Vadani Kaval Gheta - Quick and Easy

My cousin visited us couple of years ago. One evening we were so busy chatting that we forgot to cook for dinner in time! So she decided to give me a break from cooking and make her pulav. It was quick and with nice cucumber raita on side, we had nice meal ready in just 20 minutes. I have been regularly making that pulav ever since! It comes out great with brown rice or quinoa too. 1 cup Long Grain Rice 1 small Potato 1 small Shallot (or very small onion) 10-12 Green Beans Few Florets of Califlower 1 small or 4-5 Baby Carrots 2-3 Green Chilies Few Cashews (Split lengthwise) Salt as needed 2 tbsp Oil Masala -  2 Cardamom pods, 2-3 black peppers, 2 cloves, 1 stick Cinnamon, 2 Bay Leaves, 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds 2 cups Hot Water Preparation - Wash and drain rice and set aside and then start prep work.  Peel and cut Potato into 1" cubes. Slice shallot/onion. Remove tips of green beans and cut into 1" long pieces. Cut baby carrots into 4 pieces lengthwise, or simi...

This recipe was shared by my classmate about 15 years ago and I still make mine from scratch with this recipe! 2 cups Cooked Rice (I use brown) 1 Golf Ball size Tamarind 1/2 tbsp Jaggery 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds 1 tsp Chana Daal 1 tsp Urad Daal 2-3 Dried Red Chilies (or according to taste) 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 10-15 Curry Leaves 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder Pinch of Hing 1/4 cup Peanuts (couple of fistful) 2 tbsp Oil Salt per taste Preparation -  Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup hot water for at least 10-15 minutes.  Squeeze the pulp and strain to remove all the fibrous stuff.  Cool the cooked rice in a plate. Once cooled down, add salt, turmeric and 1 tsp oil. Mix and keep aside. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add chana daal, urad daal and red chilies. Let them sizzle and change color a bit. Now add hing and curry leaves. Saute for a minute. Then add peanuts and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add tamarind extract and cook on low ...