Tomato Rice

I know I know, everybody knows how to cook tomato rice. But there is a reason I chose to post this recipe. Recently one of my bachelor friends called and asked me if I can post some basic and simple dishes that can be helpful for beginners so please don't mind me if some of my future posts are really basics.

Since I have just started this blog, I asked myself, why not? So, I wanted to start off with this Rice dish which my mum taught me. It is super easy to prepare and super yummy to taste.

Nutritional Information  (Approx)
(per serving)
Energy	250		Calories
Fat	4		%
Carbohydrate	18		%
Dietary Fiber	33		%
Sodium	3		%
Vitamin A	15		%
Vitamin C	26		%
Calcium	19		%
Iron	9		%
Protein	6.7		Grams
Sugar	5		Grams

Ingredients
Rice	1 Cup
Onion chopped	1 Big
Tomatoes Chopped	2
Chilli Powder	2 tsps
Rasam Powder	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	a pinch
Green chillies (optional)	3
Lemon juice	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Water	1&1/4 cup

To Temper
Mustard seeds	1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds	1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds	1/2 tsp
Cloves	3
Cardamom	2
Bay Leaf	1
Oil	2 tsps

In a cooker or a pot, add oil and wait till it gets hot.

Once the oil is hot, add the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and fry for 2 minutes.

Once the aroma of the spices develop, add the onions and green chillies and fry till the onion looks transparent.

Add tomatoes and fry for another 2 minutes.

Add chilli powder, Rasam powder and tumeric powder and mix well.

Add water and salt to taste and bring it to boil.

Simmer the flame and add Rice and Lemon juice , mix and close the lid. If you are using a pressure cooker, You can take it down after 1 whistle and if you are using a pot, you can check if the rice is cooked after 15 minutes and serve hot.

• You can alter the quantity of chilli powder if you want it less or more spicy.
• If you don't want the rice to be sticky, reduce the water quantity to 1 cup.

Masala Upma

If there is one dish that I wish to eat at any time of the day, it is Upma. I was not a big fan of it before but it has become my favourite dish from the moment I tasted it in SN refreshments.
I have tried to prepare it that way but not succeeded yet. I will keep trying anyway and will post it once I get it right.

Here is the thing about this upma recipe. This one does not taste like the normal plain upma at all. Many people hate upma so I want to turn them and I am sure this awesome recipe will impress those upma haters too.

Do try this recipe and let me know if I was able to turn you into an upma fan like me!! :P :)

Nutritional Information  (Approx)
(per serving)
Energy	260		Calories
Fat	5		%
Carbohydrate	16		%
Dietary Fiber	15		%
Sodium	7		%
Vitamin A	11		%
Vitamin C	8		%
Calcium	2		%
Iron	17		%
Protein	8.8		Grams
Sugar	1.5		Grams

Ingredients
Sooji/Rawa (Semolina)	1 cup
Onion chopped	1
Ginger garlic paste	1 tsp
Green chillies chopped	2
chilli powder	1 tsp
Garam masala powder	1/2 tsp
Turmeric	a pinch
Lemon juice	1 tsp
Water	2 cups
Salt	to taste
Coriander leaves chopped	for garnish

To Temper Oil  1 &1/2 tbsp Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp Bay Leaf 1

In a pan, add 1/2 tbsp of oil and wait till it gets hot. Add Rava and roast till a sweet aroma starts filling up and the colour of rava turns slightly brown. Keep the roasted rava aside.

In the same pan, add the rest of the oil  and the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and fry for 2 minutes. Add onion, Ginger garlic paste and green chillies and fry till it gets transparent.

Add water.

Add salt, chilli powder, rasam powder and lemon juice and mix.

Bring the mixture to boil.

Simmer the flame and sprinkle Rava as you stir it slowly.

Close the lid and cook for 10 - 15 minutes under low flame. 

Stir every 3 minutes so that it will not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or just coffee.

• You can also add Urad dal and chana dal if you like it the plain upma way.
• You can use any kind of Rava.
• If you like it more spicy, you can add green chillies or increase the quantity of chilli powder.
• Also, you can add any other veggies if you want like carrot, capsicum, peas or beans