Aug 25, 2007

Jeera Pakhala



It's been so hot here the last couple of days that I have spent very little time in the kitchen. I returned from India last weekend and since then I have felt dehydrated. The temperatures are soaring and so are our electricity bills. It's impossible to survive without the AC.

All the week long, I was playing with options for RCI. I could have easily made something in India, but then I was busy eating "mom ke haath ka khana":). I was in no mood to start complicated cooking and was looking for a simple recipe. Finally, I hit the jackpot. Jeera Pakhala is a simple rice preparation with the flavors of shaha jeera and curry leaves. The curry leaves add a unique taste to the rice.

Jeera Pakhala


Adapted from this recipe.

  1. Wash 1 cup rice. Cook the rice in a pressure cooker. Once done, spread it on a plate and let cool.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add 3 whole red chillies and saute for a minute. Next add 2 tsp kala (shaha) jeera. Once it splutters, add 12-15 curry leaves. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add the cooked rice and salt to taste.
  4. Cover and cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
  5. Serve when cool.
This is my entry for RCI: Orissa. I will post RCI: Orissa round-up next weekend. A big THANKS to everyone who participated in this event. It means a lot to me. For all those who missed this RCI, the next one's at Foodie's Hope hosted by dear Asha.

I also realized that there are few Maharashtrian dishes on which I have blogged. In the near future, Swad will show case some easy, complicated, authentic Maharashtrian dishes. Stay tuned!

14 comments:

Srivalli said...

Hey swad...thats a wonderful looking Jeera Pakhala....looking forward to you Mah dishes....

and looking forward for the roundup

Srivalli
www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com

musical said...

Cool prep, Swapna! i know, at home one just eats the best of food and when we are back, we don't feel like cooking much ;).

have a great weekend,
musical.

Sharmi said...

hey you can send this to the Jeera event of Sunita and JFI too:) looks delicious.

archana said...

Rice looks lovely Swapna. Nice and easy recipe. Good entry :)

bee said...

good to see you back, swapna.

Richa said...

hey, welcome back! bharpur pani puri vagarey khallis ki nahi? how is mani's doing?
jeera pakhala looks good & so quick to make.

FH said...

Thank you Swapna for choosing Oriya cuisine.I would NEVER have tried Oriya food on my own!It was wonderful discovering this state,thanks again.Can't wait for the round up!:))
You caught up on the last day for your own RCI,Hahaha. Looks yum,white and black combo.
I know, it's so hot! Yesterday it was almost 100F here,dreading the bill too!:D

Tee said...

great entry Swapna! I have always made jera rice with the regular jeera, must try out this recipe.:)
looking forward to your Maharashtrian recipes...

Tee said...

btw, you have an award waiting for you at my blog...do check it out :)
http://bhaatukli.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-bag-of-awards.html

Anonymous said...

Rice looks delicious, Swapna! Looking forward to all the Oriya goodies when you are ready. Thanks for hosting us :)

Raaga said...

The rice looks lovely... and very easy :-)

Waiting for the round up.

Coffee said...

I missed it this time at your sweetie! :(

Lovely entry by you. :)

Anonymous said...

Swapna, where did you find that simple rice dish yaar? I tried going thr' all the recipe books that I have, could not find anything simple and I was in no mood to cook something difficult :(. May be I searched in wrong place :(.

This rice looks really yummy, I am bookmarking it. Thanks for posting this...

Anonymous said...

I was so much meaning to participate in RCI, even researched so much on Oriya cuisine and made something too...but did not have the time to post since I was traveling-
Awaiting the round up!