Fried Rice/ Pulao

Introduction

Hi All,

Starting the blog with my favorite recipe. Fried rice/ Pulao is a dish which unites all of Asia with signature restaurant chains based  on the stir-fry concept.

Tip to the reader:

• It would make more sense to go through this post, put down your computer/ tablet/ phone and then start cooking. You don't have to hang onto every word of recipes and need to have exact match of ingredients. You just need the general idea In the course of your cooking.
• You will realize that a little bit of mixing and matching the ingredients/ spices gives you a better taste. You might even want to create your own unique recipe (However that is not recommended in your first try).
• You will be willing to get your hands dirty. This includes both cooking and washing the cooking vessels afterwards. There is now getting away from that so be prepared.
• You should know how to regulate heat (low/ medium/high) on your choice of cooking device. This requires a practical and cannot be read. A good way to initially learn it take a small amount of water in a pan and see that amount of steam bubbles generated when you change the heat settings.  A low heat will just heat the water while high heat will cause the water to hiss and boil.
• A high amount of salt will ruin your dish. As a beginner,  use the smallest amount possible. You can always add more to the final dish. 

We will start with the basics. If you are chemically inclined , what you are about to do is mainly heat induced hydrolysis of carbohydrate polymer bonds and then creating a homogeneous mixture. In other words, boil the rice, mix the other vegetables and fry the hell out of it.

Cooking Rice

To get a better taste/ smell and consistency, you are better off  boiling the rice separately. I have no specific recommendations for you. I myself have tried all kinds of rice from Mexican red rice, Kroger's private label $2 per lb rice  to idli rice to make pulao and have realized that when you are hungry (and lazy) it really doesn't matter. After all, the reason for this exercise  is to make food, is less time is quantities, large enough so that you don't have to cook for a few of your next meals. Anyways, even if you are stuck with some inferior type of rice, with the correct combination of spices, you can mask the smell/taste later on.

So moving ahead, take X amount of rice and at least 2X amount of water and put it to boil. Slow cooking/flame brings out the best flavor. However, if you are short on time, cook it in a pressure cooker or use a microwave.  Tip to the reader:

• What you need to watch out for is that rice doesn't burn at the bottom. You can keep checking that by using a spoon to stir the rice and taste a few grains of rice at every 10 minute intervals. Add more water (in small increments) if you feel that rice is still not ready. 
• Keeping rice immersed in water for 15- 20 mins prior to cooking vastly reduces the cooking time and saves you gas/electricity

Don't be disheartened, if the rice is still under-cooked after your best attempts. It will be additionally softened once you fry it. If you manage to overcook the rice, just live with it. Better luck next time!!

Boiling Rice

Selecting/ Cutting vegetables

There is no specific recommendation on what vegetables to select (Although, I will not recommend that you pu lauki/parval/Karela). Select any seasonal vegetables/ any thing in fridge that you want to get rid of. I personally have used peas, cauliflower, cabbage, capsicum, beans, carrots and many more including apples. Each combination will impart its own unique flavor to the dish. You can even use leftover subzis from your last takeout dinner at a restaurant.

Cutting/peeling the vegetables is a tedious task, best avoided. Vegetable slicers/ frozen cut vegetables can alleviate your pain to a bit. However, what I have realized is that it is a great stress buster. Take out all your day's frustrations and worries on that hard carrot and you will have a chopped masterpiece.

 Tips to the reader:

• I am assuming that you have cut vegetables before, if not ABORT! A sharp knife in the hands of an inexperience cook is a recipe for disaster. You might want to try your hand at cutting salads first, just to gain some experience.
• Wash all vegetables thoroughly. The outer surface contains a lot of dirt/ pesticides
• There is no getting away with peeling the outer surface of potatoes/ carrots. Their surface has fine sand like grains sticking to them and will make the dish taste funny.  Same advice goes for the oute layer of cauliflowers. 

In the case below, I am using Capsicum, Carrots and Onion

Cut Vegatables

 Selection/ heating of oil

You can use any oil available. Ghee/butter will be the best choice of course, but you pot belly at the end of a month will make you wish you had used something more light. Use sarson ka tel (Mustard oil) only if you have a stomach for it. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Tips to the reader:

• Make sure that the pan is absolutely dry either by wiping it or heating it for a while  before you add oil. oil and water combination is deadly an the mixture will spatter all over your kitchen with bad stains. If you have managed to make this mistake, cover the pan immediately and lower the heat until the noise from inside the pan dies down. That's when all the water has evaporated and its safe to resume. 
• Unless you have a suicide wish, NEVER PUT A FULL CHILLY IN HOT OIL. It will explode with spectacular and deadly effects.
• You have to get the oil to the right temperature before you can start adding other ingredients . The best way to check is to put your hand above the pan and check for hot oily vapors. Its difficult to describe the feeling. You will have to ask an experienced cook (or your mother) to help you in this for the first time. 
• Excess oil is a problem, start with 2-3 teaspoons. You can always add a couple of more if the oil turns out to be less. The oil volume has to be in relation to the amounts of all the other ingredients in the dish. This again can not be read from a recipe. You will become a pro after a few cooking sessions. 

Heating oil

 Creating the spice base

This step is unique to Indian cooking where you are essentially creating the oily base for enhanced flavor. The ingredients include Ginger, Garlic, Cloves, salt and a host of other stuff with which you may not be bothered.  The best thing to do is to put some diced garlic or use readily available ginger garlic paste. You can also use Nestle's Bhuna Masala. The latter will be especially useful to a newbie as it has all the ingredients in the correct order.   Tips to the reader: 

• You need to use the amounts in relation to the amounts of other ingredients. Putting excess amounts may make the dish taste funny. Start with 1-2 teaspoons. After a few cooking sessions, you will develop a gut feeling to use the correct amount.
• Add this point you will have to cook at a high flame/heat. Make sure you know how to regulate the heat on your cooking device. BEWARE OF EXCESS HEAT: One a very high flame, the entire mixture may just catch fire. If this happens, open the taps at the nearest sink and pour everything down the drain in a gushing flow of water. Take this very seriously. An inexperienced cook might set his kitchen on fire!

Frying the Onion/Garlic paste

Add onion and saute till golden brown

Onions are needed for both bulk and flavor. Add according to your taste and onion's present market price ;)
Tips to the reader: 

• You need to fry the onions till they are golden brown and not black!. The onions will start spattering in oil as they release water. You will have to use a spatula/ spoon/ fork/knife (Depends on how many utensils you have in your kitchen) to constantly stir the onions. Try to avoid hot oil on you hand, it stings like crazy.
• If you do manage to get hot oil drops on your hand, reduce the heat/ extinguish the burner and put your hands under running water. There is no lasting damage and the pain goes away in 5 minutes. You can also use ice cubes. 

Golden-Brown Fried Onions

Adding the hard vegetables

Congratulations! if you have managed to reach this point, most of your dangerous work is over. After this point , the most that can happen is that the food may get a little burnt. 

Now you will have to learn to distinguish between the hard vegetables, that require larger cooking time to become soft, and the soft vegetables, which require considerable less time. The hard vegetables like carrots, cabbages, beans and peas basically have a more concentrated cellulose  structure. Cellulose is a plant carbohydrate that in raw form is only edible to cows or goats. For us humans, the vegetable needs to be cooked till it gets that characteristic soft texture.

Add the vegetables to the oil/base mixture with a bit of salt on high heat and keep stirring the vegetables. At this point, the vegetables will start to release water. The objective is to evaporate all the water to get the unique 'fried' taste and texture.   You can keep tasting a piece or two till the vegetables are just perfect. Be careful not to burn your tongue!

Frying the Hard Vegetables

Adding the soft vegetables

You can now add the soft vegetables like Capsicum, Mushrooms. These vegetables will also release water. You need to make sure that all the water gets evaporated to avoid the characteristic boiled taste. Keep tasting the dish to know that everything is ready
  

Frying the Soft Vegetables

Adding Spices

There is no recommended spices to put. Even after 10 years of cooking, I keep experimenting with spices. The trick is to start light in your first attempts and try different combinations. The ready made spices available in supermarket aisles are a great help. One combination will make your dish a Chinese Stir fry while another will give you Hyderabadi Biryani. The non- vegetarian folks at this point can add egg/ meat stock to get the desired taste.

Keep stirring for 1-2mins to ven out the spices.

Adding Spices

Adding Rice

You can know add the boiled rice to the vegetable mixture. Stir vigorously and evenly for a homogeneous mixture and fry for 5 more minutes.

And.... we are done. Now is the time for garnishing/ selecting the right accompaniment. You can use Ghee/  diced dry fruits/ Fried Paneer/ Tomato Ketchup/ Mayonnaise or just anything you fancy (I have even experimented by adding Ricotta Cheese).  Curd/ Daal are great accompaniment though washing down the pulao with soft drinks/ Fruit juice might also not be a bad idea.

With this note, I sign off for today. Stay tuned for my next recipe- Paneer bhurji  

30 minutes to Gastronomical heaven

Introduction

Presenting to you the first in my series on food recipes which could be cooked in 30 mins or less. Your host Anish, an adventurous soul who has endured years and years of food from office food courts/ Restaurants and many questionable eateries to realize that nothing is better (and cheaper) than 'Ghar ka khana' even if you are cooking it yourself.  This is not your typical food blog where I teach you how to cook fancy foods to delight your hosts or to win cookery contests. The aim is to share my experiences along with some basic gyaan on food chemistry which can help you make gajar ka halwa in a -10o C weather or just some regular grub that you can rustle up after catching that late cab from office. Believe me, the journey can be tough but there's nothing like the feeling of Empowerment of being the master of your own cooking. With this note, I move on to my signature dish- Rice pulao and its different combinations.