First cook rice..I know many of you might just smirk and say..what is the big deal in that..uh…
Well then let me take through a short history of how difficult it is...
The seeds of the rice plant are first milled using a rice huller to remove the chaff (the outer husks of the grain). At this point in the process the product is called brown rice. This process may be continued, removing the germ and the rest of the husk, called the bran at this point, creating white rice.Whereas brown rice contains all ingredients of a healthy cereal, white rice, without the nutrients of rice germ and rice bran, is a standard in industrialized countries for commercial offerings. Today, parboiling is a first method to move some of the nutrients from the bran to the rice corn before stripping the bran, however the energy requirements are high compared to dry processing technologies.White rice may be also buffed with glucose or talc powder (often called polished rice, though this term may also refer to white rice in general), parboiled, or processed into flour. The white rice may also be enriched by adding nutrients, especially those lost during the milling process. While the cheapest method of enriching involves adding a powdered blend of nutrients that will easily wash off (in the United States, rice which has been so treated requires a label warning against rinsing), more sophisticated methods apply nutrients directly to the grain, coating the grain with a water insoluble substance which is resistant to washing....mm..burp..
After all the above said processes take three cups of rice in a microwaveable vessel and wash it under a tap of water..
Use hand to wash the grains gently without harming the inner crust of each grain.
Note:For a meal for two you might have to roughly wash 3456 grains..
After washing the rice drain the water using a strainer or by cupping the hands and slightly tilting the vessel until water is completely drained out.
Take another cup and gently pour six cup of H20 in this vessel.
Caution:Please make sure that water is uniformly distributed in all corners of the vessel.
Dry your hands using a dry towel.
Note that a wet towel doesn’t serve the purpose.
With utmost care move the vessel to the inner corridors of the microwave oven.
Close the door.
Turn the knob outside to 20 minutes.
Don’t be alarmed by the light that appears inside the inner echelons of the oven.It was part of the trick when God said “Let there be light”
Stand aside half a meter away from the oven and appreciate the graceful circular motions happening inside the Oven..You ll be amazed to see that the water level falls down every 5 minutes..
You still don’t have to be alarmed about it..
When the knob has reached 19 minutes you can call in your friends and little cousin kids for the big moment..
Open the door and cautiously take out the vessel.
Give out a huge sigh..and move both your hands at the same time towards the mouth to show surprise.
Tito..Ditto..Mitto..see uncle’s magic....there is no water in it..and that hard thing I put in has turned soft..Howzzaat…!!
Give a high five to magic uncle..well I wont tell you the secret though...hahaha
After you have impressed the kids with the trick lets get back to business.
Folks..you have learned the first step of this multi course dinner..well in my talking parlances if some one comes for a second helping of rice..it is counted as second course..OK?? everything should be fair isnt?
The second dish is the famed Beef Malarthiyathu the recipie which I revealed to the general public inspite of my apprehension and the fact that it was a well kept secret over the years..
The last item is ofcoz the classic pulliserri..I have huge respect for this curry for the sheer easiness of making this..just crack a few mustards..fry onions, green chillies ..a tomato..add half a teaspoon turmeric ..allow it become a blend and add a cup of water..Simmer it for a minute..add required salt. keep it aside for a few minutes so that it cools down..Add a tin of curd and mix it properly..Pulliserri is ready…the entire process takes hardly 10 min.. :-)
And there
we have rice..pullisseri..a beef malarthiyathu..chemeen pickle(not shown in the picture as it was obscenely less) that makes an excellent Sunday lunch..Though I wished we had a nice thoran to go with this..I was a member of “laziness is a virtue club” and hence decided to follow the clubs motto.. ;-P
