Chinese Style Fried Rice– Simple Version/ Without Egg and Sauce

This version of Chinese style Fried Rice has no egg or sauce. Just veggies and pepper powder for spice. I prepared Gobi Manchurian as side dish for this Fried rice. I used cabbage, carrot and capsicum. Other than this you can add broccoli, spring onion, bean sprouts. Leftover rice can be used for this recipe.

  

Ingredients:

Cooked rice – 1cup

Cabbage – ½ cup

Carrot – 1medium size

Bell pepper/ Capsicum – ¼ cup (chopped into fine pieces)

Pepper powder – ¼ tbsp.

Salt

Oil – 1tbsp

Pineapple chunks – 5 to 9 chunks (depend on your taste)

Method:

Heat oil in a wok; add the chopped cabbage; carrot and bell pepper sauté in the medium- high flame for 3min.

Add salt and pepper powder and sauté for another 2min.

All the veggies should get cooked well but shouldn’t lose its crunchiness.

Now when the veggies reached the stage, add the cooked rice, sauté for 2min in medium heat.  

In the meantime heat 1tsp oil in a pan and add the pineapple chunks to it, sauté the pineapples for a minute or 2.

Add the pineapples to the rice and give a quick sauté.

Remove from heat and serve hot. 

Gobi Manchurian (Dry) / Dry Cauliflower Manchurian - Step by step recipe

Gobi Manchurian is an Indian Chinese dish made with cauliflower. It taste little tangy, hot and spicy. Frying the cauliflower florets gives the food little crispiness. It can be taken as a plain starter or as side dish for chapatti, roti and fried rice. Both ways they taste good.

Sauce plays the major role in this dish. I have added chilli paste instead of adding chilli sauce, as it was out of stock in my pantry. But adding chilli sauce gives more authentic taste to the dish.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower – 1cup

Onion- 1big

Capsicum /bell pepper – ½ of the full pepper finely chopped.

Chopped ginger – 1/2tbsp

Chopped garlic - 1tbsp

Tomato sauce – 4tbsp

Chilli paste – 1 ½ tsp (grind 4 to 5 green chillies in warm water to fine paste)

Soy sauce – 3tbsp

Vinegar – 1tbsp

Spring onion (white part) – 2tbsp

Spring onion (green part) – 3 to 4tbsp (for dressing)\

Salt – a pinch

Water – 2tbsp

Oil – 2tbsp

For frying cauliflower:

Oil to fry

Maida / all-purpose flour – 1cup

Corn flower – 2tbsp

Rice flour – 1tbsp

Chilli powder – 1tbsp

Salt

Method:

Cut the cauliflower into medium size florets.

Add salt in water and bring them to boil.

Add the cauliflower florist to the water and boil them till they turn soft.

Remove from fire, drain them completely and keep aside.

In a wok, heat 2tbsp oil, add the chopped onion and fry till they turn light 

brown.

Add the chilli paste and chopped ginger, garlic and sauté for few min till they turn light brown.

Add the bell pepper, spring onion white part and sauté for 3min.

Add the tomato sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and sauté for 2min in medium flame.

Turn off the stove.

Frying the cauliflower:

Combine all the flour, chilli powder, salt and make a thin batter adding required water.

The batter should not be too thick or thin.

Heat the oil for frying.

Once the oil is ready, dip the cauliflower florets into the batter and place it in the oil.

Do the same for remaining florets.

Fry till they turn light crisp.

Remove from the oil and place it in a paper towel.

Now add 2tbsp water to the gravy and sauté for few seconds, add the fried florets and sauté till they get coated well with the gravy.

Add the green part of the spring onion and give a quick sauté.

Serve hot.

Note: Fry the cauliflower florets and add it to the gravy just 10 or 15min before serving. Otherwise it will get soggy.

Adjust the sauces as per your taste.

Watch while adding salt, as already soy sauce and some vinegar contains salt. 

Podi Idly / Idly Milagai Podi Idly

Idly is not only a simple and healthy food but gives us more room for our creativity. Idly upma is one of those. The leftover idlis comes handy for the next day breakfast as idly upma. And this podi idly is more or less same as idly upma. Here I used idly podi for spice. Now you know why the name podi idly J Also for this recipe I cut the idlis into cubes, so that they get fried well and gives a niece crunchy taste with spicy podi. It can be taken as breakfast, a quick lunch, for dinner or even as a tea time snack. Serving hot will maintain the crunchy taste. This podi idly specifically don’t need any side dish. But onion raita goes well if the podi is too spicy.

Ingredients:

Idlis – 9 numbers (adjust depend on the size, mine is medium, not too soft)

Green chilli – 3 numbers

Idly podi – 3tbsp (again adjust depend on the spice level, mine is medium spicy)

Onion – 1 small

Sweet peppers – 2 numbers (optional) (or replace it with bell pepper)

Garlic pods – 4 numbers

Turmeric - a pinch

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Curry leaves – 2 or 3

Salt

Oil – 1tbsp

Method:

Cut the idlis into cubes and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and splutter mustard seeds, add urad dal and curry leaves and fry for a second.

Add the green chilli, chopped garlic, and chopped onions and fry till they turn light brown.

Add the finely chopped sweet peppers (if using), idly podi, salt, turmeric and stir for 1min.

Now add the idly cubes and toast well. Keep the flame low.

Continue the toasting till the idly cubes turn little crispy.

Remove from fire and serve hot.

Note: If the podi idly is too spicy, sprinkle some sugar and stir, before removing from fire.

Pineapple Rava Kesari / Semolina Kesari

Kesari is a very famous south Indian sweet made with rava / semolina. They are made on auspicious days or on any special occasions. They have a special place in the South Indian wedding menu. There are many versions of kesari and pineapple kesari is one of those. Pineapple gives a nice aroma to the sweet and the natural sweet in the fruit adds more taste to the kesari. Even banana can be replaced with pineapple.

Kesari is the best option if we have to prepare some sweet in a jiffy. As they require less ingredients and less time.

Ingredients:

Rava /Semolina – 1 ½ cup

Pineapple cubes – 5 to 6 pieces (make puree out of it)

Sugar – 2 ½ cups

Water – 2 cups

Ghee – ½ cup (or as required)

Kesari powder – a pinch (I used yellow colour) (optional)

Crushed cardamom – ¼ tsp

Cashews crushed – 1tbsp

Raisins – 1 tbsp

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee.

Add the cashews and fry till they turn light brown along with raisin.

Remove them and keep aside.

In the same pan, add 1tbsp ghee and add rava to it. Fry till the rava get roasted well (approximately 5min)

In the meantime, add the water and kesari powder to a pan and bring them to boil.

Once the rava get roasted and turn light brown, slowly pour the boiled water to the rava stirring constantly.

Stir the rava for few seconds and add sugar.

Now pour the pineapple puree and the remaining ghee.

Stir the kesari till they start oozing out the ghee.

Add the cardamom and roasted cashew, raisin and give a quick stir.

Remove from fire and transfer to a bowl.

Note: For pineapple puree, blend the chopped pineapple into a fine smooth paste. No need to add water.         

         Be liberal in adding ghee to avoid sticky kesari.

         For weight watchers, replace the quantity of ghee with oil.

         The taste and texture of kesari depends on roasting the rava and quantity of  

         ghee/oil.

Kathirikai Rasavangi

Rasavangi is nothing but the combination of sambar and kootu. It’s a very common dish in Brahmin household. Easy to prepare and less time consuming. Pumpkin can be replaced with Brinjal. If using pumpkin reduce the cooking time as they have the tendency of turning mushy quickly.

Ingredients:

Kathirikai / Brinjal – 5 numbers

Toor dal – ½ cup

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Tamarind – 1 big gooseberry size

Salt

Oil – 1tbsp

For grinding:

Coriander seeds - 1½ tbsp.

Chana dal – 1 tbsp

Red chilli – 5 numbers

Coconut shredded – 3tbsp

Hing – ¼ tsp

Oil – ½ tbsp

For tempering:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Curry leaves – 2, 3 leaves

Oil – 1tbsp

Hing – ¼ tsp

Method:

Wash and cut the brinjals lengthwise.

Cook the toor dal and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the brinjals and fry for few minutes.

Make a thick puree out of tamarind and pour it to the fried brinjal.

Add salt and turmeric to the brinjal and cook for 5min in low flame.

In the meantime fry the coriander seeds, chana dal, hing, redchilli, coconut in ½ tbsp oil.

Cool down and ground them to fine powder.

Add the cooked toor dal to the brinjal and cook for few minutes.

Add the grounded powder give a quick stir and remove from the fire.

Do tempering and pour it to the rasavangi.

Serve hot the kathirikai rasavangi with hot white rice.

Try with roti/chapatti.

Moong Dal Dosa / Pasi Paruppu Dosai

Moong dal dosa is very easy to prepare as they don’t require time like regular dosa. And don’t have wait till they ferment. Actually this recipe has only rice and moong dal. But I soaked excess aval for dinner. So while grinding the batter I added the aval. The dosa tasted yum.  My experiment with moong dal dosa got a good result. So now I got a new moong dal dosa recipe ;-) If you love onions, chop them to fine pieces, mix it to the batter and prepare dosa.

Ingredients:

Boiled rice / idli rice – ¾ cup

Moong dal (yellow) – ¾ cup

Aval/ poha (soaked) - ½ cup (Soak the aval in water for 10min)

Green chilli – 4 to5 (adjust as per taste)

Ginger chopped – 1tbsp

Salt

Method:

Soak rice and moong dal for 5 to 6 hours.

Add ginger, green chilli, salt, soaked aval, soaked moong dal and rice to a blender.

Add water and grind into smooth batter.

Keep the batter in room temperature for 3 to 4 hours.

Prepare dosas.

Check here the method for preparing Dosa

Methi, Aloo Masala Chapati / Roti

When tired of regular chapatis and if I’m in good mood to cook, I prepare these kinds of chapattis ;-).  This one is similar to Aloo / Urulaikizhangu stuffed chapati. In this recipe I added methi along with potato and some more masala to it. Methi gives nice flavor to the chapati. The dough once prepared can be used for 2 days. Just refrigerate in an airtight container. Prepare the dough just 10 min before making the chapati.  I made dal for side dish. It can be served with any side dish. Simple raita will do good with this masala chapati. Serve hot.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour / Atta – ½ bowl (approximately 3 to 4 cups, I use rice cooker cup for measurement)

Methi – 1 bunch

Potato / aloo – 1 small

Red chilli powder - 1tsp

Coriander cumin powder -1tsp

Garam masala powder – 1tsp

Ginger garlic paste – ½ tsp

Cumin – 1tsp

Salt

Oil -1tsp

Water

Ghee

Method:

Remove the methi leaves and wash thoroughly.

Cook the potato. Peel off the skin and mash it.

Making dough:

Take the wheat flour in a wide bowl, add methi leaves, mashed potato, red chilli powder, coriander cumin powder, garam masala powder, ginger garlic paste, cumin, and salt and start making dough adding water. Add oil at final stage of making dough so that the dough will be soft enough.

Make sure the dough is not too soft or hard. It will look little softer than the regular chapati dough.

Keep aside for 10 min.

Rolling the chapati:

Now make medium sized balls out of the dough.

Flatten them and toss it in the wheat flour both the sides.

Now slowly roll it using the chapati roller, flipping both the sides.

Making tasty hot chapati:

Place them in the non-stick tawa / pan.

Pour small drop of ghee over the chapati and spread. (Ghee can be replaced with oil)

Flip the chapati and do the same.

Remove the chapati once you see brown spots popping up.

Serve hot with any side dish.