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Monday, December 22, 2008

Vegetable Fried Rice

If I were to list out my top ten favourite foods, fried rice would definitely figure quite high on that list. Special favourites like this and ulli sambar were usually made by my mother on Sundays so that we could all sit together and enjoy the food. I usually end up making it when I am stumped for ideas on what to make or low on time and high on hunger.

What you need:
Basmati rice - 1 cup (washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes)
Cardamom - 4 pods
Clove - 5
Cinnamon - a small piece
Star anise - 2
Pepper corns - 1/4 tsp
Chopped vegetables - 3/4 cup (use a mix of beans, carrot, cauliflower, peas, potato and beets)
Green chilli - 3 or 4 (adjust to taste), minced
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 6 tsp

Heat a tsp of ghee and fry all the spices in it until fragrant. Let it cool and then grind to a fine powder.
Drain water from the rice and then fry it in a tsp of ghee until it loses all the moisture and turns creamish in colour.
Heat the rest of the ghee, add the powdered spices, green chillies,chopped veggies, and turmeric powder. Stir fry for a few minutes. Transfer all the ingredients to a pressure cooker, add 1.5 cups of water, required amount of salt and cook until one whistle.
Enjoy with raita and papad.

21 comments:

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

this fried rice makes me hungry.. looks great.. i am going to end up making this tomorrow :) didn't u put green chilli for spice?

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

just now noticed that u fry the masalas and grind them. . quite a different method from how i make. bookmarked.

Unknown said...

comfort food..i make this very often..nice tempting picture..

Jayashree said...

Mahimaa, thanks for pointing that out. Have edited the post now. Frying the masalas and then grinding them makes the rice really fragrant. Plus, the spices are eaten, not wasted.
Sowmya, it is indeed comfort food at its best.

Alka said...

I love pulao,biryanis,fried rice..they make so perfect pair with Indian curries and even without them(with curd or papad).This recipe sounds simple and flavorful

Suganya said...

Fried rice look so YUM! So colorful Nice recipe....

Happy Holidays!!!!!!

soma said...

I have never fried masalas & then grinded them. I bet thi siwll give agood flavor without disturbing the texture..

Like the way the separate grains are showing in the picture.
Soma(www.ecurry.com)

Priya Suresh said...

Frying the masala n grinding them makes the fried rice more flavoursome na!! excellent dish..

Priya Suresh said...

Frying the masala n grinding them makes the fried rice more flavoursome na!! excellent dish..

Vaidehi Bhave said...

delicious !!

Sunshinemom said...

Comfort soul food for me!

Cham said...

The color makes me hungry right away!

Unknown said...

good idea of grinding the spice looks so yummy

sra said...

Happy New Year, Jayashree!

sra said...

Happy New Year! Did I just leave the same comment?

Sanghi said...

Hi Jayashree.. Fried rice looks yummmy. Good blog too. Visit mine ans comment. happy new year!

Sunshinemom said...

Happy New Year!

Dibs said...

Wish you a Happy New Year! Star anise really has a lovely flavour..nice recipe.

sansmerci said...

wow nice pic :D and thts a quicker way to make fried rice.. will try next time for sure

Archana Vivek said...

Fired rice looks colorful and excellent. Nice photography too:-)

A_and_N said...

I make this all the time! :) Isn't it absolutely droolworthy? Great pic also!