Thursday, May 3, 2012

Thaengai Paal Saadham / Coconut Milk Rice


Rice cooked in coconut milk is truly heavenly and will not disappoint your taste buds in any way. Just spice it up with very few ingredients with a dollop of ghee and for sure, you will end up with a full filling meal. It does not take much time to prepare this rice. 
I also added few carrots and peas along with the rice. You can be as creative as you want with this rice. Sometimes I add mint paste and call it mint pulav. You can make it plain without vegetables and call it ghee rice. But the base taste is going to remain the same. I usually add 1 tablespoon of ghee and one tablespoon of oil. You can substitute oil with ghee. But I feel, it might be a little heavy on your tummy.


Ingredients:


1. Basmathi rice - 2 cups
2. Thick Coconut Milk - 1 cup
3. Water - 3 cups
4. Ghee - 1 tablespoon
5. Oil - 1 tablespoon
6. Green cardamom-2, cloves-2, star anise-1, cinnamon - a small piece, Brinji leaves - 2
7. Carrots and peas - 3/4 cup
8. Onion - 1 thinly sliced
9. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 teaspoon.
8. Green chilli - 3 (or per taste)
9. Salt - as needed.


Method



1. Soak the rice in water for at least 1/2 an hour. This will make the rice nice and fluffy.
2. Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker. Add all the whole spices.
Saute for a minute till the aroma comes out.
3. Add thinly sliced onions, green chillies sliced and ginger garlic paste. Cook until the onions become tender.
4. If you plan to add vegetables, this is the time to add them. Give it a quick stir and add the soaked rice along with 1 cup of coconut milk and 3 cups of water. Add salt and pressure cook it for 1 whistle.I usually use the rice cooker for this preparation and this proportion works just right.

It is as simple as that. Serve it along with your favorite spicy curry or just a simple raitha would do too.