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Showing posts with label lunchbox ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lunchbox ideas. Show all posts

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Paneer Tawa Pulao ( Lunchbox special )

I love making various kinds of rice dishes for my kid. They are super easy to make and very much filling. Adding veggies, eggs, paneer, beans or even chicken boosts the overall nutritional profile of the dish. Plus there is the taste factor which is the ultimate clincher !

Tawa rice is a just another kind of pulao which is cooked on a shallow vessel which allows each grain/vegetable to get coated with the oil/ghee/butter and gives it a slightly burnt/smokey (depends on how long you prefer to cook) flavor .

This time I made Tawa pulao with some leftover paneer cubes and veggies. Used very less spices as per my kid's request so you will need to add more as per your taste. Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked Jeera rice 
  • 100 gm paneer (cut into small cubes )
  • 1/3 cup green peas
  • 1/4 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/2 of an onion (chopped into small pieces)
  • 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
  • 1 inch long cinnamon
  • 2-3 cloves
  • 1 green cardamom
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 red chilli whole ( less spicy )
  • a pinch of garam masala
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • 1 tsp butter
  • salt to taste
  • cilantro for garnishing

Preparation - Put the paneer cubes into a bowl of warm water to which you have added sufficient salt. Let it soak for 5-6 mins.

Cooking - Heat the ghee in a skillet. Add the paneer cubes (drained on a kitchen towel) and fry on low heat to a golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

Add the whole spices and fry till fragrant. Now add the garlic and fry to a light brown. 

The onions go in next. They need to be fried till translucent .

Put in the veggies, sprinkle a bit of salt and turn up the flame a bit. Sprinkle water at regular intervals and let the veggie cook in the steam and brown up a bit at the same time.

The rice goes in at last along with the paneer cubes. Season with salt and garam masala. Turn up the flame as you toss the ingredients to distribute the flavour evenly. Garnish with chopped cilantro and remove from the flame.

Serve warm/hot with some kachumbar or even pickle.

















Note - Have used a steel tiffinbox for the presentation to create an awareness about the need to ditch plastic. It is not only harmful for the environment but the chemicals leached when we put hot food in plastic containers are carcinogenic in nature. Let us join hands and make a pledge to reduce the use of plastic with this post !

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Cauliflower-Moong Dal Stir Fry

The flavour combination of moong dal and coconut is quite popular in Odisha . There are quite a few vegetables like cabbage, jackfruit, green papaya and even leafy greens which are prepared with the addition of these two ingredients. It is usually consumed during the 'no onion no garlic' days when the menu is kept light and predominantly 'Sattvik'.

However last week, I tried cooking cauliflower with roasted moong dal and coconut as I had run out of vegetables and more importantly, the inclination to cook a hearty lunch. A tiny cauliflower and some grated coconut was all I could salvage from the fridge. So, I tried a stir fry that I usually do with cabbage. It turned out to be quite delicious and I packed the same for husband's lunchbox along with some rotis. He quite liked it since it was very light, just enough moist and yet tasty. Even my four year old put it as 'not spicy' and finished his portion. Hence adding this recipe to the 'Lunchbox collection' on my blog.

Read on for the recipe -







Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 cup small cauliflower florets
  • 1/4 cup moong dal
  • 3 tsp freshly grated coconut
  • 1 tsp ginger juliennes
  • 1/5 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1/5 tsp turmeric
  • 1-2 dry red chilis 
  • salt to taste
  • 1 1/2 tsp oil



Preparation - Wash and dry the cauliflower florets.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add broken red chili and mustard seeds.

Once they get spluttering, add the curry leaves and ginger juliennes. Fry for 30 seconds.

Now, add the cauliflower florets and sautee on a low to medium flame.

Dry roast the moong dal till fragrant. Wash and cook with 1 cup water is a pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles. The dal should be just cooked and not very mushy.

Add cooked dal to the cauliflower florets when it is about 90 percent done.

Cover and cook for another 2-3 mins or till the excess water evaporates. ( this is the point where you can decide whether to keep it a bit firm or make it mushy. I end up cooking it a bit more so that my kid does not crib about having to chew too much, )

Remove lid and add the grated coconut. Mix in and switch off the flame.

Serve it along with rotis.



Sunday, July 3, 2016

Tomato and Soya Masala Panini Sandwich ( And the Lunchbox Skirmish continues... )

Everyone loves sandwiches. You just need to find the 'One' that suits your palate. Till then it is like fighting your way ( and diminishing your bank balance in the process ) through endless tubes of red lipsticks before you zero in on that one elusive shade and can truly claim 'One woman One Red'. But jokes apart, your chances of finding the perfect lipstick are far better than bumping into Prince charming or a damsel in distress (quite a few guys still harbor that fantasy, don't they ?).

But the real reason why I love sandwiches is the fact that they are so neat and equally easy to prepare. I can have them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and sometimes to quell those stray hunger pangs that strike in-between meals. For each one, I just modify the stuffing keeping the meal requirements in mind. For example, I prefer to have egg slices and cheese when I make them for brekkie. Lunch time calls for something like grilled chicken and salad veggies. And so on. This 'Tomato and Soya Masala Panini Sandwich' is one of my mealtime staples, especially on the days when I avoid meat and dairy. 

Most kids (especially the older lot) would enjoy this sandwich in their lunchbox. One can also add some cheese spread or cheese slices or even hung curd to clinch the deal with them.

Read on for the recipe - 


















Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -
  • 6 Bread slices
  • 1 large Tomato ( cut into slices )
  • 1 medium onion ( cut into slices )
  • any other vegetable of your choice 
  • 1 cup soya masala 
  • 3 tsp mayonniase
  • 3 tsp ketchup
  • dash of pepper
  • dash of salt
  • butter for greasing the plates of the sandwich maker
For the soya masala -

  • 1 cup soya chunks
  • 1 medium potato
  • 1/2 of a medium onion (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 2 pinch garam masala
  • salt to taste
  • 3 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp chopped cilantro

Preparation - Cook the soya chunks and potato in a pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles.

Allow steam to escape. Open lid, take out the soya chunks, squeeze them and rinse 2-3 times in clear water.

Squeeze out all the water from the soya chunks, put in a mixing bowl and mash to a coarse paste. Peel the potato, mash and add to the same mixing bowl.

Cooking - Heat 1 tsp oil in pan. Add the chopped onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute for a while till the raw smell goes off.

Add the soya and potato paste along with salt and chili powder. Mix everything together and cook for 4-5 mins.

Finally add the garam masala and chopped cilantro. Mix and remove from the flame. Let it come down to room temperature.

Assembly - Take a bread slice. Layer it with mayonnaise. Them put about 1/3rd of the soya masala on the bread.

Top it with tomato, onion and any other vegetable slices that you prefer. Sprinkle some salt and pepper, and close the sandwich with another bread slice.

Grease the plates with some butter.

Place the sandwiches and grill them to a light brown.

Serve with some tomato ketchup.















One can eat it right away or even pack for lunch/brunch.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Carrot Rice ( A light and healthy Lunchbox favorite )

Some days back I had done a lunchbox collaboration with a few of my blogger friends where we had shared quite diverse and easy recipes that could fit in for breakfast, lunch or even the smaller breaks. Now it is almost 4 weeks since the schools have reopened and most of us would have exhausted the multiple permutations and combinations of those recipes. Even kiddo has started getting bored with some of the stuff that I put into his box. Hence, it is time to work out on a fresh set of recipes.

With rice dishes being his favorite, I almost always turn to some version of a pulao or fried rice by the end of every week (blame it on the weegarlickend blues that stay-at-home moms get). Recently I tried out this rather simple but very delicious 'Carrot rice' recipe for his box. Limiting the spice content for the monsoon season which adversely affects digestion and enriching it with loads of antioxidants ( read carrot and garlic), I have kept it filling as well as healthy. And if you have any doubts about the carbs in rice, kids really need those carbs given that they are quite prone to running around all day. 

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 1 cup grated carrot
  • 1 small onion ( finely chopped )
  • 3-4 garlic flakes ( finely chopped )
  • 2-3 cloves
  • 1/2 inch cinnamon
  • 1 green chili ( optional )
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp ghee
  • 1 tsp oil
  • pinch of turmeric
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tsp chopped cilantro for garnishing

Cooking - Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add the cloves and cinnamon. Fry till fragrant.

Add the finely chopped onion and garlic. Throw in the whole green chili as we just want a little flavor and not the heat.

Once the onion is translucent, add the grated carrot and fry for 3-4 mins.

Add the cooked rice along with salt and a pinch of turmeric. Toss lightly for 3 mins.

Finally add chopped cilantro , ghee and lemon juice. Mix gently and remove from flame.

Let it cool down a bit before packing it into the lunchbox. Or have it right away if not in the mood to do any cooking.


















For more lunchbox recipes check HERE .

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