Thai Fried Rice

I can't remember how many times I tried to make fried rice back when I started cooking on my own before I learned that cold rice is the key to keep in from sticking together into one lump. It was a great day. Fried rice is a great way to use up extra rice, but I usually try to make a few extra cups so I can make fried rice on Asian night. This recipe has wonderful flavour, and the key is the coconut. Make sure you toast it but don't burn it.

INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp red curry paste (or more to taste)
- 4 cups cooked jasmine rice, cold
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 cup frozen French cut green beans, thawed
- 2 baby bok choy, thinly sliced
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1 vegan omelet, rolled and sliced (optional)
- juice of 1 lime


METHOD
1. Heat a wok over medium heat. Dry fry the cashews and coconut, stirring constantly, for a minute or so, until lightly golden and fragrant. Set aside.
2. Increase heat to med-hi and add oil. Stir fry garlic for 30 seconds, until lightly golden, then add in curry paste and rice and fry for a few mins, until heated through.
3. Add brown sugar, sauces, and vinegar and mix well. Add in beans and bok choy and fry until bok choy is wilted but still nice and green. Add in onions, coconut, and cashews and cook for a few mins more.
4. Mix in omelet slices and lime juice and serve.

Palak Khichdi / Spinach Khichdi Recipe

This is another recipe from Geeta Perima of the instant sambar powder recipe fame. A lot of you wrote in saying you tried it and loved it for its simplicity. This is another nice dish that she had made us for dinner on the night we landed. Paired with some mildly sweet Gujarati Khadi and potato chips, this made for an amazing dinner.

You'll need some good quality halved green gram and normal rice that you use every day. I bought this green dal from Bombay and it was so fresh and shiny and dirt-free!

You'll also need three kinds of greens for the recipe:

1. Green spinach or palak

2. Fresh coriander leaves/cilantro or kothmeer/kothamalli/malliyila

3. Mint leaves/pudina.

I got all three bunches fresh from Little India, especially to make this dish myself :)

You will also need to grind up some stuff. This is the essence of the recipe so, read on.

Palak Khichdi Recipe

Source: Geetha Perima

Serves: 2 to 3

What I Used:

2 cups rice

1 cup halved green dal (always use 2:1 ratio for rice:dal)

1 bunch green spinach, chopped fine

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp jeera/cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala or goda masala

1 tsp ghee (optional)

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

To grind:

1 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves

1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves

2 green chillies, or to taste

A 1" piece of ginger

4 cloves of garlic

2 tomatoes

5-6 pearl onions/shallots

How I Made It:

1. Wash and soak the dal and rice together for 30 mins.

2. Grind all the ingredients under the 'to grind' list adding no water.

3. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker pan and add the jeera. When it splutters, add the chopped onion. Fry until golden brown. Then add the chopped spinach and stir until soft and wilted.

4. To this, add the ground paste and mix well with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and garam masala. Let it cook for a min.

5. Now add the soaked rice and dal. Add 4 cups water. Cook for 4-5 whistles in the pressure cooker. If you are using a normal pan, make sure you cook covered until the rice and dal is cooked thoroughly.

6. While hot, mix in 1 tsp ghee and serve.

Best served with Gujarati Khadi. I had made some but the pictures turned out really (really really) bad so will post the next time I make it.

This hot dish of palak khichdi goes to MLLA 17 hosted by Sra, a brainchild of Susan. Where would we be without legumes, eh? :)

Oh and also, the winner of the Bath and Body Works Body Lotion has been picked. In fact, I knew last Sunday itself but forgot to announce, shame on me! Click here to find out.

Burgundy Stew

Hi kids! Sorry I have been gone for so long. Perhaps you caught my guest post on Crazy Sexy Life in the meantime. Things have been pretty interesting around here as of late. We are coming to the end of some pretty tense contact negotiations at work, and I was positive it was going to end in a strike. Well, a strike has been avoided but no contract has been ratified as of yet. The whole thing has been one big pile of stress. Of course, nothing relieves stress like some tasty comfort food. Say, a nice hearty stew.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 leek, white and light green part, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 15 whole pearl onions
- 3 turnips, cubed
- 2 parsnips, sliced
- 2 large carrots, sliced
- 2 large potatoes, cubed
- 2 cups red wine
- 2 cups veggie broth (more, if needed)
- 1 19oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1/4 cup tomato paste

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute leeks and garlic for 5-7 mins, until softened and beginning to brown. Add onions, turnips, parsnips, potatoes and fry for 2 mins.
2. Add wine to deglaze the pan, then add veggie broth, beans, and basil. Season to taste, then bring to bubbling. Reduce heat, loosely cover, and simmer for about 20 mins, until veggies are cooked. Add more broth if stew gets too dry.
3. Mix tomato paste into the stew, adding more broth if needed to get a nice thick consistency. Add spinach to the pot and cook for a min or so, until spinach wilts but is still a vibrant green. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.