Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls – We knead to bake

This is one of the most adorable breads I have baked! These supersoft , flavourful,festive  Spiced Pumpkin Bread rolls are just in time for Thanksgiving- whether you celebrate or not 🙂

Aparna aptly chose these for the our monthly bread baking group-We knead to Bake. Thank you Aparna, I had so much fun making them. As gorgeous as they look, they are quiet easy to make.

Apart from looking like mini pumpkins, these rolls use Pumpkin puree too. I followed Aparna’s recipe without making any changes.I made my own pumpkin puree, since canned is not available here. Also I used pumpkin pie spice mix to flavour the rolls, instead of the individual spices. The kitchen smelled heavenly, while the rolls were being baked 🙂

This recipe for the Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls is adapted from Beyond Kimchee.I used only the 2 tbsp honey, recommended by Aparna so they were not sweet.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls
(Adapted from Beyond Kimchee)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup warm milk

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp instant yeast

1/2 cup puréed pumpkin (unsweetened)

40gm butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp powdered dry ginger

1/2 tsp allspice

5 to 6 pecans, sliced into 3 vertical sections

Method:

Pour the warm milk into a bowl. Add the honey and yeast and mix well and leave aside for about 5 minutes until the mixture is starting to look “frothy”.

Put the flour, the salt and the spice powders into a food processor or stand mixer bowl and run a couple of times to mix them well. Then add the yeast mixture, the pumpkin purée, the melted butter and the egg to the processor bowl.

Knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough that will be somewhat sticky. It should pull from the side of the bowl. Add a little more flour (or milk) if required, to obtain this consistency of dough.

Turn the dough out to a wooden board dusted with a little flour and knead by hand for a minute or if using a stand mixer continue to knead on medium speed.

Shape it into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning it around to coat it well. Loosely cover and let the dough rise for about an hour or so, until double in volume.

Deflate the risen dough gently to remove large pockets of air and divide it into about 8 or 10 equal sized portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Flatten each ball slightly and using a sharp knife or a pair of scissors make 7-8 cuts at equal distance from each other, from the edge of the ball towards the centre but leaving the centre uncut – like a flower.

Place the dough “flowers” 2” apart on a lightly oiled or parchment lined baking sheet. Loosely cover and let them rise for about 45 minutes. Use your fore finger or the round end of a wooden spoon (dip it in a little oil or flour so the dough doesn’t stick to it) and poke a deep hole in the centre of each “flower” for the pecan “stem”. Brush them with milk (or egg wash if you use it).

Bake the rolls at 180C (350F) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Take them out of the oven and brush the rolls with melted butter or a little honey diluted with water for a shine, if you like that.

Let them cool and then place a sliced pecan piece for the “stem”into the indentation of each roll.

I served them with a hot soup.

 

Modur Pulav for Regional Indian Home cooking series#1- a guest post by Anshie of Spice Roots

We are celebrating Nine years of Homestyle cooking at My Foodcourt! I have always been fascinated by the variety of the regional delicacies cooked in Indian homes. When I started blogging, we had a few events like the RCI that showcased regional cooking and which also introduced me to the different delicacies cooked in Indian homes. Instead of hosting an event, I thought of  inviting my blogger friends from all over India and the world to share their classic, homestyle recipes.

I haven’t been fortunate enough to experience much of Kashmiri homestyle cooking, so I thought of kick-starting this series on Regional Indian Home cooking, with the heavenly Kashmiri cuisine. When I thought of picturesque Kashmir and its rich cuisine, I thought of my gorgeous friend, Anshie who blogs at Spice roots -where she writes about made from scratch recipes, immersed in spices and stories in order to help making eating home cooked food a lifestyle. I have been eyeing some of her recipes like Monji Hakh or the Monji Achar and plan to make them soon! Anshie was kind enough to accept my invitation instantly and brings to you a celebratory dish Modur Pulav from her homeland.Thank you Anshie for your lovely post, the fabulous recipe and the gorgeous photos.

Dear Readers, Please welcome  Anshie and I hope you all enjoy discovering India’s culinary diversity through this series on Regional Indian Home cooking.

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Hi I am Ansh and I blog at Spiceroots. I write about made from scratch recipes, immersed in spices and stories in order to help making eating home cooked food a lifestyle. I hope to inspire a love for spices & home cooking and through my blog I try to stay connected to my roots.

Madhuli invited me over to be a guest at her cozy, beautiful blog space to celebrate Regional Indian Home cooking. She requested that I make a home style Kashmiri dish to introduce to you all. Since she is celebrating completing NINE years of food blogging, I decided to make a special dish from my home – Modur Pulav or the Sweet Pulav.

In Kashmir, Modur Pulav is how a feast begins. It is served as the first dish in any celebratory meal. Infused with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bayleaves, flavored with aromatic saffron; cooked in ghee and sugar and bejeweled with dried fruits and nuts and a heavy dash of peppercorns. The dish looks, feels and tastes celebratory! A little goes a long way, since it is really sweet and  since it’s not a main dish.

I wanted this dish to hit all the right notes and though I have cooked the Modur Pulav a few times, I always thought it didn’t taste like my mom’s. So I looked up Anita’s Blog, A Mad Tea Party and found the missing ingredient from my dish. I was cooking it all along without the dried coconut.  Once I found the missing link, I made it again and voila! So don’t skimp on the dried fruits and nuts. They are essential to the dish.

What better way to celebrate a friend and her accomplishments than share a treasured recipe from the place I celebrate everyday. I am glad to have connected with Madhuli through social media and her blog. Her love for food is showcased through her pictures and recipes. Thank you for having me over to share your space, Madhuli.

Modur Pulav Recipe:

Equipment – A Medium size pot with a tight fitting lid

Ingredients

2 c basmati rice

6 c water

1/3c Ghee

4 green cardamoms

½ Stick of cinnamon

4 cloves

½ C almonds

1/4 C sliced dried coconut

½ C raisins

4- 6 sliced dates

2 tej patta ( Indian bay leaf)

1 tsp peppercorns

2 C sugar

a big pinch of saffron

a pinch of sugar

3/4 C warm milk

Instructions

Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Drain and keep aside for a few minutes.

While the rice is resting, bring 6 cups of water to a rolling boil in a 5- 6 Qt pot.

Meanwhile, grind the saffron with the pinch of sugar and then add it to the warm milk.

Add in the rice into the boiling water and cook it to al dente (about 5 – 7 minutes)  like you would for a biryani.

Drain and keep the rice aside.

Heat the ghee and add in the cloves,  peppercorns, cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon. Saute for a bit and then add in the nuts , dates and raisins. Add in the sugar and then add in the milk with the saffron. Cook until the sugar dissolves and you have a milky sugar syrup.

Using the same 6 qt pot as before, add the rice back into it. Now add the sugar syrup and nut mix into the rice. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on low heat for 45 min to an hour. Alternately you can bake it in the oven at 350*F for 20 – 25 minutes.

A Plum post!

The thing that I like most about summers is the bounty of colorful fruits that it offers. Not just mangoes but Jamuns, Litchis,peaches apricots, cherries, plums we have been savoring them all! The lad is a fresh fruit lover and loves snacking on them. The little lady of our house on the other hand is a mango addict but refuses to eat any other fruit. The only way to feed her fruits other than mangoes and bananas is to sneak them in shakes or smoothies.

The gorgeous weather (yes finally it’s raining here!) has increased the frequency of the kids’ hunger pangs. That also means my mind is constantly thinking of recipes to satiate the ever hungry kids with ‘different’ yet wholesome food. (I wonder how my mother managed when we were growing up?)

Litchis went into salads and Granitas when it was warmer. Peaches/apricots in crisps and parfaits.

Plums  were a bit tricky to sneak in -since the boy loves tart fruits but no sweets for him. The daughter wont eat tart fruits but loved her sweets.

I had some leftover coconut milk from a Thai curry made earlier. On a whim I decided to make Sol Kadhi sans the Sol-The kokum. So you can call this ‘Plum Kadhi’ instead. The end result was as appetizing as the quintessential Maharashtrian favourite Sol Kadhi (have blogged about it here earlier).

Plum Kadhi recipe

Makes ~ 4 cups

Ingredients

1  1/2  cups Coconut milk

~ 2  1/2 cups water

2 Plums pitted and chopped

¼ tsp green chilli paste

¼ tsp garlic paste

Black Salt to taste

Cumin powder and coriander or mint leaves for garnishing

Method

Blend all the ingredients except cumin and coriander/mint leaves together.

Chill and Garnish with cumin powder/coriander/mint leaves.

 

To satisfy the little on I made Plum Karanji-handpies. I chose to bake instead of deep fry the local favourite sweet Karanji with a Plum twist. A  layered cover (also called as Satha/Sathyachya karanjya in Marathi) wherein I substituted half the quantity of  all purpose flour with whole wheat flour and filled it with a sweet and sour plum filling. The end result was a stunning (specially when cut), crisp karanji with an unsual  sweet -sour  taste- almost a cross between a karanji and a hand pie and hence they are Plum Karanji-handpies !

Plum Karanji recipe

Makes ~ 6 Karanjis

Ingredients

For the cover

¾ cup All purpose flour

¾ cup Whole wheat flour

3 tsp fine semolina

4 tbsp ghee melted

2 tsp icing sugar

Pinch of salt

~ ½ cup milk or enough to knead a tight dough

 For the filling

7-8 Crisp plums, pitted and chopped

3 tbsp scrapped fresh coconut

2 tbsp crushed/powdered cashewnuts

¼ tsp clove powder

¼ tsp cinnamon powder

~ 6 tbsp powdered jaggery (or to taste)

 For layering

4 tsp ghee

2 tsp Cornflour

Cinnamon sugar for dusting (optional)

Method:

For the filling:

In a pan add the plum, coconut and jaggery. Cook on a low flame  till the liquid evaporates (~ 4-5 minutes)

Add the cashewnut powder and the spices.

Mix well and cool completely.

 For the layering mixture:

Whisk the ghee  a few times till it becomes fluffy.

Add cornflour and whisk again.

 For the Cover

In the bowl of the food processor add all the cover ingredients except the milk. Pulse 1-2 times

Add the milk slowly till a firm dough is formed. Knead into a ball.

Cover and keep aside for half an hour.

Halfway through the waiting time heat the oven to 180 deg C.

After half hour, cut the dough into 4 equal parts.

Form a ball of 1 dough piece and roll out into a thin circular disc ~ 6 inch diameter

Keep aside, covered.

Roll out the 2^nd dough ball to a thin circular disc like a chapati.

Spread about a tsp of the ghee cornflour mixture evenly on the rolled out dough.

Cover this with the rolled out chapatti no 1.

Repeat the with the 3^rd and 4^th dough ball. Total you have 4 rolled out chapatti like discs layered with the ghee-cornflour mixture.

Put a tsp of the cornflour-ghee mixture on top of the 4^th layer.

Make a tight roll of the layered chapattis, like a Swiss roll.

Trim both the edges and cut the rest of the roll into 6 pieces approximately 1 inch each.

Cover the other cut pieces till you roll out and fill the first one

With the cut side down roll out each piece into a circle like a poori

Place 1 tsp of the plum filling in the centre of the poori

Cover one side of the poori with the other into a semicircle-karanji shape.

Seal the ends using a fork or a fluted cutter

Place on a greased baking tray and bake till golden in color (~ 15 mins)

Dust with Cinnamon sugar mixture (optional)

Serve hot

 

With just 10 days to go for the first Indian Food Bloggers Meet ,the IFBM FB page is abuzz with all the upcoming excitement.There are several contests for participating bloggers being held as a run-up to the actual meet.

I am sending the ‘Plum Kadhi‘ and the ‘Plum Karanji Handpies‘ to the KitchenAid Plum contest

Vegetable Tagine with Harisa

This is a warm up to the 7-day recipe marathon initiated by Nupur, at One Hot Stove. Just making sure I haven’t forgotten writing posts!  Nupur has provided the much needed push for My Foodcourt and hope to reach the finish line, even though I shall be travelling.

Harisa Seasoning was not a very familiar spice to me till recently. My dear brother picked up some free samples for this from a trade fair in Berlin last month. Some Google research and I was tempted to use it immediately; Hit the bulls eye with this recipe for Vegetable Tagine with Harisa. Loved this recipe since I had all the ingredients that were required (a very rare coincidence!).

All the veggies used for this Tagine are in season now. I did not have the traditional ‘Tagine pot’ but slow cooked it on the stove top for the flavours to mingle and the result was a scrumptious spicy-sweet and tangy stew. Traditionally served with couscous, I served this with rice. As usual I tweaked the recipe a little bit to suit our taste.

Here’s the recipe:

Vegetable Tagine with Harisa

2 onions, sliced

½ tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp sugar

3 tsp Harisa seasoning

a pinch of saffron (optional)

1 tsp cumin seeds (roasted and crushed)

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

250ml vegetable stock or water

3 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 red pepper, seeded and cubed

1 yellow pepper, seeded and cubed

2 brinjals, cubed

400g chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked

1 tsp dry red chilli powder or pepper (optional)

Salt

2 tsp Oil

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat the oil and fry the onion, ginger-garlic and sugar over a low heat until onions begin to caramelise.

Add harissa powder and spices and cook until fragrant.

Add the veggies, season with salt, Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Serve hot with couscous or rice.

Apricot Prune Tea Cake

Apricot and Prunes make a delicious combination for this light and simple Tea cake .The slight tangy taste of the dried fruits compliments the sweetness of the cake. Prunes and Apricots add a chewy texture to the cake and help to keep the cake moist. We loved the nutty walnut flavour which also added crunch to the cake.

I found the recipe here. I have followed the recipe except that I did not use the ½ tsp salt as suggested. Also I used almost ½ cup of milk instead of ¾ as recommended in the recipe and my baking time was 5-6 minutes over the specified baking time of 55 minutes.

I call it a tea cake instead of the Coffee cake as the original recipe suggests since I am sending it all the way to Goa for the High Tea Treats hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen.

Thank you Aparna and Meeta for hosting this event; Loved your choice of theme for the Monthly Mingle.

 Apricot Prune Tea Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dried prunes, pitted

3/4 cup dried apricots (or mangos, pears, apples, raisins or other dried fruits)

Boiling water

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sifted flour, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup brown sugar (I used Demerara Sugar)

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1/4 pound (~1/2 Cup) butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. Cover prunes and apricots (or other dried fruit) with boiling water. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain and chop finely.

2. In small bowl, sift 2 cups flour with baking powder.

3. In another small bowl, combine brown sugar with remaining tablespoon flour and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Cream butter until fluffy. Add 3/4 cup sugar, mixing well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until light.

5. At low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with milk and vanilla until just blended.

6. Fold in chopped fruit.

7. Pour a third of batter into greased 9-inch tube pan. Spread evenly and sprinkle with a third of brown sugar mixture. Drizzle with a third of melted butter.

8.Repeat for 2 additional layers.
9.Top with chopped Walnuts.

10.Bake in a preheated 180 degree celcius oven for 55 minutes (I took ~60 minutes) or until inserted tester comes out clean.

11.Cool on rack for 10 minutes.

12.Remove cake from pan and return to rack to cool thoroughly.

I already have request from the family to repeat the Apricot Prune Tea cake and that means it was really good! 🙂 My little one loved it and the DH, with an eternal sweet tooth was asking for more! Maybe I can glaze it the next time or maybe even top it with a Chocolate sauce! Will let you know.

                                                                       Cheers!

Cauliflower Curry

I am back after a long hiatus (the longest since I started blogging). A short trip to Coorg and then some unavoidable reasons kept me away from the blogoshpere. But now things are under control and I hope I am able to post regularly.

Here’s a very simple and quick Cauliflower curry to make a spicy comeback on My Foodcourt!

The addition of spices like cinnamon and pepper dominate the strong Cauliflower smell. This is one of my favourite ways to cook cauliflower hope you like it too.

 

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Cauliflower Curry recipe

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3 cups cauliflower florets

2 large onions sliced

2 medium sized tomatoes blanched and pureed

2 tsp grated dried coconut

1“cinnamon stick

4-5 peppercorns

4-5 dry red chillies

1 tsp cumene seeds

Salt as per taste

4-5 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds 

Dry roast the Cinnamon, peppercorns, red chillies and cumene. Cool and powder the spices.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and sauté the sliced onions till golden brown.

Add the dried coconut and fry for 2-3 minutes more.Cool and grind to a smooth paste. Add water if necessary.

Add the ground spices to the onion paste and spin one more time. 

Heat remaining oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds.

Add the onion-spice paste once the mustard seeds splutter.

Fry the onion paste nicely till all the moisture evaporates.

Add the cauliflower florets ,add salt, mix nicely. Add a little water to bring it to a sauce like consistency, cover and cook till the florets become just tender.

Add the tomato puree and cook for some more time.

Serve hot with Chapati. 

Dear Anita

Dear Anita, 

You have no idea how your little provocation has unsettled my taste buds for the past week. I have been craving each day for those hot, oily floating balloons from the day you posted them at the Mad Tea party!

Clicking on any random blog on the Food Blog Desam made matters worse. I found myself drooling and ogling at all those sinful puris.

I decided to end my suffering, got up early (inspite of this being a weekend). I did not want anything to come between me and my puris (read my little one). I got up with this ‘Duniya ki koi takat muzhe puri banana se rok nahi sakti’ attitude. (too lengthy to translate in english)

At once I knew, that the sagoo (my mother-in-law’s recipe) would be the right companion to my Puris.

When I inserted the first rolled out round disc into the hot oil my happiness knew no bounds! I felt like a child who was given a bunch of balloons-when the first reddish- brown oily balloon started floating on the oil- gleaming at me, urging me to be eaten!

Thanks to that one provocation, I have managed to over-oil (as in lubricating a vehicle) my mind, body and the camera. Why the camera? – Just to prove that these are actually puris and not Cluris.

Thank you Anita, I had almost forgotten how these soft, hot, homemade puris tasted.. pure bliss – I can’t even remember the last time I made them.

Thank you. 

With lots of Puris and Sagoo

Madhuli

 Puri, Sagoo and Punjabi,Red Chili Pickle for the Puri-Bhaji party 

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Sagoo recipe

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For the gravy:

½ Coconut scrapped

6-7 green chillies chopped

½ bunch fresh coriander leaves

2 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus) soaked in warm water for 15 minutes

1” piece Cinnamon

½ “piece ginger chopped

1 onion sliced 

For the Sagoo

1 Onion sliced

2 potatoes cubed

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 cup French beans chopped 

For the tadka:

2 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder 

Blend all the ingredients for the gravy to a smooth creamy paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds.Then the cumene seeds and the turmeric powder.

Add the onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Add the vegetables and cook covered till they become tender.

Add the gravy, salt and adjust the water to the required consistency.

Mix nicely, cook for a few minutes more and serve hot with Puris. 

 

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Puri recipe

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Go to A Mad Tea Party on 20^th August and you will get not one but many recipes for Puris.

I made them like this: 

In a bowl take 2 cups of Wheat Flour. Add salt as per taste. Add ½ tsp Turmeric powder. Add 1 tsp Red chilli powder. This type of puri is called Tikhat Mithachi Puri in Marathi. (Tikhat here refers to Red Chili powder and Mith is salt)

Add 1 tbsp hot oil to the Wheat Flour. Knead to a tight dough using water as required.

Make small balls from the dough. Roll out into small round discs.

Heat Oil in a Kadai/Wok. Deep fry the rolled out round disc till they puff up.

 

Turn and fry on the other side till it turns a reddish-brown colour. 

Serve hot with Sagoo

Note: If you want to have Tikhat Mithachi Puri without any accompaniments- Add a tsp of cumene seeds and 1 tsp carom seeds to the Wheat flour before kneading the dough. Follow the rest of the procedure for puris. Roll and Insert these spicy Puris in hot Chai(tea) and eat it immediately..Hmmm..Yummy 

Pindi Chole

Pindi Chole as the name suggests is a Chole (Kabuli Chana/Chick pea) recipe originating from the Rawalpindi region of Pakistan.

This is again my friend’s recipe whose family hails from the Rawalpindi region of Pakistan.

Simple Pindi Chole with a delicious blend of spices – my 2^nd entry for Richa’s RCI-Punjabi Cuisine.

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Pindi Chole recipe

Serves: 4

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~ 3 cups Chole (Kabuli Chana/Chickpeas) –the large grain variety

5-6 tomatoes, chopped1 tsp ginger paste

4-5 Cloves1 Bay Leaf

1 small stick Cinnamon broken into small pieces

2 tsp Chole Masala

1-2 tsp Red chili powder

1 tsp cumene seeds

3-4 tsp Ghee

1 tsp oil

2 tsp Tea leaves (or 1 Tea bag)

Soak the Chole/Chana overnight.

In a pressure pan/cooker add Chole, about 4-5 cups of water, 1 tsp Ghee, salt and tea leaves tied in a muslin cloth.You can also use a tea bag. The tea leaves give a nice dark brown colour to the Chole.

It takes about 35-40 minutes after one whistle for the Chole to cook nicely.

Heat 2 tsp Ghee +1 tsp oil (oil is my addition to the original recipe) in a wok/Kadai.

Add the cumene seeds – cloves-bay leaf and cinnamon and fry for 1-2 seconds.

Add the ginger paste- Chole masala-chilipowder and immediately add the tomatoes.

Cook the tomatoes nicely till they become mushy~ 5 minutes.

Remove the Tea bag from the Chole and add the Chole along with the water to the tomatoes. Add salt, Adjust the water consistency to your liking and cook covered for 10-15 minutes on low flame.

Serve hot with Paratha, Naan, Roti,Rice.

Cook Chole 1-2 hours before serving, so that they soak in all the spices.

               Pindi Chole with Ajwain(Carom seeds) Paratha

Green Mango Rice

This is one more recipe from my Mother-in-law’s ‘Khana Khazana’ (Food treasure). I love the taste of the raw mango coupled with coconut and coriander…..refreshing during these summer days.So enjoy this Green Mango Rice with any of your favourite Salads!We made this for Ramnavami.

 

For Green Mango Rice you need:

1 ½ cups rice  

To be ground to a fine paste:

1 medium sized raw Green mango washed, peeled and cubed (depending on how sour the mango is the proportion can be adjusted.)

½ cup fresh coconut grated

Few sprigs fresh coriander leaves 

For the Tadka Seasoning:

1” piece cinnamon stick broken into pieces

½ tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp mustard seeds

4-5 green chillies chopped

5-6 Black peppercorns (optional)

2 tsp oil 

Salt as per taste 

Wash the rice and soak in water for 30 minutes. Drain the water after 30 minutes and then cook in 3 cups of boiling salted water till done. Add a dash of oil if required so that the grains are well separated. Remove the rice in a plate and cool. 

Grind together green mango pieces, coconut and coriander leaves to a fine paste. (Don’t add water). Keep aside. 

In a Kadai/Wok heat oil. Add the mustard seeds,once they splutter, add the cumene seeds, then the cinnamon pieces and the peppercorns. Add the green chillies and then add the mango-coconut-coriander paste. Cook for a few minutes. Add a little salt.(Rice already contains salt so be careful) .Add the rice and mix nicely. Cook covered for 2-3 minutes. Serve with any Salad of your choice.

Aloo Bhaat (Spicy Potato Rice)

Life has been very hectic here for the last month and I think  will continue to be hectic till March end (that’s the financial year end here). That’s the reason I was forced to stay away from blogging.

Oh yes..Wish you all a belated Gudi Padwa/Ugadi.

A special recipe to kick start the new year (Gudi Padwa/Ugadi is the New Year for many people in Maharashtra /Karnataka /AndhraPradesh etc.) – Aloo Bhaat.

                    Aloo Bhaat with Tomato Papad

This is my Mother-in-laws recipe which we tried for Ugadi.The Pudina (mint) lends a fresh minty flavour to this spicy rice- a welcome for the summer which is already here! 

For Aloo Bhaat you need:

1 ½  cups rice

3-4 medium sized potatoes boiled, peeled and cubed 

To be ground to a fine paste:

1 small bunch Pudina (mint )leaves washed

1 small bunch coriander leaves washed

4-5 green chillies chopped 1 tsp lime juice (optional)

For the Tadka Seasoning:

1” piece cinnamon stick broken into pieces

½ tsp cumene seeds

2 tsp oil 

Salt as per taste 

Wash the rice and soak in water for 30 minutes. Drain the water after 30 minutes and then cook in 3 cups of boiling salted water till done.Add a dash of oil if required so that the grains are well separated. Remove the rice in a plate and cool. 

Grind the Pudina (mint) leaves, coriander leaves and chillies together to a fine paste. (Don’t add water).Add little lime juice and salt so that the paste doesn’t turn black in colour. Keep aside. 

In a Kadai/Wok heat oil. Add the cumene seeds, then the cinnamon pieces. Add the Pudina paste and the potatoes. Cook for a few minutes. Adjust the salt for the potatoes.(Rice already contains salt so be careful) .Add the rice and mix nicely. Cook covered for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot.