Some books happen to be in your collection even if they belong to others . I am talking about my sister in law’s book (a wedding gift, actually)  Vasantha Moorthy’s Vegetarian Menu Book. I have borrowed it multiple times that I finally just stopped returning it to her. I will have more luck to permanently make it mine if I stop mentioning it so frequently. Now that this book is one of the chosen books for this year’s Cooking from Cookbook Challenge, I will talk more about the recipes in it than about the stealing part.

I tried the recipe for Chitranna from the book. I am not sure about the authenticity of the recipe, since it had sesame seeds, coconut and lemon juice in it. But Chitranna is a generic term for seasoned rice, so I guess people will have different takes on it.  I served it with Vegetable Sagu from the same book, but that recipe is for another day.

I couldn’t take the pictures on the day I prepared the rice. The next day I could click it with some new props. The cute yellow bowl is a gift from Pavani and that beautiful napkin with that perfect shade of yellow is a gift from another friend. Given the fact that I selected it from a shop at the Philadelphia Flower show, held it under his nose and insisted that he buy it for me, I have every right to be as pleased as I am with it. You guys should only concentrate on the pale yellow color and not wonder what  those French cheeses have in common with such a homely Indian dish. That piece of cloth makes me very happy, so please excuse my enthusiasm for pairing it with dishes that has absolutely no connection with it.

Enjoy the recipe as it goes to the Cooking from Cookbook Challenge. Please check out this page for more details about the event. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups rice
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 3 tablespoons oil
• lemon juice as needed
• salt
• To roast and powder : 1 tablespoon each of sesame seeds, chana dal and urad dal
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 3-4 dried red chillies

Pictorial:

1. Cook rice with salt as needed. Let it cool completely. Set aside.

Roast 1 tablespoon each of sesame seeds, chana dal and urad dal in a little oil. Powder it in a mixie with 1 teaspoon of pepper powder. Set aside.

Heat a little oil in the same pan and roast peanuts till they are browned a bit. Set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pan again and add the mustard seeds and red chillies. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder. Let it cook for a few seconds.

Add one cup of grated coconut and toast it lightly on low fire until its browned a bit. Add salt as needed. Now add this to the cooled rice along with roasted peanuts and the ground sesame powder. Mix well, adjust salt as needed and serve!