Chole Rice

Last night as I was going through some recipes for a quick and easy dinner, I have observed that some people were uses different masala's to make the rice recipes other than biryani/pulao/friedrice masala. I asked myself why not experiment it. Since all the rice items do not have any good amount of protein in it, I wanted to add chole and bring some in. (I had the cooked chole ready). My husband and kids loved the rice, as it did not contain any strong spices but mild ones and tasted different and yummy. So try it when you wanna eat something different.

Ingredients
Cooked Rice - a little over 2 cups (I used basmati rice)
Chole - 1 and 1/2 cup of cooked chole
Red Onion - 1 - cut in lengthwise
Ginger garlic paste/Ginger - small bit grated
Tomato - 1
Bay leaves - 2
Cinnamon stick - 1
Pav bhaji masala - 1-2 spoons (increase the quantity if you need more)
Chaat masala - 1 spoon
Jeera - 1 spoon
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 spoons (I am not big of oil fan so I use less. Increase the quantity if you like it)

Method of preparation
(1) Add oil to a pan which can fit rice, Add Bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
(2) I am a big fan of jeera so I keep adding it in all recipes. If you want to have a rich taste, add teh shahi jeera instead of regular one.
(3) Add Onions. If you like Ginger garlic paste add it at this point. Let the stuff fry a little or until raw smell is gone.
(4) Add tomatos and the Masala's to it now. Add chole after a minute of adding tomato's.
(5) Mix and cook until the tomatos liquid is gone and the oil used is oozing out. (This should take probably 2-4 minutes, depending on the stove and its energy)
(6) Mix the cooked rice to it. and your yummy rice is ready. I would suggest serving with a small dollop of yogurt and some cucumber salad on side. Enjoy!!!!

Mint Chutney Sandwich/Pesto Sandwich

I learnt this from my friend Deepali. She had a panini maker and this sandwich comes out awesome in it. I used the regular tawa to make this sandwich. For adults or kids who likes a ting taste of mint add Mint chutney and if kids are too young, add the basil pesto sauce. This is made in seconds and done eating in minute. I like to serve it with Avacado and little ketchup if desired. 

Ingredients

Bread ( I use whole wheat/Whole grain)

Spinach
Peppers (can add multi colored to make it interesting and yummy for kids)
Cheese (I used the pepper jack slices or shredded cheese but can use any kind you like)
Mint chutney or Basil Pesto (I used Deep frozen mint chutney for us and Classico traditional basil pesto sauce for kids)

Method of preparation
Prepare the bread by spreading the sauce on it (Basil pesto or mint chutney).Add cheese to it.

 Now add the spinach and peppers in any way you like. I added like below:

Just combine the two bread slices and heat it in panini maker. For those who do not own a panini maker, add little ghee to tawa and add the bread sandwich. Once you feel that the side is done, carefully turn it to other side for a little bit of time and serve with your favorite sauce or serve as is. This can be used as lunch/snack/dinner anything. Enjoy!!!

Boorelu/Bobbatlu - Traditional way

Going with traditional how to do boorelu here.I never knew that they were made like this I saw my masi making it on the Ugadi. I will share how the poornam (Stuffing inside the boorelu) is made in another seperate post. but here is the way to make boorelu. 

Method of preparation:

Add the whole wheat or roti mix with more water than required and add the oil to it. Our final product should look like below.

Apply oil to your hands and make a small flat round out of the dough made above. Add poornam ball in between and wrap the ball with the dough flattenned. It looks something like below.

Here is another picture of the poornam bals with couple of balls ready to make boorelu or bobbatlu.

Take a zip loc or any plastic cover. Apply oil over it. Take one dough covered poornam and press gently with your hand until it is round like shown below.

Heat the tawa/pan/penam and put little oil or ghee on it.Add the boorelu flattenned on it. Make sure you turn side after a minute or two and that side should almost be done. you will know when they are done by their color and smell.

Here are some virtual boorelu ready for you to taste. Enjoy!!!!