Cilantro/ Coriander leaves lemon rice

I love to add cilantro to almost all dishes I make. It could be because I was raised in North India and I love the flavor of cilantro. You may have seen different versions of cilantro lemon rice but mine is very simple and I have used very less oil.
I served this rice with chicken tikka masala, recipe coming later this week.

Ingredients:
White/brown long rice: 2 cups
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt- to taste
Water- 4 cups
A handful of cilantro/ coriander leaves
Oil- 5 tsp

Method:

Boil water in a pot. Add salt, 2 tsp oil and rice and bring to boil over high flame.

Reduce the flame; cover and cook on low flame until rice is cooked. Remove from the flame and keep covered.

Mix chopped cilantro, lemon juice and remaining oil in a deep bowl. Add rice and toss well until rice is mixed.

Serve hot with a side dish of you choice.

Note: If you want you can add whole garam masalas when you cook the rice. I did not used because I wanted to get the real taste of lemon and cilantro.

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Pineapple chicken fried rice

Whenever we I dine out in a Chinese or Thai restaurant, I admit I drool over fried rice and so should you. I used to wonder how those guys  make it perfectly. I tried making several times but always ended up with a mushy greasy fried rice( name it Deepa's special Mushed Fried rice :)) until one of my friends shared the secret behind the awesome fried rice. Since then there is no looking back. I have mastered it and now I want to pass it on to you guys
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The key points to  make a restaurant style perfect  fried rice are:

1) Heat- maintain a medium-high heat throughout  with out getting the ingredients burnt.
2) Always try to use left over or overnight rice. If you are using fresh cooked rice , spread it in a plate and keep in the fridge to cool off. But don't use ice cold rice, always bring it to room temperature. Else it will cool down the pan  and rice will get greasy and mushy.

3) Use a large wok/kadai to toss to avoid overflowing and overcrowding of the ingredients.

Fried rice is a great way to use left over vegetables in your fridge. So whatever vegetables you have(peas, bell peppers, beans, carrots, green onion..), grab them and get ready to cook.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sizes

1 large egg or 2 medium eggs

1 cup chopped pineapple

1 medium onion, diced
1 green onion choped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked long grain rice- white/ brown

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tsp red chili flakes

Pepper

Salt to taste

Cilantro/corainder leaves- to garnish

If you want you can add carrots, bell peppers, peas ....

Method:

Marinate the chicken with 1 tsp oil, salt and pepper. Beat the egg lightly with a pinch of salt.

Heat a pan over medium-high flame. Add little oil, pour in the beaten egg and make scrambled eggs. Remove egg from the pan and clean the bottom of pan with a paper towel.

Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Now add remaining oil, add onions, chili and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Remove and keep aside. 

Add rice, and fry evenly, else rice will get mushy. Once the rice starts to pop up, add back chicken, garlic, onion, pineapple, scrambled egg, drizzle soy sauce and pepper. Stir fry gently to combine. Check for salt and pepper , add more if needed. Remove from flame and garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy hot yummy fried rice with some side dishes or eat as it is. 

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