Mixed Fried Rice

This dish needs no introduction..A staple in all Indo-Chinese restraurants and a must with any oriental side dish, like chilli chicken, manchurian, ginger chicken, sweet and sour varieties.

Again fried rice is so versatile dish. Sure they are hundreds or thousands of varieties of this type of preparation and this is only one of them.

Ingredients:
4 - 6 Cups Cooked Rice(Preferably Basmati)
2 tsp Sesame oil
5 Thai or regular Green Chillies slit and cut diagonally
1 big Onion cut length wise
2 Tbsp fresh ginger garlic paste or use freshly chopped
1 Egg (beaten and scrambled)
2 Cups choice of veggies diagonally crated (Carrots, Cabbage, Green Beans,)
Choice of meat, poultry, seafood(Small peices Chicken, beef, mutton/lamb and small variety shrimp/prawns)
2 Tbsp Soya Sauce
1 Tsp fish Sauce
1 Tsp Green Chilly Sauce
1/2 Red Chilly Garlic Sauce(completely optional..I didn't use)
1/2 White Vinegar
A few sprinkles of Cooking Wine
A pinch of Aginomoto(optional)
Salt to taste
Spring onions chopped, one half to add while frying and the other for garnishing.


Procedure:
In a wok, heat oil, sizzle green chillies.
Add Onions and cook till crispy
Add ginger garlic paste and saute'
Add half of spring onions and saute'
Add Chicken, meat and seafood and salt and dependign fresh you are using fresh or cooked give time to cook or warm up.
Add half of the sauces at this point.
Now add the Chopped veggies, some salt and stir the veggies till crispy and cooked, for 5 -7 mins or so,
Add aginomoto if using.
Now add the cooked plain rice along with all the remaining sauces.
and combine well to coat all the grains evenly with the mixture.
Add scrambled egg.
Add enough salt again and mix well.
Transfer to a serving bowl and Garnish with spring onions.
Serve with choice of any Indo-Chinese Side dish.

Curried Minced Meat w/ Ridge Gourd

------AKA Kheema Birakaya/Birakankai Kheema-------

Kids back to school last week after that long summer break and though fall is going to officially start next week, it seems like winter is already here..And chill weather always calls for something soothing and comforting..and think about comfort food its always authentic dishes from home afar..One such comfort food for me is a cup of hot rice with this preparation of minced meat and veggie..

The combo of a non-veg and veg is always a hit and it got to be when it is an Andhra preparation. So here is yet another scrumptious dish straight from amma's kitchen. Being a Tamilian, my husband is not so used to these combos. Though he loves Andhra cuisine and by all means my cooking, the first time I mentioned I'm preparing Kheema(Minced meat) with Ridge gourd(Birkankai - Tamil) he had his eyebrows raised but totally got bowled with the result..


So for those who enjoy Indian cooking and don't mind eating meat, next time pickup a pkg of minced meat and a pack of Ridge gourd(readily available in most of the South Asian stores) when you grocer and let your kitchen be filled with the aroma of this side dish.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 long - Beerakaya/ Ridge Gourd / Beerkankai (De-skinned and chopped into small cubes)
1 to 1.5 lb Kheema ( Mutton/Beef)
2 tsp oil
2 medium Onions chopped
4-5 Green Chillies slit
A Few Curry leaves
1 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Red chilly powder
1 tsp Coriander pwdr
1/2 Cumin pwdr
1 tsp garam masala powder(Home Made)
Salt to taste
Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Procedure :
Heat oil in a pan/wok and add chopped onions, slit green chillies, curry leaves, and cook till onions are translucent.
Add ginger garlic paste and cook till rawness is gone.
Now add minced meat(kheema) and salt.
Add garam masala powder
Mix well.
Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or till the kheema changes color, stirring occasionally.
Add chopped ridge gourd pieces to the kheema curry and cook till both are is fully done.

Sprinkle some water if too dry while the kheema is cooking.
Cook till the ridge gourd almost gets disappear in the kheema..much like the pic above..follow the pics anti clockwise..
Once the kheema is cooked and oil starts oozing from the sides add coriander leaves and remove from heat.
Serve hot with plain rice first and then with sambar.

Ivy Gourd in Green Chutney / Tindora Hara Chutney wala

Dondakaya Kothimiri Karam Vepudu / Kovakai Kothimalli Kara Poriyal

Cooking is all about experimenting with the ingredients you have ready at hand..I'm always open for cooking without a recipe or adding variations to the staple procedures. No wonder I'm a fan of Michael Smith from Food Network/Food TV and always admired his style in the program "Chef at Home", where he always emphasis on cooking without a recipe.

Today's recipe is one such which absolutely came from my heart when I envisaged the flavours of adding the green chutney to regular Tindora stir fry and whipped up the same.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ivy Gourd/Dondakaya/Kovakai/Tindora (Cut into thin discs or cut length wise
1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

1 Onion small chopped
2 Red Chillies broken into small pieces
1/2 tsp Red chilly powder
1/8 tsp Turmeric
A few curry leaves
Few lemon drops
Salt to taste

for the Green Chutney:

A Small bunch of Coriander leaves, chopped
1 Garlic clove chopped
4 Green Chillies chopped
Add water to the above items and grind to a chutney. Keep Aside

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai or wok.
Allow mustard seeds to splutter.
Then add the red chillies, onions, curry leaves one after the other and fry till onions are translucent.
Add the turmeric powder.

Now Tindora and required salt, give it a nice mix to coat them well with the seasoning.

Sprinkle some water and cook covered with lid till the Tindora is 3/4 cooked.
Keep mixing in regular intervals.

Now add green chutney and mix thoroughly..

Let the Tindora absorb all the green chutney into it.
Keep stirring till all the water is evaporated and Tindora is dry but well coated with the green chutney masala.
Add a hint of lime and remove from heat.
Serve hot with Rice, Sambar or Dhal curry