Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

1. Small grain rice - 1/2 cup
2. Milk - 1 cup
3. Butter - 2 tbs
4. Vanilla extract - 1 tbs
5. Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
6. Sweetened condensed milk - 3/4 can
7. Milk cream - 1/4 cup
8. Caramel sauce - 1/2 cup
9. Walnuts/cashewnuts, roasted - 1/2 cup

Note:

• Replace a tbs of  butter with ghee if you like the ghee taste
• Add additional flavorings like lemon flavor or Rum flavor if interested
• Make it more fancy with whipped cream topping or fruit toppings

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker, cook rice with butter, 1 cup water and 1 cup milk for about 4 whistles., 5-8 minutes
2. Once the pressure is gone, 
3. Heat the stove again and add vanilla extract , cinnamon powder and condensed milk to it and mix well
4. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and switch off the stove
5. Add milk cream and stir it
6. Serve the rice pudding warm or cold with caramel sauce and roasted nuts

Brigadeiro, a brazilian chocolate truffle

 

Brigadeiro, a yummy delicious chocolate truffle introduced to me by my co sister.

 

Ingredients:

1. Cocoa powder - 2 tbs
2. Melted Butter/Ghee - 1 tbs
3. Sweetened condensed milk(milkmaid) - 1/2 can
4. Vanilla /Rum extract - 1/2tsp
5. Sprinkles as required for rolling

Note:

• Mix ghee/Butter with cocoa powder first using a small wire whisk so that no lumps are formed
• Spread the hot mixture on plate with cling wrap so that it doesn't stick to plate
• Use chopped nuts or sweet coconut shavings instead of sprinkles for variety

Method:

1. Heat all the ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan, mixing well
2. Stir it in medium heat till it starts thickening and pull from the pan, about 20 min
3. Switch off the heat and spread it on a buttered plate
4. Keep it refrigerated for about 1 hr
5. Butter the palm and make small balls about size of small lime
6. Roll it in sprinkles and keep it refrigerated till serving

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

1. Chicken breast, cut into thin strips - 250gm
2. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
3. Paprika - 1 tsp
4. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
5. Lemon juice - 2 tbs
6. Salt to taste
7. Bell pepper (red and yellow), cut into thin strips - 1 cup
8. Onion, cut into strips - 1/2 cup
9. Sour cream - 1/2 cup
10. Salsa -  1 cup
11. Corn/Flour tortillas - 4
12. Ghee/Butter/Oil - 1/4 cup
13. Avocado slices - 1/2 cup
14. Coriander leaves, chopped - 1/4 cup

Note:

• Use thin chicken strips so that it is cooked well and browned enough
• Roll lemon on kitchen slab before squeezing it to get more juice from it
• Substitute sour cream with greek yogurt to make it more healthy
• Use cast iron grill to get that crispy brown finish for chicken
• Substitute tortillas with big lettuce leaves for a healthier version of fajitas

Method:

1. Marinate chicken with chilli powder, paprika,cumin powder, salt and lemon juice and rest it for 15 minutes
2. Heat ghee in a cast iron grill pan
3. Roast chicken in it for about 10 minutes on each side
4. Once chicken is cooked and browned, add bell peppers and onion to the same pan and grill them for 2-3 min 
5. Once all are cooked, switch off the stove
6. Warm the tortillas on a tawa
7. Spoon chicken pepper mix on it
8. Top it with 1-2 tbs of salsa,sour cream, coriander leaves and avocado

Serve Fajitas with lemon wedges and more salsa!


I am linking this post FiestaFriday#159 which is hosted this week by  Zeba @ Food For The Soul and Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Sri's Vegetable Biryani

Thanks to my friend Srividya for sharing this delicious vegetable biryani recipe with me.
On a casual day in office, topic of discussion was food, vegetarian food..

Srividya : I can prepare hyderabadi vegetable biryani which tastes really good, may be better than non vegetarian biryani. But I know, for non vegetarians delicious biryani has to be the one made with non veg.

Me: Yeah.. For us a very good Biryani has to be the one with non veg.
Few Days Later..
Srividya: I have brought some vegetable biryani which I made at home for some guests. Would you like to taste it?
Me: Yes ofcourse, I want to taste it..
And here I am adding that vegetable biryani recipe in my blog.. She was totally right, it tasted great. Delicious. After trying the biryani from her, rightaway I asked her to share her recipe with me and with in a week we tried it at home for a weekday dinner. It came out really good, though not up to hers.

And yes, I agree that this can be a tough competition to chicken biryani.. :)

Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Saffron - 1/2 tsp
2. Milk - 1/4 cup
3. Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
4. Ghee fried cashew nuts/raisins - 2-3 tbs (optional) 
5. Ghee - 2tbs

For Veg Masala:

1. Ghee\Oil - 4 tbs
2. Onion Sliced - 1+1 cup
3. Ginger, finely chopped - 1 tbs
4. Garlic, finey chopped - 1 tbs
5. Tomato, chopped - 1 cup
6. Carrot,chopped - 1/2 cup
7. Beans, cut into small pieces - 1/2cup
8. Green peas - 1/2 cup
9. Cauliflower, chopped - 2/3 cup
10. Fenugreek leaves/fresh methi leaves, chopped - 1/2 cup
11. Salt to taste
12. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
13. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
14. Coraiander powder - 1 tsp
15. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
16. Yogurt, whisked - 1.5 cups

For Rice:

1. Basmati Rice - 2cups
2. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
3. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
4. Salt to taste
5. Ghee - I tbs

Note:

• Soak saffron the previous day itself and store in fridge to get dark saffron color
• Heating in oven or microwave after layering helps to give added flavour 

Method:

1. Soak saffron in 1/4 cup milk for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Rice: 

1. Wash and soak rice for 20 min
2. Drain it and keep it aside
3. Heat a thick bottomed pan for cooking rice
4. Add ghee
5. Splutter cumin seeds and add garam masala along with Rice
6. Saute for a minute in medium flame and add 4 cups of hot water and salt to taste
7. Once it starts to boil, Cover and cook rice in medium flame until all the water is absorbed and rice is cooked
8. Fluff the rice using and fork to separate rice grains 

Vegetable Masala:

 

1. Heat ghee or oil in a kadai
2. Add 1cup sliced onion and fry till golden brown and keep fried onion aside
3. Add rest of the onion to the same pan and once it is translucent, add ginger and garlic
4. Saute for a minute more
5. add all the vegetables and sauté again for 2 more minutes
6. Add fenugreek leaves and sauté for another minute
7. Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and give a quick stir
8. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it is mushy
9. Add yogurt to the above and mix well
10. Let the vegetables cook well in the closed kadai for about 20 minute
11. Once vegetables are cooked and gravy is thick switch off the stove 

Layering: 

1. Take a big deep flat bottomed microwave proof bowl or oven safe bowl
2. Brush a tbsp of ghee in the bowl
3. Spread a layer of rice in it, about 1/3 of rice
4. Sprinkle chopped mint leaves, 2tbs of saffron milk, 1/2 of chashewnuts, raisins and 1/2 of fried onion on the rice
5. Spread a layer of vegetable masala on the layered rice
6. Add another layer of rice and repeat the same for mint leaves, fried onion, saffron milk,chashewnuts, raisins and veg masala
7. Spread final layer of rice on top and any left over saffron milk and ghee on top
8. Close the bowl with aluminium foil and place it in hot oven for about 20 min. (If using microwave don't use aluminium foil, you may use microwave safe lid and microwave it for about 2-3min. )

Serve layered veg biryani with Raitha!