Mint Rice/Pudina rice/Pudhina Sadham

Mint leaves are flavorful and they sure take any dish to another level. Also they are healthy and have great medicinal values. So I make it a point to use them atleast twice a week/throughout the week in sabzis and rice.

This week, I was heading to the fresh market hopelessly unlike my regular visits where I prepare a list day ahead. The moment I saw those bright big leaves of mint I was tempted to buy them as It was before winter I saw such leaves. During winter mint leaves are tiny as pebbles and are not so flavorful. So except for biryanis I don’t make any mint centered dishes during winter. But now they have started blooming well so here I am with a quick lunch box fix that is flavorful and yum!

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice (long grain/short gain)-2 cups

Onions-2, sliced

Tomato-1, finely chopped

To Grind:

Mint leaves-1 cup, tightly packed

Green chilies-4

Ginger-1 inch piece

Garlic-2 flakes

Coconut-2 tbsp

Sugar-1 pinch

Salt-as needed

To Temper:

Bay leaf-1

Cardamom-1

Cinnamon-1 inch stick

Cloves-2

Oil/ghee-1 tbsp

How It Happened:

1. Wash and clean the mint leaves. Add all the ingredients under the ‘to grind’ list to a blender jar and grind to a smooth paste.

2. Heat ghee in a kadai, add the ingredients given under ‘to temper’ list and when they pop, add the sliced onions and fry until glossy.

3. Add in chopped tomatoes and cook until they turn mushy.

4. Add the ground mint paste and cook until all the water evaporates, the raw smell fades off and it seeps out the oil. This may take around 7-10 minutes in medium flame. Keep stirring till then else they will stick to the bottom of the pan. Check for salt.

5. Now add the cooked rice and carefully mix it using a fork so that the cooked masala coats all the rice grains without breaking it.

6. Let it sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to meld. Then serve with papad and raita.

Notes:

* Clean the mint leaves well as they tend to retain fine mud particles in the nooks. (Yes! It’s a personal experience!)

* I used Basmati rice but regular ponni rice will do fine!

* I added a mix of oil and ghee for flavors.

* Instead of tomatoes you can add juice of half a lemon after switching off the flame for the tang.

* We are personally people who need a high hit of spices and masala so I always make a little more of masala and mix with rice while making such rice varieties, so that when packed these rice will have immense flavors else after sometime the rice will turn out to be bland. Also such rice varieties need a resting time of minimum 30 minutes for the flavors to meld in and get best results.

* Sugar is added while grinding so as to stop the mint leaves from turning dark.

* As coconut is added the rice may be a little sticky. But if you fluff it, will be fine. Also don’t add more than mentioned else it will make the rice more sticky and messy. You can skip coconut if you don’t like them.