Taro is thought to be a native plant of South India and it was the poor man’s potato until the latter became very cheap. Growing up, when the taro plants sprouted amongst the paddy fields, we knew the summer was over, and soon school would be back in session and the rivers would be full.
The taro’s leaves grow as big as an elephant ear, and during the monsoon, it was almost scary to see these monstrous leaves. Even today, during Spring, it gives me so much pleasure to see similar leafy plants, like hosta, sprout up around here. I almost always stop to take pictures and remember the paddy fields with taro plants from my childhood!
In the South, the favorite way to cook this root is to deep fry it, but I wanted to figure out a healthy alternate. Taro roots contain toxic substances, and need to be cooked well. The IP provides excellent control while cooking taro root, and this recipe is a simple and a healthy way to cook it.
Taro Roast is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
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Taro Root (cheppankizangu, colocasia) Roast
In the South, the favorite way to cook this root is to deep fry it, but I wanted to figure out a healthy alternate. Taro roots contain toxic substances, and need to be cooked well. The IP provides excellent control while cooking taro root, and this recipe is a simple and a healthy way to cook it. This is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
Add 1.5 cups of water into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP). Insert a stainless-steel steamer basket. Place the taro roots in the steamer basket.
Select ‘Steam’ with vent sealed, and cook for 6 min. Once the steam cycle is done, let the IP cool down and the pressure go down naturally.
When the IP has cooled down, open the lid and wait for the taro roots to cool down for about 5 minutes.
Peel off the skin (it should come off easily) and slice the taro root into ¼” round pieces.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan).
Pour vegetable oil over the spices (need enough to wet the pan surface plus a little more).
Heat on medium high. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," spread the cooked taro roots evenly across the surface of the pan. Let them fry.
Add salt. Sprinkle turmeric powder, sambar powder, and the red chili powder uniformly over the surface of the taro roots.
Periodically flip the taro roots, each time spraying with canned aerosol vegetable oil. Continue to sprinkle red chili powder and sambar powder over the surface as needed.
Keep the heat on medium high and slowly dry roast the taro roots until desired color and crispiness are achieved.
Since the taro roots absorb nearly all moisture while they cook, sprinkling water on them occasionally may help to cook the taro roots with spices uniformly.
Once done, sprinkle a few cilantro leaves on top as garnish and serve hot.
What would a Madarasi do when cooking a Chole Masala? He naturally would add a spoon or two (or more) of sambar powder. I have been cooking this version of Chole for a long time and I would say this is a perfect blend of North and TamBram cooking traditions, resulting in a mouthwatering dish. It is the combination of sambar, chana and garam masala powders that gives this fusion its aroma and taste. For a TamBram, it is the sight of the black mustard seeds floating in the chole that makes this dish so homey. There is something in it for a Punjabi too. The alluring taste of amchoor and the masala smell is enough to make this dish at least partially Punjabi. But why add jaggery to this dish, you may ask. For a long time, this was a deliberately kept secret by the old-time wedding cooks in Madras. Their sambars were notoriously good and no one was able to figure out why. Legend has it that the master cooks wouldn’t even tell their own crews what it was. The master cook would come in at the final hour to taste the sambar, and pull out a packet of jaggery and mix it without telling anyone about it. But here is a word of caution, jaggery needs to be added in just the right amount. As they say in Tamil, beyond its limit, even the immortal nectar (amrit) becomes poisonous.
This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
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Madarasi Chole Masala
I have been cooking this version of Chole for a long time and I would say this is a perfect blend of North and TamBram cooking traditions, resulting in a mouthwatering dish. It is the combination of sambar, chana and garam masala powders that gives this fusion its aroma and taste. For a TamBram, it is the sight of the black mustard seeds floating in the chole that makes this dish so homey. This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
Carefully remove any small stones or bad garbanzo beans. Rinse the beans thoroughly and soak them overnight.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into the instant pot inner pot (IP) (put the spices in one small area of the pot). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Plug in the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, butter, and ginger/garlic paste into the pan. Stir until the butter melts and the chilies and garlic/ginger paste mix well together.
Add onions to the pot. Stir occasionally until the onions are cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add salt, sambar powder, masala powder, channa masala powder and the turmeric powder. Mix them well and let them cook together. Add a cup of water to the pot and bring to a boil.
Add the diced tomatoes. Ensure you stir periodically for uniform cooking and mixing of spices. Bring it to a boil.
Rinse the garbanzos and pour them into to the IP. Add Potatoes. Add about 1.0 cup of water, but ensure that the water is just enough and it is not too much.
On manual high pressure with the vent closed, cook them for 10 minutes. Once the IP has cooled down, make sure there is no pressure in the cooker and that the (pressure) pin is down. Open the cooker lid -- be careful, as the dhal will be extremely hot.
Add jaggery when the contents are still hot and stir it well.
A cut and dried fact of a bean is that it has ‘bean’ around! Its journey started some 8000 years ago in Peru, and by the time it reached Punjab, India, it was quickly adopted into its most celebrated bean and grain dish called Rajma Chawal. It is a popular pairing for a good reason; with this combination, it has no trans fats and is rich in vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber. It is very filling and is highly versatile. When the Asian Indians were brought to the Americas by the British, Rajma Chawal travelled with them. Rice and beans continued to migrate from Jamaica, to Haiti, and arrived back in Mexico via New Orleans.
To celebrate this great bean voyage, I wanted to combine Rajma with my favorite American cooking – New Mexican. After all, if you really break the Rajma recipe down, it happens to be a combination of beans, red chile, salsa and copious amount of masala.
This recipe uses pinto beans as opposed to red kidney beans. Pinto beans offer quite a few advantages over red kidney beans in taste, texture and nutrients. I created an authentic New Mexico red chile (to sound authentic, never say red chile sauce, it is just red chile – I was corrected recently) and made a simple tomato puree. The result is simply a delicious festive Rajma that I call ‘Rajma Chile Fiesta.’ Try it for yourself. You can simplify this recipe, by using (New Mexican) red chile powder and buying a canned tomato sauce.
This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It is gluten free.
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Rajma Chile Fiesta
This recipe uses pinto beans as opposed to red kidney beans. This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It is gluten free.It is simply a delicious festive Rajma that I call ‘Rajma Chile Fiesta.’ Try it for yourself. You can simplify this recipe, by using (New Mexican) red chile powder and buying a canned tomato sauce.
Select 7 large dried red chilies. Rinse them thoroughly and take the stems off, but leave the seeds in the chile.
In the instant pot inner pot (IP), add 1.5 cups of water and the red chilies.
On manual high pressure with the vent closed, cook them for 10 minutes.
Once the IP has cooled down, make sure there is no pressure in the cooker and that the (pressure) pin is down. Open the lid.
Using tongs, pick up the cooked red chilies and transfer them to a blender. Add the remaining water from the IP to the blender.
Add onion, ginger and garlic. Blend them thoroughly to a smooth puree.
(Optional) Pour the puree into a fine sieve set over a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to stir and press the puree through the sieve; discard solids.
Set this aside. You can refrigerate it for later use as well.
Part – II – Making Tomato Puree:
Rinse the tomatoes thoroughly. Cut the stem area off the top of the tomato. Cut the tomatoes in half.
Transfer them to a blender. Add half of the mint and all the spices from the Masala Paste. Blend them thoroughly to a smooth puree.
(Optional) Pour the puree into a fine sieve set over a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to stir and press the puree through the sieve to remove the tomato skins, then and discard solids.
Part – III – Cooking the Pinto Beans:
Carefully remove any small stones or bad pinto beans. Rinse the beans thoroughly, then put them in the IP. Add enough water (about 1.5 cup) to cover the pinto beans (water level should be just over the surface of the beans).
Add salt, and 2 tbsp of oil. On manual high pressure with the vent closed, cook them for 40 minutes.
Once the IP has cooled down, make sure there is no pressure in the cooker and that the (pressure) pin is down. Open the lid.
Pour all of the contents into a vessel and set aside.
Part – IV– Putting It All Together:
Add 2 tbsp of oil and cumin seeds into the IP.
Plug in the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
When you first hear the sound of the cumin seed "sizzling," add butter and the red chile puree from Part I and bring it to a boil. Occasionally stir and leave it for another minute after the first boil.
Add the tomato puree from Part II and bring it a boil. Stir occasionally to ensure uniform mixing. Adjust the heat if necessary. Let it cook for another five minutes.
Add cooked pinto beans from Part III. Turn the IP off.
Close the lid, and with the vent closed, select the ‘Bean/Chili’ option which will cook the beans for 30 minutes under medium pressure.
Once it is cooked, release the pressure by opening the vent.
Often, the simplest pairings make the most fabulous dishes. South Indian carrot curry (or porrial, as it is sometimes called) is the simplest Indian vegetable stir-fry that you could possibly make. Carrots are not that alien to Indian cooking. In fact, they are originally from neighboring Afghanistan and have been incorporated into Indian cooking for quite some time. However, the current variety of carrot that is widely used in Indian cooking is a domesticated version of a wild carrot originally believed to be from the Netherlands.
In this dish, the goal is to make the spicy chile taste stand out ever so slightly against the backdrop of the subtle sweetness of the coconut and the carrots. The Instant Pot provides an excellent way to steam the vegetables without losing their nutrients.
Carrot curry is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
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Carrot Curry (Porrial, Stir-fry)
Often, the simplest pairings make the most fabulous dishes. South Indian carrot curry (or porrial, as it is sometimes called) is the simplest Indian vegetable stir-fry that you could possibly make. Carrot curry is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
Peel the carrots' outer skin and dice them into small cubes. Dice the green chilies into small pieces.
Add 1.5 cups of water into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP). Insert a stainless-steel steamer basket. Place the diced carrots and the green peas in the steamer basket.
Select ‘Steam’ with vent sealed, cook for 1 min. Once the steam cycle is done, release the pressure by venting the steam out.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan).
Pour vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Heat on medium. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the curry leaves, ginger and green chilies, and stir for a few seconds.
Pour the contents of the cooked carrots and the green peas into the frying pan and spread evenly across the surface of the pan.
Add salt, and let the carrots cook on medium heat. Since the carrots are already cooked, just fold the cooked carrots in with a spatula until they are coated/mixed well with the spices.
Add the shredded coconut and stir until the coconut is mixed and blended with the rest of the curry.
Sprinkle a few cilantro leaves on top as garnish and serve hot.
Upma is the humble Indian version of a polenta or a spicy porridge. However, despite its modest beginning, it takes on multiple incarnations thanks to the many forgiving ways you can forge its recipe. For example, Floyd Cardoz, a Bombay-born New York chef, recently won the coveted Top Chef Masters contest in Los Angeles by taking this dish and upping it to an haute cuisine. Its unassuming nature starts with its name, which simply translates to ‘salty flour.’ It has always been a breakfast for sadhus, and aam aadmis and is the go-to food for train journeys and school lunches. However, by the time you are old enough to get out of your parents’ home, you, like me, had such an overdose of Rava Upma that you want to be miles away from any kitchen that serves this dish for the rest of your life. But the secret allure of this dish cannot be denied, and you eventually crave for it. This recipe goes back to the basics, and presents its classic taste by keeping it very simple. Please give it a try.
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Rava Upma, the common man’s polenta.
Upma is the humble Indian version of a polenta or a spicy porridge. However, despite its modest beginning, it takes on multiple incarnations thanks to the many forgiving ways you can forge its recipe. This recipe goes back to the basics, and presents its classic taste by keeping it very simple. Avoid butter in this recipe to make it a vegan dish. Please give it a try.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Heat on medium. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, curry leaves, butter, and ginger into the pan. Stir until the butter melts. Mix all the spices together well for a minute.
Add onions to the frying pan. Stir occasionally until the onions become translucent. They don’t need to be cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add two cups of water to the frying pan. Add green peas and salt. Bring the water to a first boil.
Add soji (rava) slowly while constantly stirring so that it does not form any lumps.
Keep stirring the mix until all the water is absorbed. It should happen fairly quickly.
Reduce the heat to low, and close the pan with its lid for a few minutes, until the soji is cooked and becomes fluffy and moist.
Koottu (meaning ‘adding’) is a quintessential Tamil vegetable lentil stew, and may have been named as such because vegetables are added to a lentil base. Even today, the TamBram version of this utilizes only native vegetables and spices, except for the use of red chilies. My speculation is that this dish may have been cooked with pepper at one time, and was replaced by red chilies only recently. The Palghat version is a very popular dish and is aptly named as ‘mulagoottal,’ which translates to ‘adding pepper.’
The recipe below is a mashup and I use ‘English’ vegetables, and red chilies. Taking a cue from the ‘arachu vitta koottu’ (meaning ‘blend and mix’ variety), I added a combination of pepper, coriander and fenugreek seeds to get some additional kick to this otherwise humble dish.
Traditionally it is cooked with a neutral base, meaning there is no acidic element to this. But I wanted to add a bit of sour taste by including a tiny bit of yogurt in the end to subdue the somewhat overpowering cumin. Finally, the consistency is deliberately kept on the solid side, but if you prefer this to be more liquid, then add an additional cup of water.
This is a very delicate dish, but very simple to cook. You can use cabbage, or spinach or any of the vegetables from the squash or gourds family.
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Potato and Carrot Koottu - Indian Vegetable Lentil Stew
Koottu is a quintessential Tamil vegetable lentil stew. This is a very delicate dish, but very simple to cook. The consistency is deliberately kept on the solid side, but if you prefer this to be more liquid, then add an additional cup of water. You can use cabbage, or spinach or any of the vegetables from the squash or gourds family. It is gluten free and is a vegan dish.
Dice the carrot and potato into small cubes and set them aside.
Add oil (1 tbsp or as needed) to a frying pan and heat the oil on medium heat. Add red red chilies, chana dhal and coriander seeds and fry until the chana dhal becomes somewhat brown.
Add cumin seeds, pepper, fenugreek seeds and fry them all for a few more seconds.
Turn the heat to ‘low,’ add coconut and fry the mixture by continuously stirring it so that it does not get burnt. Fry until the coconut becomes slightly off-white/brown.
Turn the stove off, and allow it to cool.
Using a blender, grind the fried spices into a fine paste, adding just enough (cold) water to achieve a paste consistency. Take extra caution not to heat it up too much during grinding.
Pour the paste into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP).
Add moong dhal, and the vegetables. Add salt.
Add about 2.0 cups of water.
Close the lid, and cook for 2 min at high pressure. Cool down naturally.
Add ¼ cup of water to the yogurt and mix it thoroughly to form a uniform liquid without any solids.
Open the IP lid when it is cool and when the pressure valve is down. Add the yogurt and mix gently but thoroughly.
Chutney is assimilated into local food traditions so much so that the very meaning of it varies depending on who you ask. For a Westerner, it may be a kind of a jam, somewhat sweet, and sometimes sour, but most definitely invented by a British Major named Grey! In reality, however, chutney is the oldest known pickling process that evolved in India some three thousand years ago. It literally means ‘finger licking’ and it is usually spicy hot, particularly in Southern India. It is served as a dip, or as a side dish. For me, having tomato chutney served with masala vada is heaven. Here is a recipe for a delicious spicy tomato chutney. It is inspired by the Andhra style of cooking and made deliberately on the spicy side. Its characteristic ‘bite’ is the result of using a large amount of onion. It is particularly well suited as a side dish for any afternoon tiffin varieties, but is also great as a dip. It is certainly finger licking good!
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Tomato Chutney
Here is a recipe for a delicious spicy tomato chutney. It is inspired by the Andhra style of cooking and cooked deliberately on the spicy side. It uses large amount of onion to give its characteristic 'bite'. It is particularly well suited as a side dish for any afternoon tiffin varieties, but also great as a dip. It is certainly finger licking good! It is gluten free and will be a vegan dish if you remove or substitute butter in this recipe.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Heat on medium. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, butter, and ginger/garlic paste into the pan. Stir until the butter melts and the chilies and garlic/ginger paste mix well together.
Add onions to the frying pan. Stir occasionally until the onions are cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add salt and sambar powder. Mix them well and let them cook together. Add a cup of water to the frying pan and bring to a boil.
Add the diced tomatoes to the frying pan right after the first boil. Ensure you stir periodically for uniform cooking and mixing of spices. Add a ½ cup of water.
Stir just enough until all the spices are mixed with the cooked tomato and the water is somewhat gone. It should still be a good moist paste, with well-cooked tomatoes.
Turn the stove off. Allow it cool.
Once cooled, use a blender to make a purée with a good thick consistency. If water is needed, add minimally.
When I was a student in India studying for finals, we had a ritual that in the middle of the night to keep us awake, we would all go to the only shop that would be open during those wee hours. It was a small roadside restaurant that served not only tea, but also a locally famous street food called ‘salna’ with parottas. Many would stay awake just to have a taste of this dish, as it was served only at night at this shop. Salna, in those days, was served in roadside restaurants in the districts of Arcot and Madurai. The origin of this dish comes from its sophisticated cousin Korma (derived from a Persian word for braising), and the best of its kind is called ‘Shahi Korma’ or the Royal Korma. As the name suggests, the dish utilizes a braising technique that involves three stages to prepare it correctly. In the early stages, vegetables (and/or meats) are cooked at high temperatures in a spicy sauce to blend in the flavors. This is followed by an extended slow cooking at a much lower temperature. I combined the ‘Royal Korma’ and ‘roadside salna’ recipes to create a democratic version of this dish that is aptly called Korma.
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Vegetable Korma (Salna, Shahi Korma, Stew)
Korma is an excellent side dish for Rotis, Chapatis, Parottas, and Biryanis. It is a very popular Indian dish. I combined the 'Royal Korma' and 'roadside salna' recipes to create a democratic version of this dish that is aptly called Korma. This recipe is vegetarian and gluten free.
Grind all ingredients for 'Masala Paste – I' in a blender by adding half a cup of water and grinding to a paste consistency. Set aside.
Plug in the Instant pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more’. This is the high setting for sauté.
Pour the vegetable oil and add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon into the Instant Pot Inner Pot (IP). Fry them in the hot oil for a few seconds.
Add onions, butter and fry them until the onions become soft. It does not need to become golden brown, just soft and transparent.
Add tomatoes and cook them together for a minute until they become soft and lose their shape.
Add the paste (Masala Paste – I), and mix thoroughly.
Add all the vegetables and sauté them until they are blended well with the spices, and the potatoes become somewhat soft. Add water if necessary.
Turn the IP off. Add two cups of water and cool down the base for about 10 minutes.
Add ½ cup of water to ½ cup of yogurt and mix them together thoroughly. Using a spoon, make a fine liquid puree without any lumps of yogurt.
Once the base has cooled enough, slowly add the yogurt to the IP and mix gently without curdling the yogurt.
Close the lid with the vent open. Turn on the IP and change the setting to ‘slow cook’ ‘high heat’ and the set the timer for two hours. Let it cook for two hours.
Once in a while (every half an hour or so) open the lid, and stir the pot well.
Grind the coconut and the cashews together with water to make the second paste. Add the coconut milk to it and dilute it, if necessary. Set aside.
After two hours, open the lid, add the ground coconut mix into the IP. Add water if needed for consistency. Continue to slow cook on high for an additional 30 minutes.
Once done, garnish it with cilantro and serve it as a side dish for Biryani or Parottas.
It is said that if you can cook a good Biryani, you can be a chef at the Nawab’s kitchen! Indeed, it is not for the fainthearted! In my opinion, the ultimate culinary experience is to cook, to smell, and to eat a well-prepared Biryani. Of course, they are not all made equal; the ‘Hyderabadi Dum Biryani’ has always been the uncontested champion of Biryanis. When you cook your Biryani with saffron (without artificial colors), you are preparing a royal food served only in the finest palaces of India! Here is an authentic recipe for Hydrabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani using the Instant Pot. IP is perfect to prepare the dum part, which is the best part of this style of Biryani. It seamlessly infuses the blend of spices and their aromas by slow cooking the rice in near ideal pressure conditions. It is going to take time to prepare this dish right, so do not over commit to prepare too many other dishes. Remember that this dish is designed to be a complete meal, thus many side dishes really are not needed anyway. Simply make a kurma, or raitha or both. Enjoy cooking this meal and Bon Appétit!
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Hyderabadi Vegetable Dhum Biryani
It is said that if you can cook a good Biryani, you can be a chef at the Nawab’s kitchen! Indeed, it is not for the fainthearted! In my opinion, the ultimate culinary experience is to cook, to smell, and to eat a well-prepared Biryani. This is a vegetarian meal and gluten free.
Rinse the rice thoroughly and soak it for at least an hour.
Add a few strands of saffron to a small amount of warm milk and set it aside.
On a non-stick frying pan, add oil and set the stove to med-high. Add 3 cardamom (only the small inner black seeds, and not the pods) to the oil.
Add 3 cloves, 3 small pieces of cinnamon stick, 1 tbsp of cumin seeds and fry until they are lightly brown.
Add green chilies, ginger and garlic and fry them all together for a few seconds.
Add onions and fry them until they become soft. Add salt and butter.
Add all Masala powders. Reduce the heat, then add ½ cup of yogurt, half of the diced mint and half of the diced coriander leaves. (Cooling it down when adding the yogurt ensures that it does not separate.)
Add all the vegetables (carrot, cauliflower, potatoes, and green peas). Adjust heat if needed. Slowly turn them over without making the vegetables fall apart. Cook until the potatoes just become soft. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes - if they overcook, then they will become mushy later in the process.
Ideally at this stage, you should have the vegetables cooked half way through and they are soaked in a thick gravy that is cooked as well. This is the most difficult and important part of the dum recipe for good consistency.
If the curry mix is very dry and all the moisture evaporated, add about 1/2 cup of liquid (puree) yogurt after it has cooled down. Mix gently. Add some fried onion (optional) and set aside.
In a separate large vessel, add 1 tbsp of cumin seed, and 1 tsp of oil. Add 6 cups of water.
In a tea ball, put in 3 cloves, 3 cardamom, 3 cinnamon sticks and a few bay leaves and close it with the lid. Drop the tea ball in the water. Heat the water and bring to a rolling boil. Keep it boiling for a few minutes.
Add the rice. Wait for 3-5 (maximum five) minutes. Do not cook the rice completely (just half way through). The test is that if you take a rice grain, and press it with your fingers, it should break into two halves.
Take the rice out of the container. Strain the rice, and spread it on a on a large plate for it to become dry for a few minutes. Make sure you save at least one cup of this water.
In the inner pot of the Instant Pot (IP), spread a layer of the cooked vegetable gravy mixture (from step #11) evenly at the bottom. Use as much as half of the cooked vegetables and the leave the other half for later. The trick here is to add the liquid part of the vegetable gravy to the bottom. You want more liquid in this layer than the later layers.
Add a layer of the half cooked rice slowly until the vegetable gravy base is covered with rice. Spread the rice uniformly over the cooked base. If the rice is cool enough, use your hand to sprinkle it on. If the rice is very hot, gently spread the rice using a spoon.
To this layer, sprinkle a uniform layer of coriander and mint leaves to cover the rice. Use as much as you like, but if you are not a fan of mint or coriander leaves, you can skip this step as well. Also sprinkle the fried onion (optional) onto this layer.
Note: Do not fill in layers beyond the 4L mark. Remember, rice will still expand a bit.
Repeat the above three steps, i.e., building a layer of vegetable base, then rice and then finally a layer of mint and coriander. Continue to build these layers until all rice and the base are used up. Ensure that the top/final layer is rice.
Sprinkle ½ cup of water over the top layer, preferably the leftover water from the rice preparation step (from step #15). Also, remember the rice and vegetables are only half cooked, so you need some amount of moisture in the pot. For 2.5 cups of rice, you need a total of about one cup of moisture for the rice to cook in.
Sprinkle the saffron milk on the top layer. Add some additional yellow coloring, if needed. Sprinkle some long cut onions and chilies over the top layer.
Close the lid. Close the valve to the 'sealing position' and set to 'slow cook on high' for 30 minutes. This the dum part. The IP may not build enough pressure for the 'floating valve' to pressure position. That is okay.
After 30 minutes, open the lid. Biryani should be done, check the vegetables and the rice. Taste some from the bottom layers. If the rice is not done, add additional minutes.
Mix the rice and serve. Some folks like to serve it without mixing, but I like to mix. Garnish it with onions, green chilies, and cilantro.
Sundal is a signature TamBram stir-fried dish. While I love a home cooked sundal, which is usually a simple version without any fanfare, what I really crave for is the Marina Beach version with its trademark ‘thenga-manga-pattani’ (coconut, mango and garbanzos) sundal. It is a very simple dish that is high in protein and a perfect one to make it in the Instant Pot. I think it is best served as an appetizer along with some masala vada. No wonder then that this has become a famous bar food in some of the elite Chennai ‘clubs.’ So here is a recipe for a hipster’s version of this famous dish. But if you would rather prefer a simple ‘sadhu’ version, just drop the onions, ginger and mango part of the recipe.
Peanut Sundal – The Spicy Indian
This is a vegan dish. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
You can replace garbanzos with peanuts and the recipe is identical.
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Peanut Sundal
Best Appetizer for a party. Here is a recipe for a hipster’s version of this famous dish. But if you would rather prefer a simple ‘sadhu’ version, just drop the onions, ginger and mango part of the recipe.
Rinse the peanuts thoroughly and soak them for about 20 minutes.
Dice the green chilies and the onion into fine pieces. Peel the mango skin, and grate it into small pieces.
Rinse the peanuts and pour them into to the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot. Add about 3.0 cup of water. Make sure that the water level is enough and over the surface of the peanuts. Close the lid, and cook for 25 min at high pressure. Cool down naturally. Open the lid and drain the water. Set the peanuts aside.
In the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
Add oil to the Inner Pot. When it is hot, add hing, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and the red chilies. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add cumin seeds and the urd dhal. Stir for a few minutes.
Add, salt, green chilies and the ginger. Add one half of the cut onions. Continue to stir until they blend in with the rest of the spices. It is not necessary to cook the onions completely.
Add the drained peanuts and stir it constantly until the peanuts and the rest of the spices are mixed well with the spices. Add the rest of the onion and slowly fry the peanuts for one to two minutes. Add coconut and the shredded mango and mix well.
Set the Instant Pot on ‘saute’ mode with high heat. Fry them together for a minute.
Press ‘cancel’ to get out of the sauté mode. Set the Instant Pot on slow cook set on ‘normal’ (medium) heat, and put the lid on. Cook for 30 minutes.
Garnish with long cut onions, green chilies split along the length, and cilantro.
Leave the Instant Pot on slow cook on medium heat and serve the sundal hot from the dish, just the way it is done in the Marina Beach.
