Cook in a Curry

My craving for a hearty rice pudding a few weeks back led to this gorgeous dish!

Rice puddings are a very common snack/ dessert in Indian communities. My mum would cook us Indian rice pudding regularly with spices and toasted nuts. Southern Indian rice pudding also known as Payasam is similar in ways to the Kheer/ Indian rice pudding. Traditional payasam is made with rice and is a tad milky in consistency. There is a variety of ways to cook this dish and local communities also make a delicious version with broken or cracked wheat.

I have eaten ‘Thengai paal Payasam’ at weddings and pujas in the past; Coconut rice pudding is full of flavour, decadent and almost always makes me go for second helpings! Topped with fried pistachios, cashew nuts and puffy raisins; this pudding is a mouthful of gorgeousness. My favourite are the raisins so asking mum to add extra raisins was the done thing. I have used jaggery to cook the Payasam which lends a lovely sweetness but also gives it that caramelly colour. Palm sugar or unrefined brown sugar would be a perfect alternative.

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Diwali is just around the corner and I’m swamped with work all this week and all the way through in the run up to Christmas too. But ever the optimist, I’m also getting the house ready for Diwali and of course making scrumptious meals for family and friends. I really want some parts of the celebration to be easy, saving on time yet delicious. The menu is looking good so far and one of the dishes will most certainly include my previous post of Chicken Curry. I am also making buttery crispy parathas but in all that; making Indian bread might take painstakingly longer than I think. Except the lovely team at Tilda were kind to send over some of their Steamed Basmati Rice for me to try in this dish. As the brand says, ‘By partly steaming uses a gentle yet effective method of cooking our Basmati rice, giving consumers a healthy product which they can “finish off” quickly and conveniently in the microwave or wok.”

And that’s exactly what I did, a couple of minutes in the microwave the rice was ready to use for my parathas. I really could not have asked for an easier way to have perfect long grain fluffy rice which even manages to hold its own within the bread. The steamed rice has a fantastic range and you can check them all out on their website. These packs are readily available in your nearest grocery stores. I must admit I do stock up on canned chickpeas and canned ready chopped tomatoes as my must have ‘busy day’ ingredients. These steamed rice packs have most certainly become a regular inclusion to that list. So thank you Tilda!

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Batata Poha – Flaked Rice with Potatoes sautéed in turmeric, chilli & curry leaves

Poha as it’s commonly known is eaten all over India, though it is a speciality from Maharashtra. I have been eating this dish for breakfast like most people do since I was really young. This is one dish that can be eaten as a snack or amain meal.

When I was little and my family were visiting friends or relatives, the quickest thing that Indian housewives could put together was this dish, served steaming hot with some sweet & savoury pickles to accompany it. Maybe a bit of fresh yoghurt too.I think my fondest memories are of my mum making this for us on weekends and I do always going for seconds.

It is flaked rice, so if there is too much water left while it is soaking, there is a chance the dish might be lumpy. The end result must always be where the poha is light, flaky, with just the right amount of spice (chilli, mustard seeds or curry leaves) and a small amount of potato. Letting the main ingredient stand out. All garnished with fresh coriander and some lime juice. You can also garnish it with some roasted peanuts or freshly grated coconut.

I guess in a way, I do try and emulate that. Poha is a staple favourite every weekend and I make it fresh served exactly how my mother would be proud of me to serve it! Enjoy.
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