Hokkaido Pomegranate Risotto

Hope you all had a beautiful weekend. The weather in our neck of the woods has been really beautiful lately, loads of sunshine with a slight chill in the air. Perfect for long walks...

With Autumn in its full swing, one can see varieties of squash and pumpkins at the grocery store. I just couldn't stop myself from picking one up. At the store I thought I would make a Hokkaido soup, which I absolutely love. However, at the last moment, I had a change of mind and this delicious recipe was born. 

This risotto tasted simply awesome, with the pomegranate adding a slight sweet and fruity taste, the parmesan cheese adding on its own special flavour and obviously the hokkaido being the star ingredient. The parmesan cheese crisps (recipe here) not only makes the risotto look gourmet, but it adds crunchiness to it. 

Special thanks to my hubby, who helped me scooping out the squash and made his signature parmesan cheese crisps :-) 

Ingredients

1 - hokkaido squash, small size 

1 cup - arborio rice

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 tbsp - olive oil

1/4 cup - chives, finely chopped + to garnish

1 - onion, medium size, finely chopped

40 grams - parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated

1/4 cup - pomegranate seeds + to garnish

400 ml - water (more or less)

20 grams - parmesan cheese, grated, (to make crisps, see the recipe here)

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Cut the top of the hokkaido squash horizontally, scoop out the seeds and then scrape off the flesh from the squash. (I got 1 cup of flesh from a small hokkaido)
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic, onions and the rice and saute for  a couple of minutes, stirring continously, on high flame.
3. Add salt, pepper and the finely chopped hokkaido squash and mix well.
4. Reduce the heat to low and keep adding water little by little, as it is absorbed.
5. When the rice is cooked, add the chives, the parmesan and the pomegranate seeds, and mix well.
6. Spoon the risotto into the hokkaido shell and garnish it with pomegranate seeds, chives and parmesan crisps and serve hot. 

Enjoy!

For you my Sis- Baked Cheesy Veggi Rice

There is not a single day when I don't talk to my little sis. Talking to her is like a daily routine. Even though she is almost 6 years younger, we are closely bonded and share our life experiences, laughter, madness, dreams, philosophy, gossip and so on. And, there are times, when we have these nonsensical conversations which do not make any sense at all, but which are, in my opinion, the best of them all - we forget all the worries and just laugh out loud about something arbitrary. That laughter, that fun makes my day pass in a jiffy.

There was a time when we hardly cared about each other, we were both so busy in our own worlds that we never knew the importance of each other. After my marriage, after shifting to Munich, the bond started growing, guess the distance was the reason...

While we were talking on the phone this weekend, we did discuss food and then she came up with this wonderful recipe (with a little bit of improvisation from my side!)

Ingredients

1 cup - brown rice, boiled with a cube of Maggi vegetable stock
1/3 cup - babycorn, boiled and chopped
1/3 cup - onion, chopped
1/2 cup - yellow and red pepper, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 inch piece - ginger, chopped
6 - low fat cheese slice
salt to taste
red chilli powder (optional)
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp - olive oil

To be ground together in a coarse paste

2 - tomato medium size
1 - green chilli (adjust according to your taste)

Method

1. Saute the onions, peppers, babycorn, garlic and ginger in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Keep aside.
2. In another pan, saute the paste in 1/2 tsp of oil for 5-6 minutes.
3. Add the cooked vegetables to the paste and cook further for a couple of minutes. Add the salt and cook again for a minute.
4. Add the boiled rice to the paste and mix well.
5. Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.
6. In a baking dish, add the rice and top it with a cheese slice. Repeat twice with cheese slice on the top. 
7. Place the dish in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the cheese is slightly brown. 
8. Serve hot.

We loved this cheesy vegetable rice and had it with some salad and strawberry juice, which made a complete satisfying meal.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Chutney Pulao

As mentioned in the previous post , I usually always have coriander or coriander-mint chutney at home and use it in a variety of dishes.

I had some leftover rice from the previous day - and was alone for lunch. And, as is sometimes the case, not in too much of a mood to spend a long time in the kitchen. The solution was pretty obvious but also pretty yummy, as well as pretty pretty!

This is a simple, quick to make recipe - and a good alternative to instant noodles and other such like quick meals - which I generally have a habit of eating when in a hurry and alone. 

Ingredients 

1 medium size - onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup - red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/3 cup - corn

1 clove of garlic

1 - green chilli, finely chopped (adjust according to your taste)

2 1/2 cup - boiled rice ( I used kala jeera rice)

1/4 cup - coriander mint chutney

a few curry leaves

1/2 tsp - cumin seeds

1/2 tsp - garam masala

1 tsp - sunflower oil/ghee

salt to taste

coriander to garnish

Method 

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan, add the cumin seeds  and when the seeds splutter add the curry leaves, green chilli, garlic and onion and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook again for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the corn and the chutney and cook again for a minute. Now add the boiled rice and  the rest of the ingredients and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with raita/yogurt. 

This goes to Mahimaa's Cooking Basics Event


Enjoy!

Spinach Rice

After the sins of the holiday season, its probably time to think a bit about the healthier side of cooking. Of course, one of the healthiest things around is spinach, full of iron, calcium and vitamins. Think Popeye the Sailor Man. And spinach can be combined with loads and loads of other stuff.


Ingredients 


3/4 cup - rice, (kaala jeera) soaked in water for half an hr
2 1/2 cup - water
1/4 cup - carrots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup - beans, chopped
1/4 cup - yellow pepper
2 - green cardamom
2 - cloves
1 inch piece - cinnamon
1/2 tsp - clove, cardamom, cinnamom powder
1/2 tsp - dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1- bayleaf
1 - whole red chilli
1tbsp - sunflower oil
salt to taste

For the paste

1 cup - spinach, shredded and soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
1 - tomato, chopped roughly
1/4 tsp - cumin seeds
2 inch piece - ginger, chopped
1 - green chilli (adjust accordingly)
very little water


Method 

1. Cook the rice in 2 1/2 cups of water ( may need more) along with chopped carrots, beans, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and a little salt. 
2. Drain and set aside. 
3. Heat oil in a non stick pan, add the bayleaf, red chilli and yellow pepper and saute for a minute. 
4. Add the ground thick paste and cook for about a minute. Add the boiled rice and the vegetables, spices and salt and mix. Cook for about 2- 3 minutes. Sprinkle the dried fenugreek leaves. Remove from the heat. 
5. Serve hot with yogurt or kadhi.  

Enjoy!