Spinach Risotto ( Italian Palak Rice )

Nowdays international cuisine is gaining popularity amongst the Indians . Few years back non Indian food mostly meant chinese but today Italian , Mexican and Thai dishes have become as much popular as chinese and they are also eagerly tried out in Indian kitchens .
Spinach risotto is a very popular and famous dish from Italy. In simple words it is a  type of palak pulav with the deliciousness of cheese and pepper. It has somewhat sticky texture unlike Indian pulavs or biryanis where the rice grains have to be separate .
I made this pulav for our dinner along with soup and everyone at home thoroughly enjoyed it.


Ingredients :

2 bunches.......................Spinach
1 ..............................onion ( finely chopped)
2 cups .......................rice ( any sticky quality)
1 tsp........................pepper powder
1 tsp.......................cinammon powder
3/4 cup..................grated cheese ( I used cheddar cheese)
2 tbsp.......................butter
olive oil

Method :

Wash the spinach and chop it finely.
Heat butter in a pan and saute onions till golden.
Wash the rice and add it to the pan.
Saute rice for 5 minutes .
Add cinammon and  pepper powder and salt.
Mix well and add 4 cups water.
When the rice is almost cooked add the cut spinach and 1/2/ cup grated cheese.
Mix well and spread the remaining cheese on top.
Cook till the cheese melts or you can also bake it for 10 minutes in an oven.
Serve hot.


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flavors-of-cuisines-italian hosted by priya suresh  

healthy-food  at  nivedhanams   

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Kaali Maa Ki Daal

Kaali Maa Ki Daal also known in some parts as Daal Maharani  is a delicious and wholesome dish from north. For many years I used to believe that Punjabis only eat Kaali maa ki daal, Sarson ka saag and Makke di roti since I have many fond memories of having it at my friends house regularly.  Gone are those years of inncocence and now here I am preparing this daal in my kitchen.
 It is among one of my family favourites.This daal can be found in almost all the dhabas on the northern highway and is a hot favourite amongst the travellers.
This rich and creamy daal has a fantastic aroma and tastes best with roti .


Ingredients :

1 cup.....................Rajma (kidney beans)
1/2 cup.................Saboot urad
2..........................onions (finely chopped )
1tbsp...................ginger garlic paste
1 tsp...................garam masala
1 tsp................dhana jeera pd
1 tsp..................amchoor
1/2 tsp...........turmeric powder
1 tbsp...........chilly powder
2 tbsp ............oil
salt

Method :

Soak the rajma and urad overnight and pressure cook till very soft or about 5 to 6 whistles.
Heat oil in a pan and saute onions .
When they become golden add ginger garlic paste and fry till rawness goes.
Now add all the masalas and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Finally add the cooked rajma and urad , salt and cook covered for 5 to 10 mintues.
Serve with rotis with a dollop of butter or ghee.



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walk-through-memory-lane-april at myhomemantra

cookin with legumes at naliniscooking

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favourite-street-food

Mattha (Spiced Buttermilk )

Come  Summer and you can really feel the heat of the season. Here in Mumbai we have already started having juices, cold salads, coconut water  and watery juicy fruits to beat the heat. There are lots of aerated drinks and desserts but what works best for our system is the natural coolers.

One such natural cooler being the buttermilk . It is a probiotic and helps to reduce the acidity levels. It is also lower in fat than normal milk and a good source of calcium and potassium.

Mattha or Spiced buttermilk is prepared by adding certain spices to add to the taste and well as to aid digestion.

Cumin seeds and ginger help in digestion whereas rock salt contains many natural salts good for our body.



Ingredients :

1 cup .......................thick sour curd
1 and 1/2 tsp................rock salt
1 tsp...........................cumin seeds ( roasted and crushed )
1 .........................small green chilly (very finely chopped)
1 /2 tsp.................ginger ( finely grated )
1 tbsp.................coriander leaves (finely chopped)
4 cups .................chilled water

Method :

Add water to curds and churn it properly.
Add all the other ingredients and churn once again.
Serve chilled .


Linking this to :


gain-popularity event 

celebrate summer  at  nivedhanams

 summer splash at sizzlingtastebuds

Baking Partners: A new Baking Group

A group of home bakers helping each other to achieve perfection.

Baking a homemade bread, cake or cookies will give the best outcome. However in order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and right techniques are required.

We are a small group of home baker friends, who love and want to learn more about the nook and corners of baking.  We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows.  Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group.

Main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critic the procedure if there are ways to improve, and to eat a delicious food.

Rules are simple, we will choose one recipe and send it out to the group by 16th of every month and the reveal date will be 15th of the next month. On that day we will blog about it. A linky tool will be open during that time and each member can link their post.

First month we are going to do a recipe, 2nd and 3rd month will be a theme and the 4th month we will be back at a recipe. By doing in between recipes, we will able to learn more.

All enthusiastic bloggers interested in baking are welcome, please email Swathi  of Zesty South Indian Kitchen  at favoriterecipes12@gmail.com.

We will appreciate the use of logo or worded link that will help to spread the word.  A bunch of thanks to Tina for designing this beautiful logo

If you   want to make it a gluten or vegan free diet, you can do those modifications also.