How to!

How To Cook Brown Rice

Nov 092012

Back home in Kashmir, most references to eating food literally mean to eat rice. I grew up eating rice as the main staple, served with a wide range of healthy seasonal vegetables and some meat. It was however the local variety of white rice that we ate, supplemented once in a while by some red rice too.

As I grew older, I realized that eating white rice made me go into a stupor. So I avoided eating it for lunch. But I still needed it for dinner. It was really hard for me to completely give up eating rice. I was and still am dependent on rice for my survival. Some things are kind of built in your DNA. Rice for Kashmiri people must be one such thing.

When I discovered wild rice and brown rice, I was ecstatic. I could not only eat rice once again, it was actually better for me. To be honest I still do have one of those clandestine meetings with my former love – white rice, but just once a while. Just as a treat for myself since I am a good girl most of the days.

Why is brown rice better ?

It is an established fact that women who eat whole grains, weigh less.

Eating a serving of whole grains, such as brown rice, at least 6 times each week is an especially good idea for postmenopausal women with high cholesterol, high blood pressure or other signs of cardiovascular diseases.

Magnesium, another nutrient for which brown rice is a good source, has been shown in studies to be helpful for reducing the severity of asthma, lowering high blood pressure, reducing the frequency of migraine headaches, and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Source – WHFOODS

If you had not already guessed, it is the Power food blog group Friday and our today’s power food is the brown rice.

38 Power Foods blog group focuses on one ingredient each week taking inspiration from the book ; Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients from the editors of the whole living magazine. Each week we all come up with recipes, stories, articles to encourage eating nourishing food.

Jeanette at jeanetteshealthyliving ; Martha at Simply Nourished Living ; Mireya at Myhealthyeatinghabits ; Alyce at More time at the table ; Casey at My Sweet and Savory; Minnie at TheLady8Home

If you own a rice cooker, chances are you already are cooking a fluffy pot of brown rice. Some of the readers have however sent me comments and asked me how to cook brown rice to the perfect nutty & fluffy taste and texture.

How To Cook Brown Rice

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 C brown rice ( any grain)
3 C water
More water for washing and rinsing the rice

Instructions

Wash and rinse the rice as you would normally do for any rice.
Now soak the rice in the 3 cups of water for at least an hour
After an hour, drain the water into another pan and bring it to a boil
Add the rice back into the boiling water and wait for it to start simmering.
Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25 - 30 minutes
Once the timer runs out, check the rice to see if all the water has evaporated
Cover again, switch off heat and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before fluffing it with a fork.

http://www.spiceroots.com/2012/11/how-to-cook-brown-rice/

Dassana Amit, Neetu Khajuria, Lakshmi Krishnaswamy, Meenakshi Dhar, Bhavna Kalra, Dan Hayward liked this post

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Roasted Butternut Squash – How to

How to! 2 Responses »

Dec 042011

There are some things that don’t change much. I find the smell of a dish, or the way a certain spice is crushed, or just a quick look at the way something has been put on a plate, can pull me back to another place and time. I love those memories that seem so far away, yet you can hold them and carry them with you, even forget them, and then, with a single taste or hint or a smell, be chaperoned back to a beautiful moment.”

― Tessa Kiros

That beautiful moment for me is the very first time I roasted a butternut squash. Each falling leaf in Autumn, the unlimited pumpkin spice lattes, crisp air or even a talk about soups or breads brings me back to the moment when I first roasted a squash. With the vegetable markets full of enticing butternut,acorn,banana, buttercup, carnival, delicata, gold nugget,spaghetti and good old pumpkins it was bound to happen sooner than later.

So on I went and made a roasted butternut squash one fine Autumn evening. The buttery aroma, the sugar glazed look, the sweet and nutty taste from the roasting was blissful. I was in love with the flavor, texture and aroma of this sweet nutty flavored squash. It was such a delight to find out that the butternut squash actually turns sweeter when roasted. Some food memories and discoveries are hard to forget. What is your story of a beautiful food memory?

This makes an incredible soup and our very beloved squash rolls.

This a “how to” post & This is how I do it. Since this is an equipment based recipe the timings and settings are the ones that work for me. If you have any questions, ask them away in comments or on the facebook page or send an email.

This “how to ” post is dedicated to a foodie friend Jasvinder Singh – the creator of “The Food Court”. Check out the page on Facebook. You will be delighted.

1) Decide the Squash – here I have a pie pumpkin and a butternut with my beloved knife. Isn’t it beautiful?

2) Preheat the oven to 400*F. And cut the squash into two.. the butternut squash wins!

3) I am sure you observed the coconut oil. It is my choice of oil for most things baked. Brush a pan with some oil and lay the butternut squash cut side down on the pan.

4) Cook for 25 minutes. Check the doneness by inserting a knife. It should go in smoothly. if it does, you squash is roasted, else cook for another 5 – 10 minutes. This timing varies on how big your squash is and where you live and how your oven works.

5) when its done here is how it looks like :

Notice the caramalised look? Its buttery sweet goodness!

Notice we did not peel the Squash and we did not remove the seeds? Well here is a time saving tip. Roast them with skin and seed on. When they are done, scoop out the seeds. And then scoop out the squash, leaving the peel. Plain and simple and easy!

Note to lazy cookers;) like me – this method works for dishes where you need a mashed squash. If you are using a roasted squash for a side dish, you will need to peel it, scoop out the seeds and then roast it. the roasting time and temperature of the squash will then greatly vary!

Until next time! Stay Blessed and keep the spice on!

Ansh

The Perfectly Boiled Egg

Breakfast, How to! 4 Responses »

Apr 272011

Eggs! The miracle food that saves this mom on days she is not very organized. And saves her during those times when she hears the door open and the “Mom I am hungry” rather than “hey Mom Guess what!” And on those days too when the mom wants to work the yard or sit and knit and just plain does not want to cook.

On those days, the ever pleasant eggs come to my rescue. Don’t want to cook ? No problem. The “lil me” who is now a TerriFIC (ble) Tween can cook delicious omelets ever since she was 7 ( you got to teach catch them young you see) and toast a slice of bread, pour herself some juice and have her fabulous meal. Unexpected guests? Boil the suckers up and throw in some tomato gravy and have your egg curry or toss into some greens and have your salad with a simple soup! The possibilities are endless and the results are always always delicious. ( the repetition of “always” is to emphasize .. as if you didn’t get it already)

My favorite way to eat an egg is to boil it. Perfectly boil it that is. No blackish stuff on the outside of the yolk, no gooey messy yolk unless I intend it, and boiled to a soft perfection.

And it really is very simple to do.

Here is how!

Take a pan and fill it with cool tap water. Add in the eggs. Do not overcrowd. The water should cover the eggs and the eggs should have space between them .

Put it to boil on high heat. Once it starts to boil, set your kitchen timer to one and a half minutes.

When it beeps, remove from the heat source, put a lid on and wait. Or do something – like clean the kitchen again . When you have waited about 15 minutes, jump with joy! The time to enjoy the perfectly boiled eggs has finally arrived. These will be Perfect.. No dark yolk and cooked to perfection.

Shell the eggs, slice them into two, and sprinkle some salt n pepper and devour. Or make them into perfect deviled eggs.. Recipes for some sexy deviled eggs from spiceroots kitchen coming soon.

Home made organic ghee

How to! 8 Responses »

Feb 222010

The sight of a ghee lamp in the temple or in my Pooja Altar is always calming, beautiful and radiant. It is said that the light from a “ghee ka diya”(Ghee Lamp) wards off negative elements. I always feel a sense of peace after lighting a lamp and while it burns, it fills the room with a sweet aroma.

I also have a culinary reason to love ghee. It flavors my dals, makes my rice fragrant,the Biryanis and pulavs can not exist without it and my rotis love a touch of ghee. The recipe I am sharing is how I make ghee here in the US. The process of ghee making is different in India, where I used to start with making my own hand churned butter first. More on that later – enjoy making your ghee!

Plan :

A kadai or a heavy bottomed pan
2 pounds Organic unsalted butter
A cheesecloth
Clean and Dry Glass jar
A funnel

Procedure :

Put the Butter into the pan on medium heat
Allow it to melt completely
In about 15 minutes a thick layer will start building up on top the melted butter
Do nothing
keep waiting or get busy with other things in the kitchen
In about 30 min from the start the surface layer will start to thin out. At this point stir the boiling ghee carefully
The solids will soon start to settle down and the liquid turns a golden hue.
Switch off heat when the solids separate completely
Remove from the heat and let it cool down for about 20 minutes.
Do not let it cook completely as you need the ghee to be in a liquid state for pouring
Line a funnel with the cheesecloth, place over a glass jar and pour the ghee; thus separating the solid particles.
Allow to cool completely before placing the lid on top.
This recipe lasts me for more than a month. How long it would last for you depends on how much you use it.

Notes: Ghee does not need refrigeration. Ensure the jar is clean and dry.

Ginger Garlic paste – How to

How to!, Spice Mixes 5 Responses »

Feb 212010

An essential to everyday Indian cooking is the ginger garlic paste. It is a constant ingredient in most Indian homes and homes that like to cook Indian food. We sure can buy this from the grocery store, and keep it in our refrigerator for months. But a fresh batch every two weeks or so is not much work and does taste better than the store bought ones.

You may omit using salt if you are making a smaller quantity. I just add some to mine because I make a big batch and it helps preserve it better. I do adjust the salt in the dishes later. Make the ever popular bagara baigan or the famed chicken 65 or the kickA$$ Stuffed Tangdi Kebab or just whip up something new. This is a basic recipe which you can modify whichever you want.

You could also make a ginger garlic paste with cumin / green chilies/dry red chilies depending on how often you cook with these ingredients in the base curry.

Here is how to make the basic ginger garlic paste:

Plan:

7 oz(about 200 gms) peeled and diced ginger
7 oz (about 200 gms)peeled garlic
1tsp kosher or sea salt
2-3 Tbs oil

Procedure:

Put the ginger, garlic and salt in a blender
Grind the ingredients to a fine paste, adding oil as needed.
When the mixture becomes a fine paste, store in a clean, dry glass jar.
Refrigerate and use as needed.

Notes:

You can use equal quantities of Ginger and garlic for the paste. So for a smaller quantity, use less of both. You may add more ginger than garlic or more garlic than ginger, that is a personal choice. Ensure you do not add any water while grinding.

Stuffing a Chicken Drumstick

How to! 1 Response »

Feb 092010

Procedure :

Look for the pocket on the less meaty side of the drumstick.
Insert the back of a spoon into this cavity and lift the meat up – making space for filling to go in
Fill this pocket with the filling of your choice (this picture has lemon pieces and lemon zest as filling)
Ensure that you don’t over stuff, leave some space to pat the pocket close
Grill as you would normally grill.