Tangy & Spicy Tomato Rice

There are times when you end up having no idea what to cook and eat when your fellow flatmates are busy making some delicacies best known to them. Staying in an apartment with a bunch of unknown people has its perks. You are always on the lookout of what the others are doing, what they cook and eat, read or watch. The process is quite similar to a self-exploration adventure.

When in Bangalore or any other South Indian cosmopolitan city, and if you are a hard core foodie, you cannot miss out on having the local delicacies. The chances of having the authentic ones increases when you have a flatmate who loves cooking and feeding the others. And on one such occasion, when I had walked in late from work, J told me, “You don’t need to cook now! I am preparing Tomato rice and I will make some for you too.” This was the initiation of my interest in learning South Indian dishes and enjoying Tomato Rice whenever J, R and I meet over lunch. This is J’s recipe and I wholeheartedly give the credit of introducing me to the variety of delicacies apart from the regular Masala Dosa and Idli vada with Sambar.

Prepared By: J

Recipe Type: Main

Cuisine: South Indian Rice Variety

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Rice – 2 ½ cups, soaked for an hour

2 large Onions – chopped

5-6 Green Chilies – Chopped

Ginger and Garlic – minced together

Garam Masala (whole)

7-8 Tomatoes – chopped

Curd – 2 tablespoons

Haldi - 1/2 teaspoon

Black pepper Powder – 2 teaspoons

Salt – as per taste

Refined Oil – for cooking

Water

Procedure:

1. Soak rice for at least an hour prior to cooking.

2. Chop onions and green chilis and keep aside.

3. Mince ginger and garlic together into a raw paste. Add a teaspoon of water if required.

4. In a pressure cooker, heat oil. Once the oil is sufficiently heated, add bay leaves and fry for about 30 seconds or until you start feeling the aroma.

5. Add chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste and fry for about 2 minutes.

6. Add chopped tomatoes and mix properly. Let it fry for about 3-4 minutes.

7. Add water, curd and black pepper powder and mix well. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.

8. Now, add soaked rice and mix properly.

9. Let the rice cook for about 5-7 minutes or for 2 whistles.

10. Check if the rice is cooked and has absorbed the water completely. If not, cook for another 1-2 whistles or until the rice gets cooked.

11. Serve hot with raita. 

Nimkis (Crispy Fried Home-made Namkeens)

If you ever walk into a Bengali household in the evening hours, what are the things that you would be definitely greeted with? A hot cup of tea and some of the most popular tea time snacks that they cannot do without. Like every Indian, Bengalis are extremely fond of their evening cha and the accompanying snacks that just makes the evenings more interesting, especially when there is an adda happening with the friends and the relatives.

Mrs. Sumita Sengupta, a homemaker in her late 50s, is popular in her family and otherwise for Nimkis or crispy fried namkeens that are prepared at home. With the basic ingredients in place, these can be prepared within a couple of hours, served hot or saved for later savouring!

Photo Credit: Hirok Sengupta 

Prepared by: Mrs. Sumita Sengupta

Recipe Type: Snacks

Cuisine: Indian (Bengali)

Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:

All purpose flour (Maida)

Sugar: 1 table spoon

Salt: 1 table spoon

Whole Black Cumin Seeds: 1 tea spoon

Ajwain: 1 tea spoon

Lemon (an alternative of baking soda): Few drops

Cooking white oil (for making the dough and frying): 1 table spoon for making the dough and rest for frying

Water: as per requirement

Procedure:

1. In a mixing bowl, take flour, sugar, black cumin seeds, ajwain and mix thoroughly. Squeeze in a few drops of lemon along with white oil and mix. Add water and prepare a dough that is smooth enough to make crispy nimkis. The key to prepare crispy nimkis that you can store for a few days lies in the perfectly kneaded dough. Make sure not to make it too dry or too sticky.

2. Heat oil in a non-stick kadhai in a high flame and start the procedure of rolling out the dough to prepare nimkis. Take small portions of the dough for each nimki and roll it out on a flat surface or wooden chakla by using a wooden roller pin. Roll the dough until it is laid out completely flat and thin.

3. On the same, make some marks with a knife or a fork to allow oil to get in while it is fried. Fold the rolled out dough into half first, then another half from right to left to give it a triangular shape. Press the edges lightly with fingers so that they do not open up while it is fried.

4. Set the flame to medium after the oil is heated enough and release the folded nimkis from a side. You can release 3-4 nimkis at a time for deep frying. Once the nimkis start getting a reddish tinge on them, turn them on the other side and check if both the sides are properly fried.

5. Take them up from the kadhai and place them on a paper napkin to soak the extra oil. 

6. Serve with a hot cup of tea or save for later!

Sumita Sengupta                                                                 

Sumita enjoys her free time trying new recipes and making the ones that she learnt from early days. Having learnt how to prepare nimkis from her mom, late Sunity Roy, who was herself very popular in the family for her home-made snacks like nimki, khasta  kochuri, etc., she keeps making these items for guests and regular visitors at home. Sumita is also a trained classical Bengali singer and enjoys her free time singing classical and other contemporary  popular Bengali songs.