Cheesy Baked Rice with Vegetables is a fantastic baked one pot meal with rice , vegetables be’chamel sauce and cheese . It is a perfect winter treat .

This is the fourth week of the Biryani , Pulao ,Khichadi Festival and this week I shall be posting Rice varieties from overseas . It was very hard for me to choose for this week as I really wanted to try all new variations that I have been wanting to try . Anyway I will try to post rice from six different countries and all different where I shall use different varieties of rice too .

Day I of this week I have these Cheesy Baked Rice . Well I really can’t specify the country but yes we all know that Be’chamel sauce originated in Italy , but at the same time the au gratins are French Cuisine . So no specific country ! The recipe is a personal favourite of mine as the dish is wholesome and very satisfying . The original recipe is from Tarla Dalal .

For this recipe you can use practically any kind of rice . No rules as to which rice is best . Personally I prefer any short grain rice for this baked rice . One can use the Indian Jirasar from Gujrat or perhaps ponni or sona masoori too . These are fluffy and slightly starchy too in contrast to the Basmati . We could even use the Italian Originario which is short and round and is ideal due to its high absorption capacity.Arborio the Italian Risotto rice work very well too . In short we need starchy rice .

For the Cheesy Rice we need cooked rice , so you could use any leftover rice too . The rice , vegetable and the sauce are all layered up , finished with some cheese and then baked till the cheese is nice and golden .

You could use any vegetables to this , though I used French beans , carrots , green peas , cauliflower and some potatoes . You could add some corn or some zucchini , the choice is totally yours . Coming to seasoning , I kept it very basic and used salt and pepper , but you could go ahead and use your favourite seasonings too . The Oregano – Chilly Flakes is a super combination too .

The Rice dish is wholesome and tastes wonderful too . The buttery creamy rice and vegetables along with a cheesy golden layer is a wonderful treat by itself .

Cheesy Baked Rice with Vegetables

Name: Cheesy Baked Rice with Vegetables
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup rice (cooked); 1/2 tbsp butter; 1/4 cup milk; Salt to taste; 11/2 cups milk; 3/4 cup water; 1 onion (small chopped); 11/2 tbsp butter; 11/2 tbsp flour; 2 green chillies; 2 tbsp Cheese (grated); Salt to taste; 1 cup mixed vegetables; 2-3 tbsp Grated cheese

Ingredients

Rice

1 cup rice , cooked
1/2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
Salt to taste

Sauce

11/2 cups milk
3/4 cup water
1 onion , small chopped
11/2 tbsp butter
11/2 tbsp flour
2 green chillies
2 tbsp cheese , grated
Salt to taste

Other ingredients

1 cup mixed vegetables
2-3 tbsp grated cheese

Method

Rice

Heat the butter .
Add rice , milk and salt to taste .
Toss for a minute and keep aside .

Sauce

Heat the butter and fry the onions for a minute , till translucent .
Add the flour and green chilly , sauté for two minutes .
Add milk , water and salt .
Go on stirring till the sauce is thick .
Add cheese and keep aside .

Assembling the rice

Add 1 cup of the sauce to the boiled vegetables and mix .
Spread half of the balanced sauce on a greased baking dish .
Spread all the rice , and then the remaining sauce .
Cover with vegetables and finally with cheese .
Bake in a hot oven at 200 deg C for 20 minutes or till the cheese turns golden .

Here is what I have been posting under the Biryani, Pulao, Khichadi Festival –

Day 1 How to cook Rice with Absorption Method
Day 2 How to cook Perfect Rice for Biryani
Day 3 How to cook Rice in a Pressure Cooker
Day 4 How to cook Rice in a Microwave
Day 5 How to cook Rice in a Rice Cooker
Day 6 How to cook Basic Khichadi
Day 7 Undhiyu Biryani
Day 8 Banarasi Tandoori Biryani
Day 9 Bharwan Mirch ki Biryani
Day 10 Sindhi Thooma wara Chawara
Day 11 Achaari Panneer Pulao
Day 12 Nuts Pulao
Day 13 Mumbai Tawa Khichadi
Day 14 Vegetable Layered Khichadi
Day 15 Khichadi Bowl
Day 16 Stuffed Rice
Day 17 Kulhad wale Rajma Chawal
Day 18 Rice and Curry in Banana Leaf Packets

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