To celebrate Eid al-Fitr, my mother prepared a special lunch today: fried rice with potato curry, stuffed chilli fry, salad and wattalapam jelly pudding. So today, I will share my mother’s recipes for all five dishes, which comes under experimental and fusion cooking, in a series of posts.

(a) Fried rice

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Basmathi rice – 2 cups
• Carrot – ¼ cup, chopped
• Green peas – ¼ cup
• Leeks – ¼ cup, chopped
• Onion – ¼ cup, chopped
• Mixed 3C spice powder – Clove, cinnamon, cardamom powder – 2 tsp
• Kesari powder – ½ tsp (Can use biryani powder or saffron or turmeric powder)
• Low fat margarine – 50g or 3 tbsp
• Cinnamon – 1 ~ 2’’ stick
• Rampe leaf/ pandan
• Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Put the rice in a rice cooker and add water to about an inch above the rice surface. Add a cinnamon stick, rampe leaf and a little salt and cook the rice.
2. Sprinkle a little salt on the chopped veggies and keep aside.
3. Heat the margarine in a pan on low heat.
4. Add the mixed 3C spice powder and sauté for 2 seconds before adding the chopped vegetables.
5. When the veggies become tender, add the kesari powder.
6. Add the cooked rice and mix well.
7. Serve hot.

Recipe Source: Raji Thillainathan.