Vegetarian recipes, grains

Rice pulao

Fast food at its best! A handy meal in one go.

Serves 6 

  • 1 lb white basmati rice

  • 1 onion

  • 1 lb of chopped mixed vegetable (carrots, peas, french beans, broccoli, pumpkin, sweet corn, etc...)

  • 1 tablespoon black cardamom

  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds

  • a pinch of whole black pepper

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 2 tablespoons ghee or sunflower oil

Get the cardamon seeds out of their shell and grind them coarsely with the black peper corn and the cumin seeds. Measure the volume of rice and prepare twice that volume of boiling water.
Heat up the ghee or oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the onion, spice mix and cook for two minute on medium eat. Add the other vegetables, and cook for another two minutes, then add the rice and stir fry for a minute or two . Add the water (or vegetable stock for a richer flavour) and the bay leaves, bring to the boil, give on last stir, then cover and cook  on low heat until the rice has absorbed all the water (about 15 mn). Serve with dahl, sambar or chutneys.

Left over can be reheated the following day as:

Spicy refried rice

  • left over rice pullao (see recipe above)

  • A handfull of sunflower seeds, peanuts or broken cashew nuts (optional, but gives an interesting crunch texture to the dish)

  • a pinch of chili powder

  • a pinch of tumeric powder

  • tamari to taste

  • ghee or sunflower oil for frying

Heat the oil or ghee in a wok and when hot, add the seeds or nuts (if liked). Stir fry for a minute, then add the left over Pullao rice and the spices. Stir fry until hot, then add the tamari, stir once more and serve immediatly.

Upma/Uppittri (serves 15)

  • 750 grams white semolina

  • 2 cups urid dahl and yellow split peas

  • a few mustard seeds

  • 2 cups of cashew nuts

  • 1 cup of dried coconut

  • 6 carrots, grated

  • 6 onions, chopped finely

  • 5 tomatoes, diced

  • 10 green chillies

  • 1 tspn turmeric

  • 6/7 tspns salt crystals

  • 4 tspns sugar

Method:

Toast dry semolina in dry pan for taste and to dry out. Wait until smells toasted and becomes crystallised. (Organic may be more floury than non-organic.) Spread out to cool. In a dry pan add at least 4 tablespoons (200ml) of vegetable oil. Add a few mustard seeds until they pop, when they do add the split peas and dahl. Add chillies and onions after a couple of minutes. Then add cashew nuts. (Don’t allow the onion to brown – if it does, add a little water). When onions are translucent add the chopped tomatoes and cook until paste-like, then add the grated carrots.
Add water (3 parts water to 1 part semolina). Add salt to taste. When salt is dissolved add the coconut. (Can be served at this stage as soup, perhaps with added vegetables). When it comes to the boil again add the semolina. Stir constantly until it becomes solid.
Other vegetables can be added to this recipe. Garden peas are particularly good. Just be aware that they may release water and change the consistency.

Tomato Bath (South Idian rice and tomato dish)

  • 6 tsp Vegetable Oil
  • a few black mustard seeds
  • 1.5 Kg tomato, chopped roughly or 4 tins organic tomatoes
  • 1 Kg carrot, grated
  • 150g green peas
  • 7-8 chillies, chopped small
  • 100 g of yellow split peas
  • 100g  of urid dahl
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • one handfull cashew nuts
  • 200g peanuts
  • 100g dried coconut
  • 1 large pice of ginger, grated
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 750g rice
  • coriander leaves to garnish

Cook the rice. Add tumeric and one tablespoon of rice and mix well.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the mustard seed and wait until they pop, the add the split peas, cumin, peanuts and cashew nuts and stir until brown. Add the chili and tomatoes, bring to the boil and cook on medium heat untill the tomatoes are well cooked. Add the carrots, green peas and ginger. Bring back to the boil and cook for a minute. Lower the heat, add the rice and mix well. Add the lemon juice, coconut and salt, mix thoroughly and serve with coriander leaves as a garnish.

Rotti

  • 1½ kilos rice flour (half brown, half white)
  • 30-50g cumin seeds
  • salt to taste (approx 4 teaspoons were used here)
  • 8 red chillies chopped small
  • fresh coriander leaves to add at the end (si c’est pour Christophe pas de coriander!!!)
  • sunflower oil (2 teaspoons approx)
  • 8 medium size onions chopped small
  • luke warm water – add depending on texture

Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients then add water gradually and work into a paste (wetter than dough) then make up a ball per rotti. The paste won’t keep long so roll the balls immediately.
Use a banana leaf, plastic sheet or greaseproof paper cut in a disc the required size as support, oil it slightly then put the ball on and spread the rotti mix by patting it, making sure there are no holes and it is of even thickness.
Oil the top of the rotti, oil the heated pan and put it down, after a few seconds remove the sheet of paper carefully. Once the colour is even turn it over. Once both side are done, put to one side with a little butter on top to avoid it sticking to the next one.

Kichari (Kicheri)

A very easily digested mix of rice and dhal recommended by ayurveda for all digestive complains. It is a complete meal in itself. There are many recipes for Kichari, this one was given to me by Sri O.P. Tewari, of the Kaivalaydham yoga centre.

Serves 4

  • 1 cup rice (washed 7 times in cold water)

  • 1 cup mung dhal (washed)

  • 2 carrots, washed and diced

  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 1 piece of ginger, finely chopped

  • 1 very small pinch of asafoetida (if you don't like the very strong smell, and taste of asafoetida, or can't find it in an Indian store nearby, you can use garlic instead)

  • 1 pinch ground coriander

  • 2 tablespoons ghee or sunflower oil

Heat up the ghee or oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the cumin and ginger. Fry for a minute on medium heat. Add the rice and mung dhal, stir for a few seconds then add 4 cups boiling water and the remaining spices. Cook until all water is absorbed (about 15 minutes).

Broken Wheat and Vegetables (Serves 2)

  • 1 Cup broken wheat
  • 1/2 cup each of carrots/cauliflower/peas.  Chop the carrots and cauliflower in small bits
  • 2 1/2 Cup water
  • Salt, pepper, and ground cumin or chilli

In a thick bottomed pan roast the broken wheat on slow flame with a spoon of oil till it starts turning brown.  In another pan (non-stick), lightly stir fry the vegetables with a small spoonful of oil for 5 minutes.
When the wheat starts turning brown add the water, stir and cover the pan and leave to cook on a slow flame for 3 minutes.  Then add the vegetables, salt, pepper and a pinch of red chilli pepper or cumin if you like.
Stir, cover and continue cooking on a slow flame till the water dries up but dish should be moist.
Serve hot.

Indian Fried Rice (Vagharalo Bhat)

  • 1-2 cups cooked white or brown rice (basmati is tasty in this, leftover rice can be used)
  • 1 tbsp of ghee (see recipe below) or sunflower oil
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 stick cinnamon broken in half
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
  • cooked lentils for extra protein (optional)
  • fresh coriander

In a frying pan heat ghee or oil until hot, but not smoking.  To test if  oil is hot enough drop in one cumin seed if it is ready the seed will pop.  Add cumin seeds and cinnamon.  Cook till fragrant  (about one minute).  Add onion and cook gently until onion begins to brown (if using garlic slices, cook gently for a few minutes, but do not let garlic brown).  Add ground coriander, cumin and turmeric - cook until fragrant about 3 minutes.  Add cooked rice and salt and cayenne to taste and mix thoroughly.  The rice will go a lovely yellow colour.  We would eat this with a saucy veggie dish and yogurt.

Thanks to Priya Patel, from Dublin for this recipe

Barley with Shitake mushrooms

Serves 6

  • 1 pound barley
  • 50 g dried Shitake mushrooms
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • a bunch of spring onions, chopped
  • Freshly grated ginger to taste
  • 1/4 cup organic soy sauce (Tamari or soyu)

Cook the barley in boiling water for an hour. Drain (keep the water, it makes a lovely soup) and put aside.
Soak the Shitake mushroom in warm water for 30 minutes, then drain (put the water aside, you'll need some later, and use the rest for a soup).
In a large wok, heat the sunflower oil and add the spring onions. Stir for a minute, then add the ginger, the Shitake mushrooms, 1/4 of a cup of water from the Shitake mushrooms and the soy sauce. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the barley, stir well and serve immediately.

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