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Masala Bhaath in a Plate
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5 from 1 vote

Masala Bhaath – Spiced Rice With Ivy Gourd (Kovakkai)

I have only made curry / poriyal with kovakkai and when I saw that this rice had kovakkai in it, I wanted to try it out right away. So I made it for dinner and served it with raita / pachadi. Kids loved the crunch of kovakkai in the rice along with cashew nuts and came for seconds. Also the masala powder used in the recipe is very flavorful. I am going to be making a batch of it and storing it to make vegetable rice in the future.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: dinner, Lunch Recipes
Cuisine: Asian, Indian, Maharashtrian
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 540kcal

Equipment

  • pan
  • bowl
  • spatula

Ingredients

TO MAKE MASALA BHAATH

  • 2 cups Basmati Rice
  • ½ lb. Kovakkai / Ivy Gourd Chopped thin, lengthwise
  • 3 tbsp. Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
  • 2 tbsp. Cashew nuts
  • ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
  • few Curry leaves
  • to taste Salt

TO MAKE MASALA BHAATH –

  • 9 Krambu / Cloves
  • 2 Inch Cinnamon Stick
  • 4 or 5 Red chilies
  • 2 teaspoon Jeeragam / Jeera
  • 2 tbsp. Coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp. Sesame seeds
  • ½ cut Desiccated coconut

Instructions

TO MAKE THE MASALA POWDER

  • In a small pan, fry the desiccated coconut until golden brown (without any oil) and keep it in a bowl.
  • Now fry the rest of the ingredients mentioned under the masala powder until aromatic and place it in the same bowl as the fried coconut.
  • Once the ingredients cool down to room temperature, grind it to a powder.

TO MAKE THE MASALA BHATH –

  • Wash and soak the rice for about 20 minutes. Then drain the rice and keep it aside until ready to use.
  • Either in a heavy bottom vessel or in the cooker, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafetida and the cashew nuts, and let it fry for a minute.
  • Now add the chopped kovakkai and let it fry for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the masala powder, salt and the drained rice and mix gently taking care not to break the rice.
  • Add water needed to cook the rice (I used 4 cups of water) and cook until the rice and the vegetables are cooked.
  • Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Raita.

Nutrition

Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 305mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 311IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 4mg