Rice Idli

There is no better food than "idli" to start your day on a rich & healthy note. These soft & spongy streamed rice cakes, made out of rice and black lentils, is a quintessential south-Indian breakfast that is now savored all over India and across the globe too!

Unlike US, where the first meal of the day is mostly grab-and-go, make-ahead, packaged-and-ready-to-eat types, Indians tend to have freshly cooked, detailed and complete breakfast. Especially in South India, idli stands out to be a popular breakfast food, for it is calorie-rich, steamed and fat-free.

Sun-dried Tomato and Arugula Pesto Pasta

"Simple, easy and delicious" - defines pasta for me. Pasta is my fallback dish, my ultimate savior whenever I am in a time crunch or tired or in no mood to cook. My kids love pasta and for them, pasta is a fancy food. They love to eat pasta, any time of the day!

We particularly love pesto pasta and I have tried various combinations of greens & nuts. What I like about pesto is that, it is not only super-quick & easy to prepare, but also a great way to sneak in lot of fresh greens, veggies and nuts. Once in a while, I add parmesan cheese and make it extra fancy for my kids. The most satisfying part about pesto, my kids cannot pick greens/veggies out and throw it off their plates. The good stuff just goes in with little (or) no resistance and in that sense, pesto pasta is truly a winner!

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

A simple go-to weekend meal and a tasty break from all your regular pesto sauces.

Vermicelli "Dum" Biryani

With this vermicelli recipe, take a "tasty & spicy" biryani break from the usual upma routine. Vermicelli cooks fast & easy and combines well with biryani flavors. You can make this delicious biryani in an hour's time right from start to finish. With a mild raita on the side, vermicelli biryani is perfect for lunch boxes too!

Quinoa & Peas Pulao

Confession time.... "I was never a fan of quinoa!". Infact, I hated quinoa for its 'weird' nutty taste and smell. I could never understand why people loved it so much. I have "occasionally" used quinoa in chili, burger patties, chowder, salad etc, but never had the courage to use it in my everyday cooking.

Broccolette Pesto

This vibrantly green "broccolette" pesto recipe is a sure winner in satisfying your family's palate while being healthy too! "Broccolette", this amazingly healthy and quick veggie tastes great in this pesto. It’s easy to cook and good for you too! Whether you call it broccolette or broccolini, this vitamin-C rich veggie is an easy and nutritious addition to weeknight dinners. 

Palak Paratha

A healthy paratha recipe that is loaded with "green-goodness".. need I say more!!

Paneer Tikka Kati Rolls

VJ doesn't prefer packed lunches. He loves hot & fresh food and so, comes home everyday (well, almost) for lunch. If for some reasons he couldn't make it to home, his next best place would be an Indian restaurant near his office and his default choice would be "kati rolls", for their kati rolls are big & filling, loaded with paneer & other veggies.

Basil Pinenut Pesto Pasta

A simple, down-to-earth recipe for a delicious pasta! Pine-nuts, almonds, basil, I mean, can a recipe get more healthy? With some grilled veggies on the side, this can be a complete meal!

Gobi Paratha

Another healthy, wholesome paratha from the state of Punjab! A popular North-Indian breakfast, gobi parathas are very tasty and filling too. A simple side of raitha/pickle is usually enough as the stuffing itself is hearty & satisfying!

Beetroot Pulao

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with great food, good company & gaining deals!

For me, Thanksgiving '12 was not really thankful but handsful! If you think I grabbed quite 'some' deals on black friday, you are wrong! VJ had to travel away from home for few weeks and that got me handful with two 'ever-active' kids! Believe it or not, it took me two full days to sink into reality that VJ will not be around to help with the kids!

On the brighter side, this is the only time when I get to try variety of recipes, anything & everything that is NOT elaborate (or) south-Indian ;) And, the very first day after VJ left, I tried this one-pot meal that I have been wanting to try for long! Here it is - a healthy, complete & colorful meal that can be easily put up in no time.

My 'fantasy-obsessed' daughter thought it was very fancy to eat a "purple" pulao and she absolutely loved it! The recipe is very mild when it comes to heat, but you can always bump up green chillies/red chilli powder if you are a heat lover!

Printable Recipe

Basic Info
Complexity - Medium
Prep time - 25 mins
Cook time - 40 mins
Serves - 4

Ingredients
Grated Beetroot - 1.5 cups, packed (from 2 medium-sized beets)
Raw basmati rice -  1.5 cups

Onion - 1 no (Medium sized, finely chopped)
Green chilli - 1 no (slit vertically)
Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Shelled Edamame / Peas - 1/4 cup

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp, replace it with red chilli powder
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Mint leaves - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Cilantro - 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Ghee - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

Wash rice and soak in 2 cups of water.

In a thick bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. When hot, fry bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom pods, cloves until fragrant. To this, add onion, green chilli, grated ginger/garlic and saute until onion turns soft and translucent. Add grated beetroot, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, sambar powder and saute until the raw smell of beets are gone.

Drain rice from water, add to the pan and saute for a min or two until rice turns crisp. Take care not to burn the rice.

Lastly, add shelled edamame, coconut milk, 2.25 cups of water, chopped mint & cilantro, ghee, required amount of salt and give it a good mix. When the water starts to boil and as the rice starts to expand, close the saucepan with a lid and let it simmer on low heat. After 10-15 mins, switch off the stove. Leave the saucepan undisturbed for another 20 mins. Do not open the lid in-between.

Fluff up the rice with a fork and garnish with roasted cashews. Hot & tasty pulao is ready to be served! Cool cucumber raitha with chips makes a perfect side for the pulao!