Tag: quick and easy

Djuvec Rice

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BM# 103: Week 4, Day 1
Theme : Balkan States

While looking for recipes from the Balkan states, I came across this dish that’s similar to ratatouille. A little bit of reading online told me that Djuvec (pronounced as joovetch), can be a vegetarian or meat based stew. It can be made with a variety of vegetables and you can add beans or meat to make it a complete meal. When rice is added, it becomes djuvec rice and a main dish that can be served on its own if preferred. The recipe is common to the Balkan states so you might find it marked as Bosnian/ Croatian/ Serbian depending on the blog you read from.

I made it for lunch recently and loved it. To an Indian, this is similar to tomato rice loaded with vegetables and free from the regular masalas.

Read on for the recipe.


Recipe source: Bosnian Djuvec rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup uncooked rice
  • 2 cups vegetable broth/water
  • 1 medium onion, chopped finely
  • 1 small capsicum, diced small
  • 1 small eggplant, diced small
  • 1/2 zucchini, diced small
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, or per taste
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a big pan and sauté onions, garlic, capsicum, zucchini and eggplants.
  2. Once the vegetables are almost cooked, add the tomatoes and green peas along with chili powder and salt. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes are mushy, about 5 minutes.
  3. Mix in the rice and broth/water. Taste test and adjust seasonings if needed. Let the water come to a boil. Cover and cook until the rice has absorbed all the water, about 10-15 minutes. Take off the heat. Done!

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Instant Pot Nutella Bread Pudding

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BM# 103: Week 2, Day 3
Theme : Recreate into a new dish

I always pack snacks for my son so that he has something to eat on the way back home after his practice or a match. He is very hungry at that time and can eat one or two sandwiches easily. Sometimes I pack a little more than what he needs as his hunger quotient cannot be exactly determined. So it’s not too uncommon to be left with some leftovers. Recently when I ended up with two extra Nutella sandwiches, instead of devouring it immediately, I decided to make bread pudding out of it.

I made some more sandwiches, cut it into big cubes and added a custard made with eggs and milk/cream to it. Traditionally bread pudding is made in oven, but I used the Instant Pot instead and the pudding was so moist and delicious! I loved the taste of it, it wasn’t too sweet and the Nutella tasted great in there. The next time, I might add some Nutella or chocolate chips to the custard as well, because everything tastes a little better with chocolate.

Read on for the recipe.

Recipe source : Nutella Croissant Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 6 Nutella sandwiches*, cut into cubes
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Almond slices for serving, optional

*I used bakery bread with about 2 teaspoons of Nutella for each sandwich.

Method:

  1. Mix the eggs, cream, milk, vanilla and sugar in a bowl. Whisk well to combine.
  2. In a big tray or plate add the sandwich cubes and add 1/2 of the whisked custard. Let the bread absorb some of the custard.
  3. Now transfer this to a stainless pot or Pyrex bowl that fits well inside the Instant Pot and add the rest of the custard on top of it.
  4. Add one cup of water to instant pot bowl and place the trivet inside it. Place the bread pudding inside the Instant Pot bowl and cover it with a lid that fits or aluminum foil.
  5. Set instant pot to Manual mode and set timer to 25 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Serve warm or cold with sliced almonds on top.

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Coriander Pesto Pulao

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BM# 103: Week 2, Day 2
Theme : Recreate into a new dish

I had picked up a bunch each of basil, mint and coriander when I did grocery shopping last month. I made pesto with basil leaves and then made another pesto with the coriander and mint leaves with almonds. Since there was so much pesto, I was looking at ways to use it up beyond pesto pasta and sandwiches. Pesto rice came to my mind and it sounded like a good idea.

Since the base for my pesto was already coriander, I decided to make it similar to the coriander pulao I usually prepare. I still have some pesto leftover, I think I will be making this pulao again. This pairs well with plain yogurt and chips.

Read on for the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons rice
  • 1 onion, cut in half and sliced into thin pieces
  • 2 carrots, diced into 1/2″ pieces
  • 8-10 beans, cut into 1/2″ pieces
  • 1/2 cup diced capsicum
  • Salt

To grind:

  • 1/3 cup mint coriander pesto
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 green chilies
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1″ ginger piece

Method:

  1. Wash and soak the rice in 3 cups of water. Set aside.
  2. In a blender jar, blend everything under the “to grind” list to a smooth paste. You might have to add a tablespoon or two of water to help with grinding. Set aside.
  3. In the Instant Pot, turn the Sauté function on. Add ghee or oil and once it’s hot, add the onions and all the other vegetables. Sauté and cook under the vegetables are almost cooked.
  4. Add the ground pesto coconut paste and cook over low heat for about a minute.
  5. Drain the rice and add it to the pot. Sauté for a minute. Add three cups of water and salt as needed. Cancel the Sauté function and change it to Manual function. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
  6. Serve it hot with an onion Raita or plain yogurt on the side.

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Instant Pot Jeera rice

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BM# 102: Week 4, Day 3
Theme : One bowl recipes

Jeera rice is one of the oft repeated dish at my place. Most of the times I am making a North Indian curry, I always make some Jeera rice to serve it with. It pairs very well with Rajma, Chana masala, mushroom Chettinad and almost all the Curries. The rice pairs especially well with spicier curries. I serve the meal in a bowl with rice on one half and the curry filling the other half.

Earlier I used to cook rice first and then prepare and add the tadka separately. Now I just add everything to the rice and cook for 1 whistle if using stovetop pressure cooker or 2 minutes if using Instant Pot. So just grab a pot that fits inside the Instant Pot or stovetop cooker, add the cleaned rice, 1.5 times water, peas, salt, Jeera and ghee. It’s a good idea to let the rice rest for 30 minutes before cooking. If I need to go out, I set the timer function for 30 minutes in Instant Pot for this. With the timer on, the cooking starts after the set time has elapsed, so the rice starts cooking after 30 minutes. The peas is optional here, but I like it. Read on for the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
  • 1/2 cups frozen green peas
  • 1 tablespoon butter/ghee
  • Salt as needed

Method:

  1. Wash and drain the rice. In a stainless steel vessel that would fit inside Instant Pot, add the rice and everything else. Let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
  2. Add a cup of water to the inner pot of Instant Pot. Keep the pot inside trivet. Select Manual mode and set the timer for 2 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Serve with any curry of your choice.

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