This recipe is my entry for BetterButter Contest in collaboration with SPRIG.
SPRIG is a brand that scours the world to get the finest gourmet ingredients into kitchens of people who love to experiment in their kitchen.
It was basically an introduction to SPRIG’s range of unique spice blends, to be used in our dishes covering cuisines from Europe to the Middle east to Asia.
To participate, at first there were four choices of spice blends and they made us select one spice blend from the lot and asked us to create a dish and recipe.
I chose Malacca: Oriental spice Blend.
This spice blend is a symphony of fragrant herbs and spices, inspired by the orient. It captures the rustic richness of South East Asian curries, with a twist. Flavourful chilies make for a delightful fusion, best enjoyed when sprinkled into curries, sauces, salad and stir fries. This versatile ingredient can be used as rub, marinade, glaze, paste, crumb, sprinkle or dressing!
We relish Thai food, lemon grass flavour, one pot meals. Being a Mangalorean, we love our dose of coconut milk too. So, I tried my hand in creating Thai flavoured rice, using clay pot. The dish turned into a super tasty, mildly flavoured one pot meal.
Ingredients:
Rice – 2 cups (small grain rice/ Jeera samba variety)
Vegetables – 1 bowl
Tofu – 100 grams
Onion – 1 medium
Ginger – ½ inch
Thai chillies – 3
Lemon grass – 4 sticks
SPRIG MALACCA spice blend – 2 table spoons
Thick Coconut milk – I tetra pack or 200 ML
Water – 3 ½ cups
Salt – as required
Oil – 2 table spoons (any refined oil)
Sesame oil – 1 table spoon.
Clay pot – for cooking
Method:
– Wash rice and drain the water and keep aside.
– Chop vegetables according to your choice.
– I have used Broccoli, cabbage, three colours of capsicum and baby corn.
– Chop onion, slice chillies, sliver ginger and keep aside.
– Make 3-inch pieces of lemon grass, make a bunch and tie it with a small piece of cord.
-Take a clay pot and smear it with Sesame oil.
– Sesame oil will act as a non-sticky coat for clay utensil while cooking for long.
-Now take oil for seasoning. When it is hot, add onion, chillies, ginger, lemon grass and fry until onion is glossy.
-Add all the vegetables and fry for a while.
-Now add tofu, Malacca spice, salt and mix everything thoroughly.
– Next proceed with addition of drained rice and fry for 2 minutes.
-Add coconut milk, water.
-Cook the mixture by closing the lid, in a very low flame for 20 to 30 minutes or until done by mixing twice in between.
-Serve hot by discarding lemon grass sticks. (Used to enhance flavour, since they can’t be swallowed)
NOTE:
- If Thai chillies are not available, one can use any variety of chilli.
- I have used bird eye chilli.
- If sesame oil is not there, one can use refined oil to smear the clay pot.