Palak Pulao

Bored of eating dal and chawal everyday! I made this typically wintry green rice with matar and palak. Goodness of the sweet taste every pea brings into a bite, the spice of the aromatics and the freshness of the greens makes this dish a delight on the palette. Does not need any accompaniment. So here is the simple recipe .......

1&1/2 cups of basmati rice, wash drain and keep aside
1 cup of  fresh green peas

All the below ingredients to be blended into a smooth paste

10 leaves of spinach roughly chopped
1 small bunch of coriander roughly chopped
A few mint leaves
1/2 tomato roughly chopped
1 inch ginger chopped
4 garlic cloves
3 green chillies
1 onion roughly chopped
Juice of half a lime

Method

In a pressure cooker take some oil, splutter some cumin seeds, add turmeric just a bit for colour, now add the ground paste and saute till it leaves the sides, add the rice, mix a bit, add the peas, water as required so the rice becomes neither too sticky nor too separated, add water keeping in mind the moisture from the paste. Mix well, add salt, cook to 2 whistles and the dish is ready.

                                              Spiced Indian Flat Bread With Raw Papaya

I always get tempted with all the green and fresh vegetables in the market. Now since winter is setting in the vendors have a wide variety of vegetables. What attracted  me was the small cute raw papaya sitting in one one of the vendor's baskets!! Bought it, came home and thought of how to use it! I made parathas, one of my experi-mental dishes. Turned out good, worth a share. So here goes my recipe with some tips from my son.

Ingredients
1 small raw papaya peeled and grated
1 small bunch of coriander chopped
A handful of mint leaves roughly chopped
2 grated gooseberries
2 tbspns of crushed chilli
1 tspn of cumin powder
Salt to taste
Some oil
Wheat flour as required

Method

In a mixing bowl or a paraat take all the above mentioned ingredients except the flour, mix well with your hand. Leave it for about 15 minutes to release juices and also the papaya to absorb the spices. Now start adding the wheat flour, keep mixing till you get a nice firm dough. Drizzle with oil, make small balls, roll out the parathas, roast on a pan as shown in the picture, use oil or ghee. They are ready to be served with some home made yogurt, pickle and kadhi.