Broccoli Rice with corn and peanuts - a quick and easy dinner

I know a lot of people who don't like broccoli including yours truly. I actually quite like cauliflower which is a similar vegetable? No?. It took a decade and half but I have finally crossed over. If you like broccoli then this recipe is not to be missed.

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The kids have always liked broccoli and it is an easy and good as an evening snack par-boiled or roasted. It serves as a tasty filling in a quesadilla which is a well liked lunch box item and these broccoli quesadillas if you want to know are far more tastier than I expected them to be.

Crunchy and perfectly spiced the broccoli are tasty in this very lightly spiced rice dish. I now think that broccoli tastes just fine when cooked right, getting unpleasant only when it gets mushy and overcooked.

It was Friday evening, the refrigerator was running on empty save for a bag of broccoli. With some frozen corn and raw peanuts plans for a broccoli rice were born. If you do not have peanuts use black chickpeas or black eyed peas instead.

Broccoli Rice with corn and peanuts
Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 Cups of rice (any long grain rice will work)
2. 3-4 cups of broccoli separated into florets, the woody portions peeled and cut into inch sized pieces
3. 1 cup of raw peanuts
4. 1 cup of corn (frozen corn kernels)
5. 1/2 tbsp of black pepper powder + 1/2 tbsp of cayenne pepper
6. 2 cups of sliced onions
7. 5 garlic cloves minced
8. 1 tbsp ginger grated
9. salt to taste
10. 2 tsp of oil + 2 tsp of sesame oil
11. Feta cheese
12. Sliced lemons

Method
1. Cook the rice with the sesame oil and a pinch of salt such that the grains are separate
2. Cook the raw peanuts (I use a pressure cooker to cook them), substitute with roasted unsalted peanuts
3. Heat a pot of water and blanch the broccoli florets for a minute or two and set aside
4. In a wide mouthed pan, heat the oil and add the onions and saute till they are translucent, add the garlic and ginger and saute for a few more minutes
5. Add the frozen corn and the cooked peanuts along with the pepper and cayenne pepper, salt (if using roasted peanuts add them along with the rice)
6. Add in the broccoli florets and saute for 4-5 minutes mixing it into the spices
7. Add in the cooked rice and gently toss so everything is mixed in well
8. Serve with feat cheese sprinkled on top and a squeeze of lemon juice

Everybody's favorite - Aloo Paratha (potato stuffed flat bread)

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Potatoes were never made that often when I was growing up. It was used in mixed vegetable kurma and potato masala for pooris for the most part. Unlike in my kitchen where potatoes make an appearance every week in one form or the other.

Before I move to the recipe, I want to tell you a story. We(DD,DH, I, my brother and cousin) were visiting a friend for dinner. She had these beautiful aloo parathas on the dinner table. My brother and I looked at each other and whispered that she must have bought them from a restaurant. Nope, a while later we realized she had actually made them. Until then for us aloo parathas were something to be ordered and enjoyed at restaurants. She gave the low down on making them along with a demonstration. Looked pretty simple when she did it. It was a few years before I would muster the courage to make them.

Besides blogging happened and of course there are several blogs with step by step instructions on how to make aloo parathas, not only aloo parathas but several others I have only heard the names of till then.

Fast forward to now and I make aloo parathas pretty often, they are done quickly and without too much fuss. What was an exotic dish is now an every day meal. The filling has changed over the years and now I have one that works very well. I initially mashed the potatoes, added onions, garlic, ginger and then cooked them like podimas and then used it for stuffing. The uneven onion pieces made rolling them a bit difficult. Nothing can be simpler than Mad Tea Partier Anita's and that in fact was the starting point.

For the stuffing, starchier the potatoes the better it is. Russet potatoes work best. I would not use red potatoes or new potatoes for this. Any potato that is creamy textured and holds the shape after cooking should not be used. It is easy to mash when the potatoes are still warm.

Potato Filling	Rolled out dough ready for filling

Aloo Paratha
Ingredients
For the filling
1. 2 - 3 Russet potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed
2. 2 tsp cumin powder
3. 1/2 tbsp red chili powder
4. 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
5. 1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
6. salt to taste
7. 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
8. a couple of green chilies chopped fine

Mix in all the other ingredients into the mashed potatoes and set aside.

For the dough
1. 3 cups of whole wheat flour (or chapathi flour)
2. 1 tsp of salt
3. 1 tbsp of yogurt
4. Water just enough make a stiff dough

Mix the flour and salt. Add yogurt and water while mixing in the flour till it forms a stiff dough. The dough should not not have too much moisture. Knead to make it smooth.

Set aside some dry flour to dust while rolling.

Method
1. Roll out the potato filling into lime sized ball.
2. Make a slightly bigger ball of dough and then roll it out a little bit or flatten using the palm of your hand. Place the filling in the center.
Note: The center of the dough should be a bit thicker than the sides so when they are folded over and rolled the dough thickness is even throughout
3. Pinch the sides onto the top (like pleating) and cover the filling
4. Now roll out the dough applying slight pressure till the required thickness is reached. Make sure the filling does not spill out. The first few attempts times a bit spills out but not to worry (when cooked the crunchy exposed potatoes are tasty)
5. Heat a griddle, place the rolled out paratha on it, add oil on the edges and when it is cooked (brown spots start to appear) on one side spray some oil on top flip and cook on the other side.

Serve with some pickles mixed in with yogurt.