one pot dinners – Indian Culinary Center, NYC

Meat Pulao (rice casserole) with leftovers and a Raita

July 25, 20171 Comment

A couple of weeks ago I made a beef curry which was wonderfully delicious.

https://indianculinarycenternyc.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/sunday-beef-curry-with-potatoes/

What was leftover was not enough to feed 3 people – the number of people in my household and so I repurposed it into a pulao (rice casserole). This was enough to happily feed 3 people and it was also a new dish from leftovers.

I like to cook this way and following are the instructions to make the rice.

I have several recipes for rice on the blog and as most of my recipes, these are suggestions and feel free to use what you have.

Saute an onion and a tsp. of cumin in a tsp of oil. Cook for about five minutes and then add the leftover beef curry (or any curry you may have on hand). Heat through and add frozen peas if you like. Now add a cup of basmati rice (more if you have a lot of leftovers). Stir well and brown the rice a little. Next add 2 cups of water (a little less if there is a lot of sauce in the curry) and bring to a boil uncovered. Taste the water for seasoning – add some salt if you need it.

When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cover for about 15-20 or until all the water has been soaked up.

Let stand for a few minutes.

In the meantime I made a raita (a yogurt dish with various ingredients like cucumber, onions, tomatoes or herbs).

I had a boiled potato that I diced, a tomato and sliced a red onion. Mixed in plain yogurt. Seasoned with salt, cumin powder and dried mint.

Now serve the rice with the raita.

You have a new and delicious dinner.

Until I cook again!

A Simple Basmati Pulao (pilaf) with Peas and Onions

October 28, 2015April 26, 20172 Comments

Basmati rice is a staple in most Indian households.

There are many ways that we prepare it. Sometimes it is the star of the meal and at others it is a side dish.

This dish is my go to comfort meal that is ready in about 20 minutes. I make it often and if you just change up the vegetables or other ingredients you add – you have a new dish each time.

And another thing: something I always knew but recently read a study to verify it is also exciting news. And that is that some frozen vegetables like peas can have more nutrients when frozen. Following is the link for the study:
http://www.thekitchn.com/are-frozen-vegetables-as-good-for-you-as-fresh-heres-what-you-need-to-know-244911?utm_source=k_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=04262017

So my sweet friend who I call my sweet has been trying to cook for himself and this is one dish that I know he will enjoy.

Here goes. It is very simple really.

The spices:

1 tsp. black mustard seeds or cumin seeds

2 cardamom pods

1 bay leaf

a few dry red chilies (optional)

In a tbs of oil, add the spices and cook for a minute or until the mustard seeds pop. Once they pop, add a red onion slice along with a tsp of salt and saute for about 5 minutes until they are brown and caramelized.

Once the onions are nice and brown, add a cup of frozen peas or any other frozen vegetable you like.

Stir for a minute or so and then add 2 cups of basmati rice. Now stir again to brown the rice a little.

Next add 4 cups of water and stir to break up any lumps that the rice has formed. Taste the liquid for salt and bring to a boil on high heat uncovered.

Once it comes to a boil, cover the pot and lower the heat to low.

18 -20 minutes later you have beautifully cooked rice.

Turn off the heat and let stand for about 10 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot with yogurt and pickle or lentils.

You have dinner!

Until I cook again!

Short Ribs Braised in Port Wine Sauce

October 21, 2015Leave a comment

A few days ago I made short ribs for a party that I was having. This is a real crowd pleaser and you can make it easily with very little effort on your part.

What short ribs are : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_ribs

Season generously with salt and pepper and sear in a dutch over over high heat till you get a beautiful brown sear.

Add some aromatics like rosemary, thyme and a chopped onion.

The sear is very important since that is what imparts flavor to the dish.

Next, add a liquid like wine, port, stock or even water to create the braising liquid.

I used port since I had it laying around – you can use a combination of the above.

Add a bay leaf and bring to a boil. Then simmer over low heat, covered for about three to four hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. At some point you can add tomatoes and also some root vegetables in the last half hour of the cooking. Sometimes, I add potatoes, turnips and parsnips to create a hearty meal.

After the meat is cooked, cool and refrigerate to help form a layer of fat that can be removed the next day.

This is a very fatty dish and requires you to remove the fat. If you are serving the same day – use a ladle to skim off the fat.

Now for the not so good looking part of the procedure:

Here’s how it will look after you refrigerate it. I remove the meat before hand. Remove the fat and store it in the freezer for making potatoes or even fried eggs.

When ready to serve, bring the sauce to a boil and add the meat. Simmer till the meat is heated through and then serve either in chunks or shred it as I did.

I served it over mashed potatoes as tiny bites since it was a cocktail party.

You can even add a dash of red wine just before serving for a delicious rich flavor.

The final dish as presented to the guests.

I hope you try this dish and let me know how it turned out.

Until I cook again!

Seafood and Chicken Paella

July 1, 2015Leave a comment

Summer is upon us and most of you who are lucky enough to have a grill are probably making all your meals on it. Well, I’m jealous and I don’t have a grill and so I focus on lots of seafood.

I love one dish meals. They require very little attention. Once you set it up – you can walk away and dinner prepares itself.

This one is simple, beautiful and delicious of course

6 Chicken thighs, bone in

2 tbs. oil

½ tsp. steeped in warm broth

2 cups rice of your choice (short or long grain – basmati, arborio, etc.)

4 cups broth (chicken, shrimp or even water will do)

a variety of seafood (about 2 lbs)

shrimp, scallops, mussels, fish, clams, etc

1 cup frozen peas

2 lemons cut into wedges

salt and pepper

You will need a large flat skillet for this – if you don’t have one, you might make do with a Dutch over.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and sear on both sides in the pan till nice and golden brown. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add the rice to the pan and coat with the oil, mixing gently. Add the stock, salt to taste and the saffron. Add the chicken back to pan with the rice. Cook about 20 minutes. Just as the rice is almost done, layer the top with the seafood and cook another 5 to 7 minutes or till the seafood is just cooked.

Serve hot with wedges of lemon and a garnish of chopped parsely.

Until I cook again!