Simple vegetable rice

INGREDIENTS:
Basmati rice – 3 cups
Water – 5 cups
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Onions – 1 large, chopped
Green chillies – 6, chopped
Carrots – 1 cup, chopped
Green peas – 1 cup
Capsicum – ½ cup, chopped
Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar – 1 tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves – a little, chopped
Mint leaves - a little, chopped

METHOD:
Wash the rice and keep aside.
Heat oil and ghee in a pan. Add onions and green chillies and sauté them. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and garam masala powder. Mix well.
Add all the vegetables and sauté for some time. Add the rice and sauté well for 5 minutes. Add water and coconut milk, followed by salt and sugar. Close the pan with a lid and cook until there is no water content.
Remove from the stove and garnish with coriander and mint leaves.

Postscript:
Ensure that you change the amount of water according to the rice (quality/type) you have.

Okra paneer masala

Ingredients:
Okra (lady's fingers) - 250 gms, cut into 1 inch pieces
Paneer – 250 gms, cut into 1 inch long rectangles

Onions – 2 large, sliced
Tomatoes – 2 medium, cut into small pieces
Green chillies – 3/4 , slit sidewise
Ginger – 1 inch piece, cut into tiny pieces
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Pepper powder – as needed
Chilli powder - teaspoon
Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt
Monosodium glutamate (optional)
Sugar (optional)
Curry leaves
Oil

Method:

Marinate the okra and paneer pieces in pepper powder and salt for half an hour.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry them separately and keep aside.

Add the chillies, ginger and some curry leaves to the oil. Then add the onions and sauté well. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well.

Add the tomato pieces, followed by salt, sugar and monosodium glutamate and mix well. Add the okra and paneer pieces and stir well. Pour the coconut milk, mix well, cover with a lid and cook until there is no water content.

Take off the stove and garnish with curry leaves.

Postscript: We used paneer in this recipe because some members in our family don't like okra! :D

Avial

Ingredients:
Vegetables – cut into inch-long pieces
Coconut – grated
Shallots
Garlic – one clove (optional)
Green chillies
Curd
Cumin seeds
Chilli powder
Turmeric powder
Salt
Sugar (optional)
Oil – 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves

Method:

Boil the vegetables with chilli powder and turmeric powder. When they are half done, add the salt.

Grind the grated coconut, shallots, green chillies, garlic, cumin seeds and curd into a coarse paste.

Add the paste to the vegetables and bring it to a boil. Take off the stove.
Add oil and curry leaves.

Postscript:
1. We used carrot, long beans, frenc beans, melons, ash gourd, yam and raw plantain. You can also use drumsticks, beetroot and bitter gourd. Boil the yams separately as they are tougher to cook than the other vegetables.
2. Usually curd is not added along with the ingredients that need to be ground. The procedure is usually: boil vegetables with chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt – add ground paste – add curd – bring it to a boil – take it off stove - add oil and curry leaves.
3. Most people don’t use garlic in avial.

Payar upperi

Ingredients:
Payar (long beans) – sliced into inch-long pieces
Onions – sliced
Green chillies – slit/chopped
Turmeric powder
Salt
Sugar (optional)
Curry leaves
Oil

Method:

Boil the long beans with turmeric powder and some curry leaves.

When it is almost done and there is no water content, add the onions, chillies, sugar, salt and some more curry leaves.
Add a tablespoon of oil and saute well.