Coconut Rice

A very rich, aromatic dish made by cooking basmati rice in thick creamy coconut milk along with fragrant spices. The warmth of the spices and the mild sweetness of the coconut perfectly balance out and give the taste that will linger in your mouth.

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Coconut Rice is a very rich, aromatic dish made by cooking basmati rice in thick creamy coconut milk along with fragrant spices. The warmth of the spices and the mild sweetness of the coconut perfectly balance out and give the taste that will linger in your mouth.

Coconut Rice is mild and soothing, with green chilies you can add a touch of spice to it. Also, throw in a handful of green peas to give some color and freshness to the dish.

I think coconut rice is a humble dish! But ‘looks can be deceptive’! It looks very plain and light but a few spoons can fill you up giving a deeply satisfying feeling.

Coconut Rice

Makes: 4 servings

Coconut Milk	– 4 cups
Basmati Rice	- 2 cups
Onions	- 1 medium
Green Peas	– 1 cup
Green Chilies	- 4-5
Cloves	- 5
Cinnamon stick	- 2 1” sticks
Bay leaf	- 2 small
Cardamom	- 2 with pod
Ginger Garlic Paste	- 1 Tbsp
Oil	- 2 Tbsps
Salt	- to taste

Heat oil in a pot. Add cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cardamom, fry for couple of minutes till it flavors the oil

Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell is gone

Now, add onions and green chilies, fry until onions are soft and translucent

Add green peas and stir for a minute.

Pour in coconut milk, wash rice and add it to the pot. Stir well till everything is combined.

Transfer the liquid to a electric cooker.

If using pressure cooker, do all the above steps in the cooker instead of the pot. Cook until the liquid in the cooker comes to a slight boil, close the lid. Place the pressure cooker weight when steam starts to come out from top. Switch of the stove and remove the cooker from stove after 2-3 whistles.

Set the electric cooker in cook mode.

When done remove the container from electric cooker and serve hot.

Nankhatai

A soft, eggless biscuit made with flour, cardamom, ghee and sugar. Each bite of the warm biscuit will just melt in our mouth.

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I remember school days, back from school we would climb up the stairs smelling the aroma of warm ghee and cardamom and I would immediately know that it's Nankhatai. My grandmother would bake them just before we arrived from school and we would try to grab it even before it cooled! Each bite of the warm biscuit would just melt in our mouth.

My grandmother was a great cook; her passion for cooking introduced us to many delicious dishes. She is no longer with us but her love and the taste of her delectable food will always stay with us. Love you, Nama!

I took this recipe from my mom, who got it from my grandmother back then. She did not give me accurate measurements for the ingredients. I tried out couple of variations and now they taste like my Nama’s :-)

Nankhatai is an eggless, soft biscuit made with Maida, Cardamom, Ghee and Sugar. This recipe calls for just a few ingredients and simple procedure. The key ingredient for the taste is ghee

All you need to make these soft yummy biscuits are:

Nankhatai

All Purpose flour/Maida	- 1 Cup
Ghee	- 1 Cup
Cardamom powder	- 1 Tbsp
Powdered Sugar	- 1 Cup
Baking soda	- 1/3 Tsp

Mix maida, sugar and cardamom powder in a bowl.

I blend 8-9 cardamom seeds with pod removed along with sugar to make cardamon sugar.

Add baking soda to the maida mixture and mix well.

Baking soda is used to give rise (bulged look) to the biscuit when it is baking. Make sure to use fresh baking soda or else the biscuits will not rise.

Now, add ghee to the maida mixture and knead it into dough. Do not add water! You can add more ghee if you need. Cover the dough and keep it aside for 4-5 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 320 F. Grease a baking sheet and keep it ready.

Divide the dough into small round balls, flatten them in between your palms and arrange them on the baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12- 15 minutes or until the biscuits have slightly browned.

I would recommend keeping a watch on the biscuits after 10 minutes to make sure you don’t burn them.

When done remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

If the aroma has already made your tongue drooling, hold on the biscuits can be very hot.