Fresh Vegetable Platter

1. Choose a large plate or serving tray as the base for your platter.

2. Choose a variety of fresh vegetables, such as carrots,red and yellow bell peppers, cauliflower, radish, cucumber, broccoli ,celery and tender snow peas.

3.Thoroughly wash all the vegetables with cold water. Remove the top sections from the zucchini, bell pepper,button mushrooms, radish and cucumber. Remove the leaves and stems of the cauliflower and broccoli. Cut into florets.
Chop the vegetables into uniform sticks length wise.

4. Place the vegetables on the tray around the central dip holder. Group the same vegetables .

5. Pour the dip into shallow cups. Place in the centre of the tray.

Dip options:
Choose varied types of dip for your platter. Consider ranch salad dressing, hummus, sour cream mixed with chopped fresh dill, garlic mayonnaise, Mexican salsa and guacamole.

Easy dip recipe:
Equal parts of cream cheese, yogurt,sour cream. Mix them till combined.
Add some minced garlic and dill. Salt if wanted.
Serve chilled.

Seeraga samba vegetable pulao

Seeraga samba rice 2 cups
Carrots 2 chop small
Peas,fresh 1/2 cup
Fresh green chillies 3-4, minced
Tomato, 1 small chopped
Onion, 1 small chopped
Ginger, 1 tsp, minced
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Jeera 1 tsp
garam masala 1 tsp
Cloves 4
Cardamom 4
Cinnamon 2 sticks
Jeera 1 tsp
Curry leaves 6
Salt
Oil/ghee 4 tbsp

Take 4 tsp oil in a wok, add mustard till it sizzles, add jeera,cinnamon, cloves,cardamom,curry leaves,chillies,ginger and onions.sauté till onions are transcluscent. Add tomatoes and sauté well.
Add garam masala powder, add carrots. Sauté till carrot is half cooked.
Add peas and drained rice. Add water and salt to taste. Cover and cook till rice is just done.
Serve with tomato and cucumber raita.

Tip: this variety of rice cooks faster especially when soaked so be careful and leave flame on medium or low and check 10 mins after water comes to a boil. If if need a few more mins, have an eye on it.

Zucchini rice

Rice 1 cup(I used seeraga samba rice)
Water 2 cups
Shredded/chopped zucchini 1 cup (with or w/o skin)
Oil 2 tsp
Ghee 2 tsp (optional)
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
mustard seed 1/2 tsp
Red chilli 4 whole
Bay leaves 2
salt to taste
Cinnamon stick about 1/2 inch
Lemon juice 1 tsp


Heat the oil and ghee in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds to the oil. After seeds crackle, add dry red chilli, cinnamon and bay leaves. Add rice and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
Add water, zucchini, salt and lemon juice. Stir and bring to boil.
After rice comes to a boil turn the heat down to low and cover till rice is cooked.
Serve with yogurt and pickle.

Quick spinach pesto

Serves 2

Spinach 1 bunch
Pasta spirals 250 gms(boiled till al aldente)
Sun dried tomatoes
Fresh green chillies 2 minced
Nutritional yeast flakes 3 tbsp or
Grated Parmesan cheese 4 tbsp
Salt
Pepper

Puree washed and chopped spinach coarsely with sundries tomatoes.

Olive oil in a wok, add green chillies.when it sizzles, add the spinach puree, cook well till the raw smell goes away.season with salt and pepper. Toss pasta,mix.
Add Parmesan or nutritional yeast(add whilst still hot so it melts into pasta) and mix well.

Best chicken Biryani

Chicken thigh fillets 750 gms
Rice 3 cups
Yogurt 1/2 cup
Tomato 3-4 chopped
Garlic paste 1 tbsp
Garam masala 1 tbsp
Cloves 6
Cinnamon stick 2
Bay leaf 2
star anise 1
Cardamom 5 full pods
Cashews broken 6
Green chillis 5 minced
Coriander 1/2 cup
Mint 1/2 cup(optional)
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Chilli powder 2 tsp
Oil
Salt
Pepper 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice 1/2 a lemons worth
Saffron strands 1/2 tsp (dissolved in warm water)

Marinate chicken in yogurt,garlic and Garamond masala and keep aside for 2 hours. You can even marinate and keep aside till the masala is ready,longer marination makes the Biryani more flavorful.

Soak rice in water and keep aside.

In a kadai,take oil about 4 tbsps, when hot, add cinnamon,cloves,bay leaf,cardamom,star anise
and cashew nuts.when sizzles add minced green chillies and tomatoes. Mix well and allow tomatoes to thicken and oil to separate. Around 10 mins. Add marinated chicken,mint and coriander and mix well.add chilli powder,pepper powder and coriander powder and sauté till chicken is sealed and starts oozing oil.


Cover and let chicken cook till almost done and tender. Then add 5 cups water (not 6 as the yogurt and juices from the chicken itself contributes to about 1 cup) and let water boil.add salt to flavour.
Add rice and saffron now,stir once and cover and leave on low flame till rice is cooked.
Once done,squeeze 1/2 lemon on top.
Serve with raita.

Capsicum rice

Green Capsicum 2, sliced
Onion, 1 small sliced
Garlic 2 cloves, minced
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Cashew nuts 8 (grind cashew and g.chillies to a paste)
Green chillies 2-3
Salt and pepper
Cooked rice 3 cups
Sesame oil or canola oil 3-4 tbsp (I used sesame oil)

Oil in a pan, add mustard seeds,let splutter, add onion and garlic and sauté for 1 min. Add the capsicum and sauté.
Add the cashew-chilli paste and sauté well.add salt and pepper and cooked rice. Check for taste. This dish needs to have more oil for the taste.

Karunai kizangi fry (Yam fry)

Yam 400 gms chopped (I used a frozen variety)
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Fresh Coriander ,4 tbsps chopped
Chili pwdr 1/2 tsp
Coriander pwdr 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Put oil in a pan, add mustard,urad dal and cumin, allow it to sizzle. Add yam pieces.sauté.then add chilli-coriander pwdr. Add 1/4 cup water and cover till yam is cooked well.Season with salt. Sprinkle coriander leaves and turn off flame.