Picture rice

If you are wondering what the title is, well, it is the direct translation of chitranna. Basically lemon/mango rice. One of the easiest things to make when you are short of veggies and time. And it is filling and wholesome. If you are the rice eating types, then this is surely something that you would know how to dish up. Nevertheless, since we prepared it, we are posting it. :P
Raw materials-
Finely chopped onion - 1
Grated raw mango - 1/2
Peanuts - a handful
Green chillies - 2, slit into halves
Curry leaves
turmeric powder
Mustard seeds -one tsp
grated coconut and coriander for garnishing
Salt, cooked rice.

Method:
Heat 2 tsps of oil in a kadai. Add to it mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the chillies, curry leaves and fry for a minute. Add the peanuts and fry until they turn slightly brownish. Now add the onion and a pinch of turmeric and wait until it becomes golden brown. Add the grated mango to the kadai and cook for two minutes. Adjust the salt. Mix in the cooked rice to it and add more salt if necessary. Top it with grated coconut and coriander.Takes about ten minutes if you have cooked rice ready. The chitranna is ready to be eaten.

Dinner: Paneer paratha

For the past two days, the milk is for some reason getting curdled at home. Whether it is the problem with the refrigeration at the store or what i don't know. Normally we would have thrown the milk away. But Jyo suggested that rather than crying over the spilled milk, we can make paneer with it;). And we strained the milk for a long time and then froze it. So today, it was time for paneer dish. I remembered the yummy parathas from Mast Kalandar and we decided to give it a try.
It was not just paneer that went into it, we added a good deal of carrot and corn too. In a tablespoon of oil, fry one grated carrot and add to it half a tea spoon of ginger-garlic paste. Once the raw smell of the paste disappears, add to it the corn. We chopped the corn finely given that it was going into the filling. To this, add half a spoon of cumin and coriander powder and fry well. Add the crumbled paneer in the end. Add salt and chilli powder to taste. Top it off with some garam masala and kasuri methi. The end product should resemble paneer bhurji.

The biggest challenge when making paratha is to roll them out and making sure the filling spreads evenly. And it worked for us only when the amount of filling is less. So today, for a change, we rolled two really thin chapathis, spread the filling on one of them and closed it with another chapathi. Sealed the edges with some water and rolled it again to spread the filling uniformly. Had to struggle with the first one, but from then on, it turned out to be easy.
Once done, roast it on a tava, just as a normal chapathi and make sure it is nicely baked on both sides. Apply a generous amount of ghee on either side (It tastes so good that for a day, you can forget about your diet). Serve it hot with some curd and mango pickle. We made a curry out of the remaining corn and carrot and had that also on the side! And trust me, Mast Kalandar is good, but the satisfaction of making one's own paratha and eating it too, is great!