Tomato Cucumber Raitha

Tomato Cucumber Raitha

For the Salad:

• 2 tomatoes, medium size
• 2 English cucumbers

For the Yogurt Dressing:

• 3 cups of plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup sour cream(Optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (reserve some for garnishing)
•  
• Method :
• Wash the tomatoes and cut out the core at the stem end. Cut each tomato into 5 slices of uniform thickness. Wash the cucumbers. Peel the cucumber or score them lengthwise with a fork. Cut the cucumbers of the bias into 1/8 inch (3mm) thick slices.
  Arrange the tomatoes and cucumbers on top of the lettuce, overlap 1 slice of tomato alternating with 1 slice of cucumber. Season with salt.
  Dress each salad wit 2 tablespoons of yogurt dressing and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and roasted peanuts (optional).
   

Zucchini Raitha

Zucchini Raitha

This raita is a lovely change from the more common cucumber raita. Madhur Jaffrey, the recipe author, writes in Eastern Vegetarian Cooking that she can eat it by the spoonful, all by herself. It can also be served warm, however, I've only tried it cold. Madhur Jaffrey calls this dish yogurt with courgettes, but I think it is a dish that we usually refer to as raitha.

2 medium zucchini (about 12-14 oz, 340-400g)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion
350 ml plain yogurt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/16 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use as much as you like)

Directions:

1
Trim zucchini and grate them coarsley. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Toss to mix and set aside for half an hour.
2
Drain zucchini and press out as much liquid as you can. Separate the shreds so you do not have lumps.
3
Peel the onion, cut in half lenghtwise, and then cut into fine, half-moon-shaped slices.
4
Put yogurt in bowl. Beat it lightly with a fork or whisk until smooth and creamy.
5
Heat oil in a 8-in/20-cm frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop (just a matter of seconds), put in the onion. Stir and fry for about 2 minutes or until slices are translucent. Add the zucchini. Stir and fry for another 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let zucchini cool slightly. When cooled, fold it into the yogurt. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp salt, pepper and cayenne.
6
If you wish the to eat the dish cold, cover and refrigerate it.
7
If you wish to eat it warm, put the yogurt-zucchini combination in a double boiler over a low flame. Then heat, stirring in one direction, until warm. Do not let it boil. I used it as sidedish for my Veg kichidi

Tri- Colored Capsicum/Bell Pepper Rice

Tri- Colored Capsicum/Bell Pepper Rice with Onion Cucumber Raitha

I got this easy and tasty capsicum rice recipe from mom. This is an awesome lunch box menu and we can make it very quickly. We can just make the masala powder and keep it and we can use whenever we need it.

Time of Preparation : 45 minutes
No of Servings : 2


Ingredients:

• Cooked rice – 1 cup
• Capsicum – 2 cups (cut into small cubes,I choose tri-colored(Yellow,red and green))
• Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Split Urad dal – 2 tsp
• Channa dal – 1 tsp
• Dry red chillies – -2
• Curry leaves – a few
• Cashews – 1 tbsp (optional)
• Groundnuts – 1 tbsp (optional)
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Salt – to taste

To grind:

• Dry red chillies- 6
• Cinnamon stick – 1 “
• Clove – 1
• Coriander seeds – 2 tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dal – 2 tsp
• Channa dal – 1 tsp

Method of Preparation:

1. Dry roast all the ingredients for grinding to a slightly coarse powder and keep it aside.
2. Cook the rice with 1 and 1/2 cup of water. I choose Sona masoori. . you can also make it with basmathi rice.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds followed by curry leaves, red chillies, channa dal and urad dal.
4. Now add the capsicum with little salt and turmeric powder and fry till they become soft.
5. Then add the ground powder followed by the coconut and fry for two minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and mix the rice to the mixture.
7. Roast the cahews and the groundnuts to the rice and serve hot with chips or raitha.

Note:

• Instead of adding coconut we can dry roast 2 tbsp of groundnuts and grind it along with the masala mixture.

Onion Cucumber Raitha

Ingredients

• 1 english cucumber (washed well and thinly sliced)
• 1 purple onion (small, sliced thinly)
• 2 tbsps fresh mint (mince)
• 1 green chilies (seeded and minced, optional)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup plain yogurt 
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 pinch sugar (to taste) 
• Mix all together and Raitha is ready . .

Vegetable Pulao/Pilaf

Vegetable Pulao,Konaseema Kodi kura,Cucumber raitha

Vegetable Pulao

Veg Pulav  is a healthy & delicious one pot meal with spicy vegetables and rice..!!

Basmati rice plays an important role in this rich & exotic rice dish. The flavorful aroma makes this pulav very inviting & makes it a special dish for quick & easy dinner options for parties & get-togethers.

It is best served with raitha..!!! I made Konaseema koodi kura(Chicken curry in andhra style) too!!!!!!

Tangy Tomato Rice

Tomato rice with Cabbage raitha and egg omlet

Of South Indian origin, tangy Tomato Rice makes a great one-dish meal.Just a few cupboard ingredients turn plain rice into something special.

Preparation Time: 15min

Cooking Time: 15min

Serves: 2  Shelf life:1day 
Serving Suggestion:Serve it with poppadums. But I made Onion Omlet and Onion Cucumber Raitha