Chole Mint Bhat Recipe/ Aloo Pudina Rice / Aloo Raita Recipe

Time for Blog Hop Wednesday, and for this Month again I was paired with Hema of Hema's Adugemane, yup last month also she was my pair but bcoz of my health I wasn't able to try n post a recipe from her space. This time I don't want to miss and I picked her Aloo Pudina Bhat. I slightly tweaked her recipe and tried with Chole/Chickpeas instead of Aloo. The recipe turned out good, tasty & flavorful. Also, I made Aloo Raitha/Potato Raita to pair with this Mint Chole Rice. This Aloo raita recipe is my creation which I tried after tasting a similar raitha recipe in our Temple Cafeteria. My kids love the aloo raita from Temple cafeteria, so for them I recreated the recipe and it turned out well. We all loved it and had a filling and satisfying mea. Both chole mint bhat & Aloo raita suited well. Friends, do give it a try and let me know how it turned out to you. Now to the recipe...

Ingredients

1. Cooked Rice    2 cups(Basmati Rice)
2. Chole/Chickpeas     1 cup(cooked)
3. Onion   1 medium/ 3/4 cup (sliced)
4. Salt to taste

To Wet Grind

1. Mint leaves      1/2 cup chopped
2. Cilantro/Coriander leaves    1/4 cup chopped
3. Ginger    1" piece
4. Jaggery    1 tsp
5. Green chilli     4-5 no.s (adjust to taste)

To Temper 

1. Oil        1-2 tbsp
2. Mustard seeds    1/2 tsp
3. Cumin seeds    1/2 tsp
4. Urad dal        1 tsp
5. Cashew nut   2-3 tbsp

Method

• Grind all the ingredients under "To Wet Grind" to a smooth paste with very little water and keep ready.

• Heat oil ina kadai, add the tempering ingredients and allow to pop up and then add onions and saute for 1-2 minutes.

• Then add chickpeas and a pinch of turmeric powder and saute for 2 minutes.
• After that add the ground mint paste and cook till raw smell leaves, for about 3-4 minutes.

• And add cooked rice stir fry witht the mint masala for another 2 minutes.

• Lastly add some finely chopped cilantro and roasted cashew nuts...mix gently.
• That's it...Quick and yummy Chole Mint Bhat ready.

Aloo Raita / Potato Raita

This is very simple and flavor rich raitha with boiled potatoes and ground herbs. This raitha goes well with any Biryani/Pulao and also with puris, tikkis and also for chaat items.

Ingredients

1. Potato    1/2 cup (boiled n mashed)
2. Yogurt/Curd    1 cup
3. Salt  to taste
4. Mint leaves     from 2-3 stems
5. Cilantro    2 tbsp
6. Green chilli    1no. (optional)
7. Cumin seeds    1/2 tsp

Method

• Take yogurt in a bowl, add salt and little water and beat well to a smooth n thin mixture.
• In a blender, grind coarsely- mint, cilantro, chilli and cumin seeds.

• Add this ground green chutney mix to the beaten curd mix well and add boiled n mashed/chopped potato.

• Combine everything well...check salt n spices then refrigerate until use.
• To serve, Sprinkle little chaat masala on top ! Enjoy with any pulao or rice varieties/puris/tikkis etc.