Heya all ye blog readers, followers or mere net trawler’s!
I have a simple yet effective way of resurrecting plain white boiled/steamed rice and conjuring up a tasty spicy dish to allow for a guilt free ,time-saving recipe which will not only help you NOT die of guilt for throwing away rice that’s perfectly OK but just stale and also having the pleasure of cooking an easy peasy meal all on your own. Of course it’s NOT my own recipe but a hand me down from my mother! GAAH and YOU actually thought I was that creative …giggles to herself and continues typing …
Well you need, yes! Of course my dear genius some leftover white plain cooked rice.
Depending on bow much rice you have say roughly a medium sized soup bowl for example, you will need:
1.2 tablespoons oil
2.2 cloves of garlic with skin
3.1 medium sized red onion finely chopped and I mean FINELY !hehehe I like trying to sound very professional, am just joking here, chop it how you will!
4.few fresh green lovely curry leaves.
5.Turmeric Powder
6. Salt to taste
7.Chilli Powder
8.Pinch of Asafoetida
9. A pinch of each Jeera (Cumin seeds) & Mohri (Mustard Seeds)
10. A tiny squeeze of lime
11. Some finely chopped freshly coriander for garnish
12. One or two green chillies chopped
Ok now heat the oil in a pan , add the Hing (Asafoetida powder) , add the Mustard seeds and Cumin seeds and wait for the mustard seeds to crackle in the hot oil, then add the garlic finely chopped with the skin and let it turn brown and crisp , believe me,it adds a power packed punch to the flavour of the rice,then add some green chillies chopped to a size that you can pick them out if you don’t want to set your tongue on fire ! Then,in go the curry leaves and the chopped red onion,after the onions are nicely tossed and turned in the oil to give them just the soft and crunchy texture you need,toss in the rice and slightly turn it with your hand before you do to prevent it from sticking , it should open up so that the flavours of the tadka (seasoning ) touch EACH grain and coat it with their heavenly goodness !
Then add the turmeic powder, red chilli powder and mix well, cover the vessel and cook on a very low flame so as to prevent the rice from sticking to the pan at the bottom. Steam for some time and open the lid,squeeze a generous bit of lime on this dish and garnish with fresh coriander, you can even add a few bits of chopped fresh tomato of you like.
Serve HOT with any curry or ”leftover” dal reheated.
I LOVE eating this plain with a big dollop of curd or plain yogurt too !
See told you it was easy peasy !
smita says
he he manjiri this is Phodni cha Bhhath with little bit of twist love it ,if you have left oevr rotis and the last slice of bread , crush them and mix it with rice,it tastes amazing .and ofc yogurt makes it yummy
Manjiri Chitnis says
Yes Smita, indeed it is PHODNICHA BHAAT 🙂 just wanted to add this one for the benefit of my readers who are not familiar with Indian Cooking , I love the idea of adding the roti bits into this, makes it sound more yummilicious !