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 mins
Cook Time40 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr
Course: dinner, Lunch Recipes
Cuisine: Asian, Indian, Maharashtrian
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 540kcal
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
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.
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