Kobbari annam(coconut milk rice)

Amma used to make this rice in a jiffy.Whenever there used to be dinner at home,they used to be a mix of people i.e both vegetarians n non vegetarians.In such a situation amma used to make this coconut rice which was light but flavourful n used to serve it with a chicken curry,aloo kurma ,raita n rasam as usual just like how a typical south indian party meal should be.

I like my coconut rice with green peas in it rather than all the mixed veggies.I served mine with an egg curry which i got the recipe from sailus food here is the link http://www.sailusfood.com/2009/02/12/fennel-flavored-egg-curry/ it went very well with this rice n i made some raita as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups basamati rice

1 inch cinnamon

4 elaichi

4 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 star anise

1 tsp shahjeera

1 small onion sliced

4 slit green chillies

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 handful of fresh mint/pudina

cilantro few sprigs

1 cup green peas or vatna soaked(or u can used 1 cup of mix veggies as well)

1 cup thick coconut milk(i use the tinned coconut milk)

2 cups water

2 Tbsp ghee

1 Tbsp oil

few fried cashew's

few drops of lime juice

few drops of yellow food colour

few drops of orange food colour

Method:

• Wash n soak the basmati rice for 30 mins in the meanwhile
• Heat the ghee n oil in a pan once its lightly hot
• Add the cinnamon,elaichi,cloves,star anise,bay leaf,shahjeera fry for a sec until nice aroma emanates dont bun them
• Add the onions n green chillies once its fried ,add the mix veggies if any but dont add the green peas now
• Add the ginger garlic paste n fry till the raw smell disappears
• Then add the mint n fry till it wilts.
• Next add the coconut milk n water
• Add some salt to it n bring to a boil
• Next add the green peas,cilantro,fried cashews n few drops of lime juice
• Once the water comes to a boil transfer it to a electric rice cooker dish,add the basmati rice and switch it on.
• While its cooking u will notice a foam like substance on the top,just mix it n cover with a lid again.
• Once cooked add the food colour drops or saffron strands soaked in bit milk. mix and serve.

NOTE :- I didnt use any mix veggies instead i used dried vatna soaked overnight n added it to the rice n instead of useing the regular electric rice cooker used my pressure cooker for upto 3 whistles. The water ,coconut milk n rice ratio is 2:1:2 its for soaked rice other wise if the rice is not soaked the ratio is 2:2:2.

Another alternate method is u can also add 1/2 tsp of turmeric,1 tsp coriander pwd n 1 tsp gasalu paste or pwd to the cooked onions.