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Stay cool in summer

When the mercury rises, choose a menu that will help you beat the heat

PHOTOS: T. SINGARAVELOU

LIGHT AND COOL Pondicherry Creole egg rice and cucumber salad

Creole egg rice is simple to make. A combination of mushroom, capsicum, celery and Basmati rice, it is often cooked during summer. The blend of rice and vegetables is light; the sauce that goes into it enhances the taste and the eggs make it a balanced meal. It is served hot or cold with cucumber salad. The dish and the sauce can be cooked the previous day and refrigerated. In fact, they taste better this way. Heat the rice and the sauce just before serving.

Pondicherry Créole egg rice

Serves 6

Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients

Basmati rice: 500 gm
Maggi cube (vegetable): 1
Onion: 1
Green capsicum: 1, chopped
Celery: 1 stick, chopped
Mushrooms: 200 gm, chopped
Amul butter: 50 gm
Eggs: 4 hardboiled

Method: Wash Basmati rice and soak it in water (1 litre) with some salt for 1 hour. Strain water before cooking. In a deep frying pan, heat butter, fry onion, celery and capsicum for 5 minutes (stop before they turn brown). Add mushrooms and rice and fry for 5 minutes. Add Maggi cube, salt, pepper (half tsp) and water (1 litre); cover pan and cook till no moisture is left.

For the sauce:
Amul butter: 50 gm
Corn flour: half tbsp
Tomato purée: 100gm
Water: 2 litres
Worcester sauce: 1 tsp
Sugar: 1 pinch
Pepper: 1 tsp
Salt

Method: In a separate pan, melt butter, stir in the corn flour, cook for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Add tomato purée and cook till sauce thickens. Stir all the time. Add Worcester sauce, salt, pepper (half tsp) and sugar.

Turn rice in a serving dish. Arrange half eggs on top and coat with some sauce. Serve the remaining sauce separately.

Cucumber salad

Serves 6
Time 10 minutes
This is the simplest salad one can make. In fact, It's child's play.
Cucumber: 3, peeled and deseeded
Onion: 1 big, sliced
Lemon: juice of one
Pepper: half tsp
Salt

Olive oil or Sanola gold: half tbsp

Method: Peel and slice cucumber, add salt and set aside. Squeeze out the excess juice. Cucumber is known to cool the body and is hence, a great summer vegetable. Refrigerate. Serve cold.

Just before serving, in a big salad bowl, add sliced onion, salt, pepper, lime juice and oil. Add cucumber, mix and serve cold.

KETHARI SRIVANJIAM

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