Vegetable Pulav, T&T Chilly Paneer

Yay, I'm back! Thanks a bunch friends, for all your concerns, tips and wishes, my laptop has gotten itself some life and is normal (at least as I am typing this post!) For anybody who is facing this issue, I uninstalled and re-installed my Anitvirus and did a couple of malware scans and that did the trick. Please do write to me if you would like to have the complete steps.

Coming to our recipe for today, Vegetable Pulav is one yummy, complete meal that is a sure hit in most of our homes, be it a party or a lazy sunday lunch! I have about half-a-dozen pulav recipes, with difficulty level ranging from easy to high, the simplest (yet tasty) one being my MIL's version. I shall post that some time soon!

Here is a version that calls for a little bit for work before hand, but is well worth the effort. So without much talks, let's see how I made Vegetable Pulav.

Vegetable PulavBasmati rice cooked with marinated vegetables and spices
Serves 2


What we need:
Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Onion, big sized - 1, thinly sliced
Tomato, big sized - 1, roughly chopped
Vegetables - 1 cup ( I have used Carrot, Beans, Peas, Cauliflower, Potato)
Soya chunks - a handful - Optional
Green chillies - 2 or 3, minces
Mint leaves - less than a handful
* Pulav Masala powder - 1 tbsp.
Bay leaf - 1
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp.
Ghee/Oil - 3 tbsp.
Water - 3 cups
Salt - according to taste
Coriander - chopped, for garnish

To marinate:
Thick Curd - 3 to 4 tbsp.
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Salt - a little
Kasoori Methi - 2 tbsp., crushed
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp. - Optional
A few mint leaves

* If you don't have store-bought Pulav masala, you can dry-roast 3 to 4 cloves, 1" inch cinnamom stick, a black cardamom, 2 or 3 green cardamom, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and powder them.

How to do:
1. Wash well and soak the basmati rice in water for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients given under 'To marinate'. To this, add the vegetables and give a good mix. If you are adding soya chunks, boil them for 3 to 4 minutes, squeeze the excess water and add them to the marinade. Let this also sit for 30 minutes.
3. Heat ghee/oil and add the bay leaf and cumin seeds.
4. When they are done, add the onion, green chilli, mint leaves and saute well.
5. When the onions turn translucent, add the tomatoes, salt and Pulav masala powder.
6. After the tomatoes turn soft, add in the marinated vegetables and the remaining marinade if any.
7. Drain and add the rice; mix well. Now add water (1 cup of rice: 1.5 cups of water)and cook till the rice is done.

Notes:
Take care when adding salt, as our marinade has a bit of salt.
If you are using Pressure cooker, in step 7, add boiling water, add a few drops of lemon juice and cook for 1 whistle.

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with a raita of your choice!!

T&T Chilly Paneer from Kanchan's Personal Tadka

Paneer is my all-time favorite ingredient, and am sure it is for most of us too! (That is evident from so many Paneer-related events in the blogsphere!) But for snacks, I stick diligently to Paneer tikkas or Paneer bites. Kanchan's Chilly Paneer kept coming back to me, so I made it one evening. Only change I did was to add red bell peppers instead of green ones, as I didn't get the green ones that week.
And the outcome: DH and myself, ate in complete silence!!! It was sooooo tasty and finger-licking-delicious (in our case, fork-licking!) Thanks Kanchan, I am passing to you my DH's thanks too :)

See you all soon! Till then, Happy Cooking and Happy Blogging!

36 comments:

Namitha said...

Glad to see you(your laptop) back :D..Never thought of marinating veggies for pulav..Sure that will add more taste.Simple and beautiful presentation,Rohini :-)

priya said...

wow...glad to c ur yummy recipes again, dear!!...looks tempting!

Sushma Mallya said...

good to c u back rohini,nice idea of marinating vegetables for pulav,quiet interesting,will surely try ur version next...looks very nice and delicious

Chitra said...

Welcome back dear..Nice yummy recipe.. Chilly paneer also looks too good :)

Sanjana said...

Glad to have you back! I know how much of a pain technology can be! I'm getting so hungry at the sight of your chilli paneer. I was daydreaming about paneer today in a lecture (not very productive, I know!) And your recipe has brought the paneer craving back! :D

SE said...

glad to see you back...idea of marinating the vegetables is different..very interesting..both the dishes looks very tempting..

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Pulao with tadka great combo and mouthwatering

Latha said...

Nice to see u back.....both dishes look awesome....just liked the idea of marinating the veggies.

Nithya said...

Lovely recipes.. they looks just perfect.. :)

Buddy, I just did the same last night and my PC is fine now too. :) my anti virus was the culprit too.. :)

Unknown said...

Glad to see you back in action, lovely and delicious dishes. Wouldn't mind having some now.

Priya Suresh said...

Glad to see you back with delicious dishes, am just drooling over that chilly paneer..

Vrinda said...

Yummy pulav ang gr8 presentation...

chakhlere said...

Marination of veggies is really great and new idea. Loved it...will surely do it now when I make pulav.

Uma said...

mmm. that's a delicious pulav. looks so tempting. And the paneer dish looks so yummy too. New look of your blog is cool :)

Preety said...

both looks perfect and drool worthy pics..

Sarah Naveen said...

good to see you back dea.!!!
both looks yummy..nice clicks too..its a great meal..

Tina said...

Nice to c uuuu bak...Pulav looks yummyyyy....

my kitchen said...

Pulav with paneer,nice combo

Kanchan said...

Wow!!! Thank you to you dear!!!
Thank god it turned out well ;) else if something would’ve screwed then vaise bhi I don't show my face in my blog snap and would never be able to show again :P

And Loved you marinating version, will try sure :)

Raks said...

Lovely looking pulav Rohini! And I too was looking for a good Paneer recipe,looks so nice :)

Ash said...

That's good news....U r back with a yum Pulao.... Yummy Yummy!!! The chilli Paneer looks good too,with paneer retaining its soft texture.... Hey, I think u could send that to Reva's ” COOKING FOR NEW YEAR AND CHRISTMAS:” Here's a link to it...

http://revarasoi.blogspot.com/2009/12/announcement-of-cooking-for-christmas.html

Just check out..

Ash....
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Nandinis food said...

Pulav looks delicious! Marinating veggies is different and tastier version!

gtyuk said...

the vegetable pulao looks great, interesting version and the chilly paneer is making me mouthwater!!

Rekha shoban said...

Nice presentation and healthy pulav

dsdsds said...

The pulav and paneer looks yummy...

Vineetha Sush said...

grt to see u back with a yummy pulav.Paneer too looks delicious.

RV @ Food for 7 Stages said...

Glad to know that you fixed the issue.. pulav and panner looks delicious.. hmm. yumm yumm..

Anonymous said...

lovely pulav rohini.

Unknown said...

chilly paneer looks yumm

Dolly Sharma said...

yup thats technology...Good to see you back. Beautiful Presentation and ur Pulao looks delish. Pulao is a life saver in my kitchen.Its a one pot meal which you can enjoy with Raita and Pickle. Also love ur Paneer Tikka. Looks very inviting and beautiful click.

Unknown said...

What a coincidence. I made a similar paneer dish today! Looks delicious dear.

Preeti Kashyap said...

both look awesome! yummy recipes!

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Good to see u back... I have missed a few posts... coz I was preoccupied.. over the weekend......
Nice pilav.... offcourse... Paneer.. is delicious.. thanks for sharing!

Anupama said...

I have never made pulao this way Ro... the idea of marinating the ingredients sounds good to me as I have done that for a few other dishes and they have always turned out to be flavorful :-). Guess I must try that paneer dish too. Your pulao has been bookmarked for me to try over the holidays :-).

cookeaze said...

The presentation is excellent and Vegetable Pulav and panner looks very appetizing.Wish you a new year!

Unknown said...

Thanks, to sharing the information about to make Vegetable Pulav and T&T Chilly Paneer . The images of "Pulav" and "Paneer" both are so wonderful and yummy. Both are my favorites recipes. The presentation is fantastic. I like your blog, nice cooking, keep it up. Global Market Research