26 Rice Recipes at Biryani Pulao and Khichadi Festival, all compiled on a single page is definitely a Festival. Check out for yourself.
Rice is one of the world’s most popular foods and is included in the daily diet of billions of people. It is one of the most versatile ingredients which could be jazzed up for any course of food. Although delicious on its own, it serves a base for an amazing range of taste, flavours and accompaniments. It surely is unbelievable to read about the countless varieties of rice available across the globe and each can be prepared in a number of ways.
For the month of April 2019, we were given the theme Biryani Pulao and Khichadi Festival. We were allowed to pick Rice or Any other whole grain. I chose to cook all Rice Recipes for this theme. Somehow I feel no other food is as versatile as rice. It is central to many of the world’s greatest cuisines and can be used in a host of ways, both savoury and sweet.
I have worked around Rice Recipes through this month and have shared different techniques to cook basic rice in the first week. Basics of rice are important as they help us to move a step further and we move from technique to taste. In the following weeks, I have shared Biryanis, Pulaos, Khichadis, being fair to the theme name Biryani Pulao Khichadi Festival. Here I have used the rice available in India and overseas.
I have shared some serving styles of rice too, moving on I have shared some international favourites where I have used rice varieties like Jasmine Rice, Bomba Rice, Wild Rice. I ended the series with some traditional sweet rice. These recipes are compiled and put on this page for easy access.
These marathons are a fantastic way to learn and experiment with new dishes and it gives me immense pleasure. This time we had about seventeen bloggers sharing their recipes and it sure was a learning curve. We have been doing these Marathons under the leadership of Valli.
Here are some of the previous ones that we have done with various interesting themes -.
April 2014 – A Recap of The Indian Food Odyssey……A Journey of 30 Indian States
September 2014 – Re-Cap of Around the World in 30 Days
April 2015 – Re cap of Fire up Your Oven
September 2015 – Recap – Buffet on Table
April 2016 – A to Z , 26 Traditional Sindhi Sweets
September 2016 – The Sandwich Festival…over 40 Sandwiches! – Recap of Cooking Carnival 2016
April 2017 – A – Z Baking Around the World – Re-cap,26 Egg less Cakes!
September 2017 – Protein Rich Recipes
April 2018 – Explore the Flavors – How to make 26 Lip Smacking Street Foods from India
September 2018 –Flatbreads and More – How to make 26 Indian Flatbreads
Week 1 Basic Cooking Methods for Rice
How to cook Perfect Basmati Rice with Absorption Method
Cooking Perfect Rice with Absorption Method gives us fluffy rice where each grain is separate. This is one of the easiest methods of cooking rice on a stovetop.
How to cook Perfect Rice for a Biryani
Cooking perfect rice for Biryani is rather tricky, but if you follow the correct method you will never go wrong.You will get each grain separate and the Biryani will turn out perfect
Kabuli Chana Kofta Biryani ( Recipe to follow soon )
How to cook Perfect Rice in a Rice Cooker
Cooking rice in a rice cooker is one of the simplest ways to cook rice. If a 10-year-old is guided even he/she can cook this basic rice. Cooking rice in a rice cooker gives you perfectly cooked rice – just perfect each grain separate, no lumps, no sticky rice.
How to cook perfect Rice in a Pressure Cooker
Cooking rice in a pressure cooker is one of the fastest ways to cook rice. The rice is cooked within minutes and you have a wonderful steaming pot of rice to enjoy with your curries and dals.
How to cook Perfect Rice in a Microwave
Cooking perfect basmati rice in a microwave is really simple and it gives you well-cooked rice where each grain of rice is separate. This is a quick method to cook rice.
Khichadi is a porridge kind of mish-mash prepared with rice and lentils. Here rice can be replaced with other grains too. It is pure comfort food!
Week 2 Biryani & Pulao
Surati Undhiyu Biryani is an innovative biryani adapted from the famous Gujrati dish Undhiyu. Undhiyu is a mix vegetable curry prepared with winter vegetables which are locally grown in Gujrat.
Banarasi Tandoori Biryani is a smoky biryani made with flavourful tandoori vegetables and long grain Basmati rice.
Bharwan Mirch ki Biryani is a delicious and unique Rajasthani Biryani made with stuffed Bhavnagari green chillies and some mixed vegetables.
Sindhi Thooma wara Chawara is rice which is cooked with fresh green garlic and chilly. These rice are very popular in Sindhi homes and are cooked in winters.
Achaari Paneer Pulao is a very flavourful Pulao which is a one-pot meal with mild pickle flavour and chunks of marinated and grilled paneer cubes.
Nuts Pulao is a unique pulao which is prepared with spinach, nuts and farsaan. The pulao is protein-rich, crunchy and delicious.
Week 3 Khichadis & Serving Styles of Rice
Mumbai Tawa Khichadi is a Khichadi made on a griddle, with precooked Khichadi and Vegetables, just the way Pav Bhaji is made. Served with a big dollop of butter the Khichadi is a wholesome and finger-licking meal.
Vegetable Layered Khichadi is a mix of rice, lentils and vegetable cooked together in layers. The result is a delicious semi-soft Khichadi.
A Khichadi Bowl is a comfort meal where the Khichadi is served in a bowl along with small portions of different dishes that are a perfect accompaniment to the Khichadi.
Stuffed Rice is rice where the rice is stuffed with curry and presented. It is the serving style which is unique.
Kulhad wale Rajma Chawal is the famous Punjabi Style cooked Rajma served with rice and accompaniments in an earthen pot called kulhad.
Rice & Curry in Banana Leaf Pockets
Rice and curry in Banana leaf packets are rice and curry packed in banana leaves, steamed and then served as a complete meal.
Week 4 Rice from Overseas
Cheesy Baked Rice with Veggies
Cheesy Baked Rice with Vegetables is a fantastic baked one-pot meal with rice, vegetables bechamel sauce and cheese. It is a perfect winter treat.
Maklouba is traditional Arabic rice which is flipped and served upside down. The rice is layered with meat and vegetables, though this is a vegetarian version.
Wild Rice with Grilled Veggies
Wild Rice with Grilled veggies is an earthy and rustic flavoured meal which is nutritious as well as delicious. The rice is a mix of three colours.
Thai Coconut Curry Rice is flavourful rice with a twist to the original Thai Fried Rice. The aromatic jasmine rice is cooked with the red curry paste and rich creamy coconut milk.
Spanish Paella Rice is rice prepared in a special pan called Paella. Paella is a Valencian word which refers to all pans in the Valencian language.
Mujadara is an Arabic rice dish made with brown lentils and rice. The dish is topped with fried onions and garnished with pine nuts and mint.
Week 5 Sweet Rice
Sodanna is basic white rice, sprinkled with ghee and granulated sugar. This is served by the Bohri community on special religious occasions. Adding Rasmalai to it takes this rice to another level.
Mutanjan is a sweet colourful rice from Pakistan. It is festive dessert rice which is served on auspicious occasions like weddings and Eid.
We now look forward to September 2019 for our next month-long marathon!
Your series this marathon seems to be a step by step guide to master the art of rice cooking, from basic to advanced meals even for a newbie. I bookmarked a few as usual from the series and looking forward to try them later. 🙂 Enjoyed your series and it was a pleasure taking part in the marathon with you.
You are the queen of Photography I must say. Loved each and every pics of yours. Lovely dishes you have and presented the simple dish also so well that they looked so rich and delicious. It was great blogging with you Vaishali.
Stunning and outstanding Vaishali. I don’t have enough words to express how wonderful it feels to read through and enjoy the pictures. I wish I could try all of what you have cooked for this series. You have excelled yourself if it was possible! Thank you for yet another awesome series. If not for your push I may never think so much!..hhahaa..
Your series has been a wild ride -from the very basics to the very exotic and everything in between. Your posts are always a learning and a new perspective in every sense. Appreciate your patience and creativity and zeal to share your knowledge. Glad to run the marathon with you as usual.
I am running short of words to say how wonderful experience it was to go though all your posts and pics. Starting from basic to the gourmet kind of meals, each and every dish was a treat to the eyes and it must have been to the taste buds too. Thanks for sharing such lovely and beautiful recipes with all of us here. There’s a lot to learn from you.
You gave us a fantastic treat this month Vaishali. From those basics to the layered biryanis to the delicious dessert like rice recipes, reading your post everyday was such a joy.
Your blog is a treasure trove of recipes and valuable information. I learned a lot this time. Thanks for sharing all those amazing recipes.
I was completely in love with your marathon, and the way you have broken down the series. Each week was exciting and I learnt so many new recipes here. Few of them where not known to me. Wonderful , awesome and tempting series.