Rice Patties with Leftover Rice

I had some leftover rice from last night that I didn't want to waste. So I made some nice rice patties with the leftover rice and served it over dinner to my son. 

Ingredients
2 tablespoon Lima beans
1 1/2 cup of rice (cooked)
2 eggs
1 celery stalk (rib) (chopped)
1 tablespoon rice flour
1 tsp Cajun spice 
1 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
White Oil for cooking

Method
1)      Apart from oil, mix in all the ingredients together in a bowl.
2)      Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. once the oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon of mixture into the skillet and on medium heat shallow fry the patties.
3)      Turn the patties over and fry on the other side too.
4)      Serve hot.  

Mexican Chicken Rice

The location of our apartment is just fantabulous, for it is at the heart of the city flanked by gourmet restaurants and swanky shopping malls within walking distance. Needless to say, we eat out a lot taking the opportunity of the convenience of the location. One of our favorite haunts for dinner is Chipotle Mexican Grill famed for serving tantalizing tacos and burritos.

 

 

I love Mexican cuisines and for a long time I wanted to try a Mexican dish at home. So to begin with, I started my experimental venture with something very easy in preparation; Mexican Chicken Rice. I believe whoever has a grasp of cooking pulao can cook this dish effortlessly. The process followed in cooking Mexican Chicken Rice is same as that of pulao, the difference remaining only in the ingredients used. Just as we cook pulao, conventionally, with milk or water in some cases, Mexican rice has to be cooked with chicken broth easily available in the market. For people not familiar with the technique of cooking pulao, let me phrase this as simplifying as possible: in cooking dishes like pulao or pilaf where rice is cooked along with the other flavorsome essential ingredients, one important factor to keep in mind is the water and rice ratio. Estimated on 1:2 ratios, normally, 1 cup rice requires 2 cups of water to get cooked. However, the amount of water might vary with the brand of rice you use; but having said that, essentially, more or less most of the rice gets cooked at 1:2 rice and water ratio. So get the quantity right and everything will fall in place smoothly.

For more recipes on rice, please click the links below:

Arroz Con Pollo

Baked Corn Rice

Paneer Fried Rice

Pudina Rice - Mint Pilaf

Pulao with Coconut Milk

 

 

Bhoger Khichuri

As the name implicates, Bhoger Khichuri refers to the khichudi offered to god. There is a slight difference in preparation between Bhoger Khichuri and conventional khichuri. Bhoger Khichuri is made fully 'niramish' (vegetarian) with no hint of onion and garlic, two basic ingredients commonly associated with non-veg preparations. Taste wise, bhoger khichuri is lip-smacking, people literally falling over each other to get their share of the bhog when the same is distributed in pandals during Durga Puja, mainly on Ashtami. Bhoger Khichuri acquires a distinctive savory flavor when offered to the deity, the fragrance of incense, flowers and the blessing of the almighty all contributing to enrich the taste. Of all the goodness of Pujo, this one I find the most tempting - Khichuri.

 

Just as we spent the pujo this year away from all the cacophony and clamor connected to the festivity, my hubby came to me with a request to grace our Saturday lunch with bhoger khichuri and Elish Mach bhaja. Like a good wife always at my hubby's service, I naturally complied with his wish serving him a fulfilling meal yesterday.

Baked Corn Rice

Pujo Pujo Pujo and now Pujo is over. As everyone is busy bidding adieu to the goddess Durga, I pray that I make it to Kolkata next year, missing the fervour and exhilaration associated with Kolkata pujo three years in a row. It's utterly painful as you see Facebook pages flooded with the snaps of friends, attired in brand new clothes, swept away into the celebration while you spending the time alone secluded from all nears and dear ones in a foreign land with no vestige of festivity close by, your heart sinks into despair.

 

I might have mentioned in my earlier posts about how so long as Puja is going on I occupy myself in cooking delicacies to evade the feeling of heavyheartedness, a small attempt to derive consolation from; so taken over by such an orgy recently I tried a vegetarian version of stroganoff with fried potato chunks and sweet corn sauce lacing the flavour with irrepressible charm. I swear each spoonful of this dish exudes the warmth comparable only to the Chicken Stroganoff served in a popular restaurant in Kolkata the very memory of which brings water to my mouth.

The pictures of the dish didn't come out good, however, due to low light exposure. I swear to post some good quality snaps soon, replacing the ones published now.

For more recipes on rice, please click the links below:

Paneer Fried Rice
Mint Pilaf - Pudine Rice
Arroz Con Pollo - Spanish Rice with Chicken
Pulao with Coconut Milk
Egg Prawn Fried Rice
 

Paneer Fried Rice

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.

Khichuri - Khichdi

Khichuri also renowned as Khichdi is a gourmet delicacy in West Bengal unlike northern and western parts of India where khichuri, a mishmash of rice and lentils is prepared to feed the sick. Any festivity in Bengal remains incomplete without the lip-smacking ‘Bhoger Khichuri’ (Khichdi that is offered as obeisance to the deities) with beguni and labra as mouth-watering accompaniments.

Infact, during Durga Puja and Kali Puja, it was the most sought-after moment of the entire festival that we used to look forward to, when the local boys associated with the organizing of the local puja visited every home, within the locality, serving a bowl of steaming freshly cooked khichdis in return for the contributions that everyone pitched in for the successful consummation of the festival. The taste, fragrance and deliciousness of the bhoger khichuri are difficult to be surpassed by the home-made ones in every standard. The smell and euphoria connected with the festivals elevate the gastronomic pleasure to a different level of enjoyment that no other occasion is potent enough to encompass.

The khichdi that I am posting today is a medley of rice, lentil and vegetables attempted, more or less, in a similar fashion of Bhoger Khichuri with the exception of onion which is religiously avoided in the latter preparation. Usually, potato, green peas and cauliflower are combined together in Bhoger Khichuri but at home yesterday when I was concocting the dish; cauliflower was sadly absent at home. So I had to make do with whatever was available at that moment.

 

Khichdis taste best when cooked with Gobindo Bhog rice which is also popularly used for cooking payesh, a well-craved sweet dish of Bengal. Gobindo Bhog rice is a type of short-grained glutinous rice that takes less time to be cooked in comparison with its long grained counterparts. Though Gobindo Bhog is very specific to Bengal in terms of its availability, it is available in other states of India as well. One just needs to check out the Bengali market of that region for the purpose.

Mint Pilaf - Pudina Rice

The Game of Thrones – Season 2 is on air from yesterday onwards and I can’t hide my excitement about the same. The story is at its crucial phase when the stage for a battle and the ensuing bloodbath are under way, involving the ownership of the iron throne. It came to me as a shock when Ned Stark was executed. I thought that he would be held captive and tortured but would be alive till the end. But that following his beheading the story would take a new turn was out of my imagination. I am feeling lucky that I am in US now because last year after I went back to India upon catching first 4 episodes of the Season 1, I had to wait at least 5 months for the series to be aired on HBO India and finally when it was telecast, lots of scenes significant to the story were censored on the grounds of nudity and violence.

It’s only after coming down here, I watched all the episodes that I missed of Season 1 in the repeated telecast of the same one week prior to the beginning of the Season 2. I was fond of the morally upright character Ned Stark played but as all good human beings suffer misfortune at the hands of unscrupulous men; his fate too followed the same course. He was beheaded by the order of a boy king who didn’t have any right to the throne in the first place.

I would love to see Rob Stark usurping the throne from Joffrey and the latter suffering the same notorious execution that he subjects other people to. Well, I got little carried away with the excitement of my favourite mega series. I forgot that I am here to describe a recipe. The following recipe has its variations. I have seen people using lemon juice, garlic, ginger and even coriander leaves to cook mint rice. My version might not be an authentic one but according to my likes, I have used onion and raisins. Somehow I always feel raisins to be a better substitute for sugar in rice dishes. I wanted to use cream even, but changed my mind at the last moment remembering my resolution to shed few kilos in the coming months.

Egg Prawn Fried Rice

Tomorrow is weekend and there is a forecast of heavy rain and snowfall tomorrow. This is what I don't particularly enjoy in USA - the weather during the winter. It's totally unpredictable. One moment you have the sun glaring at you and the next moment the temperature plummets to a dangerously low level with heavy rain followed by storm. The variation between temperatures is shocking. In the morning you may enjoy a sunny weather at 90 degree F and the same day in the evening, the temperature may drop down to 20 degree F. At that time only you realize the congeniality of our weather back in India. It remains same with no variation and does not pose a threat to our living. 

Unlike last year, this year snow has fallen less here. When we came here last year during March, the entire place was clad in snow with trees totally stripped naked of foliage, but this year snow is falling sporadically and that too mildly. Thankfully, the weather is not very windy this time, at least till now. Last time the gust of cold wind made me feel chilled to the bone once I stepped out. Specially in a desolate place like Maumee where we are now stationed, when the wind blows, miles and miles of land void of any solid structure to ward off the effect of the wind makes the air current all the more powerful, sometimes, leading to fatal or nearly fatal accidents when cars spun out of control under the force of heavy wind crash into each other.

Last night a group of Debu's buddies from office were invited to our room for dinner (yes, heard right, room in the Mariott Residence Inn for we are yet to shift to a house). I cooked butter chicken and the egg prawn fried rice. I will upload the recipe of butter chicken sometime soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the recipe of the egg prawn fried rice.

Elish Biriyani - Hilsa Biriyani

I have been longing to prepare Biriyani for years but somehow could never manage the time and effort required. After the week days spent in a tiring work schedule, finally when I used to get some time for little rest, my mind and body would not work in coordination to make any meal requiring meticulous observance of details. So cooking Biriyani was always out of option.

Finally now as I am sitting home without work and spending my days like the way I have never spent in last 4 years, I made my mind to cook it for dinner one night and I began with cooking Hilsa biriyani because the time involved is less than its other counterparts like mutton or chicken biriyani.

Now one thing that you must keep in mind before you set about cooking any biriyani is that "patience" is a requisite here. Just relax and slowly go about it. Don't make any haste cause a miss in steps can change the taste from brilliant to moderate or bad.

Cooking time: 20 minutes                       Preparation time: 1 hour Ingredients :( Serving 6) ü  6 pieces of hilsa ü  2 onions (chopped into thin strips) ü  2 potatoes of medium size (cut into cubes) ü  3 cups of long grain basmati rice (250 gm) ü  5 ladles of milk ü  1 tsp of mace powder ü  1 tsp of nutmeg powder ü  3 tsp rose water ü  2 small pinches of saffron ü  Edible food color (orange or yellow or both) ü  Ghee (I skimped on ghee and used only 1 tbsp) ü  White oil for cooking ü  Salt to taste ü  2 tsp of sugar ü  1 tsp turmeric powder ü  1 bay leaf ü  1 inch cinnamon stick ü  3-4 cardamoms ü  3-4 cloves ü  1/2 tsp of cumin seeds Method: 1) Rub salt and turmeric powder on fish pieces. Lightly fry them in smoking hot oil. Reserve 2 tbsp of the oil used in frying fishes. 2) Boil the potatoes in microwave for 5-10 minutes till they become a bit tender. Then brown them in hot oil. Keep aside and fry the onions till they turn brown in color. 3) Cook the rice with bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamoms and cumin seeds added into the water used for cooking rice. 4) Grease a large flat-bottomed pan, preferably non-stick, with ghee or oil. Divide the rice into two halves. Add one half of the rice to the pan and spread out with a ladle to make a bed. 5) Sprinkle salt, sugar, 2 pinches of mace powder and nutmeg powder each on the rice bed. 6) In a spoonful of milk, add one pinch of saffron and pour it on the rice. Add half amount of the fried onions and fried potatoes and reserve the rest for the next step. Arrange few fish pieces on top and drizzle the reserved oil that was used for frying fishes. 7) Now add the remaining rice on top of this arrangement. Again diffuse the rice proportionately in all directions to make a bed and repeat steps 5 & 6. Only instead of the reserved oil, use ghee this time and add the fishes after step 8. 8) Mix 3 tsp of rose water with milk and pour 4 ladles of the milk on the rice. Insert your finger into the rice bed to create few holes. Mix food color with a tbsp of milk and pass in the colored milk through the holes. This way color will be distributed asymmetrically giving the rice an attractive appetizing look. After all, you eat a dish with your eyes first before setting teeth on it. 9) Arrange rest of the fishes on top. Now put the pan on flame and lower the heat to minimum. Cook covered for 20 minutes. 10) Serve hot.

Pulao with Coconut Milk

As I have mentioned in one of my earlier entries that I have been maintaining a diary full of recipes since my girlhood days when I didnt even know the a,b,c,d of cooking, but just out of curiosity and interest I used to take down whatever recipes came to my notice, published in a journal or newspaper supplementaries. This recipe of Pulao with Coconut Milk was scrawled neatly across the pages of my diary, but somehow I always missed trying this one. In satisfying the demands of my family, today I decided to cook Pulao with this recipe for lunch. Must I say, the dish turned out really nice and my family savoured it with pleasure.

The dish involves very simple preparation. Rice cooked in coconut milk exudes an enchanting aroma that adds to the flavour. Abiding by the original recipe, I used 'gobindobhog' rice, but since 'gobindobhog' breed of rice is difficult to get anywhere else easily other than West Bengal, you may use long grain Basmati instead. In Bangalore I get the availability of gobindobhog in Hal Market only.

I have used 1/2 tsp of ghee and 1 tbs of white oil for browning the rice and vegetables. If you prefer, you may use 'ghee' for browning, but keeping health in mind, I skimped on ghee and combined it with white oil.

One more thing you ought to keep an eye on is the quantity of water for cooking rice. Some rice need 1 cup and some else need 2 cups of water. Depending on which rice you are using, you have to decide on the water. Since I have used 1 1/2 cup of coconut milk, I measured out 3 1/2 cups of water for cooking 300 gm of gobindobhog rice.

Ingredients:

3 cups of Gobindobhog (about 300 gm)

1 1/2  cup of coconut milk (I used canned coconut milk available easily in the market)

1 cup of fresh green peas (boiled)

50 gm of broken cashew nuts and raisins

2 1/2 tbs sugar

salt to taste

White oil or ghee as you prefer

For phoron (sauting)

2 green chillies (slit in the middle)

2 bay leaves

2 cardamom seeds

3 cloves

1 tsp ginger (chopped)

Method:

1) Wash the rice nicely and drain the water. Heat oil in a non-sticky pan and when oil turns piping hot, add the ingredients for sauting and saute for few seconds till they start spluttering.

2) Now add the gobindobhog rice and stir to mix well. Reduce the heat to low and throw in the peas, salt and sugar. Lightly fry the peas and rice on low heat for 1-2 minutes.

3) Pour coconut milk along with the measured water. Increase the heat to medium. When water starts bubbling up, put the lid on and simmer on low heat till rice is cooked through and water completely evaporates.

4) Serve hot.

Arroz Con Pollo - Spanish rice with chicken

Arroz Con Pollo meaning 'rice with Chicken' in Spanish is a traditional dish of Spain and Latin America. It might have some sort of Indian influence as the dish tastes a bit like "Indian Biriyani" in its simplest of form with less spices. The sweet fragrance created by chicken stock and a pinch of oregano gives it a unique essence. This dish can be made in variety of ways with peas, beef stock, wine combining to add an extra flavour, but without daring to make much experimentation lest the result doesnot suit our Bengali tastebud, I mostly stuck to the original recipe as explained by Elise Bauer, adding slightest of modification of my own and the outcome turned out really delicious winning at once the hearts of my family.

Ingredients:                                             Cooking time: 45 minutes approx.

8-10 pieces of Chicken (breasts or thighs with or without bones, with or without skin)

3 cups of long grain rice (Basmati)

1 medium sized onion (chopped)

1 tomato (turned into a paste)

5-6 green chillies (paste)

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli powder or cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

6 cups of chicken stock (If you dont get a readymade chicken stock, you may prepare it at home by following the chicken stock recipe)

1 tsp of oregano

salt to taste

Olive oil for cooking

* Please note the amount of chicken stock required depends on the quality of rice. I used long grain Basmati rice which required 2 cups of chicken stock for preparing 1 cup of rice. Accordingly I have used 6 cups of stock for cooking 3 cups of rice.

Method:

1) In a bowl mix all purpose flour with black pepper powder, salt and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces with this powder and lightly fry them in olive oil in a non-sticky pan. They will look similar to the ones shown in the pic below:

2) Now add more olive oil to the pan and brown the rice. When the rice grains become slightly brown in color, add onions and ginger & garlic paste.

3) Stir fry the onions with rice till onions become translucent. In a separate bowl mix chicken stock with green chilli paste, tomato paste, salt and oregano. When onions turn soft, arrange the chicken pieces on top of the rice in a particular order and pour the chicken stock mixture over it.

3) Reduce the heat to low, put the lid on and cook for 20-25 minutes till rice is thoroughly cooked. Serve hot.