Pudina is a powerful antioxidant and it helps in the digestion of food. The aroma and taste of pudina is simply marvelous and always makes us feel fresh and active. The strong aroma of Pudina helps in prevention of Asthma and cough as well. Apart from this there are a whole lot of nutritional and medicinal benefits of Pudina leaves that makes us want to add this herb to our cooking so that our family benefits from it. Some of the foods often made with Pudina leaves are Pudina Chutney and Pudina Rice. Here is a Pudina Rice recipe.
Preparation Time: About 45 minutes, including cooking time
Servings: 2 to 3
Ingredients:
- 2 cups long grained rice
- 2 cups fresh mint / Pudina leaves, lightly chopped
- ½ a cup coriander leaves, lightly chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped fine
- 2 to 3 green chillies
- ¼ cup grated coconut (optional, fresh works best, frozen will do too)
- A small piece of ginger, lighty chopped
- 4 cloves
- 1 or 2 green cardamom pods
- 1" piece of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 12 roasted cashews for garnishing (optional)
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Clean, wash and soak the rice for 30 mins.
- Heat ghee on medium heat in non stick pan.
- When it is hot, add the spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon), saute them first.
- Add green chillies, then lightly chopped Pudina leaves ,coriander leaves and ginger.
- Add grated coconut and fry for 2 minutes.
- Make a coarse paste of all the above contents using mixer.
- Heat ghee on medium heat in non stick pan, Add onions, saute until onions start to brown.
- Add the pureed Pudina-green chilli-coconut paste. Fry until the Pudina paste changes color from bright green to light-green.
- Add the washed rice and saute for a minute. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and cover with lid and cook till the rice is done.
- Serve hot with raita or any curry of your choice.
