Fish Day

I always find cooking fish a challenge. The timing has to be just right. If I overcook the fish, it gets too tough; and if I undercook it, well.....that's dodgy.... So I keep telling myself that the only way for me to get over this hang-up is to cook fish, as much as I possibly could. And in the process, learn more.

Lentil Rice



The Arabs call it Mujadara and in Indian recipes it is known as Kichiri. It is delicious by any name and I call it simply Lentil Rice. There is more masala added in the Indian recipes than the Arabic recipes. Some Arabic recipes call for chicken bouillon or maggi cube which I do not use due to the chemical additives. It also detracts from the natural flavour of the lentils which has its own unique "umami" taste.

Ingredients for Lentil Rice:
1/2 cup lentil (soaked, washed & drained)
Ghee , Butter or Olive oil
5-6 cardamom pods (crushed)
Some mint and coriander leaves (whole leaves do not chop)
1 tbsp chopped onions
1 cup basmati rice (soaked, washed & drained)
Salt & pepper to your taste
2 cups water
1 tbsp sliced fried onions

Method:
Saute the drained lentils in oil. Add the cardamoms (crushed a little) and saute until the lentils turn slightly brown. You may use other masala such as cinammon, cumin or coriander powder. I just like the subtle fragrance of the cardamoms. Add the chopped onions and leaves; and saute till fragrant. Add the drained rice, salt, pepper and water.

Cook until water has evaporated. Add the fried onions. Fluff the rice gently, turn off the gas, keep covered for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve it with your favourite stir fry, salad or curry. In this recipe, the lentils will be somewhat crunchy against the soft but not mushy rice. I lke my rice pretty separated, not mushy. Please add more water and cook longer if you prefer mushy rice.

Basmathi Pusa1121 Jasmine Brand

There are various good brands of Basmathi rice such as Faiza, Moghul and Maharajah. But I like Basmathi Jasmine brand. Perhaps there are other better brands which I have not stumbled upon. As for now, this is the best.

Basmati Rice

I like Basmati rice...it is so fragrant and versatile....pure pleasure cooking it
I use the draining method to make Plain Basmati Rice.

To go with spicy curries such as Rogan Josh, Vindaloos, Chapala Pulsu and very spicy Malay Gulai chilli curry or even Thai curry. Before cooking, soak the rice for about 30 minutes.

If you are using 1 cup of rice, boil 3 cups of water. I usually let the water boil for 5 minutes. Wash the soaked rice and drained them.

Throw them in the boiling water (pot uncovered) and watch the rice slowly begin to dance in the water as the water temperature rises back up to the boiling point. You will notice that the length of the grains would increase somewhat.

Once the grains increase long enough, turn off the gas and drain away most of the water. The rice would still be slightly wet. Cover the pot and turn the gas back on. Let the rice cook for another 5 minutes on low until quite dry.Turn off the gas and fluff gently. Keep the rice covered for at least 10 minutes. The rice will finish cooking in its steam.


Basmati Rice

 I usually use a rice cooker but you may use your pot or cooker of choice, adjust the timing if you need to. It should work as well.