Lemon rice and potato fry

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Lime juice - 3 tbsp

salt

To season:

mustard - 1 tsp

bengal gram - 1 tsp

black gram - 1 tsp

green chilly - 1

groundnuts - 2 tbsp

turmeric - 1 tsp

curry leaves - few

Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

Boil rice such that the grains are fine and separate.

Heat oil and season using mustard seeds, black gram, bengal gram, turmeric, ground nut, green chilly, curry leaves and groundnut.

Add the seasoning to the hot rice. Later add salt and lemon juice. Mix the rice without mashing them.

This is a simple variety rice which is easy to pack for your lunch.

Potato fry is a good side dish for this rice

Vegetable pulav and carrot raitha

This is an easy preparation and involves less time and also my regular weekly menu for the lunch box....

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Chopped Vegetables - 1 cup

Mint leaves - 1/2 cup

Green chilly - 1

Cilantro - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1

Clove - 1

Bay leaf - 1

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Salt

Procedure:

Soak the rice for about 30 mins. Chop the vegetables like carrot, beans, peas and corn. Chop onions into fine pieces.

Pour ghee in the cooker. Once the oil is hot, add clove, cinnamon and bay leaf. Then add onions and fry. Later add the other vegetables along with the slit green chilly and saute them for about 2 or 3 mins. Then add the rice and fry for a min. Add 2 cups of water and salt. Check for the taste now and correct accordingly. Now close the cooker.

If using pressure cooker, switch off the flame after 10 mins else if you are using rice cooker, switch it off after about 30 mins.

Serve with any kind of raita or vegetable kurma.