Recipe for Capsicum Rice

Ingredients needed for Capsicum Rice:
1 cup Raw Rice or Basmathi Rice
3 Capsicums, thinly sliced
2 tbsps ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
Turmeric powder
Asafoetida powder
2  cardamoms
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Chopped coriander leaves, for garnishing

How to Prepare Capsicum Rice:
Cook the rice separately and spread on a plate to cool.
Heat little oil and add mustard seeds, when it sputters, add urud dal.
When it starts turning light brown add the capsicum.
Sauté in medium heat and when its done add turmeric, salt, asafoetida powder and Cardamom.
Mix well and  add the cooked rice.
Stir very gently and when its ¾ mixed, add 2-table spoon ghee and then mix again.
Garnish with coriander leaves

Points to Note:
You can also use the  left over rice from the lunch in the afternoon.
You can also add other vegetables like grated carrot and chopped french beans / cauliflower to make it healthy and colourful too.

Cumin / Jeera Rice Recipe

Cumin / Jeera Rice  is a tasty rice dish  which can accompany any spicy gravy and salad.   I have added garlic  in this recipe but then you can make without garlic to use as an onion and garlic less fasting dish. The rice will taste  just as nice without garlic too.


Ingredients needed forCumin / Jeera Rice Recipe:
1 cup Rice (can also use cooked and left over rice)
10 flakes garlic( sliced fine)
1 1/2 tsps cumin seeds
1 tsp peppercorns
4-5 red chillies
Salt to taste
Oil / ghee as needed

How to prepare Cumin / Jeera Rice:
Cook the rice and spread it on a plate to cool. If you are using the left over rice of the previous day , then you can miss this step.
Add half a teaspoon ghee to the rice and mix well.
Roast cumin and pepper corns a little and then pound coarsely.
Heat ghee / oil in a non stick fry pan, add garlic pieces and fry till they are golden.
Add broken chilles and fry till they get crispy.
Add the powder and fry till a nice aroma comes.
Mix in the rice and add salt to taste.
Serve hot with any spicy vegetarian or non vegetarian gravy as a side dish.

Points to note while preparing Cumin / Jeera Rice:
You can add More Milagai or Curd chillies fried as a garnish instead ofadding  red chillies in the Cumin / Jeera Rice recipe.

Carrot Rice Recipe / Gajar Pulao

Carrot Rice is a wholesome dish which can be prepared with fresh cooked or left over rice. Usually we will have some rice left over at home from the night dinner or the lunch in the afternoon. You can use to make this carrot rice  with such rice. 


Ingredients needed for the recipe of  Carrot Rice :
2 cups of Cooked / left over rice
1 cup grated carrot
2 green chillies chopped fine
a stalk or two curry leaves
2 pinches asafoetida powder
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp broken urad dal
1 red chilli cut into small bits
2 tsps oil
Salt to taste

How to prepare Carrot Rice:
Cook rice with salt to taste or add salt to the leftover cooked rice. Keep aside.
Keat oil in a frypan, splutter mustard seeds.
Add urad dal, redchilli pieces. When they change colour add curry leaves chopped and grated carrot. Add enough salt and mix well for a minute.
Add rice and mix well enough so that all the ingredients blend together.

Note:
This can be used to pack as tiffin for lunch with some Kovaikka Masala , Papads and Raita / pickles.

Recipe for Hariyali Parathas

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour / Atta,
2 cups Palak / Spinach leaves ,
2 green chillies ,
Salt to taste
oil for cooking

Method:
Grind the palak leaves with the green chillies .
Knead the dough with the leaves paste, salt to taste , wheat flour , and 1 tbsp oil .
Add enough water to get a soft dough.
Roll out small , round , thin paranthas.
Cook them on a tava with oil applied on both sides .
Serve with curd and pickles

Note:
You can also use coriander, fenugreek and mint leaves instead of / with Palak leaves to make these green coloured paranthas.