Spinach and beans rice

I love one pot meals! Nothing beats the convenience of having a nutritious easy meal ready while you are rushing through your morning routine with a jumping/screaming/crying/clinging toddler. :)
A simple rice and beans dish with tons of spinach, minimally spiced and yet super flavorful -- served with a sprinkling of grated cheese is what we had for lunch today. The black beans add protein and flavor, chopped spinach adds flavor and nutrition. All this with the basic simple flavoring of ginger+garlic+green chillies which can never go wrong. I made this dish(rather it turned out :P ) a little porridgy - not your pilaf kinda rice with separate grains. It tasted awesome with some molten cheese on top.
Cooked it all in a pressure cooker and the dish came together in about 30 mins -- including the cooking time and time to release pressure(when you don't need to be around!)

What you need:
1/2 cup black beans - soak them overnight.

1 + 1/4 th cup rice

1/2 large red onion finely chopped

1 tomato finely chopped

3 cups chopped spinach

1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1 tbsp oil

salt to taste

2 tsp paste of ginger garlic and green chilies - I had this paste ready and used it.you could substitute it with finely chopped garlic ginger and green chillies per your taste.
Grated cheese to serve

Method:

1) Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add jeera and wait for it to crackle.

2) Add the ginger garlic green chillies and saute it for 30 seconds. Add the finely chopped onion. Fry for a couple of minutes till its golden. Add the tomatoes and salt.

3) Add the soaked beans,washed rice. Add about 4-5 cups water. 

4) Pressure cook for 2 -3 whistles.

5) Serve hot with grated cheese. Mix the cheese with the hot meal and let it melt into gooey goodness. :D

Easy peasy Beetroot rice

Blessed are the morning people! Folks who can wake up early and bright, who can kick start the day and get things done. For the rest of us, who have to peel themselves out of bed reluctantly - long past the desired/decided/resolved wake up time, (ME!) some shortcuts like this beetroot rice are a life saver. You can have this nutritional and tasty meal ready for your lunch box with as little effort as washing rice and switching on the rice cooker in the morning. Of course, some prep work the previous night - just chop veggies and you can snooze that alarm for an extra 15 mins in the morning. :D
I served it with some protein like boiled egg and some curd for a complete meal. Simple, healthy, delicious!

What you need:
1 cup cubed beets (about 2 medium beets)
1/2 cup cubed green capsicum
1/2 small tomato cubed
1 1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Red chilly powder to taste - optional
2 tsp or more Masala powder of choice - I used Vangi bhat powder. You could use Pulav masala/ garam masala/ sambar powder or any spice blend of choice. Adjust the amount based on the masala.
Lime juice to taste
Boiled egg whites or other protein to go with it.

Method:
1. Mix the cut beet, bell peppers and tomato in the rice cooker container. Add the masala powder, oil, salt, red chilly powder. Mix it well. I kept this ready the previous night.
2. Wash the rice 2-3 times till water runs clear. Add the washed rice to the veggie/spice mixture.
3. Add about 3 cups of water. The quantity of water depends on the rice you use.
4. Check seasoning and switch on the rice cooker. Wait for the rice cooker to do its job! :D
5. Towards the end, when rice is almost cooked, add in the lime juice and mix well. Serve hot with some protein like boiled egg.