Apr 19, 2012

Risotto With Palk And Moong Dal

Like Indians in some regions of Italy they like to have rice in the first course of the meal. Riso - rice which they use in their cooking are round short grain rice. Most of this Italian rice is high in starch. They cook rice with broth in to a creamy texture and this broth may be a chicken or meat or vegetable broth. Normally risotto contains Parmesan cheese ,butter and onion this is the common way they cook rice. In some recipes they use some white or red wine  to rice before they add broth. The traditional texture of the Risotto should be creamy and fairly fluid not watery. Risotto can be made using vegetables, meat, fish and a different types of cheese. Here my todays recipe is fusion with Indian ingredients. I  have a small cup of arborio rice in my pantry, I totally for got about this rice and was searching for shell pasta I found this one, got this risotto idea for my theme. Made little changes to my plan and included this risotto, since this is a fusion I didn't use cheese, gave a flavor of Indian spices so let's check the recipe..risotto INGREDIENTS:---
Arborio rice or any short grain rice --- 1 cup
Palak (spinach) ---  1 cup finely chopped
Moong dal  --- 1/2 cup
Butter ---  1 tab sp
Cumin seeds --- 1 tea sp
Mustard seeds --- 1/2 tea sp
Onion --- 1 small chopped
Green chillies --- 2 chopped (optional)
Garlic --- 3 cloves finely chopped
Stock or water --- 2 cups
Salt to taste
METHOD:----
1. Heat butter in a pan add mustard seeds, cumin seed, chopped garlic, chopped onion, chopped green chilli fry till onion turns in to soft but that should not change the color.
2. Add rice and give good stir to cover the fat on rice to avoid sticking the rice together.
3. Then add chopped palak (spinach) and fry for a while.
4. Now keep the heat in low and add 1/4 cup stock, stir slowly cook till rice absorb the stock.
5. Then add Moong dal to the rice mixture and 1/4 cup more stock stir and cook till the stock absorb
4. Continue to add stock 1/4 cup at a time stirring slowly and letting the rice absorb the stock.
5. By the time you finish the stock you can see the rice and dal in cooked and risotto will turn in to a creamy texture the rice is slightly firm in the center.
6. Season with salt stirr well and serve.
If you feel like your risotto is thick then add some more stock or water till it turns in to a creamy texture but I like my risotto little thick
That's it Risotto in Indian style is ready to serve.
 In India it's difficult to get Arborio rice or any other Italian rice so you can use any short grain rice that is rich in starch. But I am not sure you get a original risotto taste.
If you like to add cheese the add grated cheese on top of the risotto and serve. I don't like chees much so I didn't add that is totally your choice.
This is my fourth recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page


17 comments:

Shama Nagarajan said...

delicious dear..will try this today

Priya Suresh said...

Padma, am truly enjoying ur fusion foods, wat a creativity dear..Risotto looks super healthy and definitely comforting..

Chef Mireille said...

rice is still so nice and creamy without the cheese - great fusion!

preeti garg said...

look awesome

divyagcp said...

Delicious and healthy.. Love ur fusion food.. getting a lot inspired by you to try at home..

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Harini R said...

nice fusion recipe, Padma

The Pumpkin Farm said...

thisi s such a good option for risotto, i am big fan of risotto

Usha said...

Another good fusion recipe! Anyone could easily mistake it for pongal made with some leafy vegetables.

Jayanthi said...

Another innovative idea...looking forward for more Padma. Love this healthy recipe for sure.

Priya dharshini said...

Wow..luv risotta,should try this indianised version..

Suma Gandlur said...

Nice fusion Padma.

Archana Vivek said...

Awesome thought for the twist

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

I love risotto too... yummy!

Rasi said...

have never tried risotto.. have heard so much about it but the rice has always help me back!

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vidhas said...

Yummaicious. Looks and sounds intresting. healthy too.

Bergamot said...

Looks wonderful. A nice combination

Padmajha said...

What a healthy fusion treat! Looks great