Ishaan started going to Kindergarten few weeks ago. I was a bit stressed about him going to new school right after coming back from India. On the first day of school, I went to have lunch with him, totally prepared to bring him back home if he was too tired. He assured me he was fine and I can pick him up after school. I came home relieved, thinking he is grown so much that he can handle it.
I send him lunch every day. I stress about does he have enough time to eat? can he open his lunch box? did I forget to pack his spoon etc. I asked him to get help from some grown-up in opening the box. Now he says he asked first couple of days but now he can do it all by himself (he takes food in a thermos and it is hard to open it sometimes!). He is a slow eater and if there are friends around, talking and then running out to play takes higher priority!. Now that he has settled down a bit, I ask him what lunch he wants in his box, so that he is excited about eating.
Last week he asked for pulav. At home he loves pulav/biryanis with yogurt or raita. But eating yogurt with it at school would be too much to ask. So I decided to make it with less spices but packed with nutrition and flavor. This carrot pulav was a perfect fit. I packed it with a big dollop of ghee for him. Even my 1 and half year old loved it.
Pictorial: Heat oil/ghee and fry spices, then onion, ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste.
Add garam masala, fry. Then add rice, carrots.
Pour water, cover and cook.
Carrot Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 tea spn freshly ground ginger-garlic paste
- 2-3 green chillies
- 3-4 cloves
- 2 " cinnamon stick
- 2-3 cardamoms
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tea spn garam masala
- Ghee/Oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Wash basmati rice, drain and keep aside.
- Heat oil/ghee and add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom.
- When they are fried a bit, add onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste.
- Fry till the onions are translucent.
- Add garam masala and fry for few minutes.
- Add basmati rice, carrots, salt and fry for 2-3mins.
- Now pour 2 cups of water, cover and cook till done.
- Serve hot with dollop of ghee or raita(optional).
Carrot Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 tea spn freshly ground ginger-garlic paste
- 2-3 green chillies
- 3-4 cloves
- 2 " cinnamon stick
- 2-3 cardamoms
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tea spn garam masala
- Ghee/Oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Wash basmati rice, drain and keep aside.
- Heat oil/ghee and add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom.
- When they are fried a bit, add onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste.
- Fry till the onions are translucent.
- Add garam masala and fry for few minutes.
- Add basmati rice, carrots, salt and fry for 2-3mins.
- Now pour 2 cups of water, cover and cook till done.
- Serve hot with dollop of ghee or raita(optional).
Corn or Jola(in Kannada) is in season now. I saw this recipe in a magazine a while back Since we all love corn, I have tried it many times at home with my own little modifications and it comes out great. Since these balls are steamed, these are healthier options compared to the fried cutlets.
Pictorial: Make a coarse paste of corn and then of all other ingredients.
Make balls from the mixture and steam.
Spicy Steamed Corn Balls (Jolad Undi)
Ingredients
- 2 cups corn
- 1/2 cup coconut
- A pinch asafoetida
- 3-4 green chillies
- 2 tbl spn coriander leaves
- A drop of oil for greasing the plate optional
- Salt
Instructions
- Cook the corn(cooking in advance is not necessary if using most of the frozen corn which cooks very fast) and make a coarse paste of corn.
- Make a coarse paste of coconut, green chillies, coriander leaves, asafoetida and salt.
- Add the paste to corn.
- Make small balls of the mixture, give it a slightly elongated shape.
- Line them in a cooker vessel or plate and steam them for 10mins.
- Serve hot.
