I hate wasting food and I
don't like to see anyone tossing away food that is in completely eatable state
into the dustbin. In our home we were always taught not to waste food keeping
in mind that so many people and children are in empty stomach because of their
inability to meet the basic necessities of life. Before we got up from the
dining table my mother always made sure that we polished off every crumb left
on the platter. But not everyone is brought up the same away. Hence in a party
or function when I see plates heaped with uneaten left overs are thrown into
the garbage; it makes my heart cringe a bit. I wonder why some people love
filling their plates with edibles beyond their eating capacity and then waste
them. At least if they would have been discreet enough to take only the amount
they could eat, lots of unnecessary wastage could be averted and the residue
from the party could be used to feed some hungry mouths.
Recently in a party held at
my home, I cooked this Paneer Fried Rice which won me brownie points from the
guests. I love paneer and it often comes to my rescue when I need to entertain
a group of people who are vegetarian. Any paneer preparation, say Paneer LaJabab, Shahi Paneer, Kadai Paneer or Matar Paneer are instantaneous hits among
the invitees.
Ingredients: Cooking
time: 20 minutes
ü 300 gm long grain basmati rice (cooked)
ü 150 gm paneer or cottage cheese(cut into
squares of small size)
ü 1 red or orange or yellow bell pepper (cut
into squares)
ü 1/2 cup of sweet corn kernels
ü 1 cup of green beans (chopped)
ü Black pepper taste wise
ü Salt to taste
ü 2 tsp sugar
ü 1/4 cup broken cashew nuts
ü 1 tbsp raisins
ü Ghee
ü White oil
For sauté:
ü 4 green cardamoms
ü 4 cloves
ü 1 bay leaf
ü 1 inch cinnamon stick
Method:
1) Heat oil in a wok.
When oil turns hot, toss in the paneer squares and shallow fry them. Take
them off the flame and keep aside.
2) Into the same oil, add
1 tsp of ghee and when ghee melts into the oil, slide in the ingredients for sauté
and allow them to sputter.
3) Add bell pepper and
green beans. Shallow fry them stirring occasionally.
4) Add sweet corn
kernels, broken cashew nuts and raisins. When cashew nuts brown a bit and
raisins puff up, add the rice. Around this time, turn off the heat.
5) With a wooden or metal
spatula, mix the rice properly with the ingredients. Add salt, sugar and
black pepper. Combine everything, stirring carefully.
6) Turn on the heat and
adjust the flame to low. Add some more ghee and stir couple of times with the
spatula. Switch off the flame and keep the dish covered for 10 minutes before
serving.
7) Serve hot with any
favourite chicken or mutton curry of yours.
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