Tri Color Rice and Republic Day Wishes To All my Fellow Indians

Wishing All My Fellow Indians Around The World A Very Happy Republic Day

Saare Jahan Se Acha Hindustan Hamara

Hum Bulbulain hai Iski, Ye Gulsitan Hamara Hamara..

I Made this Tri-Color Rice today to as a tribute to Indian Republic Day.

This is a very easy to make rice, you can make them with anything that would add appropriate colors to the dish. I added green chilies and corinader leaves for green, Carrot puree for Orange and basic simple cooked basmathi rice for white. So let me go ahead and post this recipe for this beautiful and delicious tri-colored Rice. Do check out and make them at home. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients: -

1. Basmathi Rice - 2 Cups
2. Oil -1 tsp
3. Lime/Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
4. Water - 2Cups
5. Salt - 1tsp(to taste)
6. Carrots Steamed/boiled and pureed - 2 Long Carrots
7. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
8. Green Chilies - 3
9. Ginger - a small piece
10. Curry leaves - 2 strands
11. Mint Leaves few(optional- I dint use it)
    Garam Masala - 1tsp
    Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
    Salt 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp
    Oil - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
    
    

Preparation Method:-

• Wash rice two-three times and set aside.
• Heat up a thick bottom vessel, pour water, add salt and let it boil.
• Add  rice and stir with a spatula till the bottom of the pan. Simmer the heat to medium.
• Add oil and Lime/Lemon Juice, stir again and Cover it with a lid and let it cook till done. Take off the stove and set aside to cool.
• Fluff up the rice gently so that the grains do not stick to each other. Divide into three equal portions and set aside.
• Steam cook or boil the carrots and le it cool. Puree them and set aside.
• Grind Coriander leaves, ginger, mint leaves and curry leaves, set aside
• In a non-stick pan, pour 1 tsp oil, add the carrot puree and saute for a minute. Add turmeric powder,  garam masala, 1/2 tsp salt and saute. Add one portion of rice and saute well to mix. Check for the salt and adjust, set aside.
• In another pan, pour oil, add the coriander-mint paste, 1/2 tsp salt and saute well. Add next portion of rice and saute well. Check for the salt and adjust. Set aside.
• Layer the three rice, orange first, then white and then green so that when you take it upside down for serving the orange color comes first.
• Arrange them as single individual servings or as a single dish to let everyone help themselves.

So, are you guys wondering what is that Blue color in the middle of the flag. Its just a drop of "Blueberry Syrup" which can reflect our Ashok Chakra :-)

Note:- You can choose Spinach puree or any other greens instead of coriander to get a green color. You can use saffron or tomato puree to get orange color. Choice is all yours, I'm sure the rice will taste fab just the way it look :)

Baking Partners Challenge #6: Apple Pie

For this month's baking challenge Swathi choose pies. We had a total of four recipes both sweet and savory recipes. The recipes were suggested by Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot, Tamy of 3sides of crazy and  Samantha of Samantha Menzies. I baked apple pie recipe suggested by Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot  which she choose from taste.com. Thanks Gayathri for the wonderful recipe, we really enjoyed it, especially the little one's. I made little changes here and there, omitted eggs in the crust, used less butter compared to the given recipe and used brown sugar for the filling. So friends try out this simple but delicious pie which I'm sure you'll fall in love for and bake again. Enjoy!!!!

How I made It:-
Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (260g) plain flour(Original recipe calls for 1 3/4 cups (260g) plain flour +  1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour)
• 52 unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces(Original recipe calls for 185g butter)
• 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
• 2 to 3 tbs milk
• Demerara or caster sugar, to sprinkle

Filling

• 4 large Granny Smith apples (Originally recipe calls for 8 count)
• Lemon Juice - 2tbsp
• Few Chopped dates(6-7count- optional, original recipe do not call for dates)
• 45g unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (110g) brown sugar
• 1 tsp Allspice

Step 1

Sift flours and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Add butter and rub lightly into flour with your fingertips. Lift mixture high above the bowl as you rub, to incorporate air into the pastry and make it lighter. Continue until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Dissolve sugar in milk and mix well till it dissolve, pour this to the flour little by little and knead. Add bit more milk if required and knead into a smooth ball with your hands. Divide dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.

Step 2

To make the filling, peel and core the apples, and cut each into 8 pieces. Toss immediately with lemon juice in a large bowl, to prevent apples from discolouring. Place the butter and sugar in a large frypan over medium-low heat. When butter has melted, add apples and spices, then stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until apples have softened. Set aside to cool.

Step 3
Roll out the larger pastry ball on a floured workbench to a 30cm circle (about 2mm thick). Roll pastry around rolling pin, then unroll over a 22cm metal pie dish. Gently press into corners and allow excess to overhang. Place filling in base with a slotted spoon. Roll the small pastry piece to a 25cm circle. Beat an egg with milk, brushing some on rim of the base(I dint do this, since I didnt use egg at all). Top with small pastry.

Step 4

Lift the pie dish and cut excess pastry from edges with a sharp knife. Crimp edges of pastry together with your fingers. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180°C, place pie dish on a baking tray. Brush top of pie with more beaten egg(I didn't do egg wash), sprinkle with demerara or caster sugar. Cut four small air vents in the centre of the pie and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Linking this to Baking Partners started by Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen
Check out the below linky tool to find what our baking partners are baking for the challenge

Thayir Sadam/Yogurt Rice/Curd Rice

'Thayir Sadam' often known as Curd Rice/Yogurt Rice is one of the most popular South Indian dish made with sour curd/yogurt and boiled rice(normally mashed boiled rice is used). This is such a simple, ezee and tasty dish which I'm sure everyone of you make at home. I still wanted to post my version of the same, since I've couple of my friends asking me -'how do you make it?' even if each one of them make it at home but still want to know my way of making it. I love having it with a splash of hot lemon pickle.

One of my best Tamilian friend says, in Tamilnadu home cuisine it is standard to eat Thayir Sadam/Curd rice at the end of lunch and dinner, which helps ease the effects of the spicy main dishes. It is also said to aid digestion. They do Curd Rice as one of their chief offerings to the God which is later distributed as 'prasadam' (blessed food) to devotees. Curd rice/Thayir Sadam can be prepared most easily by simply mixing boiled rice, yogurt and salt. But tempered/seasoned with mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry chillies, chana dal and urad dal roasted in a spoon of hot oil imparts better taste and flavor to the dish.

Thayir Sadam or Curd Rice is often eaten accompanied by South Indian Mango or Lime pickles. Normally cooked mashed rice is used to make this dish, but I do not use mashed or paste like cooked rice but I do a bit over cooked rice. Mostly Thayir Sadam/Yogurt Rice is served cold but me and my family prefer to have them slight warm, you can serve them according to your preference. Also I use homemade slight sour curd/yogurt. Make yogurt rice today for your lunch/dinner and enjoy your simple and delicious meal !!!

Ingredients Used:-

1. Par Boiled Rice/Raw Rice/Basmathi Rice - 1 Cups
2. Thick Slight Sour Yogurt/Curd - 2 Cups
3. Green chilies slit into halves - 3
4. Ginger chopped fine - 1 tsp
5. Oil - 2tbsp
6. Salt - 1 tsp(to taste)
7. Mustard Seeds - ½ tsp
8. Urad Dal - ½ tsp
9. Chana Dal - ½ tsp
10. Dry Red Chilies - 4
11. Curry Leaves few
12. Shallots sliced fine - 3
13. Asefoetida - ½ tsp(optional)
14. Coriander leaves chopped - 3 tbsp
15. Cashews, Raisins few(optional)

Preparation Method:-

• Take Curd/Yogurt in a wide bowl, beat it gently with a spoon/fork just to remove any lumps foemed. You can add water little by little and beat if the yogurt is very thick.
• Wah and drain the rice. Boil/cook rice a bit more than normal plain rice(overtook to soft but not to mash/paste form) and drain off water. Let it cool down to room temperature.
• Heat up a wide non-stick pan or kadai, pour oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add chana dal, urad dal, asefoeitida and saute for few seconds.
• Add curry leaves, red chilies, shallots, ginger, green chilies, salt, a tbsp of coriander leaves, cashews, raisins and saute for a minute or two till shallots turn light brown.
• Take the pan off the stove or reduce the heat to lowest. Pour the beaten yogurt, and stir gently without taking hand just to warm the yogurt(please do not pour curd/yogurt when the pan is on high heat, yogurt will break into lumps)
• Add rice little by little, while stirring them to mix well with the Yogurt. Check for the salt and adjust.
• Mix gently till the rice become luke warm and take off the stove.
• Garnish with the rest of the chopped coriander leaves and serve warm or cold.