Cabbage rice recipe, Easy lunch box recipes

Cabbage rice- Mildly spiced Indian variety rice using cabbage. Cabbage rice is an easy lunch box recipe and a quick one-pot meal that can be made for lunch or dinner. It is a very simple recipe that can be made by bachelors too. I first tried cabbage rice for dinner and my husband simply loved it and asked me to prepare it for his lunch the next day too. I came up with this recipe when I ran
out of all vegetables and was left with just a piece of cabbage and capsicum. Addition of capsicum gives a nice aroma to the rice and this recipe is sure to appeal to even those who do not like cabbage as much. For other interesting vegetable rice options look for capsicum rice, tindora rice, vaangi baath recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

BASMATHI RICE	1/2 CUP
FINELY CHOPPED CABBAGE + CAPSICUM	1/2 CUP + 2 TBLSP
ONION	1
RED CHILLI POWDER	1/4 TSP
MINT LEAVES	FEW
CURRY LEAVES	FEW
OIL	1 TBLSP
SALT	AS NEEDED
GARAM MASALA	A PINCH
MUSTARD SEEDS	1/4 TSP
URAD DAL	1/4 TSP
PEANUTS	1-2 TBLSP(OPTIONAL)
CASHEW NUTS	1 TSP(OPTIONAL)
TURMERIC POWDER	A PINCH

METHOD:

• Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes and pressure cook for 2 whistles by adding 3/4 cup of water and little salt and  few drops of oil.
• Wash and cut the cabbage finely. Chop the onions and capsicum finely.
• In a kadai, add oil and throw in the mustard seeds , urad dal, cashew nuts, peanuts(if using) and mint leaves, curry leaves.
• Add the onions and saute till they become crunchy.

• Now add in the chopped cabbage and capsicum and  saute for a minute by adding the red chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder.
• Check for salt.

• Mix this with the cooked rice without mashing the rice.

• Since i forgot to add peanuts i roasted it in the last and added to the rice.

• Pack for lunch box along with any raitha.

NOTE:

1. You can add green chilli instead of red chilli powder.
2. You can add cumin seeds while doing the seasoning.
3. Garam masala can be replaced with pav bhaji masala for making this Cabbage rice

BITTER GOURD FRY RECIPE | BITTER GOURD RECIPES| CRSIPY FRIED BITTER GOURD

   Bitter gourd or pavakkai(in tamil) is mostly made at my place in the form of pitlai or curry, but whatever it is kids will not touch bitter gourd in any form. When nags posted this bitter gourd fry in her space  a long back i tried that and so surprisingly my daughter loved that one very much. After a very long time suddenly i remembered of that and made this for lunch last week and again she enjoyed a lot . She was on the back of me to post this recipe in my space and here i am with the recipe for bitter gourd fry which i tried from Edible Garden.

INGREDIENTS

BITTER GOURD	4 NO
RICE FLOUR	6-7 TBLSP
SALT	TO TASTE
PEPPER POWDER	1/4 TSP
RED CHILLI POWDER	1 TSP
TURMERIC POWDER	1/4 TSP
ASAFOETIDA	A GENEROUS PINCH
GARAM MASALA	1/4 TSP
OIL	FOR DEEP FRYING

• Wash and cut the bitter gourd in to two and take out the seeds.
• Cut them into thin slices.

• As per the original recipe, we have to rub it with salt and keep it aside for an hour. But i totally forgot and added the rice flour, salt, garam masala powder, asafoetida, red chilli powder and pepper powder.
• Mix well.

• Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
• Heat oil till it becomes hot for deep frying.
• The moisture oozed from the mixture is enough and no need to add any water for binding.
• Deep fry in batches and when it turns golden brown drain in a kitchen towel.

• We had  this with sambar rice.

Note:

1. This tasted crisp even the next day also as i stored the left over fries in a air tight box and kept inside the fridge.
2. Cut the bitter gourd into thin slices, else they won’t get cooked inside.
3. You can also cut the bitter gourd and rub them with salt and keep it aside for and hour. After an hour squeeze out the excess water and follow the remaining steps mentioned above.

BEETROOT CURRY RECIPE | BEETROOT STIR FRY

   Today I am sharing a simple curry recipe with beetroot which is a super hit at my place and kids love to mix this with plain rice and finish the meal in few minutes.

Check out my other beetroot recipes HERE

INGREDIENTS:

BEETROOT	1 NO
CARROT	2 NO(OPTIONAL)
SAMBAR POWDER	3/4 TSP
ONION	1 NO(OPTIONAL)
GRATED COCONUT	3 TBLSP
TURMERIC POWDER	1/4 TSP
OIL	1 TSP
MUSTARD SEEDS	1/4 TSP
URAD DAL	1/4 TSP
CURRY LEAVES	FEW
SALT	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Peel the skin of the beetroot and carrot(if using) and grate them using a grater.

• Chop the onions finely (if using).
• In a pan, add oil and throw in the mustard seeds ,curry leaves and urad dal.
• When mustard splutters and urad dal turns golden brown colour add the onions and fry till they become translucent.

• Add in the sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt.
• Saute for a minute and add in the grated beetroot and carrots.

• Sprinkle few tblsps of water and keep stirring this.
• The beet root will get cooked soon since we have grated this.
• Add coconut and mix well.

• Put off the flame and serve hot with any gravy of your choice.

Note:

1. Instead of sambar powder you can add finely chopped green chilli.
2. A tsp of coconut oil can be added in the last to enhance the flavor.

MISSI ROTI RECIPE

  Few weeks back when we went a nearby Indian restaurant for dinner I wanted to try something new and the kids  ordered their usual Garlic Naan and Panner Gravy. I was going through through  menu card and was inspired with this missi roti and we enjoyed  this roti very much. Yesterday when i was thinking what to make for dinner, the missi roti came to my mind and i tried and it turned out well. The taste was similar to the one we had in the restaurant.

INGREDIENTS:(yields 10 –12 small rotis)

BESAN | GRAM FLOUR	3/4 CUP
WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR	1/2 CUP
AJWAIN | OMAM SEEDS	2 PINCHES
CUMIN SEEDS	FEW
KASOORI METHI	2 PINCHES
CHAT MASALA	1/4 TSP
TURMERIC POWDER	A PINCH
SALT	TO TASTE
RED CHILLI POWDER	TO TASTE
CORIANDER LEAVES	FEW
OILL	1-2 TBLSP

METHOD:

• Sift both the flours for even mixing.
• Add all the ingredients and add water ( approx 1/2 cup minus 2 tblsp) to make it into a soft dough.

• Keep it covered and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Make equal sized balls.
• Roll  this into slightly thick rotis ( Since i wanted my rotis to be more cute i made them into a perfect round with the the lid of a box.)

• Heat a tawa and cook the rotis till brown spots appear on both sides.
• Brush with oil on both sides.

• This can be served with any raitha or any side dish for rotis.

Note:

• Finely chopped onion can be added to the dough.
• You can adjust the spices according to your taste.
• Finely chopped green chilli can be added instead of redchilli powder.

LEMON PICKLE RECIPE | PICKLE RECIPES

       This is the first time i tried lemon pickle at home, though my mom is an expert in making different types of lemon pickles ,since my dad is a huge fan of lemon pickle. As  i am not a big fan of this lemon pickle i never tried on my own. I always make pickles with mangoes but after coming to Singapore i never made anything . When a reader asked me to post this lemon pickle i asked my mom for the recipe and the entire process of making lemon pickle took a month and now on to the recipe of lemon pickle . 
   
INGREDIENTS:

LEMON( I used Indian lemon)	6 NO
RED CHILI	8-9 NO
TURMERIC POWDER	1/2 TSP
VENDAYAM(FENUGREEK SEEDS)	1/2 TBLSP
SESAME OIL	1/4 CUP + 3 TBLSP
MUSTARD SEEDS	1/2 TSP
SALT	1/2 TBLSP+ 2 TSP
ASAFOETIDA	1/2 TSP

METHOD:

• Wash the lemons and pat dry them nicely in a kitchen towel.
• Ensure that there should not be any moisture.

• Wash and clean a glass bottle and nicely dry this without even a drop of water.

• Cut the lemon into two and slightly squeeze out the juice. Do this very gently, else the pickle will become bitter.
• This step is lessen the sourness of the pickle.
• Gently remove the seeds with the help of a knife.

• Cut the lemon into small  size pieces.

• Immediately add salt and asafoetida and mix well.
• In a pan dry roast the fenugreek seed till they become slightly brown.
• Do not roast too much as this will make the pickle bitter.

• Dry roast the red chilies  in a pan.

• Grind the redchillis and fenugreek seeds together into a fine powder.

• Throw this onto the cut lemon and mix nicely using a dry spoon.

• In a pan heat the oil and throw in the mustard seeds.
• Add this to the pickle and add turmeric powder and mix well.

• Transfer this to the glass bottle and cover this with a thin muslin cloth and tie this with the help of a rubber band.

• Keep this in sunlight for 3 –4 weeks ( inside the home where you get bright sunlight)
• Every day with the help of a dry spoon mix the pickle nicely and close it.
• No need to keep in the refrigerator.
• After 4 weeks the skin of the lemon  will be soft and the lemon must have absorbed the spices.

• Now keep it in the fridge and enjoy with curd rice and love to have pickles with sambar rice too.

Note:

• In any step , ensure that there shouldn’t be any moisture and keep you hands always dry.
• The containers you use should be dry and spoons too.
• Always take care not to burn the vendayam and red chilis. This will make the pickle bitter.
• sometimes my mom pressure cook the cut lemon pieces for a whistle but this will not have longer shelf life.
• In this method, no need to keep it under the sunlight, just can be consumed immediately.
• The oil will  be dried up , so after 4 weeks heat 2 tblsp of sesame oil and add to the pickle and mix well.

GRAPE AND ORANGE JUICE RECIPE | SUMMER DRINK RECIPES

      Everywhere the summer is on the peak and here also the weather is very hot during the day and it is raining badly in the evenings!!. Black grapes is one among my favorite fruit and whenever there is season my mom used to buy almost everyday and and later we used to get seedless grapes which I remember the lady who regularly sell grapes to my place refers the seedless one as Hyderabad grapes.

After coming here, we used to get this seedless grapes in the supermarket nearby my house ,throughout the season. Few days back when i returned back home after a my usual weekly vegetable shopping, i was so thirsty and was craving for a juice and i had few grapes and 2 oranges left in the fruit basket and wanted to try a fruit punch with this. Trust me, this combo turned out very yummy and the ginger i added gave a wonderful flavor to this. Don’t skip the ginger.

 

INGREDIENTS:

BLACK GRAPES	1 CUP
ORANGE	2 NO
WATER	1/2 CUP
SUGAR	1 TBLSP
GINGER	A VERY SMALL PIECE

 

• Wash the grapes nicely and blend this in a blender along with sugar and ginger.
• Take out the juice from the orange and add to this.

• Strain this using a strainer.

• Serve chilled or add few ice cubes and serve immediately.

NOTE:

• Adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of the fruits.
• Both the grapes and orange i used were sweet.
• Lemon juice can be replaced with orange juice.
• Plain soda can be added if you want this slightly fizzy.