Mint Rice

Mint Leaves have a warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool after-taste.

This dish just like the Mint leaves you heart warm and refreshes your palette.

Ghee + Oil – 4 tbsp.

Cinnamon – 2 stick Clove - 4 no Cardamom – 2 no. Bay Leaf – 1 Onion - 1, diced Turmeric - 1 tsp Salt

Rice - 2 cup, washed and soaked in Water

Coconut Milk - 1 cup

Lemon - 1

To Grind:

Mint - 2 cup Cilantro - 1/2 cup Green Chilli - 3 Ginger - a small pc Garlic - 2 cloves

Grind Mint, Cilantro, Green Chilli, Ginger and Garlic to a fine paste.

Heat Ghee and Oil in a pressure cooker. Temper Cinnamon, Clove, Cardamom and Bay Leaf. Add Onion and sauté until translucent. Add the ground Mint paste and sauté until the raw smell goes away and Oil starts oozing from the mixture. Season the mixture with Turmeric and required Salt. Now add the Rice and give a good mix until the masala coats all kernels of Rice evenly. Add the Coconut Milk and 2 1/2 cups of Water. Close the pressure cooker with lid and cook for 10 min on medium flame followed by 5 min in simmer. Release the pressure after 10 min and squeeze Lemon Juice.

Fluff the Rice with a spatula and serve warm with Raita.

Mango Rice

For pressure cooking rice

• ▢ 1.5 cup rice – any regular non-sticky short-grained or medium-grained Indian rice variety or basmati rice

• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

• ▢ ½ teaspoon oil

• ▢ 2.5 cups water

For the mango paste

• ▢ ½ cup grated fresh coconut

• ▢ 1.5 cups chopped mangoes – 250 grams, peeled raw unripe green mangoes

• ▢ 3 to 4 dried red chilies – broken and deseeded

• ▢ 1 green chili – chopped, ½ to 1 teaspoon chopped

• ▢ 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds

• ▢ 2 teaspoons peanuts

• ▢ 1 teaspoon jaggery or add as required, optional

Other ingredients

• ▢ 3 tablespoons peanut oil or sesame oil or any oil

• ▢ 1 or 2 dried red chilies – broken and deseeded

• ▢ 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

• ▢ 1 teaspoon chana dal – optional

• ▢ 1 teaspoon urad dal – optional

• ▢ 3 to 4 tablespoons peanuts

• ▢ 1 pinch asafoetida – hing

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)

• ▢ 12 to 15 curry leaves or 1 sprig of curry leaves

• ▢ salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

Cooking rice

• First, soak rice in water for 20 minutes. Use any regular non-sticky rice or basmati rice.

• After 20 minutes, pressure cook the rice with 2.5 cups water, salt and oil for 2 whistles on high heat. 

• You can also cook the rice in a pot. If cooking in a pot, then you may need to add more water.

• When the pressure settles down naturally, spread the rice on a plate. 

• Keep aside and allow the rice to cool at room temperature. When the rice is warm, cover and keep so that the rice grains do not dry out.

• While the rice is cooking, rinse, peel and chop the raw mango.

Making mango paste

• In a grinder jar, add the chopped mangoes along with dried red chilies (broken and deseeded), chopped green chili, sesame seeds, peanuts, grated coconut and powdered or grated jaggery. 

• I added jaggery to balance the sourness of the mangoes. If you don't have dried red chilies, add a total of 2 to 3 green chilies.

• I used Byadgi red chilies which are not very hot. If using a hotter variety of red chilies, reduce the amount to 1 or 2.

• Without adding any water, grind to a semi-fine paste. Don't make a fine paste. Keep aside.

Making mango rice

• In a pan, heat oil and add peanuts.

• On low heat, sauté the peanuts till they change color.

• Then, bring the peanuts to the side of the pan and add mustard seeds in the center. Let the mustard seeds crackle. 

• You can also add 1 teaspoon each of chana dal and urad dal at this step. If adding chana dal or urad dal, allow them to turn golden before you proceed to the next step.

• When the mustard seeds crackle, add curry leaves and dried red chilies. Stir and sauté till the red chilies change color.

• Then, add asafoetida and turmeric powder. Mix well.

• Now, add the ground raw mango-coconut-spices paste. Stir and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes on low to medium-low heat or until the mixture thickens more and comes together. Next, season with salt.

• Stir and mix very well again. Remove pan from the stovetop and set aside on the kitchen countertop.

• Add the sautéed raw mango-coconut-spices masala to the cooked rice. You can mix in batches or at once. The rice has to be at room temperature before you start mixing.

• Now, with your hands, gently mix the rice with the raw mango-coconut-spices masala. I mixed both the cooked rice and the masala in batches in a bowl.

• Serve Mango Rice with some fried papads or chips. 

• You can also serve with some yogurt or pickle. While serving, you can also garnish Mango Rice with chopped coriander leaves if you prefer.

Ellu Sadham

Cooked Rice – 2 cups

White Til seeds – 3 teaspoons

Black Til seeds – 2 teaspoons

Red chilly – 4 to 5

Bengal gram dhal – 2 teaspoons

Asafotida – ¼ teaspoon

Gingelly Oil – 4 or 5 teaspoon

Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste

Heat up a kadai and dry roast the til seeds (also known as sesame seeds or Ellu in Tamil) without adding oil. Remove it. In the same kadai put a teaspoon of oil and roast Bengal gram dhal, red chillies and asafetida. Cool it and powder it along with fried til seeds and salt.

Put the cooked rice in a broad vessel and add required til powder along with few drops of oil. Mix thoroughly and serve.

You can make the til seeds powder (Ellu Podi) as above and store it. You can use it whenever you want.

Some people season this rice with mustard, red chilli and curry leaves. But without seasoning also, it tastes good.

Instead of bengal gram dhal, urad or thuvar dhal can also be used. Little coconut gratings and ground nut also be fried and added while grinding this powder.

But preparing this podi only with til and little dhal will have more til flavour.