Spanish rice in an Instant Pot (IP)

So the IP fever is still on and will be more each passing day. I have made a lot of items by now in my IP so far and one of them is ‘Spanish Rice’. Very easy and delicious too. Husband was interested in learning new dishes in IP so got a few recipes printed. I checked them but didn’t appeal my Indian palate so made a new version all together. Here we go.

Ingredients:

1. Sona Masoori Rice: 2.5 cups
2. Canned Black beans: 2
3. Low sodium Vegetable Broth: 4.5 Cups
4. Small Onion Diced: Half a cup
5. Tomato paste: 2 Tbspn
6. Garlic: 5-6 minced cloves
7. Olive oil: 2-3 Tbspn
8. Southwest Chipotle Seasoining: 1.5 Tbspn
9. Oregano: 2 Tbspn
10. Garlic powder: 1 Tspn (optional) 
11. Chili Flakes: To taste (optional)
12. Salt: To taste 

Method:

1. Put IP on sauté mode. 
2. Add olive oil and put garlic in it. 
3. Add onion and sauté for around 4 minutes or till the onion is translucent. 
4. Now add tomato paste and sauté till it is cooked. 
5. Now add washed canned beans to it and add all the spices. 
6. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. 
7. Now add rice and mix it with above mixture. 
8. Add vegetable broth. Taste the liquid and then add salt to taste. Adding vegetable broth is an optional step, you may add water instead. However I feel vegetable broth gives nice taste and aroma to the rice. 
9. Add chili flakes if desired. 
10. Put the lid and turn off the sauté mode. 
11. Now put IP on rice mode and let it cook. 
12. I waited till NR (Natural Release) 
13. Serve it with any Mexican chicken curry or eat it as is.

Notes:

1. You can replace or add chicken cubes to the dish instead of beans.
2. If serving it to kids then you may want to omit chipotle seasoning and chili flakes. It is not a spicy rice but may bother younger kids. Didn’t bother my kids though (5 and 2 year old J)
3. You can add firm tofu to it. Do not add paneer otherwise the rice will become mushy because beans may release some juices while cooking. However you may add crumbled paneer if desired.
4. Add any veggies on hand. Since it is a quick rice recipe I didn’t add many veggies in it.
5. Hope you enjoy this very simple and quick rice recipe in your beloved Insta Pot.

Hope you like this quick recipe in the IP. 

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Quinoa Dosa

Today I soaked Quinoa and moong dal to make dhokalas for the evening snack. When it was time to make dhokalas, I realized that the recipe had called for ½ a cup of sour yogurt. I had completely forgotten to make a new batch of homemade yogurt, so obviously I didn’t have the yogurt. Now what? So when you don’t want to waste your ingredients or don’t want to keep it in the fridge thinking that we can make it tomorrow, your brain throws new ideas to you. So instead of my evening snack I decided to make dosas for dinner. Again the ingredients were enough for dhokala but not for dosas. Then I soaked ½ cup Udid dal in super-hot water for couple of hours to make this yummy dinner. By the way my 4yrs old son and my 64 yrs old mother-in-law both loved it so now I can say that this recipe is good for the entire family and highly nutritious.

Here you go with the detailed recipe of the same.

Ingredients:

1. Quinoa: ¾ cup
2. Moong Dal: ½ cup
3. Udad/ Udid Dal: ½ cup
4. Ginger: ¾ to 1 inch (diced) 
5. Green chilies: 2-3 (paste: according to your family’s taste buds) 
6. Water: To make dosa batter
7. Salt: To taste 
8. Sour Yogurt: 1 Tbsp. (optional) 

Method:

1. Clean quinoa and all the dals till you see clear water.
2. Soak quinoa and moong dal together in around 12-13 small cups of water, at least for 2 hours. I usually soak it in the morning if I have to make it in the evening.  
3. Soak udid dal in a separate bowl in warm water. (If soaking it just for couple of hours then soak it in very hot water.)
4. Now drain all the ingredients (do not throw the drained water) and grind it with 2-3 green chilies, ginger and salt. Use the same drained water to make it in dosa batter consistency. 
5. You may add any spices or vegetables according to your family’s taste buds to this batter.
6. Keep it aside for half an hour. 
7. If making just after grinding, then add a tablespoon of Fruit Salt (plain Eno fruit salt)
8. Now take a non-stick tava and put a ladle full of this batter and start making the dosas. Do not lift the ladle while making the dosa. Also just put the batter in one direction. 
9. Put oil around the dosa of needed. 
10. Serve the dosas hot with coconut chutney and sambhar. 

Please try this super easy recipe of Quinoa Dosa for your next meal and surprise your family with it. If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!! 

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Beetroot, Lentils, Potato Cutlets

Beetroot, Lentils, Potato Cutlets

Beetroot, also known simply as the beet, has been gaining in popularity as a new super food due to recent studies claiming that beets and beetroot juice can improve athletic performance, lower blood pressure and increase blood flow.  It contains potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamins A, B6 and C, folic acid, carbohydrates, protein, antioxidants and soluble fiber. Since I was asked to increase Hemoglobin in my blood, I had to come up with some healthy yet tasty and interesting recipes. All of a sudden someone posted a healthy beetroot recipe on net and I remembered that my mom used to make similar kind of cutlets when we were young. Also in Pune there is a popular joint called “Vaishali” and their cutlets are to die for, and of course they are my favorite too.

Now just didn't want to make beetroot cutlets, so tried adding mixed sprouted lentils to it to make it healthier. Lentils are generally abundant sources of protein. Around 30% of the calories provided by lentils for example come from its protein content. In certain regions of the world, beans and other types of legumes are used as a cheap substitute for meat. So here we go. Let’s enjoy these cutlets.

Ingredients:

Mixed sprouted and boiled lentils

Beetroots: 2 (medium sized boiled)
Mixed-sprouted lentils or legumes: ¾ cup
Potatoes: 2 (medium sized boiled)
Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 Tbsp
Cumin powder: 1 Tbsp
Garam masala powder: 1 Tbsp.
Onion: ½ cup (finely chopped) or Onion powder 1 Tbsp.
Paprika: ½ Tsp
Salt: To taste
Bread crumbs: About 1 Cup or as needed to bind the cutlets
Roasted suzi: About ½ Cup to coat the tikkis
Oil: For shallow frying the tikkis  

Procedure:

Pressure cook beetroots, potatoes and mixed-sprouted lentils in separate containers. If you do not have sprouted lentils ready, do not worry. Just take mixed lentils and boil them or pressure cook them. Also if you do not have mixed lentils, just take any lentils which you have on hand (like moong, mataki, chole, chickpeas etc.) I usually use sprouted lentils for its health benefits. Keep boiled beets and potatoes in the freeze for about an hour or so. This will make it easier at the time of binding the tikkis and will not be extra moist.

Now grate boiled beets, potatoes together add lentils, onions, ginger-garlic paste, salt and all the masalas to the mixture. Mix it well and add bread crumbs (for binding) to make tikkis out of it. You may need more or less bread crumbs as per your mixture. Make round, oval or any shaped tikkis according to your preference and keep them aside. Now coat the tikkis in roasted suzi. 

Take a pan or tava and add little oil to it. The tava should not be very hot. Start assembling the tikkis on the tava and shallow fry them till golden-brown from both the sides. It will become little crunchy if you fry them a little longer which obviously tastes better. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

Note:

You may add any veggies of your choice. You may also add grated cheese in the mixture. Add all the spices according to your taste buds. Some people prefer not to boil the beet and just grate it but we in our family like it boiled which is easier to make the tikkis.  

Don’t forget to enjoy this yummy snack item. Happy Cooking!!!! 

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