Basil Tawa Pulav

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

Green Peas       - 3/4 - 1 cup

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

Green chilies   - 2-3, adjust according to taste

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

Mexican Rice

Me: What shall we prepare for lunch?
D: I feel like eating something different…
Me: I too was feeling like… Shall I make some Thai curry and rice?
D: Ummm… But I feel like eating Mexican, not Thai today….
Me: Hmmm….. Mexican?
D: Yeah… Why don’t you search and tell me the recipe for a nice Mexican rice and I’ll cook it for you…
Me: Wow! Cool!!

This was our conversation one weekend, when D decides to hijack the kitchen and produce some amazingly awesome stuff! One of the reasons I love weekends for ;). Being very experimental in the kitchen, he churns out some really tasty stuff, most of the times some innovative dishes! Initially I used to be apprehensive about the taste when he decides to add some ‘random’ ingredient or follow a ‘unique’ method. But over time, I have come to trust his culinary skills and have chosen not to interfere with him when he’s in the kitchen, except to help him with the chopping, cleaning and doing the dishes later! And I even decided to add to my blog some of his creations (only some of them, when I have the patience to click some pics before hogging on it). 

I did have an idea of what goes into a Mexican rice usually and was sure I had most of the ingredients at home. When I googled, I came across a lot of recipes with small differences, and I decided on this one adapted from a couple of them, with my own modifications to suit our taste buds and ingredients.

It was one delicious lunch, I must say…. Very different from the usually tomato rice I make… though the ingredients are not very different from an Indian recipe… Mexican rice recipes, they say are very close to Indian… 

So here’s the cheesy, sticky Mexican rice, which we loved and have made it a couple more times later….

Mexican Rice

Ingredients:
Tomatoes – 3-4 medium sized
Onion – 1, medium sized, finely chopped
Green bell pepper - 1, finely chopped
Jalapenos – 1-2, finely chopped (with seeds and ribs removed)
Black/red beans – 1/2 cup, soak for a few hours if using dried ones
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Bay leaf - 1
Red chili powder - 1 tsp (adjust as per your taste preference)
Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Long grain white rice – 2 cups, wash, soak for a few minutes and rinse
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Olive oil/ butter - 2 Tbsp
Fresh coriander – 1/4 cup, chopped
Lime/lemon juice – 2 tsp
Cheddar cheese – 1/2 cup grated

Method:
• Cook the beans in enough water and a little salt till soft but firm and drain
• Blanch the tomatoes in hot water and peel off the skin and puree till smooth
• In a pressure cooker / a large saucepan, heat oil/butter over medium heat.
• Add onions and garlic and sauté till slightly done
• Add the peppers, then rice, beans, bay leaf, jalapenos.
• Sauté until the rice is slightly browned.
• Add 2 cups of water, tomato puree, chili powder, cumin powder and salt and bring to a boil.
• If using pressure cooker cook for one whistle. If cooking in the saucepan, reduce heat and simmer till the rice is just cooked
• Let cool for about 10 minutes and mix in the coriander, lime juice and mix gently taking care not to make the rice mushy
• Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with grated cheese and serve hot.

Notes:
• Chopped veggies can also be added
• I use the red kidney beans that I have in my pantry; usually black beans are used
• The cheese gives a nice gooey and rich taste to the rice – We like to add it at the end and not mix it in for that extra effect.