Rice – Meal Haven

Pineapple Fried Rice

A popular fried rice in Thailand, this is a variation of the fried rice with added pineapple chunks. The sweetness of the pineapple and the tangy soy sauce combine to make it flavourful.

Ingredients:

Pineapple chunks – ½ cup

Cooked Jasmine Rice (preferred) or Basmati Rice – 2 cups

White pepper powder/black pepper powder – ¼ tsp

Garlic finely chopped – 4 cloves

Onion – 1 diced

Carrots – 1 diced

Frozen peas – 1/4 cup

Spring Onions – 2 stalks

Green Chillies – 2 slit

Red/Yellow Capscium –1 diced

Eggs – 2

Salt – As required

Sauce 1:

Soya Sauce – 2 tbsp

Oyster sauce – ½ tbsp or Sriracha – ½ tbsp

Optional (Sauce 2):

Soya sauce – 2 tbsp

Fish sauce (optional) – for authentic thai taste

Sugar (if using the fish sauce) – ¼ tsp (optional)

Lime juice – ¼ tsp

Preparation:

Wash the jasmice rice thoroughly. To a boiling pot of water, add the washed jasmine rice with little salt. Let it simmer for 7-8 minutes with no lid on medium heat. Check if it has cooked and using a colander, strain the water. Since the jasmine rice is stickier than normal rice, I prefer to discard the water while it is cooking after about 5 minutes to get rid of the starch and add hot water to the rice again to cook. Once it is strained, spread it on a plate and cool it. You may also place it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes as fried rice always turns out well with leftover rice or rice which is not hot.

Heat oil in a wok or a large skillet. Add the chopped garlic and green chillies and stir for a minute. Add the chopped onions and saute until it becomes translucent. Stir in the chopped carrots, peas and capsicum and stir on high heat for just about 2 minutes. Push the vegetables to the side of the wok and add 2 eggs to it and stir it on high flame till it cooks. Scramble the eggs and let it cook. When it is cooked, add the cooked rice, pineapple chunks, spring onions, pepper powder and stir it on high heat. Add the sauce and stir again lightly and quickly. Take it off the fire and serve immediately. Since soya sauce is salty, add salt only if you require.

The key to this recipe is good quality jasmice rice. You may use basmati rice if you do not prefer jasmine rice. Also, the veggies should be crisp and not overcooked. The vegetables should be stir fried or tossed in high heat for a short time.

Lemon Rice

Rice

Lemon rice is an easy recipe which can be prepared in less than 15 minutes using pantry staples. It is known as “Elimicham Pazham sadam” in Tamil and is a very popular rice in Tamilnadu.

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice – 1 1/2 cups

Oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Chana dal/bengal gram dal – 1/2 tsp

Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

Red chillies (whole) – 2

Green Chillies – 2

Roasted Peanuts/Cashewnuts – 12 -15

Curry leaves – 7-8

Coriander leaves – 1 1/2 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Juice of 2 Lemons

Salt – as required

Preparation:

Wash and cook the rice. To cook it, boil the rice in 4 cups of water with little salt and a tsp of oil added to it. When it is almost cooked, take it off the fire and strain the water. Transfer the rice to a big plate to cool it down completely so that it does not stick to each other. Make sure the grains are not sticky.

Heat oil. When it becomes hot, add mustard seeds, udad dal, chana dal, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, peanuts, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Stir and put off the flame or take it off the stove. When it cools down, add the lime juice to it and then the cooked rice. Add enough salt and mix well. Garnish it with some roasted peanuts or cashews and coriander leaves. Adjust the amount of lime juice as per your preference of sourness.

You may serve the lime rice with potato chips or spicy potato masala.

Prawn Biriyani

Rice

Ingredents

Prawns – 1/2 kg

Green chillies sliced lengthwise -2

Ginger garlic paste – 1/2 tbsp

Red chillie powder – 1 tsp

Rice – 2 cups

Medium sized Onions – 4 sliced

Mint leaves – 9 – 10 leaves chopped

Coriander leaves – 3 stalks chopped

Cardamom – 1

Cinnamon – 1/2 inch

Cloves- 2

Saunf – 1/4 tbsp

Bay leaf – 2

Salt to taste

Ghee – 2 tbsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Water – 2 1/2 cups

For the paste

Saunf – 1/4 tbsp

Cardamom – 2

Cloves – 1

Cinnamon – 1/2 inch

Small Onion – 1 chopped

Green chillies- 2

Ginger garlic paste – 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves – 2 stalks

Mint leaves – 5 – 6 leaves

Small tomato – 1

Coconut – 1 1/2 tbsp

Preparation

Clean and devein the prawns. Marinate it with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and little salt and keep it aside.

Soak basmati rice for 20-30 mins. Then, drain the water out and keep it aside. Heat 1/2 tsp oil and 1 tbsp ghee. Add the drained rice and saute for about 10 mins and keep aside.

Heat little oil again . To make the paste, add whole garam masala, chopped onions and saute. Then in goes the g.chillies. ginger garlic paste and saute for a good 6-7 minutes. Add cor leaves.mint leaves and one small tomato (optional).Grind it along with little coconut to a fine paste. Keep it aside.

Heat oil and ghee, add sliced onions, slit g.chillies,whole garam masala (mentioned above), mint leaves, cor leaves, and fry well.Then add ground paste and giner garlic paste and saute well for 5 minutes till the raw smell disappears. Add the red chillie powder and the prawns and fry till the colour changes. This may only take about 3 – 4 minutes. Do not cook it for long as the prawns may become rubbery. Add water and let it boil. When it starts to boil, add the fried rice to it , salt and cook.

Keep the flame on high and do not cover. When the rice starts to show up on top and 3/4 th of the water has been absorbed, take it off the flame. Heat a iron tava and when it becomes hot, place the closed pot with the biryani on the tava. Keep the flame to the lowest and let it cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.

If you do not have an iron griddle, you may place the biriyani pot/pan on very low small flame and cook it for 15 – 20 minutes. Check in between to make sure that it does not burn.

Serve hot with raita.

Amma’s Chicken Biriyani

Non-Vegetarian, Rice

Biriyani is one of my favourite food and this recipe in particular which has been passed on from my grandmother to my mom and then onto me, is one of my favourites. Getting the right consistency of rice in the biriyani is the challenging part. This one is slightly different from all other biriyani recipes as the green chillies are roasted in oil with whole garam masalas and ground to a fine paste which makes it flavourful. Also, yogurt and lime juice are the key ingredients as compared to tomatoes in other biriyanis.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 3 cups

Water – 4 1/2 cups

Lime juice – 1 tsp

Coconut milk powder – 1 tbsp or thick coconut milk – 1/4 cup

To grind (for chicken masala and rice)

Whole Green chillies – 10

Cloves- 4

Cardamom – 4

Cinnamon – 6 (1/2 inch pieces)

Aniseed/Saunf – 2 1/2 tsp

Oil – 1/2 tsp

For the chicken masala:

Onions – 4 big sliced

Yogurt – 4 tbsp

Chicken – 750 gmps

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Lime Juice – 1 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves – half a handful

Mint leaves – half a handful

Tomato – 1 small

Red chillie powder – 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Green chillie paste ground – 1/2 of the amount mentioned

Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp

Water – 1/2 cup

For Rice:

Onions – 2 big (sliced)

Ginger garlic paste – 1/2 tsp

Green chillie paste ground – 1/2 of the amount mentioned

Cinnamon – 2 (1/2 inch piece)

Cloves – 2

Bay leaves – 2

Coriander Leaves – half a handful

Mint leaves – half a handful

Oil – 1 tbsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Clean the chicken, wash it well and marinate it with the yogurt, turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp salt and keep it aside for 30 minutes.

Wash the basmati rice well and soak it for 30 minutes in 6-7 cups of water.

In a flat bottomed pan, add oil and heat it. Add the chopped green chillies and saute it for a minute (pic 2). Then add the aniseed, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and saute it well for another 2 minutes (pic 3). Put off the flame, transfer it to a mixer (pic 4). Let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Grind it to a smooth paste (pic 5). Keep it aside.

In the same pan, add oil and proceed to make the chicken masala. When the oil is hot, add the onions (4 sliced) and saute till it becomes translucent (pic 7). Add the garam masala powder and then add the ginger garlic paste and saute well until the raw smell goes off (pic 8). Next, in goes the half of the ground chillie paste (pic 10) and the coriander and mint leaves (pic 11). Saute it well for 3 minutes and add the chopped tomato, lime juice and the red chillie powder (pic 12). Saute until it becomes mushy. Now, it is time to add the marinated chicken (pic 13). Stir it well, lower the flame to low and close and cook adding 1/2 a cup of water (pic 14). Adjust the salt seasoning . After 7 minutes, open and saute again until it has a masala consistency and is not watery (pic 15). Put off the fire and keep it aside.

Now, proceed to cook the rice. In another flat bottomed wide pan, heat oil and ghee. Add the whole garam masala (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves) and when it starts to become brown, add the sliced onions (2) and saute well (pic 17). Then, add the ginger garlic paste and half of the green chillie paste and saute again until the raw smell disappears. Add the mint leaves and coriander leaves and saute again (pic 18). Drain the basmati rice and add it to the pan (pic 19) and gently saute it once or twice very gently making sure that the grains do not break (pic 20).

Add 4 1/2 cups of boiiling water and coconut milk powder (or thick coconut milk) to the rice (pic 21). Adjust the salt, add lime juice and close the lid (pic 22) and let it cook on high for 5 minutes (pic 23). When the grains are 3/4 cooked (pic 24), add the chicken masala to the rice (pic 25) and gently mix well to combine. At this point, heat a cast iron tava and place the pan on top of it (pic 26). Close tightly and reduce the flame to slow and cook for 20 minutes. Do not be tempted to open it but make sure the flame is kept low.

After 20 minutes, open and check if the rice is cooked. If not, close and keep it for some more time.

Serve the biriyani onto a serving dish and garnish it with coriander leaves.

Dindigul Thalapakatti Mutton Biriyani

Rice

Thalapakatti is a popular chain of restaurants which was first started in Dindigul, a district in Tamilnadu. Their biriyani is so popular that I am also a huge fan of it. When a friend suggested that I try Suguna Vinod’s recipe, I quickly decided to make it for the weekend. So, here it is and hope you like it.

For this biriyani, the tiny grain of rice variety known as seerage samba (in tamil) or Jeeragashala (in malayalam) is used.

Ingredients:

Seeeraga samba rice – 2 cups

Mutton with bone – 500 gms

Ghee – 2 tbsp

Oil – 3 tbsp

Red chillie powder – 1/2 tsp

Yogurt – 1/2 cup

Salt – 1 1/2 tsp

Mint leaves – a handful

Coriander leaves – a handful

Juice of 1/2 lime

For Masala:

Green chillies – 5

Cinnamon stick – 3 (2 inch sticks)

Cardamom – 3

Cloves – 3

Nutmeg (Jathika) – 1/8th of a nutmeg

Mace – (Jathi pathri) – 1 small piece

Ginger – 2 inch piece

Garlic – 12

Small onions (Shallots) – 15

Water – half cup

Preparation:

Before starting to cook, wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes in water.Do not soak it more as it may become mushy. After 20 minutes, drain it and it should be ready to use.

Wash the mutton and keep it aside.

Grind all the masalas listed under ‘masala paste’.

Take a pressure cooker and heat it. Add oil and ghee. When it becomes hot, add the ground masala to it. Saute it well and add the mutton. Saute it again for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of water, salt, red chillie powder and the yogurt. Mix well and close the lid of the cooker and cook the mutton in it. After the first whistle, reduce the flame and cook the mutton for 20 minutes. Put off the flame and allow it to cool down.

Then, open the cooker and remove the mutton pieces from it to a bowl and roughly measure the liquid in the cooker. You should have approximately 1.5 cups as it need not be accurate.

Transfer the liquid (1.5 cups of liquid) to a wide bottomed cooking pan in which the biriyani is to be cooked. As we require 2 times water to the quantity of rice, we need to add 4 cups of water. As you would have 1.5 cups of liquid already in the cooker, add 2.5 cups of water to the pan. Then, add the chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves and let the mixture come to a boil. (The total amount of water in the pan should be 4 cups).

When it starts boiling, add the meat pieces which were taken out and check the seasoning. Adjust the salt and add the drained rice to the pan. When it starts boiling, add lime juice. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame for the first 4 minutes.

Then, open the lid. Gently mix once from the bottom, cover the lid again and simmer with lid on for 10 minutes on very low flame. Open the lid and the rice would have been three fourth cooked. Let it cook for a few more minutes.

Switch off the flame and close the lid again and let it rest with the lid on for 20 minutes. The rice will get swollen and absorb all the left out moisture. Do not rush as this step is very important.

Enjoy the biriyani with boiled egg and raita.

Bisi Bela Baath with Oats

Rice

A healthy alternative to the traditional dish from Karnataka, made with oats, lentils and veggies. This dish has to be eaten hot and if left to become cold, will not taste good.

Ingredients:

Oats – 1 1/4 cup

Tur dal – 1 cup

Water – 4 cups

Peas – 6 to 7 pods

Carrot – 1 small

Beans – 4 to 5

Shallots – 5

Potato – 1 small

Ghee – 2 to 3 tablespoon

Tamarind water – 1/4 cup

Bisi bela powder – 4 tbsp or more if you want spicier

Jaggery – 1/4 tablespoon

Cashews – 10 – 12 pieces

Salt to taste

Seasoning:

Red chillies – 2

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

Home made powder

Oil – 1 tsp

Coriander seeds – 3 tsp

Urad dal – 2 tsp

Bengal gram/Channa Dal – 1 tsp

Cinnamon – 2 inch stick

Cloves – 2

Dry red chillies – 7 or 8

Khus khus – 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1/4 tsp

Pepper – 1/4 tsp

Dry coconut (Copra) – 1 or coconut – 1/2

Add dal with 4 cups of water in pressure cooker and cook

Pulse the ingredients for the powder finely in a mixie.

Bisi bela baath powder:

Heat 1 tsp of oil and saute coriander seeds, jeera, pepper, bengal gram dal, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and red chillies.

Saute until dal starts to change color. Add khus khus and saute for few seconds on low heat.

Add the dry coconut and saute for few minutes on low heat, stirring continuously. Or if coconut is used, it is to be roasted slightly and then powdered alongwith the other ingredients.

Turn off the heat and leave it to cool and powder it coarsely.

Preparation:

Wash dal first and cook it in pressure cooker with water for 2 whistles and keep it on low flame for 10 minutes. Put off the flame and then, open the cooker after it is cooled, mash it a little and close and keep it aside, once the dal is cooked.

Heat 1 tsp ghee. Add shallots, beans cut into 1/4 inch pieces, peas and carrot sliced small and saute for some time. When it is cooked, add tamarind water and jaggery powder.

Let it boil until raw smell leaves. Add bisi bele bath powder (I use home made powder).

Let it boil for 2 minutes. Add the mashed dal and stir well. Then add the oats and cook it well. Make sure to stir as it may turn lumpy. Keep it on slow fire for about 3 -4 minutes. You may add 1/4 cup hot water if it becomes too thick.

Heat a tbsp of ghee and fry cashews until golden, remove. In the same kadai, add the seasonings listed under ‘seasoning’ and let it splutter.Add the seasonings also to the rice and dal. Mix well and serve hot with a tsp of ghee. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Khichdi

Rice

A simple one pot meal of rice and lentils with a perfect balance of proteins and carbohydrates. This recipe is cooked in a traditional pressure cooker and is eaten all over India.

Ingredients:

Oil – 1 tbsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Rice – 1 cup

Toor dal – 1/2 cup

Onion 1 medium sized sliced lengthwise

Green chillies – 3 or 4 slit and seeds removed

Ginger – 1 inch piece chopped into small pieces or grated

Garlic – 5 or 6 cloves chopped

Tomatoes – 2 small chopped

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt – to taste

Bay leaf – 1

Cloves – 2

Cinnamon sticks of 1 inch – 2 pieces

Cardamoms – 2

Preparation:

Wash the rice and dal together and soak for about half an hour .Heat oil and ghee, add whole spices, onions, green chillies and saute for sometime. Then add chopped ginger, garlic and sauté. Add soaked rice and dal without the water. Add salt, turmeric powder and sauté for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring so that the rice doesn’t stick to the pan. Add 4 and 1/2 cups hot water and transfer the contents to cooker. Put the weight on when the steam comes and wait for the whistle. After one whistle, reduce heat and cook for 7 minutes. Let it cool down and then, open the cooker and stir lightly. This can served with roasted papad, fried papad, pickle, garlic red chilli chutney (as shown in pic) or any other spicy chutney.

Note: If you want dal rice to be more mushy, add half cup more water while it is cooking.

Mango Rice

Rice

As the summer season is on and mangoes have started appearing in the market, this rice recipe with coconut and mango came to my mind. Tangy and bursting with flavours, it is a good option for a lunchbox meal.

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup

Water – 3 cups

Gingely oil – 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp

Mango grated – 1/2 cup

Coconut grated – 1/2 cup

Salt – as needed

Cashewnuts – 4 or 5 fried

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Chana dal/bengal gram dal – 1/2 tsp

Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

Whole red chillies – 2

Green chillie – 1

Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Oil – 1 tsp

Preparation:

Boil rice with 3 cups water, 1/2 tsp gingely oil (so that the grains remain separate) and salt. When rice is cooked, drain the water. Allow it to cool. Add one tsp gingelly oil again to the rice which is cooked and cooled.

Heat gingely oil in kadai. Add mustard seeds, channa dal, bengal gram (urad)dal, 2 whole red chillies, one green chilli whole, 1/4 tsp asafoetida, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder for yellow colour, ( If you want a white coloured rice, you may skip the turmeric powder) and grated mango. Saute for 2-3 minutes till the flavour of the raw mango goes away. Then add grated coconut, mix well for sometime and add rice to it. Mix slightly on fire for 1 minute or 2 minutes. Adjust the salt as required. Add chopped coriander on top and garnish it with fried cashewnuts.

Tamilnadu Chicken Biriyani

Non-Vegetarian, Rice

My comfort food. This aromatic blend of herbs, spices and rice blends in your mouth and tantalises your taste buds. There are 4 or 5 different types of biriyanis in Tamilnadu, Chennai style, Ambur style, Dindigul style, Kongunadu style etc , the Ambur biriyani being the most popular. I learnt this version of the Chennai style of biriyani from my mother in law. We also make another version of the Chennai biriyani at my mom’s house with only green chillies, which is equally awesome. Will update the re’cipe soon.

In this recipe, I have used the spice’ kalpasi’ or ‘dagad phool” , (pictured below). This spice enhances the flavour of the biriyani. But make sure that you use only 1 or 2 pieces/flowers of the same as it has a strong flavour. You may also chose to omit it from the recipe, if you do not have it n your pantry.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 3 cups

Water – 1 cup + 3 1/2 cup

Curds – 2 tbsp

Pudina/Mint leaves – 3/4 cup

Coriander leaves – 3/4 cup

Onions – 4 big + 1 onion

Tomato – 3 small or 2 medium

Chicken – 1 Kg

Garam masala powder – a pinch (optional)

Cloves -6

Cinnamon – 2 inch stick

Small Cardamom – 4

Big black cardamom – 2

Bay leaf – 3

Dagad phool /Kalpasi/black stone flower – 2 pieces

Sauf – 1 tsp

Green chillies – 8

Red chillie powder – 1tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp

Ginger and Garlic paste – 1 tbsp heaped

Coconut milk powder – 1 tbsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Cashewnuts and raisins fried – 8 pieces each

Instructions:

Marinate the chicken with 1/2 tsp turmeric and curds/yogurt for 1 or 2 hrs. Soak rice for only 20 minutes before you start cooking the rice. After 20 minutes, pass the rice through a colander and keep the rice aside.

Grind 5 green chillies with little water in a mixie coarsely. Keep aside. Slice the onions (5) thinly.

Heat a wide thick bottomed vessel. Add oil and ghee and heat it. When it becomes hot, add a pinch of the garam masala powder, the cloves, cinnamon, small cardamom, black cardamom, bay leaf, saunf and dagad phool. Then, add sliced onions and 3 green chillies slit lengthwise and saute. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute well until raw smell goes away. Now add the green chillie paste, coriander leaf, pudina leaves and tomatoes and saute for 3- 4 minutes. Then in goes the 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, chillie powder 1/2 tsp and salt. Saute again and add in the marinated chicken. Add 1 cup water and close the lid and cook the chicken.

In a pan, heat 3 1/2 cups water. When it starts to boil, add the prepared chicken masala and the coconut milk powder to it and stir. Adjust the salt. When the water starts to boil, add the rice to it . Close and keep on high for 3 -4 minutes and when the water has been almost absorbed and the rice comes to the top, reduce the flame to the minimum on a small burner and keep the vessel covered and cook for 20 minutes. (or you could also place the vessel on an iron griddle/tawa, on very low flame for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a kadai and deep fry 1 big sliced onion until brown in color. Also, fry the cashewnuts and raisins and keep aside.

Serve the biriyani garnished with fried onions, raisins and cashewnuts.

Vaangi Bhaath

Rice

A speciality of Karnataka made of rice and brinjals. Vangi is a term used for brinjals and bhath is rice. U can also use the same spice powder for making Capsicum rice, if you do not like brinjals. For vaangi bhath, preferably the long green brinjals are used. Papads and raita or plain curds can be served alongwith this rice.

Ingredients:

Onion – 1 small

Rice -2 cups

Water – 5 cups

Brinjals – 2 long

Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp chopped

Lemon juice

Green chillie – 1

Cashewnuts roasted for garnish

For the vangi bhath powder

Udad dal -1 tsp

Chana dal – 2 tsp

Coriander seeds – 2 1/2 tsp

Red chillies – 5-6

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Clove – 1

Khus khus – 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Copra – 1 tbsp

Jeera – 1/2 tsp

Peppercorns – 3 or 4

Fry asafoetida and dals separately with very little oil. Keep aside. Fry red chillies separately and take it off. Then add cinnamon, cloves, pepper, jeera, coriander seeds and khus khus. Lightly fry copra separately and add it to the dal mixture and powder all together.

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

Chana dal – 3/4 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Preparation:

Boil rice with water and salt. When it is cooked, drain the rice in a colander and keep it aside. Chop brinjals lengthwise and put them in a bowl of water to prevent it from discolouration. In a kadai, add oil and heat it. Add the green chillie which is slit lengthwise and finely chopped onions and saute well. The add the green brinjals slit lengthwise and fry for some time. Add 1/2 tsp spice powder (home made or store bought vaangi bhath powder) and cook the brinjals, taking care not to make it too mushy. Sprinkle some water, if required to cook the brinjals.

Heat oil and add the items listed under “seasonings” and keep it aside.

Now add the cooked rice to the brinjals, 2 tsp of the vaangi baath powder, the seasonings, chopped coriander leaves and 1/2 tsp of lime juice. Mix well and adjust the salt. If you prefer it more spicy, you may add more spice powder. Also, some of them prefer to add tamarind juice to the brinjals while cooking but I usually prefer lime juice.

Garnish with roasted cashewnuts.