Arjun likes colorful food. He is quite choosy about it. So whenever I pack him coconut rice for his lunch it comes back half finished. Though he loves coconut rice he does not like the white color of it and complains that it is not spicier enough for him. So I came up with this recipe which also tastes wonderful and also keeps for more time.
Spicy Coconut Rice
You’ll need:
- Cooked Rice – 1 cup
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Urad dal – 1 tsp
- Channa dal – 1 tsp
- Whole dry red chilli – 1
- Green chillies – 2
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig
- Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp
- Salt – to taste
- Ghee / Coconut Oil – 2 tbsp
For Spice Powder:
- Grated fresh coconut – 1+1/2 cups
- Whole dry red chillies – 4 to 5
- Channa dal – 2 tbsp
- Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
- Asafetida – 2 pinch
- Ghee / coconut oil – 3 tbsp
Method:
For the Spice powder: Heat 2 tsp of oil/ghee in a kadai. Add red chillies, channa dal, asafetida, fenugreek seeds and roast till golden in color over moderate flame. Drain and keep aside.
In the same kadai add the remaining ghee/oil. Add grated coconut and toss till it is golden in color over medium flame taking care not to burn it. Combine all the ingredients for the spice powder and grind into a fine powder and keep aside.
For the Rice: Heat 2 tbsp of ghee/oil in a kadai. Add the broken cashew nuts and roast till golden in color. Drain and keep aside. Now add mustard seeds, when it splutters add urad dal, channa dal, and dry red chillies, slit green chillies, curry leaves and roast over medium flame till the aroma arises.
Now add the cooked rice, spice powder, salt and mix gently till all are combined. Remove from heat and garnish with roasted cashew nuts and Check salt and serve hot with pappadams or potato roast.
Notes:
- If you are calorie conscious you can replace any vegetable oil instead of ghee / coconut oil.
- Along with cashew nuts you can also use or replace peanuts.