Yellow Rice

It was my in laws Wedding Anniversary and I completely got the dates mixed up. I had to make something with no pre plan. Then I decided to make Yellow rice and Chicken Teriyaki and salad. It turned out to be a good combination and loved by everyone at home.  Didn’t get time to make something sweet.

They our celebrating their 38^th anniversary. It’s just Wooow!! It’s a long journey and a great example for us to stand by each other no matter what we go through in life.  Happy or sad times to stick to each other and not to give up. My mum in law is a great pillar of strength in my life. She takes care of my kids with no questions asked. I’m truly blessed to have her.

 So here is the recipe for yellow rice.  It can be a good combination with any kind of side dish as its also rich in flavour. Yellow rice is a popular traditional dish in cuisines like Asian, Caribbean, Spanish, South African, among others. Its usually made by mixing white rice with saffron or turmeric to give off the yellow colour in the rice.

This is an easy and simple recipe and all the ingredients are readily available. I have made this in pressure cooker, you can also make this in an open pot.

 

          You will need

 

• 2 cups rice
• 1tbsp of turmeric powder (you can add saffron if you have it would give a better version of yellow rice)
• 2 tsp of ghee
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 star anise
• Few cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup of coconut milk

 

1. Wash the rice and keep aside.
2. In the pressure cooker add the ghee and fry the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and bay leaf. Sautee for few minutes and add the rice.
3. Sautee for few mins and add turmeric powder and mix well. Then add the coconut milk and adjust water accordingly. Add salt and let the rice cook in the pressure cooker. I let 1 whistle go and let the steam go on its own.

Chicken Nachos

 I celebrated my birthday on 15th May and my friend Heena was celebrating her birthday on 14th. We decided to celebrate our birthdays together since it's lock-down and we cannot go out anywhere. And these gals got us a cake, oh boy ! oh boy! it was a crazy corona cake. I have uploaded the cake pic as well. 

I was surprised to see this cake as I never expected it. We had an amazing night with great food and drinks. Not bad for a lock-down birthday. Heena made this delicious Chicken Nachos. Personally, I don't like it because of the smell. But i did taste few bites and every bite was like a flavour of explosion! Everyone loved it ! this was the special dish of the night. 

I asked her if I could use her dish to blog and she gladly agreed, and here I am writing about the delicious Chicken Nachos. It's a great go-to snack - appetizer. And its EASY ! 

   You will need 

 

• ½ kg mince chicken
• ½ tsp salt or to taste
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp pepper powder
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ cup BBQ sauce
• 200 gm grated mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup onions diced
• ¾ cup tomatoes seeded and diced
• 1 packet of corn tortilla chips (Nachos)
• Coriander for garnishing

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper on a baking tray and set aside.
3. Mix together chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, pepper powder and oregano. Sprinkle them over the chicken tossing to coat and set aside.
4. Heat butter in a skillet add the chicken and cook till almost done.
5. Stir in BBQ sauce and continue cooking till sauce is mostly absorbed and chicken is done.
6. Now spread tortilla chips in a single layer on the baking tray.
7. Sprinkle with half the cheese add BBQ chicken and then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
8. On top add onions and tomatoes. (you can also add olives if you like)
9. Bake for 20 minutes and top it up with fresh coriander cut into small.

 

Serve immediately. You could keep the chicken ready and just before serving you can bake it and serve. Do try and let me know.

Baby corn curry

 

Baby corn is not a vegetable that I would buy regularly. When I went to the shop, I saw them fresh and nice and thought of making a stir fry but ended up making a gravy. I haven’t tried my hands on a curry before. But I should say that this turned out to be delicious. Everyone at home enjoyed it with some hot rice.

Its of less spice and simple, yet an easy recipe. The spices gives it a rich flavour and coconut makes it a great combination to make the curry thick and flavourful.

      You will need

• 100 gm baby corn
• 1 ½ cup grated coconut
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamoms
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

 

To be ground

• 1 onion sliced
• ½ cup coriander chopped
• 2 green chillies
• 1 tbsp grated coconut
• 3 garlic pods
• 1-inch ginger

 

1. Add about 2 cups of water to the 1 ½ cup coconut and blend it. Strain it through a strainer and get coconut milk. you can adjust the water according to the consistency or thickness of milk you want. 
2. Add corn flour and mix well and keep aside.
3. Grind all the ingredients on ‘to be ground,’ now add oil in a pan and fry the paste for 2 minutes.
4. Add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms and fry for few seconds, add lemon juice and mix well.
5. Finally add the corn, coconut milk and salt. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes in medium flame.

hope you try it and enjoy your meal.

Carrot and Egg sandwich

  

 Egg is a great source of protein. You will find loads of eggs in our house 😉 and my kids love egg and bread. At least twice a week we have bread and eggs as a meal.

 I remember my mum making this sandwich when we are small. Specially to schools and tea parties.  But she used to keep it in the fridge and takes it out before serving. She even used to cut it into small squares. I suddenly remembered and called my mum for the recipe. But I haven’t added one vegetable that she told and that was beetroot. Yes, you can add boiled beetroot as another layer. It will look very colourful. May be ill make this sandwich again 😉

 This can be used for a great evening snack or for a kid’s party.  Hope you enjoy it.  

 

      You will need

• 6 slices of bread 
• 2 boiled eggs
• 1 large carrot shredded
• 3 sliced cheese
• 1 tsp garlic butter
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• Cheese spread or mayonnaise – to spread on the bread

 

1. First smash the eggs in a bowl into it add garlic butter, salt, pepper and oregano and mix well.
2. Next take the shredded carrot and in this you can add salt and pepper if u wish. you also can boil the carrot for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Now take one slice of bread and use cheese spread and add the mashed egg. Take another slice and then use cheese spread and add a slice of cheese and the add the carrot mixture and place in on top of the egg mixture and cover it up with another layer of bread slice.
4. Now you can put this on a sandwich maker or heat it on a tawa till golden brown and crusty.