A simple Pulao (Rice with Veges)

Known by many names this is a very simple yet incredibly versatile dish. Fast to cook and compatible with virtually any side dish, it is easy to add to your repertoire.

Materials:

- 1 cup rice

- 1 small pack frozen mixed vegetables (Birds Eye or similar); or use a mix of freshly prepared peas, green beans, corn, diced carrots, etc

- Salt

- Heeng (asafoetida)

- Jeera (cumin)

- 1 black cardamom

- 1" piece cinnamon

- 6 black peppercorns

- 1 dry red chili pepper

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1 tsp ghee

Preparation:

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan or dutch oven. Add heeng, jeera, cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamom and the chili pepper. Stir until cumin is sputtering and you can smell these spices. Add rice and stir fry well on low heat for 2-4 minutes. Add ghee and stir until it is melted. Now add veges and stir fry for 2 minutes on medium heat. Add salt to taste. Stir. Add 2 and 1/2 cups water. Stir well. Bring to a boil and then lower heat, cover and simmer until rice is cooked.

Serving:

This tastes great by itself and also works with any number of accompaniments: plain yogurt, raita (kheera raita for example)  papad, achaar, dal (arhar or chana for example) and any curry dish.

Chhole

Chhole bhature is a favorite dish in India. For a long time, I've been trying to get the recipe for chhole right so it's close to what used to be served at Nathu's in Bengali Market in Delhi. With each iteration, I think I'm getting closer :-) Here's the latest.

Materials:

- 1 large can chickpeas (chhole, garbonzo beans)
- 1 large onion chopped fine
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon dry coriander seeds coarsely crushed
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp dry pomegranate seeds crushed
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 cloves
- 8 peppercorns
- 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
- 4 green cardamom (hari elaichi)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds and stir. Add onions and stir fry until lightly browned (add water if necessary to prevent sticking). Add cloves, peppercorns, black and green cardamom, peppercorns. Add turmeric and stir fry on low heat for about 10 minutes (till you can smell the spices).

Add coriander and stir fry on high until you can smell it (you want the coriander well roasted, not raw). Add crushed pomegranate seeds and stir for about 1 minute. Now add the chickpeas (with liquid from the can) and stir well. Bring to a boil.

Lower heat, add salt to taste and simmer till cooked. You will have to add more water. This tastes really good if you simmer on low heat for a few hours. Remember to stir periodically to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan and add more water as necessary. Also - you can use a ladle to gently smoosh the chickpeas - this helps soften them up and they absorb the flavors better.

You can choose to reduce the curry to taste. A thinner curry is good if serving with rice and bread while a thicker one is good with samosas and kachoris. Try it out - see what works for you!
 
Serving:

Serve with basmati rice, pooris, rotis, whole wheat pitas or regular buttered bread.

Also tastes great served with samosas or kachoris.