The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals (26 page)

This rice dish is the result of a common but clever kitchen trick that is used in parts of southern India including Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa, where coconut is plentiful. Leftover rice is tossed with coconut and some spices to make a flavorful dish for the next day’s lunch. Serve with seafood, meat, and chicken dishes. For best results, I recommend using freshly grated coconut.

Serves
4

Prep time:
10 minutes plus 40 minutes for soaking

Cook time:
30 minutes

2 cups (420 g) uncooked basmati rice

8 cups (2 liters) water

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons ghee or oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

3 dried red chili peppers, whole

1 teaspoon split yellow peas (chana dal)

1 red onion (about 8 oz/250 g), thinly sliced

1 teaspoon minced fresh peeled ginger

Salt, to taste

1 cup (100 g) unsalted cashew nuts (optional)

8–10 curry leaves

1 cup (100 g) shredded unsweetened coconut (fresh or frozen)

Soak the rice for 30–40 minutes. Carefully pour out the soaking water and wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Leave it to drain in a fine-meshed strainer for about 15 minutes.

Bring the water with the rice and salt to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer for 10–12 minutes, partially covered, until cooked. Drain the rice thoroughly in a fine-meshed strainer and return the rice to the saucepan. Set the pan aside, off the heat, covered.

Heat the ghee or oil in another heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chili pepper, and split yellow peas and cook until fragrant, about 1–2 minutes. Add the onion and ginger and cook over moderate heat for another 4 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the salt, cashew nuts (if using), curry leaves, coconut, and the cooked rice. Stir-fry over moderate heat until the rice is mixed in and all the flavors combined. Taste to check for seasoning and serve hot.

Lemon Rice with Peanuts
Huli Anna

Lemon rice is a very popular everyday dish in southern India. It can be eaten hot, but tastes just as good at room temperature or cold alongside a spicy pickle (see Pumpkin Pickle, page
32
). At Café Spice we dish out lemon rice with most of our mainstream entrees. In fact, our lemon rice recipe is as old as the company itself! The peanuts add an extra crunchy texture and sweetness to the rice.

Serves
4

Prep time:
10 minutes plus 40 minutes for soaking

Cook time:
15 minutes

2 cups (420 g) uncooked basmati rice

8 cups (2 liters) water

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

3 dried red chili peppers

2 teaspoons split yellow peas (chana dal)

6–8 fresh curry leaves

1 cup (100 g) unsalted peanuts

Juice of 2 lemons, plus more if needed

Salt, to taste

Lemon wedges, for serving

Soak the rice for 30–40 minutes. Carefully pour out the soaking water and wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Leave it to drain in a fine-meshed strainer for about 15 minutes.

Bring the water with the turmeric, rice, and salt to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer for 10–12 minutes, partially covered, until cooked. Drain the rice thoroughly in a fine-meshed strainer and return the rice to the saucepan. Set the pan aside, off the heat, covered.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and when they start to pop, add the dried red chili peppers, split yellow peas, curry leaves, and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, for a minute or until the peas and the nuts are lightly browned. This technique is known as tempering.

Pour the contents of the skillet into a mixing bowl. Add the rice, lemon juice, and salt and mix until well combined. Taste for lemon and salt and adjust according to taste. Serve with lemon wedges.

Tomato and Curry Leaf Quinoa

Small, round, and a good source of protein, iron, and fiber, quinoa is a quick and flavorful way to get in a serving of wholesome nutrition. About the same size of couscous granules, quinoa cooks in about 10–15 minutes. The only special handling required is giving it a good rinse before cooking; otherwise it can leave a bitter aftertaste. Actually a seed, but prepared like a grain, quinoa is not found in India, but is indigenous to the Andean region of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Columbia. Quinoa is becoming very popular with weight watchers in the West. Here is my recipe for infusing it with the tantalizing, Indian flavor of curry leaves to give it an innovative twist.

Serves
2

Prep time:
10 minutes plus 15 minutes for soaking

Cook time:
30 minutes

⅔ cup (100 g) quinoa

2 cups (500 ml) water

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons ghee or oil

1 dried red chili pepper, broken into pieces

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

10 fresh curry leaves

1 red onion (about 8 oz/250 g), chopped

1 fresh green chili pepper, chopped

1 piece fresh ginger, ½-in (1.25-cm), peeled and finely chopped

1 tomato (about 3½ oz/100 g), chopped

1½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon Asian red chili powder or cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

Juice of ½ lemon

Soak the quinoa in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain and rinse. Bring the water with the salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rinsed quinoa and simmer for about 15 minutes until it is cooked but still retains some bite (quinoa develops a white ring round the circumference of each grain when it is about ready). Drain off any excess water.

Heat the ghee or oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the red chili pepper and mustard seeds. Let them crackle and splutter for about 10–15 seconds. Add the curry leaves and the onion and cook, stirring often, for 6–8 minutes until the onions turn golden brown.

Add the green chili pepper and ginger and cook, stirring for a minute. Add the chopped tomato, salt, red chili powder, and sugar and cook over medium heat for 8–10 minutes until most of the moisture from the tomato has evaporated and the mixture begins to come together.

Add the cooked quinoa and mix gently until heated through. Add the chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly and serve hot.

Wild Mushroom and Spinach Rice
Gucchi Palak Pulao

Usually in Indian cooking we will not use wild mushrooms like shiitake or morels. This is my adventurous creation, marrying a Western ingredient with Indian flavors. If you use dried mushrooms, soak in just-boiled water for twenty minutes, then drain the water. Perking up a regular rice dish with wild mushrooms like morels, shiitake, and oyster plus herbs, spices, and the added color from the spinach makes a great mid-week meal.

Serves
4

Prep time:
10 minutes plus 40 minutes for soaking

Cook time:
20 minutes

1½ cups (315 g) uncooked basmati rice

½ lb (250 g) fresh wild mushrooms such as chanterelle, morel, oyster, and shiitake

3 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick, 1-in (2.5-cm)

5 green cardamom pods

5 black peppercorns

2 cloves

1 red onion (about 8 oz/250 g), peeled and chopped

1 cup (100 g) slivered almonds

2 cups (100 g) packed fresh spinach leaves, washed and chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Salt, to taste

2 cups (500 ml) water

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Soak the rice for 30–40 minutes. Carefully pour out the soaking water and wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Leave it to drain in a fine-meshed strainer for about 15 minutes.

Wipe and clean the mushrooms with damp paper towels. Cut any large mushrooms into slices.

Heat the oil in a large, wide saucepan. Add the whole spices (cumin, fennel, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, black peppercorns, and cloves) and cook for 10–15 seconds or until fragrant. Add the diced onions and slivered almonds. Cook, stirring often, for about 4–5 minutes until the onions are soft and browning at the edges. Add the mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and salt and cook over a high heat for another 2–3 minutes.

Add the drained rice to the pan with the water, bring to a good boil, then cover with a lid, lower the heat, and cook until the water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Take off the heat, remove the lid, and allow any excess moisture to evaporate. Gently stir in the lemon juice and taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Brown Basmati Rice

Brown basmati is becoming very popular in the West these days because of its nutritional benefits. It takes a little more time to cook than regular basmati, so be careful not to undercook it. Because this is unprocessed rice, I don’t recommend it for everyday meals. You can use cumin and other spices to flavor this rice dish. Quick tip: Stir the rice and turn it over gently after the water has been absorbed to ensure that the grains are evenly cooked. By resting the cooked rice for fifteen minutes, you give the grains ample time to gain volume so that they don’t stick to each other.

Serves
4

Prep time:
10 minutes plus 40 minutes for soaking

Cook time:
30 minutes

2½ cups (500 g) uncooked brown basmati rice

3 tablespoons ghee or oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick, 1-in (2.5-cm)

4 green cardamom pods

1 red onion (about 8 oz/250 g), thinly sliced