Flavour Diary

Dry Fruit Fried Rice Recipe | Flavour Diary

Its almost the end of the day but sun is still shinning outside...yeah summer is on the way....After long time this week its sunny..so happy to see the sun. After moving to Scotland first thing i was been waiting for summer....ha ha ... i am serious....
While capturing the photo i was very much keen on capturing the light from the window .... just to remember that i clicked during summer .... hehe
Coming to todays post, its very simple and easy recipe which came to my mind on the fly and it turned out tasty. this was my second try and turned out to my expectation....
If you like mild sweet flavoured rice or not in a mood to have regular variety then you can try for a change. This would be one best way to eat some dry fruits....You will have crunchy nuts and also raisins which gives the sweetness to the rice. Adjust spice levels and dry fruits to your tastebuds. Its mandatory that you have fried onions for this rice.

Level: Easy
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-3

1 cup=180ml

Ingredients

Basmati rice: 2 cups
Dry Fruits: 1/2 cup (chopped cashew,Almonds,Pistachos, Raisins)
Fried Onions: 1/4 cup
Butter/Oil: 3 tablespoons
Green Chilli : 2 (adjust to the spice level)
Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste (approx 1/2 teaspoon)
Garam Masala: 1 teaspoon
Milk: 1 cup
Water: 2 cups

Directions

Cook Rice:

Wash rice 2 or 3 times and rinse with 2 cups of water for 20 mins.
Add milk and salt to it and cook on medium low flame until your rice is cooked approx. takes 20-30 mins.
On a wide plate transfer your cooked rice and let it cool completely.

Temper Rice:
In a pan add oil/butter and then add cashews, almonds and pistachios, and fry until the cashews turn golden brown.

Remove the nuts and now add raisins , remove the raisins once they puffed up.Then add green chillies and ginger garlic paste for a minute.
Now add Rice and stir for a minute on high flame and now add fried nuts, fried onion and garam masala.
Garnish with coriander and serve hot.

Tips

Fried Onions: Slice the onions finely length wise and deep fry in oil until golden brown and crispy.

Wanna try....let set go..

Paneer Butter Masala needs no introduction either in india or rest of the world. You can find this in any indian or south asian restaurant menu under veg section......If i am out and not in a mood to have non veg then my best option is Shahi paneer or paneer burji or palak paneer or anything with paneer .... its sooo yum.....

So here is my style Paneer Makhanwala....which tastes similar to the restaurant one. And always goes well with roti's,naan or any flavoured rice.... I use very few ingredients and always try out the easy way, so do try. I use Red food colour to get that restaurant curry colour.....If you have kashmiri red chilli powder then no need to add this food colour.

I would be happy to know Whats your choice as a veggie in a restaurant for a lunch/dinner?

Level: Easy
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

Paneer : 250 gm
Onion: 2 medium (300gm)
Tomato: 300gm
Cashew (Kaaju): 50gm

Oil: 4 tablespoon

Butter: 4 tablespoon
Roasted Cumin(zeera) Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Garam Masala: 1/2 teaspoon
Chilli Powder: 1 teaspoon (to taste)
Ginger Garlic paste: 1 teaspoon
Red Color: 1/4th teaspoon(optional)
Dry Fenugreek (kasuri meethi) : 1 teaspoon
Cream: 2 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Directions

In a pan add 2 tablespoons of oil and add chopped onions, tomatoes,cashews.Cook till tomatoes are mushy. Let it cool and blend to paste.
In a pan add 2 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoon of oil.
Once the butter melts add chilli powder and ginger garlic paste. Stir it for 30 secs.
Add blended onion paste.Cook until all water is evaporated and the mixture comes together.
Add Cumin powder, Garam Masala powder,Salt, Red Color and 1 cup of water.
Cook for 2-3 mins and then add Paneer, 2 tablespoon of butter and crushed fenugreek leaves. Cover the lid and cook for 10 mins or until paneer is cooked and stir occasionally.
Add Cream and turn off the heat.

Tips

Fry your paneer till golden colour, if paneer is not fresh.Frying make paneer firm and it doesn't make crumble in the gravy.
If you like the gravy to be more buttery then replace oil with butter.
Adjust water according to the gravy consistency...

Wanna try....let set go..

Two days back, here in UK the place where i live had a shower of hail stones and still we are having our jackets on. Here we are eagerly waiting for sun to show up. But back in India, Sun is showing all its hotness by making new recording temperatures this year. I personally suggest all my family and friends to be hydrated to beat the heat.
One most interesting thing which most of people in Summer is to make and taste new pickles. Thats so yummy thing to do.Pickles are always a compliment to the food in south india, we have it along with curd/yogurt rice or with any breakfast or with roti or any thing which we want to make it spicy. In north india we add some sweetness to the pickles .... but in south we like full of spice. Every house has its own variations for pickles and taste. So if you start searching for a pickle (achaar), you we will loaded with tons of variations.
Todays post is lime/lemon pickle which is not too spicy but its tangy that your mouth get watery.Its simple to make and uses quite few ingredients.

Ingredients

Pickle:

Limes (yellow) : 9

Salt: 4 tablespoons

Red Chilli powder: 3 tablespoons

Lime Juie: 3 tablespoons

Turmeric Powder: 1 teaspoon

Tempering:

Oil : 4 tablespoon

Mustard Seeds: 1 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds: 1 teaspoon

Dry Red Chillies : 2 (broken in half)

Asafoetida: 1/4 teaspoon

Directions

Preparations:

Wash and clean the limes with dry cloth. Let it completely dry.
Cut each lime in 8 pieces. And deseed it.
In clean dry jar, pop in limes,lime juice, salt and turmeric powder and shake well until completely mixed.
Shake this jar twice a day for a week.
Then add Red chilli powder and keep it for a 3 -4 days. Shake twice a day.

Time for tempering:

In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. After mustard seeds start to crack add Red chillies, cumin seeds and at last add asafoetida. Turn off the heat.

Let the mixture cool and then mix it with the pickle.

Tips:

Always make sure your jar and limes are dry before you proceed your process and mix it twice a day.
You can increase your spice and salt at any point.

Yummy...then let set pickle it

After a long time its been sunny today with clear sky all day, otherwise its been rainy and cloudy most of the time even though its end of spring. I was late in making dinner but even then i was able to capture few good pics with natural light. Hope to have
Spinach is always my favourite leafy veggy , which i combine with everything like lamb (palak ghost) , cottage cheese and with all beans for mains. And spinach is one of the best leafy veg to increases blood count. And Beans are good source of proteins and an alternative for vegetarians.
Todays post is packed with Iron and proteins. This is one common recipe for me in daily cooking, its easy, no stress, tasty and goes well with both rice and roti's. With no further delay lets check the process.....

Level: Easy
Total time: 30 mins
Soaking time: 4-5 hrs
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

Spinach/Palak : 200 gm
Black-eyed beans: 100gms
Onion: 1 medium
Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
Split chana Dal: 1 teaspoon (optional)
Dry fenugreek leaves / kasuri meethi: 2 teaspoon
Chilli powder: 1 teaspoon ( to taste)
Oil : 3 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Directions

Preparations:
Soak beans for 4-5 hrs.
Chop Onion and spinach.

method:

Pressure cook the soaked beans with little salt and a cup of water for 3 whistles.
While your beans are cooking, chop up onions and spinach.
Take a pan add oil, when it is warm add cumin seeds and split chana dal. Then add Onions, salt and fry until transparent.
Add spinach and stir fry on medium flame for a minute and then add cooked beans along with water.
Add Red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder and coriander powder and crushed kasuri meethi. Fry till desired consistency.

Tips

Use boiled water in rasam or any other curries.

Wanna try....let set go..

Salad!!!.... oohoo i was never found of salads as a kid and eating raw veggies was always stated as "ghass phoos"(i mean grassy things) . For me salad meant to be cutting some veggies like carrots, cucumber and onions and decorating on the plate...if possible have along with your dinner...hehe.. But after marriage , and i getting exposed to the culinary world in full stretch, i found out there is many more varieties of salad which were taster and healthier too..So now i can proudly say that i love salads.
By the way this salad was introduced by my friend Nabby in London. She is very friendly and dear person to me just like my little sister.When i had it for first time i finished the box of salad all by my self... for dinner.. i mean no dinner only salad. Its just mouth watering.
Its a combination of veggies and fruits of your choice. I found it to be great way of eating veggies and fruits. Its easy to make, no stress, no fuss and delicious to have it at any time of the day...yum yum...just boil your veggies, chop your fruits and mix rest of the ingredients...tada... your salad is ready..isn't it easy... Serve cool....

I always make this for small gathering and it is loved by everyone. Its a great party food, you can make a day before the party and keep it in the fridge and it is always a great hit in the party. With all this blah blah .... about the dish... you may surely wanna try out... so here is the process....

Level: Easy Peasy
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

Carrots, Peas, Beans,Corn : 2 cups (Frozen)

Apples: 2 medium

Oranges: 2 medium

Potato: 2 medium

Black Pepper: to taste (taste should be mild)

Mayo/mayonnaise: 2 -4 tablespoon (to taste)

Fresh Cream: 4 tablespoon (1/4 cup)

Sugar: 1 teaspoon

Salt: pinch

Directions

Peel potatoes and chop your veggies in bite size.
Pressure cook all your veggies by pouring 1/2 cup of water for 2-3 whistles, or until your veggies are just cooked but not mushy. Drain off the water and Let it cool completely.
Peel apples and oranges and chop them same size of your veggies

In bowl add fruits, veggies, salt,pepper, mayo and cream and mix well until well combined.

Serve Cool...

Tips

Increase or decrease your quantities according to your tastebuds, but the salad has to be mild.
You can even add pineapples for more tangy flavours.
Water you drained can be used in curries or rasam.