In my last column on one-dish-meals where I had given the recipe for a vegetable biryani, I had mentioned that rice can be mixed with a variety of ingredients to make a satisfying meal. Lemon rice and curd rice are just the tip of the riceberg. Not just vegetables, but also dry chutney mixes made of coriander, pudina and curry leaves make tasty meals when mixed with cooked rice.

Come, let us dig into the riceberg and discover some gems this week.

Ruby Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup

Tomato – 2 large (to make 1 cup puree)

Water – 1 cup

Onion – 1 sliced

Cinnamon – 2”stick

Cloves – 4-5

Jeera – ½ tsp

Green chillies – 2 (more if you like it spicy)

Ginger – 1” piece

Chilly powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Garam masala – ½ tsp (optional)

Coriander leaves – 2 tsp chopped

Oil – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp (optional)

Preparation:

Wash and soak rice for half an hour, drain and keep aside. Blanch tomatoes in water till the skin cracks. Cool, peel and puree in blender. (You can use readymade puree, but take care to adjust the chillies as it is usually a little sweet). In a cooker, take 1 tbsp oil. When it is hot, add the cinnamon and cloves. When they emit aroma, add the jeera, and when it turns colour, add turmeric, chilly powder, coriander powder and saute for a minute. Add garam masala and rice. Add tomato puree along with one cup water with salt to taste. Give it a stir and cook upto two whistles. Wait till the steam goes down by itself and mix with a fork so as to not mash the rice. In a tadka pan saute the onions in 1 tsp oil till it turns brown. Pour it over the tomato rice. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

Emerald Rice (no onion) Recipe

Ingredients:

Cooked rice – 2 ½ cups

Capsicum – 2 medium sized, cut into ½” pieces

Green peas – ½ cup (boiled)

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)

Pudina – 1 tbsp (finely chopped)

To powder:

Chana dal – 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Red chillies – 2-3 (more if you like it spicy)

Cinnamon – 1”stick

Cloves – 4-5

Dessicated coconut – 1 tbsp

For tempering:

Mustard – ½ tsp

Jeera – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – a few

Oil – 1-2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Preparation:

In a kadhai heat a few drops of oil and roast the ingredients of the masala. Add cinnamon and cloves and once lightly roasted, add the chana dal and roast till becomes fragrant. Add chillies and when they turn crisp, add coriander seeds and roast just enough till it emits its fragrance. Finally add the desiccated coconut and let it turn a light brown. Be careful not to burn the coconut. Cool this mixture and powder it.

In the same kadhai, add the remaining oil and temper with mustard and jeera. Add hing and then turmeric after they sputter. Now add the curry leaves and the capsicum. On a medium heat sauté the vegetable with a little salt to help it cook faster and absorb the salt. The mix should be a little crunchy, so take care not to overcook it. When it begins to wilt, add the boiled peas and the masala mix. Stir it well and add salt to taste. Keep aside a little coriander and pudina leaves for garnish, and add the rest to the cooking mix.

Take the rice in a bowl, add the prepared capsicum mix to it and mix lightly with a fork. Garnish with coriander and pudina and serve the emerald green rice!

The columnist is your regular granny next door. She loves cooking, feeding friends and family, reading, writing and telling tales. Children’s stories are her favourites. She has seen the telegram transform into Twitter and telephone into WhatsApp and has adapted herself well to the changing times. In fact, you could call her Gadget Granny Seeta.
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