Very few fresh vegetables in the market these days – Lockdown in India Day 298730 – I stopped counting. COVID-19 cases are on the rise, with India recording over 10,000 new cases a day. Vrindavan has three shopping days – Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Other than those days, we’re not supposed to be out of the house.
Vegetable markets have barely any produce available, and what you can find, doesn’t look too good nor anything that I really recognize. (No spinach, cauliflower, carrots)
The little grocery stores have mostly bare shelves. Anything that needs to come from New Delhi is not getting in, for example, diet Coke! Which I crave everyday around 2 pm.
This Spicy Rice with Soy Nuggets is another good “doomsday” food because it can be made with everything from a prepared pre-stock pantry shelf. It’s my one meal today and keeps you full. Have it noon and you need eat nothing else for all day.
Spicy Rice with Soy Nuggets
Equipment
- Kadai pan,
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice Washed, cleaned and soaked for 30 minutes
- 1 cup Soy nuggets Small, texuted protein, soaked in boiling water
- 2 tbsp Ghee Use oil for vegan
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 Bay leaf Indian Bay leaf
- 5 Cloves
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 5 Cardamon pods, fresh green
- 2 tsp Ginger, grated or tube
- 2 Tomatoes Fresh or canned, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Vegetable seasoning
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Wash and clean the rice and soak with water for 30 minutes. Drain before using.
- Cover the soy nuggets with boiling water and about a teaspoon of salt and soak for 30 minutes. Drain and squeeze all the water out before using it.
- Heat the ghee (or oil) in a kadai pan. Add the cummin seeds, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Sate for a few minutes.
- Add the ginger and continue to saute. Then add the tomatoes along with the Turmeric, kashmiri chili powder and coriander powder, mixing well. Cook and stir for several minutes until the tomatoes are soft (if using fresh) and the oil separates.
- Add the garam masala and the vegetable seasoning. Mix well then add the drained and squeezed soy nuggets, cooking and stirring about eight mintues for the soy nuggest to absorb the flavors.
- At some point you will want to pick out the big pieces of spices, and now is a good time. It becomes more difficult after adding the rice and water, especially if there are a lot of small spice pieces floating around.
- Add the drained rice and mix well, then add 2 cups of water and salt. Bring to boil, stiringt to mix. Then cover with a tight lid. (I use a rather loose fitting lid with a kitchen towel wrapped around it.) Lower the heat to very low and cook, cover, undisturbed, for 13 – 15 minutes. Remove from heat, leave covered undiscturbed for another 10 minutes. Then removed the lid, fluff to mix and serve.
Notes
Lockdown Lunch #78
Devin took this Spicy Rice with Soy Nuggets, mixed it with some leftover cooked macaroni, grated cheddar cheese, some canned sweet corn, a generous dollop of ketchup, and mixed this all into his Lockdown Lunch #78. It looked and smelled a lot like Hamburger Helper Meal.
He loved it! But pickin’s are pretty slim here in Vrindavan these days, so it’s all relative. 