February 12, 2007

VEGETABLE BHATH

Vegetable Pulao/Bhath is my entry to Pooja at "creativepooja". Her theme this week is Valentine's day and to post some of our memorable moments of our lives and post a dish which our spouses like!Since I have already posted two desserts for V' day,I thought it's the right time for some nutritious savory dish.

Well..my husband likes everything and anything made with rice like Pulaos and Biryanis.So,this would be the perfect dish for him.I am sure he will like it.

Vegetable Pulao or Bhath:



You Need:

3 cups cooked long grain rice or Basmati,1-2 tbsp ghee or butter,1 tsp cumin seeds,2" cinnamon stick,2 green cardamom,4 cloves,1" ginger-2 garlic,1 tsp chili pd,1 onion,thinly sliced, 2 tbsp yogurt,2 tomatoes,chopped,1 cup sliced cooked Cholia(brown beans),1 cup chopped Zucchini,1 cup cubed cooked carrots, 1 tsp tumeric,2 tbsp coriander seeds, ,salt,cilantro and pinch of Saffron mixed with 1 tbsp of milk to sprinkle on rice(optional).


How To:


Toast cinnamon,cardamom seeds,cloves,coriander seeds,and grind with ginger,garlic,chill pd,turmeric with little water.Keep aside.Cook rice with little salt and 1/2 tbsp butter until done.Fluff the rice to seperate the grains,spread and let it cool in a wide pan.



Heat ghee or butter,add cumin seeds and onions and saute until they are golden.Add Zucchini pieces,saute.Add ground masala,fry for 3 mins,add in yoghurt,tomatoes, and fry until you see the oil on top. Now add all the cooked beans and carrots with salt,mix well and simmer for 5 mins until thickish paste.When rice is cooled,sprinkle saffron milk(optional),mix.



Add the cooked Pulao masala into the rice and mix well gently, adjust the salt and sprinkle some cilantro and mix.
That's it.Tastes great after few hrs of resting the Pulao.Serve with Salad,lemon slices and crisps or Pakoras and a yummy dessert!




Another arial look!! :D




What's my most memorable moment?
We used to live in Dover, England at that time.We were married for 4yrs by then, we felt we are ready to have a baby and we had our daughter about 9 months later.She was born 5 weeks pre-mature.Although she was healthy and perfect,the hospital kept her there for the first 4 days just keep an eye on her very mild Jaundice she had, which is normal for most newborns.

I went home on the 2nd day without her,felt strange but had to think of her wellbeing.When she came home on the 5th day, Arvind suddenly disappeared for few hrs and here I was, upset and thinking how insensitive of him to leave me alone NOW with the new baby!! He showed up hrs later and as I was about to open my mouth,he gave me a red little box!I opened it and my jaw dropped.

There it was! A beautiful Diamond Necklace with 5 stones in it for every year we have been married,my first ever diamond jewelry! He had driven from Dover to Canterbury just to buy it and drove back within few hrs to surprise me!! How about that for a memorable moment!!It did make me forget those 4 days alone at home without our brand new baby with us!

And that baby Trisha is going to be 16yrs old next month and just recieved a "National Association of High School Scholars" membership and a medal!! How about that for a "preemie"?!:)) Enjoy...

45 comments:

USHA said...

Hi Ashaji,,

I think for the first time i find typical south Indian Rice variety receipe here...Looking great....

By reading the lines i was able to portray the scene, when you miss your hubby around you in that situation,you happiness after seeing a surprise gift.....

By the way convey my congrats to
Trisha for her performance in studies....All the best Trisha.

Sia said...

i skipped the recipe and read ur memorable moment first;) u have got one romatic hubby ashakka:) i guess he is all feelings not much into talking han? ;)
my good wishes to ur little(err!! she may not like me calling her little;) girl for gettin scholarship:) thats again something to remember for lifetime:)
and now coming to veg pulao its just yummy... loved the pics:)
and b4 u shout at me, my boss is on leave;) he he he....

FH said...

Come to think of it,yeah!It is my first SI dish here,isn't it?:D
I have some in FH like Vangi Bhath etc, but here this is first I should cook more of these.
Can you imagine going home without the the baby?It was terrible.
Thank you,I will tell her.She works very hard for her grade.She will be happy to read this!:))

FH said...

I was about to but your boss is a sweet guy,let you browse anyway!! May be you should buy him some Chocolate or something!:))

You are right,Arvind doesn't talk much at all!When we were teenagers,once I told him to give me a break for while and he fainted promptly in his classroom(Medical college!)Then his friends came home and yelled at me for saying that to him!! He is very emotional indeed but doesn't express in words unlike me!;D

I will tell Trisha,she will like that!Have a nice day Sia.hugs.

Seema Bhat said...

Wow Asha,
What a lovley looking veggie pulav and loved to read about your memorable moment gal. How nice of your hubby to get you something special for the worlds most pracious gift that you gave him. That was really really romantic Asha. Trisha is a nice name and convery our best wishes to her.

FH said...

Thank you darling Seema.
He was thrilled to bits to have that baby and was heartbroken to leave her in the hospital for 4 days.He still treats her like a baby,while she grew bigger and stronger than him!!;D
No Diamond in this world can match that love,can it?!:)

Suma Gandlur said...

Asha,
First of all congrats to your daughter. You must be one proud mother.

I know how hard it is to leave a new born alone at the hospital. For some reasons, I had to leave my new born daughter too at the hospital alone for 8 days.I felt so helpless.

You used different vegetables in the dish from what I see in regular pulao recipes. Yummy.

By the way, Happy valentine's day in advance to you & your husband.

Lakshmik said...

Hi Asha

That was a romantic memorable moment probably for you. Nice recipe too.

FH said...

Thank you LakshmiK! It was memorable for both having the baby home after 4 days and a reward for having the baby!!:D:D

Suma,you KNOW exactly how we felt and that too for 8 days! I sure she is doing well now,baby girls are tough,aren't they?:)
Zucchini is my newfound veg,so I try and add to everything.Beans makes it nutritious instead of just rice and veggies.
Thank you,I will tell that to Trisha!:)

Creativecook said...

Dear Asha,

What a sweet story! Since comming home with my little ones is still very fresh for me I can imagine how difficult it must have been for you.

Thankfully, diamonds are forever.

Cheers,
Rinku

Mishmash ! said...

Asha(ji) :) Goosebumps all over me !!! How romantic was that incident!! So Sweet :)
Congrats to Trisha :)

Shn

FH said...

Hi Rinku,you are right!It's so hard to go home without the baby but everything turned well in the end!:)
You never know,Diamonds might go!;D

FH said...

Aww..!! Thank you shn.You are such a sweet girl!I will let Trisha know!:))
Enjoy the V'day.

Unknown said...

Asha, went straight to the memorable part and then came back for that delicious pulav.You are blessed with a loving husband and two adorable kids with beauty n' brain.Convey my best wishes to your girl.So 5 diamonds for fifth anniversary, just remind A that for your coming 21st V-day..:D.

Nabeel said...

i love the presentation .. and Pulao .. oh man .. without or without vegetables it's always great :)

Deepak Gopi said...

Hi
Happy birthday in advancce to Trisha.
happy Shivarathri in advance

Anonymous said...

A precious gift for the most precious gift. :) That was the sweetest!!! :) But you also gave a very sweet daughter, so he had to match up to your gift as well ;) ( No match I am sure, but he did his best:) )

Loved reading your memorable moments ~HUGS~
And the pulav looks divine!!!!! What with all the decorations and all around it. :)

Anonymous said...

Hello Asha! What a happy "memorable moment" you shared there! All the best to Trisha on her outstanding achievement! Easy to avoid being "proud" about ourselves when it can all be poured into the kids and their accomplishments huh :):)

Oh, and veg pulao looks fabulous too!! ;)

Gattina Cheung said...

Smart mommy, smart daughter!!! Congrats on Trisha all her academic awards!!!
Your hubby is such a darling too!

Pooja said...

Hi Asha,
Such a touching and romatinc moments you shared here . I can iamgine the expressions of your faces at that time. It is true for my hubby too ,that doesn't express many of his emotions in words sometimes, but I am not wise like you , I keep on aksing him to express it in words, as I told him that it mean a lot to me to hear such things form him . :) .
lovely entry for Valentine's day theme . thank you dear.
(p.sI posted 2 entrieson my other blog too for blog events. )
-Pooja

FH said...

Mahesh,after that diamond,there was one more ring for our 7th WA!!After that,he didn't buy me any!! 21 stones? Forget about it!!;D Guy is getting old and stressed,so no more Jewelry for me!!:P We don't do V'day really.I will let Trisha know,thanks.

Thank you Nabeel.You could add chicken in there too,make it non-veg!:) Enjoy the V'day,hope you got some candy for Sugarlips to make her more sugary!!;D

Thanks Deepak.Hope you have a great day too and enjoy the week!I will pass on the message to Trisha:))

Thanks Coffee!:)) You are right,no precious stones can match the happy,healthy baby.We are lucky to have healthy ones.Everything else comes later of course.Arvind did his best indeed!Hugs to you too.Enjoy the V'day!:)

Menu Today said...

Hi Asha,
All The best for Trisha and advance birthday wishes..

Lovely looking pulao. Thanks for sharing.Menutoday

FH said...

Hi Linda.I know that feeling!!:))Nobody says 'good job' to moms while we are the one who teach everyday and are the primary carers for the kids.Ppl always say "oh!she is like dad!" while mom is just a "chopped liver" hanging around!!;D

Thank you Gattina.I think most of our kids work hard for their grades,may be a teeny more smarter than others!They do deserve to be recognized.An Asian 5th grader scored a perfect SAT who was on TV yesterday and he looked like such a happy kid too!!WOW!!:)

Hi Pooja,I was thinking about you yesterday bcos I thought your Internet probably was in a mess.I read what you said at T's about not getting proper connection.Glad it's okay and see you back in action!:))
I used to bug Arvind too to be more talkative but the more I did,the more he went back in his shell.So I gave up and learnt to be happy just to have the silent one!!:D
I will check out your sites today,thanks.

Prema Sundar said...

Hi Asha,
Veggie pulav looks lovely and so was ur memorable moment..
I know how it is, if ur husband doesn't talk much cause sundar is just the same..got used to it by now..
All the best to Trisha ..give my hugs to her..

FH said...

Hi MT!! Thank you and I will let her know!:))I made your Thattai and will post shortly here.Have a great day.

Prema,I think most of the husbands are like that and if we don't accept them as they are and bug them to express more,we will have to sit and cry everyday!!:))Thanks and I will tell Trisha.

sra said...

Hi, nice story there about the diamonds! Isn't your weekly blog post up yet?

FH said...

Hi sra,thank you buddy!A baby and Diamonds,perfect!No such luck these days for more Diamonds(done with kids though!)!;D
It's still Tuesday here.I will post at FH tomorrow.Good recipes this week!:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Asha,
I am also kannadiga from mysore, loves all your veggie recipes and usually I prepare same way, and I also learnt some non indian recipes from your blog. Good job Keep it up
Mamatha

FH said...

Hi Mamatha,welcome.Nice to meet you and I am glad you liked the recipes!Hope you come back here again my Mysorean friend!:D
I am trying to bring more homely dishes but sometimes these event require other dishes too,will see.Have a great V'day!

Anonymous said...

Asha,

As always your presentation is so great..the Pulav looks so tempting...Your husband is so thoughtful and sweet..Wishing you sweetheart Trisha All the Very Best in her Life..
Happy Valentine's Day !!! Hope everyday of your life is filled with love, peace and harmony
-Sushma

Anonymous said...

Hello Asha,

I tried to post a comment earlier and it didnt get saved. :-( Anyways, I felt happy to read your special moments when you had your little one in your hands and your hubby made it more memorable. Also, Wishing Trisha lots of Success and Luck in the coming years.

Well forgot to mention, the pulav picture looks really amazing . As always the pictures look fabulous.
-Sushma

FH said...

Hi Sushma,looks like I got both of your comments,thank you!:) It goes to my comment moderation page waiting to be checked by me.I shut down the LapTop at 6pm until next morning so I can get on with the dinner etc.
I will let Trisha know,she will be thrilled to know there are so many well-wishers out there!
Happy V'day Sushma!:))

Bong Mom said...

Hi Asha
Congrats to your awesome daughter for her acievement and that was so cute of A :)
All the best to your familiy and love and wishes for the kids

Chickoo said...

Wow!
Ashakka nimma magalige nanna paravagi hardhika shubhashayagalu! You must be soo proud :)

Deepa

Chickoo said...

Ashakka,
Innu baree beku anisthu so here are more comments :)
Nimma yajamanru thet namma yajamanra tharha ne, mathu kathe kadime, but preethee bettadastu!

Deepa

FH said...

HAHAHA!!! Deepa,maatu yarige bekagide alva? Preeti idre aaytu.Adakke tane ishtu varsha takaraaru madade irodu naanu!:D
Trishalige helutteeni,khushi aguttale ishtodu jana wish madtare anta.
Enadru hosa post baredidre ,bandu noodutteni.Ivattu ShivRatri namage,gotta? Chiroti madideeni,next postalli nodabahudu.

Vini K said...

Hi Asha,I did what Supriya did,went to read your memorable moment first!the suspense was too much to put aside for later..You lucky lady,getting diamonds for V day!I envy you!Congratulations to both of you as parents and to your little girl(well she will always be little for you,right?)Trisha for getting that scholarship.Great family you have,Asha.

Vini K said...

Look at me!fotgot to write about your Pulao..looks great.Your pictures are so nice Asha..I like the way you present all the ingredients in one photo and finished dishes in another.I try to follow you but haven;t been able to achive much success in that!

FH said...

Hi Vini,thank you so much gal!:)) Glad to see you back in action.I try my best and you are doing fine job too I might add!I will let Trisha know,she will be happy.Yeah,diamonds are great too,make us happy for a while ,don't they?!;D

TNL said...

Ashaji,

I have GOT to put this blog in my blog roll,this was beautiful...and many congrats to Trisha...wishing her the best always...I still remember the comment she said about "Moby Dick"!
Oh and the pulao...aahh..must try it when I start eating rice again!

Hugs,Trupti

FH said...

WHAT?! You don't have 'Aroma' in your blog roll!! WHAT?! You don't eat rice!!!:D:D:D

'Moby Dick' was funny,wasn't it?She is very witty like that!:))Thank you T,I will let her know.Hugs.

Anonymous said...

Hi Asha
this is the first time i am leaving a comment, though i visit ur blog every wednesday's.i like the way u present ur dishes and also like the way u write.
kudos to u.

shalini

FH said...

Hi Shalini,thank you sweetie.That was nice to hear.I am guessing you can't log in at FH too like some.Sorry about that.Hope you come back,it's always to see new faces!:))

Unknown said...

Hi Asha ji,
Im 6 months pregnant and could feel how would it be to return from the hospital without the baby...btw wonderful recipie..great pics...

FH said...

Ramya, enjoy your pregnancy and best wishes to you. God bless! :)