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Beety Sesamy Flavour-Burst Rice Bowl ! Beetroot, fenugreek aromatic mix rice bowl in sweet, sour, hot flavours
Its good when you feel , intuitive, sure and creative! When certain basics are right and still there is a long way to go, discovering and exploring something never tried or heard before elevates the journey all of a sudden. And such is life. Each day you feel one way or the other.
Well I was feeling red and velvety… not like angry red.. but bright vivid red… and green.. like the fresh, garden green!
And that turned into a gardeny red healthy bowl of rice. I wish I could capture the flavours here. So try it and experience the delight yourself.
The recipe is a veggie mix rice dish I ended up cooking and relishing with a taste that was exotic, comforting, with true and fresh burst of flavours.
Some key ingredients are beetroot and fenugreek (methi patte) …
“Beetroot is low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals and packed with powerful antioxidants – a health-food titan” (Source: bbcgoodfood.com/)
“Methi contains protein, fibre, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, iron and alkaloids.” (Source: thehealthsite.com/)
Enjoy the process of cooking this simple dish by cutting, chopping, grating, mashing the required ingredients beforehand while you watch your favourite show. Just make sure to visit your nearest veggie seller for fresh vivid green fenugreek leaves and bright red beetroots..
Pre-preps
First Stage of Cooking the rice :
- Groundnut Oil or sesame/olive oil (I used groundnut)
- Fennel seeds: Just a little more than a pinch
- Finely chopped green chillies(Keep the seeds on!)
- Finely Chopped Garlic
- Finely grated Ginger
- Cooked Kolam or regular rice(not too soggy so that it can mix well later)
- Curry leaves: Chopped
- Hing or asafoetida
- Fresh Methi/fenugreek leaves : Two small bowls
- Beetroot : Two Chopped Coriander leaves for garnish
- Salt for garnish
- Pepper for garnish (peppery delights add punch of flavours)
For the wild tempering:
- Butter(How can there be no butter in my recipe 😉 )
- Oil
- White Sesame seeds (til)
- Sugar granules
- Whole Red Chillies
- Coriander seeds: Just a pinch (I would recommend crushing these already after slightly roasting)
- Grated Paneer
Added and recommended ingredient delights:
- Teeny weeny Pieces of apple : one tbsp
- Boiled potatoes with pinch of italion seasoning : One big potato
- Lemon juice
Let’s begin this exciting culinary journey!
Cook the beeroot in boiling water for say 5 to 7 minutes.
Pass through running tap water.
Peel off the skin and chop into fine tiny diced pieces.
Keep aside.
In a preheated deep pan on a gastop, add 1 tbsp oil.
Once heated, add half a tsp of fennel seeds.
Once toasted in the oil, add 1 tbsp of ginger and 1 tbsp of chopped garlic goodness.
Stir and let cook for 30 secs. Add the chopped green chillies. Stir for 30 secs only.
Add the methi/fenugreek leaves. Cook for 30 secs.
Add the delightful par-boiled beetroot pieces. Stir till the fenugreek turns slightly crispy.
Add the rice and mix everything well making sure not to break the grains or letting it stick to bottom.
Sprinkle salt and pepper
Parallel to it now, heat a tapered shallow pan in the othe rburner. Add few drops of oil along with half tsp of salted butter to avoid butter from burning. Once heated add crushed slightly pre-roasted coriander seeds, raw sesame seeds, chopped red chilles, curry leaves chopped, a pinch of asafoetida and stir well. After 10 secs add a tbsp of sugar granules. Stir it all till sesame gets crispy (be careful not to burn the sesame or red chillies) (I say just taste a sesame to identify if crispy and well roasted for the perfect topping to this dish)
Keep an eye by continuously roasting, toasting and stirring.
The ingredients for the tempering should be ready in 20 to 25 secs.
Add the grated paneer/cottage cheese (half a small bowl) and mashed potatoes which has been seasoned with pinch Italian dried herbs. (Italian seasoning is optional) Toast them well along with other ingredients in the tempering pan.
Separately lightly roast the tiny bits of apples. Keep aside
NOW…
Add all of this except the apples in to the other pan with rice, beetroot, fenugreek mix..Mix well…
Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves on top and lemon juice. On topmost layer add the apple toppings…
Grab the entire bowl and enjoy with your favourite tv show and person!
Participated in an interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/
Excerpts From The Forum:
Fridays are usually filled with anticipation for a fun and exciting or relaxing weekend. Fridays feel different and are somehow more special than other weekdays. They’re days to indulge, to let your hair down, and to celebrate by kicking it up a notch.
So, share with us how you celebrate your Fridays.
Soothing Tender Cauliflowers in red tomato gravy
Sometimes you wonder how else to use the same old veggies every week. A slight twist adds that dimension of freshness to food and adds up to variety to probably a mundane menu.
Cauliflowers taste great when cooked the right way.
For this recipe, cut cauliflowers to medium forest tree shaped pieces. Not too tiny.
Cook them in boiling water for a minute and transfer to a bowl of ice cold water for five minutes. Drain them dry. Marinate these with some turmeric and black pepper.
In a pan,add one tbsp refined sunflower or groundnut oil. Add pinch of cumin seeds. Add one tsp of grated ginger and let it cook for half a minute.
For 250 gms of cauliflowers, use fresh puree of 4 tomatoes.
Add the puree now and let it simmer with pinch of turmeric, generous amount of coriander leaves, two tbsp chopped green chilly, half tsp red chilly powder, salt. Once the puree starts oozing the oil, add a cup of warm water to it and simmer slowly. Add pinch of sugar.
In a deep frying pan, add enough oil and deep fry the cut cauliflowers pieces gently till slightly golden brown. Add these to the puree and cook for another one minute.
The gravy is ready to be had with flat breads or steamed rice.
image source: google | healthyfoodforliving.com