Another quick recipe from D for a weekend lunch... He is so resourceful in the kitchen that i can't stop admiring! What do you do when the kadai/pan is needed for cooking lunch but it is in the sink unwashed after the breakfast? Of course wash it and use it, right? In case of D, he uses the tawa instead :D And churns out an even better tasting tawa-pulav!
And what do you do when you feel like having a pudina peas pulav, but there is no pudina in the kitchen? Postpone it till you get pudina? Nope! Use the basil that is lying in the fridge instead... that will turn into an all new dish - Basil pulav.
And combine the two together, you have this flavorful, quick and easy Basil tawa-pulav!
This one is from the archives, from the last summer but i'm posting it now that again inspired by the raining of fresh basil in the veggie markets.
Here's the recipe...
Basil Tawa-Pulav
Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 15 min
Serves: 3-4
Source: D's experiment
Ingredients:
Fresh Basil - 1 small bunch, cleaned and chopped
Cooked Rice - 3 cups (preferably Basmati)
Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp; Used olive oil
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1” stick, broken into 4-5 pcs
Cloves - 4-5
Ginger - 1" cube, grated/ chopped fine
Garlic - 1-2 cloves, chopped fine
Garlic - 1-2 cloves, chopped fine
Green chilies - 2-3,
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp, adjust according to taste
Salt - ~3/4 tsp or as per taste
Method:
- Heat oil in a pan.. err tawa :) and add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves
- After half a minute, add grated ginger, garlic, slit green chilies and peas. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
- Add chopped basil and sauté till just the rawness disappears
- Sprinkle some salt, pepper powder and mix
- Mix in the cooked rice thoroughly, add more salt if required and fry the rice for a few minutes on the hot tawa
- Serve hot, optionally with any raita
Notes:
- Make the rice with a little less water so that the grains are separate
- Can add onions as well
Sum,
ReplyDeleteI have dried Basil, thyme and rosemary at home. I bought them because they sounded exotic :P and donno what to make with them... Can I use the dried basil in this dish?
Also if its not too much to ask, when you get the time can you publish recipes that use the other two.
-your fan forever,
PP
Hey PP,
DeleteYou can use dried basil here, but it will not taste the same, though it gives out some flavour to rice quite different from our usual indian spices. You can try it and see it you like it. I do sometimes use all the mentioned Italian herbs on rice as well, when i want a change from the usual pulav/garam masalas. Thyme and Oregano are the best ones i like.
Coming to other recipes, you can use Basil and Thyme and Oregano in flavoring pastas - http://sumscuisine.blogspot.se/search/label/Italian / http://sumscuisine.blogspot.se/search/label/Noodles%20%27n%20Pastas - not very difficult to make but sounds and tastes exotic in an Indian kitchen :)
Rosemary goes very well with potatoes - here's a simple recipe: (I might post it later in this series)
Chop some potatoes into bite size pieces, and saute on low flame in olive oil and garlic till the outer layer gets kindof crispy and insides are cooked through. Season with some pepper powder / chili flakes and with rosemary. Tastes and smells heavenly. Even your lil Rishi would likely love it. Do try this and let me know how you like.
And thank you for your prompt 'like's to my posts :)
wow madam, we will try the same :)
ReplyDelete