Jeera Rice / One Pot Meal / Lunchbox Recipe

Jeera rice is a simple yet flavourful rice which tastes delicious with any varieties of gravy and dal. The cumin and ghee flavoured basmati rice gives a lovely aroma while cooking and quite easy to make. There are many ways in preparing this aromatic rice and this is one of the easy method using one pot. The basmati rice is cooked along with the spices and jeera to give a flavourful dish. This is also a perfect lunchbox recipe. 

Prepared this aromatic Jeera rice for a Recipe Swap group challenge which is happening among bloggers. The bloggers will be paired each other and we need to cook recipes from the fellow bloggers webpage. I was paired with Jayashree Trao who blogs at evergreendishes.com. Her blog has many interesting, delicious and authentic recipes. I chose this delicious rice from her page as my family loves this rice. Click HERE to view her style of preparing Jeera rice. The recipe calls for pressure cooking but I made a change in that and did a slow cooking method.

Here comes an aromatic and flavourful Jeera rice....

Ingredients :

2 Tbsp Ghee 
2 Bay leaves 
2 Cloves 
2 Elachi 
1 inch Cinnamon 
1/4 Tsp Shajeera 
1 Tsp Cumin / Jeera seeds
1 onion, finely chopped 
2 Green chillies, sliced 
Few Mint leaves 
1 Cup Basmati Rice 
2 Cups Water 
Salt to taste 

Method :

Wash and soak basmati rice before starting the cooking process.

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add bay leaves followed by cloves, cinnamon, elachi, shajeera and cumin/jeera seeds.

Fry and add the finely chopped onion followed by green chillies and mint leaves.

Saute until the onion turns translucent and add the measured water along with the required quantity of salt. Let it boil.

Now drain the water from the rice and add it to the boiling water.

Simmer the flame and cover it with the lid.

Cook until the rice gets cooked.

Switch off the flame and keep it aside for 5 - 10 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves or mint leaves and serve.

Alternative method :

Fry some cashews and jeera in a ghee and then add it to the prepared rice.

Serving Options :

Serve with any gravy varieties and dal fry. 

                                                             Side dish Options 

Jeera Ajwani Aloo 

Bell Pepper Gravy 

Veggies in Spinach gravy 

Rajma Masala 

Ada Hengu Khechudi / Odia Cuisine / Ginger & Asafoetida Flavoured Rice

Ada Hengu Khechudi is a simple yet flavourful rice recipe prepared using ginger and asafoetida. Khechudi is nothing but Khichdi and this is served as prasadam / prasad in a famous temple in orissa called Puri Jaganathan. It is also commonly known as puri khichidi and Lord Jagananath's maha prasad. The preparation of this khechudi is quite easy with a minimal ingredients yet tastes flavourful. Addition of grated coconut is optional in this recipe. This flavourful rice pairs perfectly with Dalma.

Prepared this fragrant and flavourful rice for an interesting event Shhh secretly cooking challenge which is happening among group of food bloggers. For this month, I was paired with a very talented and friendly blogger Jayashree Trao who blogs at evergreendishes.com. Odia cuisine was our theme of the month and I was given ginger and salt as my secret ingredients. Using those ingredients, prepared this flavourful one pot rice recipe which turned into a huge hit among my family members.

Click HERE to check out a delicious Odia recipe prepared Jayashree using the secret ingredients given me.

Recipe Source : Here 

Ingredients :

2 Tbsp Ghee / Oil 
2 Bay leaves 
2 Tbsp Grated Ginger 
1 Tsp Asafoetida / Hing powder 
2 Green chillies, sliced 
1 Cup Rice 
2 - 3 Tbsp Moong dal 
3 Cups Water 
Salt to taste 
4 Tbsp Grated Coconut ( Optional ) 

Method :

Heat oil or ghee in a pan and add bay leaves followed by green chillies, asafoetida and grated ginger.

Saute and add the measured water along with the required quantity of salt.

Now add rice and moong dal to the boiling water.

Cover and cook on a low flame until the rice is cooked.

Add grated coconut to the cooked rice along with a tablespoon of ghee.  ( optional )

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Dalma or any curry. 

Vada Rice / Urad dal Vada Rice / Medu Vada Rice / Rice Varieties / Leftover Recipes

Are you bored of preparing Dahi Vada, Rasam Vada, Sambhar Vada etc using the leftover Medu vadas ? Then, this is the must try interesting recipe where the leftover ones are turn into a delicious meal. This Urad dal Vada Rice is a great way to turn the leftover vadas into a tasty and yummy lunch box recipe. As I have mentioned on my older posts, I love turning the leftover food into an interesting meal and have posted many delicious recipes using the leftovers. Click HERE to check out all the recipes.

Ever since we moved to Canada, last weekend was most fun as we got an invite from our cousin for a lovely get together to meet her friends and their family. Whatever the party or get together is about, the food is always involved right ;) Likewise, we had a sumptuous meal cooked by each family and the highlight was that the delicious spread was served on Vazhai illai ( Banana leaf). Each and every dish was truly delicious and yummy. We were back home with loads of beautiful memories and yummy medu vadas :) And yeah, using those vadas prepared this quick fix tasty rice for the next day lunch.

This rice pairs perfectly with Raita and Pickle. The addition of lemon juice and grated carrot helps to enhance the flavour and taste of the rice.

Ingredients :

1 Tbsp Oil 

1/4 Tsp Jeera / Cumin seeds 

1 Tbsp Chana dal / Bengal gram 

1 Tbsp Peanuts 

2 Dry red chillies 

1/2 Cup Grated Carrot

2 - 3 Urad dal Vadas / Medu Vadas ( Adjust the quantity according to the size of the vada ) 

1 Tsp Lemon juice 

Salt to taste 

2 Tbsp Finely chopped Coriander leaves

1/2 - 1 Cup Cooked Rice 

Method :

Firstly, finely chop the leftover vadas and keep aside. I have also crumbled the vadas into fine texture so that it gets mixed well with the rice. 

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. 

Once it starts spluttering, add chana dal followed by peanuts and dry red chillies. 

Fry and add the grated carrot along with the crumbled and chopped vadas. 

Sauce well and cook it for couple of minutes. 

Now add the cooked rice along with the required quantity of salt. 

Saute well and cook it for another minute. 

Now remove from the flame and add lemon juice followed by the chopped coriander leaves. 

Mix well and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Raita or Pickle. 

Chickpeas & Avocado Salad Sandwich / Healthy Sandwich

Chickpeas & Avocado Salad Sandwich is a healthy and power packed breakfast to start a day with. This sandwich is quite easy to prepare if you have cooked chickpeas in refrigerator and yeah, canned ones can also be used. The proteins from Chickpeas and the beneficial fats from Avocado will keep you full and energetic.

Coming to breakfast, I love including Soups and salads on my menu as it is more healthier. And especially, when you have picky eaters at home, I will suggest Soup as an ideal choice for breakfast. Being a mom I find mulitiple ways to include veggies on my kid menu. I have posted many interesting soup recipes earlier and listed few links of soup recipes at the end of the post. Don't forget to have a look.

In my today's post, I have used dried chickpeas which was soaked overnight and pressure cooked for 4 - 5 whistles. To be more honest, I can say that I have left couple of extra whistles to make it very soft as this recipe calls for the mashed chickpeas. If you want to prepare only salad, then do not over cook the chickpeas and add it as such without mashing it. Personally, I love adding chopped Avocados rather than the mashed or pureed ones to get that buttery taste in each bite. Alternatively, it can also be mashed or pureed when added with chickpeas.

If you like Avocado Sandwich then you might also like this recipe.. Check it out !

Avocado & Olives Sandwich

 

Ingredients :

5 - 6 Bread slices ( I have used Multi grain bread in this recipe ) 

1 Cup Chickpeas ( Apprx - 200gm and I have used dried chickpeas ) 

1 Big Finely chopped Avocado

5 - 6 Cherry Tomatoes

2 Tbsp Finely chopped Coriander leaves 

2 Tbsp Lemon juice 

Salt to taste 

1/2 Tsp Pepper powder 

2 Tbsp Olive oil 

1/4 cup Feta cheese 

Method :

Soak chickpeas overnight and pressure cook it for 4-5 whiles or until soft to mash it. 

Cool the boiled chickpeas and mash it using masher. ( alternatively this step can also be done by a blender ).

Transfer the mashed chickpeas in a bowl and add the chopped avocado followed by the remaining ingredients except feta cheese. 

Mix well and adjust salt. ( Salad is ready ! ) 

Now to prepare sandwich, toast the bread slices and spread the prepared chickpeas & Avocado salad evenly on it. 

Sprinkle feta cheese on top of the salad and serve.

Serving Options : 

Serve with Tomato sauce and Lemon tea.

Do you love Soup for your breakfast ? Then, check out these suggestions..

Carrot & Beetroot Soup

Chayote Soup  

Sausage Coconut Milk Soup

Egg Drop Ginger Soup 

Roasted Bell Pepper Soup

Aloo Kangmet / Manipuri Cuisine

Aloo Kangmet is one of the staple food of Manipur which is prepared using potato, dry red chilli and salt. The mashed potato is tossed with the coarsely ground red chillies and seasoned with salt. Traditionally mustard oil is used in most of their dishes. Though regular oil can be used, addition of mustard oil gives an extra flavour to the dish. This recipe is quite easy to prepare as it has a very minimal ingredients. This simple yet tasty aloo kangmet pairs perfectly with Roti or Rice.

Prepared this delicious side dish for a blogger event "SShhh Cooking Secretly" which is happening every month among few fellow bloggers. You must be familiar about the event, if you are following my page or else, just click HERE to get more information about the event and the recipes which I have prepared so far for the event.

 For January month, I was paired with a wonderful blogger Poonam Bachhav who blogs at https://poonambachhav.blogspot.com. Her page is loaded with more delicious and mouthwatering recipes so don't miss to check out her page. She gave me mustard oil and red chilli as my secret ingredients and using those, prepared this traditional dish named Aloo kangmet. Likewise, I gave her Ginger and peas as a secret ingredients. And using those, she prepared Manipuri Kichadi and Mangal Ooti which looks super yummy and inviting. Do visit her page and try it out.

Ingredients :

3 Big Potatoes, boiled 
4 - 5 Dry red chillies 
1 Tbsp Mustard Oil 
Salt to taste 
Coriander leaves for garnishing 

Method :

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add dry red chillies.

Roast and remove from the flame.

Grind it coarsely in a blender and keep aside.

Meanwhile, mash the boiled potatoes and keep aside.

Now heat the remaining oil in a same pan and add the ground chillies followed by mashed potato and the required quantity of salt.

Mix well and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Roti or Rice.