Carrot Peas Pulav

Here's a quick recipe for an enticing  pulav that is packed with carrots, peas, whole spices and the aromatic basmati rice. Have it plain or serve with any curry of your choice.

Prep Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

Basmati Rice: 2 cups

Baby carrots (cut): 1/3 cup

Peas: 1/4 cup

Butter/ Ghee: 1/4 stick  or 2 tablespoons

Bay leaves: 2-3

Cinnamon stick : 2

Cardamom pods: 2-3

Salt to taste

Wash the basmati rice and drain it well. In a deep pan, heat the ghee/butter. Add the cardamom pods, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and saute. Add the drained rice and saute for another 5 -10 mins. Add the peas and cut carrots and  mix well. Turn off the gas. Cook the rice  in the rice cooker  in a ratio of rice to water (1: 1.5 cups)

Serve hot  with pickle, pappad and Raita.

Ari Vada

Another quick n easy  snack made from rice flour which is perfect to add spice to your tea time. The best thing about this recipe is that the ingredients are commonly available at most times in our homes. So think no more, and just give this a try right away.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Ingredients

Rice Flour: 1 cup
Grated Coconut: 1/3 cup
Onions (finely chopped): 1/3 cup
Green Chillies (finely chopped): 2-3
Ginger (finely chopped): 2 teaspoons
Curry leaves: 6-7
Water: 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

If you have a food chopper, then its a life saver making all these snacks coz all you need to do run the chopper through the onions, green chillies and ginger to get it all minced in a minute.

Dry roast the rice flour in a pan for about 10 mins. Add the finely chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and grated coconut. Dry mix it well with some salt. Then slowly add little water and mix it into a semi wet dough.

Heat oil to deep fry. Take a spoon of the batter, flatten between your fingers and slide it into the hot oil. Fry until they are slightly brown. Let them cool for a bit before you serve them. Enjoy!!!

Naadan Ariyunda / Rice Ladoo

Ariyunda is a classic snack originating from kitchens of Kerala. Most of us would probably tie the memories of eating ariyunda when visiting Grandmas home. Not only would she make these yummy snacks for tea time, she would also pack a generous batch for you to take back after the vacation. These simple treats are often seen packed in glass jars displayed in from of the Chai Kaddas(Local Tea shops) too. Cherishing all those wonderful memories, here's our attempt to recreate the Nadan Ariyundas/ Rice Ladoos.

Prep Time: 1 hour
Ingredients

Boiled Rice: 2 cups
Jaggery: 1/2 -3/4 cup
Shredded Coconut: 1 cup
Cardamom Pods: 4-5

Roast the boiled rice on medium fire in a pan until it pops and changes to golden brown color. The texture of the roasted rice should be very crunchy. Spread it on a paper and powder in a dry mixer.

Meanwhile grate /shred the jaggery. Grind the shredded jaggery with the grated coconut to form a thick mixture. Add in the cardamom powder. Now knead this mixture with the roasted rice powder.  Transfer the  final mixture which is a fine crumble into a bowl. Take small fistfuls of this mixture and shape it into balls. If you overwork these  balls, they tend to crack up.

The mixture yields easily about 25 medium sized balls. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature and they will last easily for a week.

Batura

A favorite for many of us, Batura is a deep fried flat bread made of flour. Chole/Chana masala is  the most common side dish, Baturas are typically served with. This is  a very  popular choice  among the street food joints in India. So, you might find very few indians who'd say no to a plate of chole-Bature with a few exceptions for health reasons.

Prep Time: 2 hours (kneading +fermenting)  + frying time
Ingredients

All Purpose Flour / Maida: 3 cups
Eggs: 2
Oil: 1/4 cup
Dry Yeast / Eno Salt: 1 1/2 teaspoons
Sugar: a pinch
Curd: 1/2 cup
Salt: to taste

Heat a little water (about 1/4 cup), add in the sugar and mix the yeast well until completely dissolved. Meanwhile just roughly beat the eggs. Now take the flour in a large mixing/kneading bowl. Make a centre. Pour the curd, oil, beaten egg, yeast and salt. Keep kneading until it becomes a soft dough. Cover it with a thin wet cloth and keep aside for about 2-3  hours. The dough will rise almost in double.

Heat oil in a for deep frying in a pan. Take the dough, knead it one last time and then make it into balls and flatten using a rolling pin. Slip each of these rolled baturas into hot oil and they will fluff up like a balloon. Turn over both sides and  take it off when it starts to turn a little brown. Drain off the excess oil on a tissue paper. Serve hot.