PUMKIN-CHANNA RICE

Sometimes (many times) I try my own/ modified recipe, adding one or more ingredients and most of the time (all time) I fail to bring it to a very good food. This time I tried Channa rice along with squash/pumkin (I used round pumkin). It turned to be very delicious dish and I am glad to share here. Channa used for preparing many masala curries and a favorite temple prasadam. There was squash at home which people hate eating it. My mom used to prepare Halwa and I have no clue of how to prepare it. I was bored of preparing channa masala because very less likes for it at my home. So here my recent invention of channa rice. Super fast and feels fresh for lunch box.

Ingredients

Squash/Pumkin- grated

Overnight soaked channa dal & cooked in pressure 

cooker-1 cup

Rice (uncooked)- 2 cups

Tomato-1 chopped small

Garlic-2-3 cloves

Garam masala-1 tb sp.

Coconut powder/grated coconut-one hand full

Cilantro & salt

To sauté

Cinnamon sticks-2-3 pieces

Pepper corns-5-8

Mustard

Cumin seeds-2 tb. sp.

COOKING

Sauté all ingredients listed under ‘to sauté’

Add onions, garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add grated squash. Fry it until it is fully cooked. This will take at least 10 minutes.

Add tomato, channa dal and coconut powder followed by garam masala & salt.

The first added cinnamon sticks and pepper gives spicy taste. Thus amount of garam masala added depends on person’s capacity of eating spicy.

This will come to a thick pasty consistency. Add rice and cook in pressure cooker for 3 whistles. This should be cooked under steam after whistle for 10 minutes.

Open the cooker and mix the contents carefully without mashing rice. Add cilantro and serve. Serves 3. If used Basmati rice, the texture becomes very smooth.

HAPPY COOKING!!!