For the love of food!
Fried rice with veggies is one of my family favorites. My sister makes the restaurant style fried rice at such ease. My mother makes fried rice with soya chunks like they are chicken. My aunts are good cooks and all my cousins follow this family trend. Food has always brought joy and has become the primary reason for many occasions.
So with a family like this, it’s such a pleasure to learn and seek clarifications on the go for different ingredients from across the globe. Coming to the fried rice, this is the most simplistic variety.
Ingredients:
For a serving of 4
Oil – 3 to 4 teaspoons
Finely Chopped garlic – 4 to 5
Cloves – 4 (I used the normal ones if you prefer the star cloves use just 1 or 2 depending on your liking)
Chopped onions – 2 (you can cut it longer or smaller, I cut it as smaller chunks)
Baby corns – 8 to 10 – I put a whole pack
Beans – 20
Carrot – 4 to 5
Basmati Rice – 1 1/2 cup per your measuring cup
Pepper Powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Ghee – before serving
How Did I Cook?
Note: Soak the basmati rice for 20 to 30 minutes. This is done not just to minimize the cooking time of the rice but also the water content that the rice will absorb and the best part is the rice is longer than its original size and the portion you eat becomes lesser yet content!
1. Heat the oil in a pan or a large container in medium flame. When the oil is warm add cloves. The cloves emanate a fragrance that fills your kitchen and is very calming to my nose. This is also why I have started to love cooking!
2. Add chopped garlic and wait until they turn golden brown. Add chopped onions and saute it till they become translucent. The aroma of the onions when they get cooked is one of the best parts of cooking. It just makes me smile.
3. Once the onions turn translucent add some salt and saute it for a few seconds. Then add the cut vegetables. I used beans, carrots and baby corn. It would make it an amazing dish if you prefer to add more veggies.
4. Add the pepper powder and required salt and saute it for a few mins till all the contents in the pan are mixed well. Close the pan and let it be for 5 mins in medium to low flame. This way the veggies will be steamed minimally and still remain crunchy. So it prevents the veggies from being overcooked.
5. Add the soaked basmati rice to the pan. I added 2 1/2 glasses of water and some salt. I left the pan for 10 to 15 minutes in low flame. When it comes to basmati rice, I take caution while cooking as I use different brands each time.
6. Check the rice after 10 minutes. It should be cooked to a moderate consistency. If so you can decide to leave it for another few minutes. After 5 minutes add a teaspoon of ghee around all corners of the pan and flip the container with the lid like they show in cooking shows. This mixes the contents well and it prevents the rice from sticking to the bottom.
7. Turn off the stove.
Prepare the preferred raitha as your side dish.
Serve Hot! 🙂
Enjoy your meal!
Don’t waste food. Ever!
