Coconut Rice - Modern way ToI

Coconut rice is made with many variations. One version is when chana dal and rice are steam cooked along with grated coconut.

Ingredients:

Chana dal: 200 gms

Rice: 350 gms

Coconut: One half of a whole coconut (can use the whole coconut if the size is small)

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Cumin seeds: ½ tsp

Urad dal: ½ tsp

Red chilli (Whole): 2

Curry leaves: 4-5

Salt to taste 

How to go on.....

- Soak the chanal dal for one hour before cooking. Rinse the rice before cooking.

- Take oil in a pan and heat it. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, red chilli and curry leaves in to it. Once the mustard seeds start to crackle, add soaked chana dal and rice and mix the ingredients well. Add adequate water, but see to it that you add only as much water the whole mixture needs to cook.

- Add salt and grated coconut. Put the lid on the vessel and allow it to cook for 10 minutes. - After 10 minutes, mix the ingredients well and see how well cooked the chana and rice are. If you feel it will get ready by another five to 10 minutes, then allow the entire thing to cook in a low flame. Add another two spoons of oil at the same time. Let it settle for a while.

- If you want to cook it in a pressure cooker, it will taste equally better. But add less water than what you would have if you were cooking in a vessel.

- Serve the hot coconut rice will appalam and piping hot rasam. It is indeed a yum treat for taste buds.

Garnishing Your Way

Nothing transforms your ordinary dish into an extra-ordinary one more quickly than a Garnish....It's always best to make garnishes just before serving; however, if making garnishes in advance, store like you would similar foods – cover with plastic wrap or place in an airtight bag or container and refrigerate.....so here you go with a few tips for a quick set garnish ...............



Tools: There are many tools available to make beautiful garnishes and edible decorations. If you are just learning, all you really need to begin is a sharp paring knife; a small, sharp, serrated knife; and a melon baller

Once you have mastered some simple techniques with these items, you can add other useful tools like a butter curler, a grapefruit knife, various shapes of small cookie cutter and a hand grater with a small section of holes and a larger section of holes. Wooden toothpicks and skewers are also used for more complex garnishes.

Lemons, limes, and oranges are extremely versatile. Slice them thin, cut them into wedges, or spiral-score their rinds and use them whole for tremendous visual appeal! Save the spiral curl from scoring the rind and use that for embellishment as well!

Fresh cranberries, rasperries, and blueberries are very attractive on a food table! Use them on top of desserts, or pair them with a sprig of fresh herbs for added interest

Line your serving platters with leafy lettuce. It adds a beautiful touch, keeps food from slipping around on the plate, and it absorbs grease

Olives and olive sprigs make a gorgeous compliment to bread dipping oils and salads

Grate chocolate and sprinkle it over your favorite dessert or coffee

Fried Garnish: This can also be done with an ingredient of your dish or plainly with onions and potatoes by slicing them thinly and frying until they are crisp. For desserts, use thin fried slices of dough, or fried rice noodles as a crispy fried garnish. Pile crispy fried garnishes high on top of the main item.

Soups: Creamed or pureed soups need a garnish to add interest to their bland, uniform texture and color. Swirl heavy cream, plain yogurt or sour cream on top of soup to make an artistic pattern. Use a single ingredient or a combination to garnish soups


Nuts: 

Whether chopped, flaked, toasted or fried - offer an abundance of flavor, texture and color and make an ideal garnish for many dishes.


Toasted, flaked almonds make an attractive garnish for rice and curry dishes, giving  a contrast in texture and color. Brown the flaked almonds on a baking tray either in a hot oven or under the grill (broiler)
Whole, halved or finely chopped walnuts add flavor and are and attractive garnish to many salads, green vegetables, and can even be finely chopped in savory butters for fish.
Pistachio nuts are a delicate pare green in color and have a sweet, pleasant flavor. They can be used to garnish desserts.
Pine nuts are delicious fried in butter and then sprinkled over vegetables or salads or into spicy vegetable soups.
Desiccated or flaked coconut, toasted is traditionally used as the accompaniments to curries. Sprinkled over a tomato salad, it offers both a flavor contrast and a crunchy texture.
Hazelnuts have a very distinct flavor and are most delicious toasted and skinned. Finely chopped, they make a crunchy coating or sprinkled over vegetables. Flaked, can also garnish soups and salads.


Soaking fresh vegetable / leafy garnishes in cold water for 30 minutes helps preserve them and keep them crisp and fresh. After soaking, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate till needed.





For more detailed and picture illustrations you can check out - http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/how-to-garnish-cooking.htm