Quick Tomato Briyani

As the name goes, you can get this done real quick. On the days when you have not been home for a few days and you don’t have any specific vegetable available you can opt for this. The Baby Corn Potato Fry that I had posted earlier along with this Tomato Briyani is an awesome combination. Please try it and you’ll like it too. I was in a hurry so once again please excuse me for the picture.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Capsicum - 1 (sliced into small pieces)
Ginger – 1 inch
Green Chillies - 2
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Gram Masala powder – ½ tsp
Carom seeds - 1/4 tsp
Tomato – 5
Coconut Milk – 1 cup
Salt according to taste
Bay leaf - 1
Mint leaves – a small handful
Cliantro – for garnishing
Oil/Ghee – 2 tbsps

Method:

Cut the tomato into small cubes. Slice the capsicum into half finger length pieces. Silt the green chillies vertically into two. Peel the skin and grind the ginger to a fine paste. In a pan, add the oil/ghee. When the ghee is hot add the carom seeds and bay leaf. Next add the ginger paste, green chillies, capsicum and fry well. After a few minutes add the tomatoes and allow it to cook well for a few minutes. Next add the red chilli powder, gram masala powder, mint leaves and salt. Cook until the tomato becomes soft. Transfer the contents to a rice cooker. Wash the basmathi rice and add it. Next add the coconut milk. Mix salt as per taste. Then add required amount of water. The tomatoes will already have some water so add based on that. For one cup basmathi rice I add two cups water, here we have added one cup coconut milk, the tomatoes will have a little more than quarter cup water, so I generally add another ¾th cup water. Mix well and allow it to cook. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with raita.

Potato Stew

This is a Kerala based dish mainly because the main ingredient here is the coconut milk. Very simple and easy to cook. This dish can be made real quick if the coconut milk is ready. Do not use the ready to use coconut milk available in the market. This dish will turn out good only if we make the coconut milk fresh at home. This is a best combination with hot idlies.


Ingredients
Potatoes – 2
Coconut – 1 (medium size)
Ginger – 1 finger size
Green chillies – 6 (You can add more based on your need)
Salt - According to taste
Gram flour (kadalai mavau) - 2 tsp

Method
First we need to make the coconut milk. For that break and cut the full coconut into small pieces and put it in the mixer and grind it first without adding water till all the coconut becomes as though it was grated, then add 2 cups of water and grind it completely till you feel all the juice from the coconut is out. Next drain the liquid alone using a strainer. This is the first milk and it will be thick. Again with the coconut that is drained add 2 cups of water and follow the similar procedure to take the second milk. Once this is done mince the ginger, slit the green chillies into two halves vertically, boil the potatoes fully and break them into small pieces with your hand after peeling the skin. Next add the potato pieces, ginger, green chillies and the second milk into a pan and allow it to boil till the water in the second milk separates and the green chillies and ginger are cooked and have become tender. This takes about 15 minutes. Next after that add the first milk, salt and mix the gram flour in little water and add it to the stew. After adding the first milk do not allow it to boil for more than 5 minutes. At this stage the stew will be a thick white gravy. The potato stew is now ready. This can be served with hot idlis, dosas or appam. We can minus the gram flour and use it for ekadhesi.