Last Updated on 6 months ago

I realised that my cousins are all grown up a bit too late. They are all married now with kids of their own but I still think of them as the Brats!

Reason being “the kids” my Aunts left behind to make my life miserable, the only way I could get them to behave was to terrorise them!! Well, not a very pretty picture is it?

Well, it is either that or being in bad books with your Aunts and Granny…. Well, now you know. You definitely do now want to be in Nani’s bad books…

So where was I … Ah yes, my cousin…

I had been down to see my Nani when she was not too well and I was with one of my younger cousin Trupti. After a tiring bus journey and a draining visit to see Nani whom we called as Ajji, I was fagged out. Trupti made this delicious rice.

A one pot meal and as we were meeting her after ages and I was meeting my Bro-in –Law for the first time, she was seeing my younger daughter for the first time and she had cooked for me for the first time. It was a bit too much to take in.

But a through Foodie that I am I did not leave without the masala recipe that Trupti made it’s a typical South Indian Masala but here it is. Something that can be made and stored to be used in a jiffy or to convert your leftover rice to a yummy pulao!!

Ingredients:

1 cup Chana dal, heaped
1 cup urid dal, flat
½ cup coriander seeds1 cup dry coconut
45-50 red chillies (adjust as per taste)
5-6 stick of cinnamon, 1 inch long
5-6 cloves
½ tsp methi seeds
1 small block of hing/asafoetida (say a tsp)
2-3 Marat mag (optional)
Oil

Method:

Roast the coconut and the red chillies, in a thick bottomed kadhai/wok till the coconut becomes brownish on a low flame. Set aside.
In the same pan add 2-3 drops of oil and fry the Chana dal on a low flame till the Chana dal is reddish. Set aside.
Now roast the urid dal using more oil if need till the dal becomes reddish. Set aside.
If you are using a hing/asafoetida that is a rock then fry that first with a little oil till you get a nice aroma. Drain and set aside.
Fry the cinnamon, cloves and the marath mag, if using individually set aside.
Fry the coriander seeds till you get an aroma add the methi seeds switch off the gas. Add the powdered hing/asafoetida in case you are using powdered hing/asafoetida. Stir. Set aside to cool.
Normally I transfer all the roasted ingredients to the pan mix them up and let them cool completely.
When the mixture cools down grind it to a fine powder and transfer to an ait tight jar.

Notes:

The amount of oil is 2-3 drops or just enough that the spice is coated with oil. The exception being the rock hing/asafoetida, cinnamon and the marath mag. So I prefer to fry these first before I fry the rest of the ingredients.
The dry coconut gives out oil when roasted so that is one of the first things you roast.

To make the rice you will need

1 cup cooked rice
1 tblsp masala(adjust as per taste)
Veggies of your choice (I used cauliflower and capsicum)
Oil
Mustard
Salt

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and the mustard and let it splutter.
Add the veggies and cook them. You can add turmeric if you wish.
Add the rice and masala, salt and stir.
Serve hot with papad.

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