on a bowl and mix in the curry leaf, tamarind mix. 

Serve with papad.

Announcing 30 Minutes Meal Mela

After the Cookie Mela, I thought I should be thinking about something substantial like a quick meal. Consider this as a quick express meal or under 30 minutes meal.

Entries for this mela, should be a complete meal prepared within 30 mins. Can use ingredients that are pre-soaked, pre-fermented like Channa, Dosa/Idli batter etc. Rest of it is not accepted. Even Rice soaking has to be within the 30 mins.

The entries can be any course, but a complete meal. Be it for breakfast, Brunch, Lunch or Supper. All the dishes showcased should be prepared within 30 mins.

Please don't send just the side dish, you need to account for the entire complete meal to be prepared in 30 mins. If you want to send a gravy, you need to also show what you served it with, be it rice or roti and the time you took to make it. So the entry will quality only if it's a complete meal and not just one dish that you can't eat without any accompaniment.

Logo credits

From now till September 20th, cook up a meal under 30 mins and send them to me!

•     Link back to this announcement is mandatory
•     Usage of the logo is appreciated as it helps spread the word.
•     Both Veg and Non Veg are are accepted.
•     Multiple entries are accepted. 
•     The post should have a mandatory picture of the dish. 
•   Archive entries after May 2012 are accepted, provided it has a link back to this announcement. 

Any questions, please send them to cooking4allseasons@gmail.com.