Mint rice (Pudina rice)
In summer, there is always plentiful of mint leaves in my back garden. I use the mint leaves by preparing chutneys or making pulao. Another dish I make out of mint is mint rice, a mint flavoured rice in a south Indian style. This is good and easy to pack for lunches for busy moms. Mint rice is prepared with fresh mint leaves chutney and then tempering along with a dash of lime or lemon juice in the end. The lime/lemon juice brings out more flavour and taste to the mint rice.
Preparation time: 5 mins (excluding rice cooking time)
Cooking time: 10 mins
Cuisine: South Indian
Spiciness: Mild
Serves: 1
Ingredients
- Mint leaves – 1 cup full or 25 gms
- Ginger – 1 tsp
- Green chillies – 2
- Salt – as required
- Oil/ghee – 2 tbsp
- Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Chana dal – 1 tsp
- Urad dal – 1 tsp
- Green chillies (slit) – 3
- Dry chillies – 3
- Curry leaves – 20
- Cashew nut – 10
- Hing – 1/4 tsp
- Cooked rice – 2 cups
- Mint leaves (optional) – 10 to 15
For chutney
Tempering/tadka
Additional ingredients
Method
- Slice the onions, slit the green chillies and keep it ready.
- Soak 1 cup rice in water for about 30 mins. Drain rice and keep aside.
- Cook the rice in sufficient water (any method you are comfortable with). Keep the cooked rice ready.
- I have used only 2 cups of cooked rice. Allow the rice to cool and let the rice be fluffy. Left over rice is also good.
- Grind the mint leaves along with ginger, green chillies and salt to a fine paste.
- Heat any non-stick vessel and add ghee/oil. When hot, add mustard seeds, dry chillies, chana dal, urad dal, curry leaves, green chillies and cashew nuts. Sauté on a medium flame until the urad dal turns light golden in colour.
- Add onions, few mint leaves and sauté until the onions are soft and transparent.
- Add the ground chutney and salt as per taste. Stir well. Cook for about 2 to 3 mins or until the raw smell of the chutney goes away. The colour of the chutney changes.
- Add the cooked rice immediately and mix well. Keep the flame low while mixing.
- Add lemon juice and mix well. Close the lid and simmer for about 5 to 8 mins.
- Serve hot with any side dish you like or even just with crisps.
Notes
- You can grind chutney to a coarse paste or fine paste.
- Add salt appropriately if you have added salt in the rice.
- Add lemon juice as per your taste.
- You can add peanuts instead of cashew nuts.
- Add green chillies as per its hotness.
- Either add the rice immediately after adding the green mint chutney to the pan and mix it or fry the chutney for a few mins until the colour of the chutney changes to a pale green colour. Both give different taste but both taste good. I prefer the cooked one.
- The colour of the rice varies as to how much quantity of rice you have added to the chutney.
- I have used ponni boiled rice. You can use ponni raw rice or any plain rice, which is not fragrant. If not, you can use basmati rice.
