Vegetable Fried Rice-Indo Chinese Style

Indo-Chinese style foods are my favorite because of the spices used in them. Family loves them too. So, I make a lot of  foods mixing these spices and it never fails.

Vegetable fried rice is a very simple dish yet filled with nutrients for the kids. So, I make it a lot. 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes 

Cook Time: 10 minutes 

Serves : 3-4

Ingredients:

Rice : 1.5 cups

Beans : 1/4 cup cut into 1" pieces 

Carrot: 1 cut into small pieces 

Capsicum/ green pepper: 1 chopped into small pieces 

Peas : 1/2 cup 

Garlic: 2 cloves minced

Scallions/ green onions: 2 chopped 

Soy sauce: 2 tsp 

Rice vinegar or white vinegar:1 tsp 

Chili garlic sauce: 2 tsp (optional)

Green chili: 1 slit

Ground pepper: 2 tsp 

Salt to taste 

Method:

Cook rice and let it cool off a little bit.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok and add garlic and green chili and sauté for 1 minute. Add veggies and sauté on high heat for 5 minutes.

Add salt and sauces, mix well and add rice. Add pepper and toss well to coat. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and garnish with scallions.

Serve hot with gravy or curry.

I normally serve with Chicken 65 or Manchurian dishes.

Mumbai Vegetable Biryani

The way the veggies are cooked for the Mumbai Style Vegetable Biryani brings a different flavor to the dish.

Of course cashews, fried onions and the masalas add more flavors.

Cauliflower is normally used in the dish but I didn't use it as hubby is not a big fan of Gobi in biryani or Pulav.

I added Bajji Mirchi as it brings a spicy kick to the biryani.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes 

Cook Time: 30 minutes 

Serves : 4-5

Ingredients:

Rice:

Basmati rice: 2 cups 

Cloves : 5

Elachi: 2

Cinnamon: 1" stick 

Bay leaf: 1

Vegetables:

Carrot: 1 large cut into 1" pieces 

Peas : 1 cup

Potato: 1 large peeled and chopped 

Bajji Mirchi : 1 deseeded and cut in circles

Capsicum/green pepper: 1 sliced

Dry masalas:

Garam masala: 1 tsp 

Cumin coriander powder: 1 tsp 

Red chili powder: 1 tsp 

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp 

Hing : 1/2 tsp 

Salt to taste 

To make a corse paste:

Ginger : 2" piece 

Garlic : 8 cloves

Green chilies: 4

Salt : 1/4 tsp 

Others:

Onion : 2 sliced ( 1 for fried onions )

Tomato: 1 puréed 

Cashews : 1 tbsp (make a paste)

Curd/ Yogurt: 2 tbsp 

Method:

Cook rice separately add all the ingredients listed with a lot of water and drain it off.

Heat 2 tbsp of ghee and fry all the veggies until they are completely cooked. It should take 5-7 minutes. Take them into a bowl.

Add 1 tbsp of ghee to the same pan and sauté onion till translucent. Add the green chili paste and fry for one minute. Add the dry masala powders, salt and mix well. Add the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes. Add curd, cashews paste and mix well. Cook for 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup water and cook until the gravy is thick.

Take a heavy bottomed vessel pan and layer with rice first, masala, coriander leaves, mint leaves and fried onions. Do the same layering one more time, add food coloring if using, close lid and keep it on the stove on simmer for  10 minutes.

Turn off the stove, let it rest for 5 minutes before opening the lid.

Garnish with more fried onions before serving.

Chettinad Pepper Chicken Curry

Chettinad Pepper Chicken Curry has a nice kick from the fresh ground spices. The flavor of pepper stands out of the other spices. 

The dish goes great with biryani, pulav or roti.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes 

Cook Time: 25 minutes 

Serves : 3-4

Ingredients:

To Marinate:

Chicken: 500 gms

Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp 

Fresh ground pepper: 1/2 tsp 

Lime or Lemon juice : 1/4 tsp 

Salt : 1/2 tsp 

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp 

Spices to grind:

Coconut powder: 1/4 cup

Fresh ground pepper: 1/2 tsp 

Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp 

Elachi/Green cardamom: 2

Cinnamon: 2" stick 

Cumin seeds/ jeera: 1 tsp 

Fennel seeds/ Saunf : 1 tsp 

Dry red chili: 1

For the wet masala:

Onion : 1 chopped 

Tomato: 1 chopped 

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp 

Cilantro/coriander leaves: 1/4 cup chopped 

Mint leaves/Pudina: 2 tbsp 

Turmeric: 1/4 tsp 

Fresh ground pepper: 1/2 tsp 

Salt to taste 

Method:

Take all the ingredients listed under to marinate, mix well and marinate for 30-40 minutes.

Take all the ingredients listed under spices to grind except coconut powder and pepper and fry for 3 minutes. Now add both the ingredients mix and fry 1 minute. Turn off the stove and let them cool. Grind into a smooth powder.

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry onions until they turn translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook until they turn mushy, add cilantro and mint leaves, cook for 1 minute. 

Add the marinated chicken and fry for 3 minutes, add the grinded masala, salt and mix well. Fry for 2 minutes close lid, open lid and add 1 1/4 cup of water mix well and close lid. Cook for 7-8 minutes. 

Open lid, add 1/2 tsp of pepper mix well and turn off the stove.

Serve hot with biryani, Pulav or roti.