KABULI CHANNA BIRIYANI

I've been getting a lot of complaints these days from friends and family alike. It's just because I'm not posting any veggie recipes during this season of Lent. They said they are loosing their control seeing the Fried Chicken Kabab!So I posted a Lemon Yogurt Cake and the complaints increased because a lot of them have given up sugar for lent! :-) Some of them did try the Garam Masala Pulao but for some , they needed something more than just a pulao!

I love Channa, in any form. Some of my favourites are Sundal, Channa Masala, Papdi chaat or even just plain salted boiled channa. The black channa is also dearly loved in the form of a Kannur curry called Kootucurry. I use Kabuli Channa/ White channa/ Chickpeas more than the black ones. Jobin loves a good Chana Masala with Batura,so do I. Luckily the weather is super good in Minneapolis now and I can make Baturas to our hearts content without thinking of the fact that the oil smell is going to hang around in our condo for the next two days...just leave the balcony door wide open!

It's been a while since I've been thinking about a pulao/biriyani with this wonderful source of protein. I've seen quite a few recipes in cookbooks and on foodblogs but nothing tempted me as I wanted a greenish tinge to my rice. So last night, I went ahead and soaked some channa so that things would be easier the next day.

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This recipe might look like it's lengthy but trust me, it isn't. You can easily pull it off in less than 45 mins, if you plan as I planned :-) As much as I love to cook, I hate spending a lot of time in the kitchen, especially near the stove!

DELICIOUS CHANNA BIRIYANI
My own recipe

Ingredients:
1 c channa, soaked overnight
2 c basmati rice
5 green chilies
1/2 c grated coconut
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
4 cloves, 4 green cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick
1 large onion, diced
1 tomato,diced
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 bunch mint leaves,chopped fine
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped fine
2 tsp lime juice or to taste
Salt to taste
4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp ghee
4 c water

Method: While you pressure cook the soaked chickpeas with some salt for 3-4 whistles, soak the rice for 30 mins. Meanwhile, get the other ingredients ready.Grind the coconut, ginger garlic paste and green chilies together, to a rough paste without adding any water.

In a non-stick pot, heat oil and ghee together. Add the whole spices and stir for 30 secs. Add the onions and cook till they are golden brown.Add the tomatoes and cook till mushy, about 1 minute. Add the powders and saute for 30 secs. Add the ground paste and saute for a minute. Add salt & herbs. Mix well. Add the boiled channa and let it cook in the masala for a minute. Add the soaked and drained rice and fry for a minute. Add 4 cups of water to it, check for salt and finally pour the lime juice and stir to mix, carefully so that the rice grains don't break. Cover and cook on medium heat till the rice is done!

Whenever I experiment, I wait for the smell of the dish to fill the house. I think everyone can judge how good or how bad a particular dish is going to be depending on it's smell :-) This time, I was in a biriyani haven and I knew I had nailed it! Serve it with a bowl of chilled Raita and maybe some papad too.

All you meat lovers...make it and eat it because you will not miss meat in this atleast during this season of Lent! :-)

GARAM MASALA VEGGIE PULAO

Last Friday, I was so out of ideas for lunch and since he was coming home I had to make something solid ;-) We were out of veggies and since it's the Lent season, I try and avoid eating non-veg on Fridays. Therefore I was left with very little options, since cooking anything vegetarian keeps me thinking for hours as I feel I cannot do justice to it! There was a time when I feared making a pulao but now it's as easy as breathing ;-)

By the time I planned on what to make I had only 20 mins left with me.Without wasting anymore time,I kept the cooker on the stove and started adding ingredients to it, one by one. It smelt really good and I knew the end result was going to be very rewarding. I was just hoping that the water - rice ratio would be fine. Usually you need 2 cups of water for every cup of rice but in this recipe, I used 1:1.

How could I serve it as is? We don't usually have raita or chutney with rice and having  no time to make any curry, I quickly deep fried some cauliflower florets using a simple spicy batter. It was a great accompaniment for the rice, some crunch and some veggies too! I am trying to incorporate more and more veggies into my diet,so looks like there will be more cooker pulao's happening here :-)

GARAM MASALA VEGGIE PULAO
My own recipe

Ingredients:
2 c basmati rice
2 c water
1 tsp ghee
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 onion, diced
5 green chillies, slitted
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 c frozen peas
1 c cauliflower florets
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 c cilantro, chopped

Method: On medium-high,heat ghee and oil together in a cooker. Crackle cumin seeds.Add onions,green chillies & ginger garlic paste. Saute till they are soft, 2 mins.Add the veggies and mix together.Add the powders, cilantro and mix well for a minute. Add the washed rice and fry carefully for a minute. Add water, salt and close the cooker with the lid . Cook for 1 whistle and keep it off the flame. Let the pressure go down on it's own. Fluff up the rice with a fork and serve hot!

When he got back home, I told him that the lunch wasn't ready ;-) C'mon, I need to say something as soon as  I see him :-) He was surprised to see a pulao and that too with some fried Gobi! I am sure he wondered what's up with her, today!

He really liked it and said  that it was very flavourful and that I should make this quite often from now on .I agree to that 100%. You can incorporate more and more variety of veggies into your meal this way. If you are serving it with a curry, let it not overpower the flavour of the rice. This pulao is very very flavourful and you will feel like eating more and more :-)