North Karnataka Jolada Rotti Oota - Part 2 - Yennegai Recipe | How to make Ennegai Badnekayi | Bharli Vangi Recipe [Video]

Jolada Rotti Oota is a North Karnataka Thali that has jowar roti, spicy curries and condiments along with salads and sweets. Yennegai is a spicy stuffed baby eggplant curry made by simmering eggplants in a peanut based gravy.

It's Fabulous Friday, and I have a fabulous recipe for you!!

Continuing with my "North Karnataka Jolada Rotti Oota" series, today I am sharing the recipe for the spicy baby eggplant curry - Yennegai or Ennegai Badnekayo or Bharli Vangi. Many names, one dish!

"North Karnataka Jolada Rotti Oota" refers to the "thali" or plate meal presented in the photo above. It is a popular meal in the northern regions of the state of Karnataka. The Jowar Roti or Jolada Rotti, that I shared on Tuesday, is the star of the meal. These gluten free, vegan and oil free flatbreads are made from jowar or sorghum millet and if made well, totally melt in your mouth. The bland rotti is always served with spicy sides like this Yennegai.

Yennegai is a curry that is made by stuffing eggplants with a spicy peanut mixture and slow cooking them until done in the peanut masala.

If you are lucky, you will find these baby eggplants or brinjals and you can stuff them directly. While using brinjals, always check for worms and discard those that have them. If you can't find baby eggplants, you can make the recipe by just dicing a big eggplant into bite sized chunks. In that case, you can skip the step of stuffing the eggplants with the spicy peanut mixture.

It tastes fabulous with wholewheat rotis or naans too. If you want to eat it with rice, you can make a thinner gravy.

Video Recipe

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

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Yennegai Recipe | How to make Ennegai Badnekayi | Bharli Vangi Recipe

Yennegai is a spicy stuffed baby eggplant curry made by simmering eggplants in a peanut based gravy.

Recipe Type:  Curry
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Total time:     45 minutes
Yield:               Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

16-18 baby Eggplants
1 cup roasted Peanuts
1 Tbsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp Red Chilli Powder
0.25 tsp Turmeric Powder
0.5 tsp Jaggery or Sugar
1-2 Tbsp Tamarind Pulp
1 large Onion
1 sprig Curry leaves
4 tsp Oil
1 cup Water
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Make two slits lengthwise on the eggplant. Do not cut all the way through.
2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and saute the eggplants for 7-8 minutes until they are slightly soft.
3. Powder the peanuts and add garam masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, tamarind pulp and jaggery and mix well. Taste and adjust spices and seasoning as required.
4. Stuff the sauteed eggplants with the peanut mixture. Keep the excess peanut mixture aside.
5. Add the remaining oil to the same pan and add in finely chopped onions and curry leaves. Fry until the onions turn golden brown.
6. Place the eggplants in the pan and add the remaining peanut mixture.
7. Add water and mix well. To get a thick gravy, add 1 cup of water. To get a thinner gravy, add more.
8. Simmer on low heat until the eggplants are done, stirring occasionally.
9. Dust your kitchen counter with dry flour and dip the ball of dough in it.
10. Adjust seasoning as per taste.
11. Remove from heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
12. Serve hot with jolada rotti or wholewheat rotis.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Jhunka

Eggplant Coconut Curry

Jolada Rotti

Read more ...

North Karnataka Jolada Rotti Oota - Part 1 - How to make Jolada Rotti | Jowar Bhakri Recipe [Video]

Jolada Rotti Oota is a North Karnataka Thali that has jowar roti, spicy curries and condiments along with salads and sweets. Jolada rotti or Jowar Roti is an oil less, vegan, healthy, gluten free flatbread made from jowar millet or sorghum.

If you have never been to North Karnataka or never eaten the food, you are in the right place, because I'm taking you there!!

Karnataka is a state with various cultures, dialect and cuisines all mixed into one. While the coastal belt is huge on growing and eating rice, the drier northern regions eat more of flatbread or rottis made from wholewheat or millet like jowar. And today, I'm taking you through the cuisine of North Karnataka in the first post of a four part series.

A typical vegetarian meal or Jolada Rotti Oota in the region is centered around the Jolada Rotti or the Jowar Roti (flatbread). Jolada Rotti is accompanied by spicy curries, jhunka, spiced peanut and fried gram powder (chutney pudi), sliced onions, fresh fenugreek leaves (methi), buttermilk and fried pakodas.

Going clockwise from the Jolada Rotti, I have the following on my plate - Karachi Kai fry - a baby bitter gourd type of vegetable native to the region, lightly fried in oil with red chilli powder and garlic,  Kaalu Palya (Lobia) or Cowpeas curry, Soppina Palya or a curry made with leafy greens, Yennegai or baby eggplants cooked in a peanut sauce, Chutney Pudi or spicy powder made with peanuts and fried gram. Outside my plate I have pickle, water, a tempered radish salad or kochhidu moolangi salad and rava ladoo or semolina fudge ball.

The Jowar flatbread is made of only 3 ingredients - jowar flour, salt and water. It is cooked without oil or any type of fat, making it a very healthy type of bread. A well made jolada rotti is soft and just melts in your mouth. Jolada Rotti is vegan, gluten-free and plant based and easily fits into various diets.

The recipe of Jolada Rotti that I have here is slightly different from the traditional one, but it produces the same results - a soft, heavenly rotti. Traditionally, the flour is made by adding hot water to the flour and kneading it until you have a pliable dough. In my recipe, I add the flour to hot water, this tends to increase the elasticity of the dough making it easier for you to roll it out. Also, traditionally, a jolada rotti is patted out thin using your fingers or palm. It requires a lot of practice and expertise to be able to pat out a thin rotti. Here, I'm demonstrating the easier option of rolling out the rotti using a rolling pin.

Since jowar is a gluten free millet, making the rotti is a little trickier than making chapatis, naan or rotis that are typically made from gluten rich wheat flour and hence the deviations from the traditional recipes. Additionally, I am giving you a few tips so that you don't fail, however, only practice can make you perfect in the art of making jolada rotti.

• Firstly, the flour - Buy the best quality jowar flour you can, preferably, organic and unadulterated. I usually buy jowar and get it powdered at a local mill and I found this works best for me over pre-packaged flours. If you have the option, try it out, you won't regret it.
• As Jowar is gluten free, you cannot make the dough in advance and the rottis later. You have to roll out the rottis when the dough is warm for best results. So make the dough only when you plan to make the rottis. You can store the rottis for later though. So make all the rottis and keep aside. 
• Roll the rottis on your kitchen counter or slab. I've tried to roll it out on a wooden board like I do for wheat rotis, but jowar seems to get stuck to the wood, so preferably roll it out on your granite kitchen slab or use marble slab.
• Roast the rottis on an oil free tava or griddle. 

There is a crisper version of the rotti called "kataka rotti" that you will find for sale in a lot of North Karnataka shops. Kataka rotti is jowar rotti cooked on very low heat until it becomes dry and crisp like a papad. It is usually made for travel or if one wants to store the rotti for weeks.

Come back for my next post - Yennegai or Baby eggplant curry - a perfect accompaniment to the Jolada Rotti.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Joladda Rotti Recipe | How to make Jowar Bhakri

Joladda Rotti or Jowar Bhakri is an oil-free, vegan and gluten free Indian flatbread made from jowar millet or sorghum.

Recipe Type:  Bread
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Total time:     45 minutes
Yield:                16

Ingredients:

3.25 cups Jowar Flour
3 cups Water
1 tsp Salt
Jowar flour to dust
Water to cook the rottis

Method:

1. Add the water to a kadhai or a deep pot and allow it to come to a boil.
2. Add salt to the water.
3. Reduce the heat, and add 3 cups of jowar flour to the water and mix well with a wooden spoon.
4. Once the flour is well mixed, cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and keep covered for 2 more minutes.
6. Remove the dough from heat and transfer to a clean plate. Spread it out a little and allow to cool slightly.
7. While the dough is still warm, knead it until smooth. If it is wet, add a little dry flour. If it is dry, then add a little water to help you knead.
8. Take out a lemon sized piece of dough and roll it into a ball and flatten it. Keep the rest of the dough covered with a kitchen towel.
9. Dust your kitchen counter with dry flour and dip the ball of dough in it.
10. Using a rolling pin, roll it into a thin rotti or flatbread. Make it as thin as you can.
11. Dust with dry flour while rolling to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and the counter.
12. Heat a clean ungreased tava or griddle on medium heat and put the rotti counter side up on the tava.
13. Wipe the rotti with a wet cloth.
14. Flip the rotti when one side has brown spots. Cook until the rotti puffs up a little.
15. All rottis may not puff up completely, but do not worry, they are still cooked.
16. Serve the rottis hot/warm with curry.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Jhunka

Ranjaka

Akki Rotti

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Roasted Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Quinoa Salad Recipe

Vegan salad made with roasted sweet potatoes, baked spicy chickpeas, quinoa, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and veggies by tossing them in a simple dressing made of mustard and dates!

Until my 20s, a salad in my life was just a plateful of sliced tomatoes or cucumbers. A boring but supremely healthy plate of food that neither tempted the vision nor the appetite. And then, I found this salad bar in a mall food court that totally made me love salads. While salad bars are extremely common in the west, there aren't many out here in the tropical sub continent. May be it is the weather or may be it just that there is no demand. I loved the idea that I could pile up my bowl with anything and everything and make my own salad. Unfortunately, the place shut down after a while. But ever since, I love DIY salads.

While I eat salads, I rarely post their recipes. When I make salads at home, they are usually very simple - veggies tossed in a simple vinaigrette, so I don't share them with you. But this salad, I had to share!!

Where do I begin with this salad... it has so many delicious things all mixed together.

• Roasted Sweet Potato - I found some gorgeous orange sweet potato (a rare find in Bangalore), so I bought some and roasted it in the oven with olive oil, salt, cumin and smoked paprika until they were soft and fabulous. Alternatively, roast some pumpkin.
• Spicy baked Chickpeas - You have to add some crunch to the salad, and in this case, these chickpeas are the crunch element. I soaked chickpeas overnight and cooked them with salt until soft. Then I peeled them and roasted them with olive oil and salt. I tossed in some red chilli powder after removing from the oven. You can buy crispy chickpeas or you can just add boiled chickpeas.
• Quinoa - This is what makes the salad filling and increases the protein content of the salad. If you cannot find quinoa, use millet or buckwheat.
• Blanched Vegetables - I blanched some broccoli and beans and added them to the salad. I love broccoli and beans are just healthy. Add any of your favorite veggies, blanched or raw.
• Pomegranate - I love pomegranate and I will add this to any salad I can. These sweet juicy pink seeds make any salad pop. They add a slight sweetness to the salad and complement the sweet potato really well.
• Walnuts - You can never have enough crunch in a salad. Add in any nuts you love, I personally love walnuts. Plus, they are good for your brain.
• Lettuce - Salad isn't salad until you have some green leaves. And while I list is last, it is most definitely the mandatory element of the salad. You can replace it with kale or baby spinach.

Since the salad itself had such gorgeous ingredients, I kept the dressing simple, yet interesting. Mustard, dates, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, garlic and salt. Just blend everything until you have a tart sweet and hot dressing. 

This salad is substantial enough to be a meal in itself. In fact, it was our dinner and it kept us feeling full for a long time. However, it felt light also. 

The salad has ingredients that need preparation - roasting, baking, blanching and boiling. You can prep all of these in advance. That is exactly what I did. I roasted the sweet potato and chickpeas the day before. The chickpeas tend to get a little soft and chewy, but you can pop them in the oven for a while before adding to the salad to crisp them up again. I boiled the quinoa the previous day too. If you plan to make the salad the very next day, then you can also blanch the veggies the night before.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Roasted Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Quinoa Salad Recipe

Vegan salad made with roasted sweet potatoes, baked spicy chickpeas, quinoa, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and veggies by tossing them in a simple dressing made of mustard and dates.

Recipe Type:  Salad
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     8 hours
Cook time:     60 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa (uncooked)
1 medium Sweet Potato
100gms dried Chickpeas
0.5 cup Pomegranate Seeds
10 French Beans
1 cup Broccoli florets
6-8 Walnuts
3 cups Lettuce leaves, loosely packed
5 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Mustard Powder
0.5 tsp Garlic Powder
0.25 cup Vinegar
0.25 cup Water
8 Dates
0.5 tsp Red chilli powder
0.5 tsp Smoked Paprika
0.5 tsp Cumin Powder
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas for 8-10 hours. Drain and boil in salted water until done.
2. Drain and peel the chickpeas. Dry as much as possible.
3. Toss with 1 tsp Olive oil and bake at 200 degree C for 25-30 minutes until crisp.
4. Remove from oven and toss with red chilli powder.
5. Peel and dice the sweet potato.
6. Toss in 2 tsp olive oil, smoked paprika, salt and cumin powder until all pieces are coated.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 200 degree C until done.
8. Cook the quinoa as per instructions on the packet until done. I soaked the quinoa for 1 hour and pressure cooked with 1.5 cups of water.
9. Boil water and add a pinch of salt. Blanch the broccoli florets and beans for 2-3 minutes. Remove from hot water and immediately put the broccoli and beans in cold water.
10. Soak the dates in warm water. Drain the water, deseed the dates and blend into a puree. Use little water while blending if required.
11. Blend together mustard powder, vinegar, garlic powder, date puree, water and salt until mixed.
12. Make the salad by tossing the lettuce leaves, roasted sweet potato, chickpeas, quinoa, blanched broccoli, chopped blanched beans, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and the dressing together.
13. Serve at room temperature.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Kabuli Chana Chaat

Healthy Millet Salad

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Vegan Date and Walnut Cake Recipe [Video]

Vegan cake made with dates and walnuts!

A few weeks before my birthday, Gee asked me to help her bake a cake. She's only ever baked two cakes in her whole life - Banana Bread and one plain Vanilla, but both a long time ago. And both of those in my house. This time, she wanted to bake one in her house to test out her oven. I was all confident telling her what to buy and how much to buy, until I landed up in her house and realized, that the last cake I baked, not muffins or cheesecakes, but a loaf cake was actually 2 years ago!!! 

As a cook, it is never good to forget your skills, and here I was all lost and upset. So I decided I need to start baking more often. Lo and behold, this Date and Walnut Cake. I made it multiple times since I first did to just brush up my baking skills and dust out my recipes. And I can say with conviction, that I have loved it each time that I baked it. It has been a little difficult however, to stop sneaking in a piece - for me and for Raj. He'll even wipe out the crumbs (so will I !!). This cake is uber moist and slightly dense. It is rich and gooey to eat and when you find those little bits of walnuts and dates, it makes the bite, that much more special. I love the walnuts in the cake!!

If you like light airy cakes, then this may not fit the bill. 

The lucky recipients of my trials have been our friends. Lots of free cake going around from this household. 

Date and Walnut has always been a family favorite, only this time, I made it Vegan. It wasn't that I was looking for a vegan recipe, but this one just worked so perfect that I don't think I'll ever want to add dairy and change it. The cake uses Coconut Oil as the fat component, and I tell you, it tastes delicious. It imparts a slightly coconutty taste to the cake, that makes it so much more exotic in flavor. If you aren't such a coconut fan, use any neutral flavored oil like canola or sunflower. To enhance the coconut flavor (cause I'm a big coconut lover), I used coconut milk. Feel free to use almond or soy milk. If you have none, use water, however it may make the cake feel less rich in taste.

There are three sweeteners in here - Dates, Jaggery and Sugar. 

• Dates - Use the best quality you can. The flavor does come through and you want it to be good. I usually buy dates with seed and deseed them while using. The dates are cooked along with jaggery and water until soft and then blended to a puree. This adds sweetness as well as flavor to the cake.
• Jaggery - Jaggery is unrefined cane sugar.  With refined sugar off the list for many of us these day, jaggery is the perfect replacement. You can use palm sugar or coconut sugar or brown sugar if you cannot find jaggery. If you do have access to jaggery, buy the darkest, that is the least refined and has the best flavor profile. Sometimes, it even tastes like chocolate. 
• Sugar - I used half a cup of jaggery, and later added refined sugar, because the cake wasn't sweet enough. To avoid using refined sugar, just increase the quantity of jaggery to 1 cup or use powdered sifted jaggery powder later if the sweetness is less. You could also replace all of the jaggery with powdered sugar.

I have used all purpose flour or maida in the cake. I generally opt for whole wheat, however, I did not want this cake to be any heavier than it already was with all the vegan liquid ingredients. I suggest, if you are looking to use whole wheat, keep it at 50% and the remaining 50%, use all purpose flour.

The best part of the cake is the walnuts. Be generous. However, let me warn you that the cake gets a little difficult to slice when those walnut bits come in the way and you may not get the perfect slice. But don't let that stop you from baking the cake. Your family won't mind the large chunky slices, I assure you.cThe cake is soft and moist, so only slice it once it has cooled completely. Slicing it when hot will lead to it breaking into chunks around the walnuts.

Serve it warm with tea/coffee. 

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Vegan Date and Walnut Cake Recipe

Vegan loaf cake made with dates and walnuts. Eggless and dairy free cake.

Recipe Type:  Dessert
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     50 minutes
Total time:     70 minutes
Yield:                Makes one 9 inch loaf

Ingredients:

30 Dates
10 Walnuts
2 cups Flour
200 ml Coconut Milk
0.5 Coconut Oil
0.5 cup powdered Jaggery
4 Tbsp powdered Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
0.5 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract or Essence
Pinch of salt
0.5 cup Water

Method:

1. Boil together 20 chopped dates, water and the jaggery until the dates are soft or 5-6 minutes. If you want to make a refined sugar free cake, increase the quantity of jaggery to 1 cup.
2. Allow the mixture to cool, and then blend to a smooth puree. Add water if required.
3. Mix together the coconut oil and half the coconut milk until combined.
4. Add in the date puree and mix well.
5. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
6. Sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. You can add a pinch of salt if you want.
7. Mix until combined. Use the remaining coconut milk to loosen the batter if it is very dry.
8. If the cake batter isn't sweet enough, add the powdered sugar until you get the desired sweetness.
9. Mix in chopped walnuts and the remaining dates.
10. Grease a cake tin (9") and line with parchment paper or butter paper.
11. Pour in the batter.
12. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 200 degree C or until done. An inserted toothpick or knife should come out clean.
13. Demould after 4-5 minutes.
14. Allow to cool before slicing.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Eggless Blueberry Muffins

Honey Cake

Persian Love Cake

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Soya Biryani Recipe [Video]

Soya Biryani is a spicy vegan layered rice dish made with nutritious soya chunks, mixed vegetables and fragrant long grained Basmati Rice.

If you love Biryani, you have arrived at the right place. This Soya Biryani is meaty, spicy and fragrant and perfect when you crave carbs and something spicy. 

To be honest, I am not a Biryani fanatic like a lot of my friends. While a lot of my friends can eat biryani for every meal, I'm usually the one who refuses to accompany them and I'd rather settle for a simple meal of roti and a dry sabzi with lots of fresh coconut. But I enjoy the spicy indulgence occasionally, especially on a real bad work day or on Sundays, when I have all the time in the world to give to the Biryani.

This Biryani recipe is my go-to recipe. I've made it with raw jackfruit, with mixed vegetables and with mushrooms, changing it ever so slightly at times. When I have ghee at home, I use that instead of the oil. When in mood, I use sour yogurt instead of tomatoes. But I keep the spicy masala the same, for the simple reason, because it works!!

While there are good instant biryani recipes, to make the best Biryani, you need to give it love and time. You need to coax out the flavor of the spices by gently cooking them in oil. The tomatoes need to soften and come together with the spices. The birista or the fried brown onions needs their own time to crisp up and develop the flavor. While you may not miss much if you leave these steps out, but you will love it when you make it with patience.

This Biryani uses mini soy chunks as the main ingredient. Since soya chunks are porous and meaty, they absorb the flavors of the spices perfectly. Cook the soya nuggets or chunks as described on the packet or just soak them in hot water and squeeze out the water to use them. 

This Soya Biryani can be prepped in advance - the birista can be made much in advance and store it in a air tight jar until you need to use it, the vegetables can be parboiled the previous day, the rice can be washed and cooked the previous night as well. And if you know you are going to be stretched for time the day you want to make Biryani, make the masala - until you cook the tomatoes, in advance and store it in the fridge. The oil and salt will preserve the masala well. Add the vegetables and soya chunks on the day you want to make the biryani.

Biryani is best served with raita and if you like more spice, then salan.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Soya Biryani Recipe

Soya Biryani is a vegan layered spicy rice dish made with nutritious soya chunks and mixed vegetables cooked in a spicy tomato masala and fragrant basmati rice.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     60 minutes
Total time:     90 minutes
Yield:                Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 cup raw Basmati Rice
0.75 cup mini Soya Chunks
1 small Carrot
5 green Beans
1 medium Potato
1 large Onion
2 medium Tomatoes
1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
3 Tbsp fried Onions (Birista)
3.5 Tbsp Oil
0.5 cup Mint leaves (Pudina)
0.5 cup Coriander leaves (Dhania Patta)
1 tsp Caraway seeds (shah jeera)
2 Green Cardamom
3 Cloves
0.5" Cinnamon
0.5 tsp Stone Flower (Dagad phool)
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 Bay leaf
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
0.5 tsp Coriander Powder
0.5 tsp Cumin Powder
2 tsp Biryani Powder or 1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Wash the basmati rice 5-6 times until the water runs clear. Soak for 20-30 minutes.
2. In the mean while, chop the carrot, beans and potato into chunks and parboil them with a little salt.
3. Soak the soya chunks in hot water for 15 minutes and squeeze out the water once soft. Or cook the soya chunks as instructed on the packet.
4. Boil 1.5 cups of water in a pan and add a pinch of salt to it.
5. Drain the basmati rice and add to water. Cover and cook on low to medium heat until the rice is almost done. Remove from heat and fluff the rice when slightly cool.
6. Roughly crush the green cardamom, cloves, stone flower, fennel seeds and cinnamon.
7. Heat 3 Tbsp oil and add the caraway seeds.
8. Add the roughly crushed spices and bay leaf and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
9. Add chopped onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute until the onions are browned.
10. Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes.
11. Add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, biryani masala or garam masala powder and salt and mix well.
12. Cook on low heat until the tomatoes are soft. Adjust salt or spices as required.
13. Add the soya chunks, parboiled carrots, beans and potato. Mix well and cook for 5-6 minutes.
14. In a clean non stick kadhai, spread out half the cooked masala.
15. Layer half the basmati rice on the masala.
16. Top with half of the chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves and the fried onions (birista).
17. Sprinkle a little salt and add 0.5 tsp of oil.
18. Layer the remaning soya masala.
19. Layer the remaining rice.
20. Top with the remaining chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves, and fried onions.
21. Sprinkle a little salt and add the remaining oil.
22. Cover and cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes.
23. Mix while serving. Serve hot with raita.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Jackfruit Biryani

Mushroom Biryani

Methi Rice

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