Coconut rice - Easy Lunch box meal

Coconut Rice

Easy lunch or weeknight dinner recipe that could be made in a jiffy. Coconut rice is also made on festivals and other occasions served on plantain leaf as a side dish, mostly in South India. This makes a great lunch box meal along with urad dal happala (pappad) for kids too.

Ingredients

2 cups white rice
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk, (optional, instead add 1/2 cup water)
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 pinch of cumin seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
1 tsp Channa dal
8-10 dried red chillies
10-15 curry leaves torn into pieces
2 tbsp broken cashew nuts
Salt to taste

Method

1. Wash and drain white rice and add water and coconut milk (optional). Pressure cook untill well cooked as per your cooker settings. The dish tastes better when the rice grains are separate.

2. In a frying pan add coconut oil and place it on a medium flame, once hot add mustard seeds. After it sputters, add cumin seeds, urad dal, channa dal and fry until they turn golden brown. Add dried red chillies and fry for a few seconds. Now, to this add the cashew nuts and fry once they turn golden brown add curry leaves and grated coconut and mix well. Fry the mixture for a few minutes.

3. Meanwhile spread the rice on a wide pan or serving bowl and allow it to cool. Mix salt as per taste into the rice.

4. Now add coconut mixture to the rice and combine throughly. Add extra oil incase the rice feels dry. Serve hot with fried happala (pappad) or sandige.

Sihi Huggi / Sihi Pongal / Sweet Pongal - Authentic Madhwa Dessert Recipe

Sihi Huggi / Sihi Pongal / Sweet Lentils Rice / Split Mung Dal Rice

Sihi Huggi is made on Sankranthi festival. It is a classic recipe prepared on other special occasions in all Madhwa community during habba and haridina.

Ingredients

2 cups washed and drained rice
1/2 cup washed and drained Mung dal or split skinned Mung beans
1/2 cup ghee or clarified butter
3 cups of water
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp freshly grated coconut (blended in a mixer) or coconut milk, this ingredient is optional
1 cup powdered jaggery or brown sugar
1 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
1 tbsp chopped almonds
1 tbsp golden raisins
1/2 tsp saffron strands soaked in a tbsp of warm milk

Method

1. In a pot over medium heat add 1/4 cup ghee and add the rice and mung dal and fry until they give give out a fine aroma with golden color.

2. Add water and milk into the pot and place it in a pressure cooker and cook until 3 to 4 whistles and well cooked. We don't want the rice and dal to turn mushy. Alter the amount of water depending on your pressure cooker size and quantity.

3. Place the pot over medium heat and add jaggery. If your jaggery is dirty, in a separate pot add 2 tbsp of water and add the jaggery and melt it. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and collect the clean jaggery mixture and add it to the rice and dal pot. Or you could replace it with brown sugar. Mix throughly until the sugar crystals are melted.

4. Add coconut milk (optional) and combine well and cook for 5 to 10 minutes on low flame.

5. In a small frying pan add 2 tbsp of ghee and heat. Combine the nuts and add it to ghee and fry untill golden brown and later add raisins till they puff up a little. Pour this over the huggi pot and mix.

6. Add saffron and remaining ghee and mix throughly and cook 5 mins on a low flame. Now Sihi Huggi is ready to serve with a dollop of ghee on top. It tastes best when served hot.