Friday, May 1, 2009

Vegetable Pilaf A La SJ

Its 6pm already?!
Rice or roti? Had roti yesterday. What do I make with rice? Sambar? nah, gojju? nah, Lemon rasam? Made that just three days ago...nah. Lets see what the ice-box has shall we? Drags herself to the kitchen, opens the refrigerator.
Hmm... comatose capsicum, oh my! those methi leaves are in real bad shape, what do I do with them? Scratches head...bites nail...scratch head again 10mins pass by...
Mmm...maybe its better order Chinese or call Pizza hut..mmmm, pizzaaa...
"Have you gained weight? you look kinda plump..." J's very 'concerned' comment brought me back from my cheese dreamland.
I threw out the pizza hut plans, and continued rummaging the refrigerator.
Ah, 1 tomato- little soft on one side bah who cares just cut that section out. Finally, something that looks healthy- 1 carrot. Just mix all this with some ginger-garlic paste, some spice and dump the rice and give it a fancy name - Vegetable Pilaf a la SJ and dinner is a done deal.
Pilaf1

you need,
1 cup rice- cooked till soft, not mushy still separate
1 big bunch methi leaves rough chopped
1/2 onion sliced
2 tomatoes chopped
1 big carrot grated
1 capsicum chopped (you can add red bell peppers and baby corn)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp sugar
lemon juice
1 inch ginger, 2 garlic cloves and 4 green chilles- blend this to a fine paste
1 tsp saunf

1) Heat oil in a pan and add the saunf, when it splutters, add the onions and capsicum. Cook till soft
2) add the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and saute for 2 mins
3) Add the tomatoes and cook till soft
4) add the methi leaves, sugar, red chilli powder, garam masala and salt. Cook till the leaves wilt.
5) add the grated carrots mix well
6) add the rice, mix and adjust the seasonings.
7) Take the pan off the heat and add 3-4 tsp lemon juice (adjust this to your taste)

Pilaf 4

It does not need any fancy raita, plain curds goes very well this. And its supposed to look real fresh and green, but my methi leaves were in real bad shape (I am talking withered and unrecognizable!).
The real name of this dish is carrot-methi pulao. Its my moms dish, she ain't going to sue me for changing the name!

11 comments:

  1. Not bad at all to replace the Pizza! I will take it. Looks fab!:)

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  2. wonderful clicks.. looks very good.

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  3. Looks too delicious! Love the baby corns in it!

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  4. Hey the Persian's and Turks are definitely gonna sue you for adopting the word Pilaf and using decaying veggies for their prized recipe. But am impressed gal..at least you went ahead and rescued all those veggies from rotting in hell..ahem...I mean fridge. Mine never sees a pan at times.

    The pic looks wonderful and tempting even after u warned about the methi. I can still gobble that up. Have a great weekend

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  5. Lovely pics, SJ.. You should start a tutorial on how you get such awesome clicks ! And for the 'gyan', its welcome anytime..Its just so hot in Ahmedabad, that yeast rising was never an issue. I did exactly that here (the oven 180 deg bit) and the bread rose well - that was my only option in this lovely weather here !!

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  6. Hey this is a great entry! Lovely blog, You can send this Carrot-Methi pilaf to my FIL-Carrot event..!:)

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  7. It really doesn't look like you threw some things together. The baby corns gives it a lovely look!

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  8. Lovely pilaf, loved the babycorn chunks here n there...yummy..

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  9. @Ashakka,
    err...I would still exchange this for A&N's pesto pizza!

    @MAhima,Divya, Sanghi @ Prathibha,
    Thank you!
    @Nags,
    Ok ok I lied, I did not throw things but whatever I used were really in bad shape ;)
    @Arch,
    me? photo tutorial? LOL! I just place the camera and take photos I do not do anything special. If I say this in a tutorial people are going to throw chappal at me!

    @yakshi,
    They won't sue me- I am 1/4 persian, 1/3 turk, 1/2 indian, 1/3 japanes, 1/4 korean. You have a nice weekend too!

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  10. Oi, you didn't mention baby corn in the ingredient list? :D

    YOU can adopt me now.

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