Fried Rice

When Dee’s cousin had come home for a stay over, I asked her what she wanted me to prepare. And her reply was ‘Bhabhi, make Fried rice, mom doesn’t make it’... Hmmm... I asked her if there is any other alternative item, as I doubted if inlaws would accept the Chinese flavors for not. Though I had all the ingredients of fried rice- like sauces, ajinomoto and vinegar, I had hardly used it, except for once in noodles. And I hadn’t made this fried rice, the Chinese way even once. But she insisted that I make fried rice only and assured me that everyone will like it!

So started out making fried rice with her and to my satisfaction, it did come out well. And to our surprise, all of them, including a couple of more unexpected guests, enjoyed my fried rice and asked for a second serving! Even my in laws loved it!
So now I don’t have to hesitate trying out Chinese!

Fried Rice

Preparation time : 10 min, excluding time to prepare rice Cooking time : 15 min Serves : 5 Ingredients: Rice - 2 cups, Basmati variety Water - 3 cups Green chilies - 5-6, as per taste or chili sauce Garlic - 4-5 cloves Cooking oil - 2-3 Tbsp Vegetables (Bens, Carrot, Capsicum) - 2 cups, chopped Onion - 2 medium sized, chopped fine Soya sauce - 1 Tbsp Vinegar - 2 tsp Ajinomoto - a pinch Salt - 1 tsp or as per taste Pepper powder - 1 tsp, optional (adjust as per your taste) Method: • Wash and soak rice for 15 minutes. Cook with 1.5 times the quantity of water, in a pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles • Once the pressure is down, spread the cooked rice in a wide bowl and add a teaspoon of oil so that the grains do not stick • Keep aside for 5 minutes to cool • In a pan, heat oil and add green chilies, chopped onion, sauté till the onion is translucent • Add the vegetables, sprinkle some salt and let it cook on medium heat • When almost done, add soya sauce, vinegar and ajinomoto and mix well• Mix in the spread rice and add the remaining salt • Add pepper powder if you prefer it hot • Mix thoroughly and let the ingredients combine well with the rice. • Serve warm with a gravy/manchurian! Tips n Tricks: • Making rice with a 1.5 times water, makes the grains separate and not sticky Variations: • Spring onions can be added, but I didn’t have any