Minty Mushroom and Soya Nuggets Biryani

Biryani is a popular rice dish prepared in India, mainly a part of the Mughlai cuisine. As a vegetarian, there are only a few options we can use are vegetables like carrot, cauliflower, paneer and more. I decided to use mushrooms and Soya Nuggets for my recipe.
This recipe was taught to me by my mother-in-law, however without onion and garlic. I tried my version with onion and garlic and it tasted delicious. However, I have put the method for both the versions (with and without onion garlic)
The texture of Soya Nuggets used in this recipe gave the chewing into meat like feeling and hence can be enjoyed by non-vegetarians too. Additionally, it is also rich in calcium and iron.

Minty Mushroom and Soya Biryani with Bhoondi Raita

Ingredients

• 2 cups Basmati Rice, parboiled with spices infused water (Spices include Cinnamon, One Mint branch, 2-3 Cloves and Cardamoms, 1 Bay leaf)
• 1 cup of chopped french beans and carrots
• 1 cup of mushrooms, medium sized chopped
• 1 cup of Soya Nuggets, microwaved for 5 minutes
• 1/2 cup onion / Cabbage for Non-Onion-Garlic Recipe, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Curd
• 2 tbsps Biryani Masala (Use Masala without Onion Garlic if preferred)
• 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 2 tsp Red Chilly Powder
• 1 bunch of Mint Leaves, Finely Chopped
• 1 cup Fried Onions / Cabbage for Non-Onion-Garlic Recipe
• 1 tbsp Saffron Soaked in Milk
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 chopped Green Chilly
• 1 tbsp Shahi Jeera
• 1 tbsp Ginger - Garlic Paste / No garlic for Non-Onion-Garlic Recipe

Layering the Biryani

Method

• Soak Basmati Rice in cold water for 15 mins and keep it for boiling till it is 80% cooked. Make sure you add Salt and all the Spices as mentioned in the ingredients above in the water.
• Once boiled, drain the water and spices and spread the rice on a large plate. Mix some ghee while the rice is hot. This will separate all the grains of the rice nicely.
• Meanwhile heat 1 tsp of ghee in a wok and stir fry all the chopped vegetables, mushrooms and soya nuggets in it, until semi cooked.
• In another pan, take the remaining ghee and add Jeera, green chilies, and ginger garlic paste / ginger paste for non-onion-garlic. Fry till golden brown and add the onions / cabbage for non- ginger-garlic and mix well. Add salt to this mixture and caramelize the onions. 
• Next, add the stir fry veggies and mix well. Add the chopped tomatoes, all the powdered masalas and mix well. 
• Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the curd and boil the gravy until thick.
• Your biryani is ready to be layered now. 
• Take a deep pot/pan and add one thin layer of Basmati Rice. Next, add the gravy, Sprinkle some chopped mint leaves and add a little saffron milk over it. Repeat this process for at least three layers. 
• After you are done with the last layer, add fried onions / cabbage for non-ginger-garlic and mint leaves, and cover the pot. Cook on a slow flame for 10-15 minutes. 
• Serve with a cool Bhoondi Raita.

Veg Spring Rolls

Busy settling into my new job, this post is long due to end my Thai menu idea, Veg Spring Rolls is very similar to its Chinese cousin, the Hakka style vegetable spring roll.

A quick preparation, this recipe consists of few ingredients and basic seasoning. I prefer to use the readily available spring roll sheets, however, you can prepare it at home, as preferred. 

This appetizer can be enjoyed as a solo dish along with some spicy schezwan sauce or as one course of a grand dinner you are planning.

Ingredients

• 4 spring roll sheets
• 1/2 cup cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 cup all colored bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste (Can be avoided if you don't eat garlic)
• 1 tsp green chilly paste
• 1 tsp Siracha house (easily available)
• 1 tsp Soya Sauce
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Oil for frying

Method

• Heat a tsp of oil and add the green chilies and ginger garlic paste and fry.
• Add the chopped vegetables and stir well.
• Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. This helps the vegetables cook faster. 
• Par cook the vegetables as they will also cook while frying the spring rolls. Over-cooking them makes them soggy and can cause the spring roll to break while frying.
• Add the soya sauce and siracha sauce in the mixture and mix well.
• Keep aside the mixture and let it cool down.
• When about to serve, take a spring roll sheet, lay it on the counter to look like a diamond and add the mixture in the centre.Fold the opposite corners and seal the roll. Add water on the edges to make the corners stick.
• Fry in hot oil till golden brown and serve with your favorite sauce.

This brings an end to the Thai menu ideas. Write to me if you would like any more meal series and I shall be happy to co-blog with you.

Vegetable Thai Curry

Thai Curry is vegetables boiled in coconut milk and a fresh paste made up of lemongrass, basil and lime leaves. There are two versions commonly prepared of the Thai Curry, Green and Red. Generally served with Jasmine Rice, it is a regular recipe prepared at homes and outside across Asia.

The basic preparation starts with the paste. Even though the paste is easily available in the market, I would suggest to prepare it fresh at home. The freshness of the herbs and lemon grass gives a pleasant aroma to the curry apart from elevating the flavours of course.

Our contributor Preethi Prem, shares her recipe Vegetable Green Thai Curry for the blog. Enjoy the read.

Ingredients

For the Paste

• 5-6 stems of Lemon grass
• 1/2 cup Coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Basil leaves, finely chopped
• 2-3 green chillies, split
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp Oil
• 1/2 cup Freshly grated coconut

For the Curry

All vegetables are taken as a 1/2 cup quantity to serve 2

• Bell Peppers (green, red and yellow)
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• French Beans
• Cauliflower
• Potatoes
• 1 can of coconut milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water as needed 

Method

• Boil all the vegetables until they are semi cooked in a pan. Add lemon grass in the water so the vegetables absorb the aromas.
• Meanwhile, take all the ingredients of the paste as mentioned above in a mortar and hand grind it until smooth. You can also use the food processor to save time. The hand grinding will give it a more rustic flavour. 
• Take oil in a saucepan, add the paste and cook well. Add the boiled vegetables and coat them well in the paste.
• Add coconut milk and water as needed to get a thick consistency and boil till the vegetables are soft.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Your curry is ready. Serve with Jasmine Rice or Basmati Rice, as available. 

Serve as a complete Thai meal with our Thai Cabbage Salad and Stir Fry Paneer in Peanut Sauce 

Stir Fry Paneer in Peanut Sauce

The second recipe in the Thai series on the blog is Stir Fry Paneer in Peanut Sauce.

It hardly takes 10-15 mins to prepare this appetiser and it goes well with a soup / salad (Thai Cabbage Salad)

Paneer / Cottage Cheese is a commonly used protein in vegetarian cooking. In Thai cooking, Tofu is generally used and less of Paneer, so you can substitute the ingredients as per your wish. The texture of this appetiser is crunchy and has a sweet and spicy taste. Serve it as little bites with Lettuce greens or as a Yoghurt Dip. This recipe can be made oil-free as Peanuts loose their own oil when cooked.

Stir Fry Paneer in Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 200 gms Paneer, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper
• 2 tbsp Roasted Peanut Powder
• 1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
• 1 tbsp Chilly Sauce
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 1 tsp Oil (Optional)
• 1 tbsp Yoghurt / Curd

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and add the yellow bell peppers, diced into medium sized pieces.
• Once they cook a little, add the paneer cubes and fry till the paneer gets a golden brown covering.
• Add salt and pepper and toss again
• Make an empty space in the centre of the pan, and add tomato ketchup and chilly sauce and mix well. Once the sauce starts boiling, add peanut powder and mix well. 
• Remove some of the sauce mix and keep aside. 
• Mix the paneer and bell peppers into the sauce and toss well until the paneer is coated well. 
• While serving, add yoghurt/curd to the peanut sauce that you kept aside and mix well.
• Your dish is ready.

Coming Up

• Veg Thai Curry 
• Veg Thai Spring Rolls

Thai Cabbage Salad

As a part of my birthday celebrations, a friend and contributor to this series, Preethi Prem decided to host me and we cooked up a quick Thai themed dinner which comprised of Veg Thai Curry and Rice, Spring Rolls, Stir Fry Paneer in Peanut Sauce and Cabbage and Peanut Salad. 

Thai food is light for the stomach and comprises of a mixed palette of flavors mainly sweet, sour, spicy, sour and salty. Coconut, lemongrass, tamarind, and peanuts are authentic ingredients used in Thai cooking. As Indians, we are used to having these components in South Indian food, making them easily available in our home pantry.

Read along,where I shall post a menu idea you can prepare for your next party, starting with the salad in this post. This menu can also be prepared without onion and garlic.

Cabbage is rich in vitamins and has cancer-preventing benefits. Adding it to also helps control cholesterol levels. The Cabbage and Peanut Salad is a quick and crunchy option which balances the creamy flavors of the curry. You can include this as a salad option in your daily diet too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage, julienne
• A handful of peanuts
• 1/2 colored bell peppers
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Red Chilly Flakes to taste (Adjust for your spice levels)

Thai Cabbage Salad

Method

• Mix the cabbage and bell peppers in a bowl.
• Add honey, pepper, and red chilli flakes and mix well.
• Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• While serving, add salt and whole peanuts. Adding salt, in the end, will prevent the veggies from losing water and the peanuts will also remain crispy.
• Serve cool.

Coming Up

  Veg Thai Curry
  Stir Fry Paneer in Peanut Sauce
  Spring Rolls

Stir Fry Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and Potato) is a very popular North Indian vegetable, prepared at homes and in restaurants and accompanied with Roti and Dal Tadka. There are different versions of this vegetable prepared in households across India. Some prefer it with onion, garlic and tomato while some prefer it with a Tadka (tempering) of Mustard Seeds and Curry leaves.

My husband, who is also the contributor for this post prepares this vegetable with a slight variation where he uses a tempering of cumin seeds and green chillies. 

Hope you enjoy the recipe

Ingredients 

• 1 cup cauliflower florets, chopped in medium size 
• 1/2 potatoes, chopped in medium size 
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
• 2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 2 tsp Red Chilly Powder
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder (Dhaniya Powder)
• 2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat oil in a wok, add the cumin seeds and green chillies and let it fry.
• Add the potatoes and cauliflower and stir well.
• Add salt and all the other masalas and stir well.
• Cover the wok and cook on a low flame.
• Every five minutes, uncover the wok and stir the vegetable. Make sure you do not let any water of the steam fall into the vegetable. Repeat this for 3-4 times, until the vegetable is cooked. 
• Once you feel the vegetables are very crisp, remove from it from the gas.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Leave a comment if you have tried this recipe and enjoyed it.

This recipe serves 2 people. Double the quantity of each ingredient to suit your number of guests.

Mashed Potatoes with Broccoli Garlic Rice

Mashed potatoes are an integral part of European Cooking where it is normally served as a side dish with meat preparations. However, it is not very common in Indian cooking and hence I decided to use it as a gravy  with a pulao like preparation with the delicious English vegetable Broccoli. This preparation is a full meal in itself and can become a huge hit with children, small and big.

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes

• 4 potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1 small cup milk
• 1 pod of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp fresh cream
• 1 tbsp white cheddar cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Broccoli and Garlic Rice

• 1 1/2 cup Basmati Rice
• 12-15 broccoli florets chopped into medium pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2  green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4 pods of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

• Boil the potatoes and rice in the microwave for 25 minutes.  You can use leftover rice if you have. However, I would recommend using freshly boiled potatoes for the mash.
• Finely chop the garlic and the bell peppers and keep aside. 
• For the rice, take 2 tbsps of butter in a pan and let it melt well. Add the garlic and let it cook until golden brown. Let it burn a little to get a smoky flavor. This goes well with the creamy mashed potatoes.
• Add the bell peppers, salt, and pepper and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. 
• Add the broccoli florets and let the mixture cook for 5-7 mins on a medium flame. I like the broccoli to be par-cooked, however, you can cook it till completely soft or as preferred.
• Add the boiled rice and mix slowly so that the rice doesn't break and become sticky. Let it cook for 2 mins.
• In another bowl, peel and mash the potatoes with a masher or use a potato ricer.

When the rice is cooking, in another pan, take butter and add the remaining garlic. Cook the garlic a little and add the boiled potatoes. Add salt, pepper, milk and cream and whisk well. When the gravy starts boiling, add the cheese and add water as required till you reach a cream-like consistency. Your dish is ready.

I normally prepare it right before dinner and enjoy it hot. If you want to prepare this in advance, while heating , add 1 tsp of butter and mix the rice again and add a little water in the mashed potato too.