Microwave Tondali Bhat

Tondali Rice in marathi

Serves: 2 to 3 persons
Time: 5 to 7 minutes to make Spice blend and tempering + 20 minutes microwave

Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati Rice
2 cups water
15 to 18 Tondali (Ivy Gourd)
Spice Blend: 1 tsp oil or ghee, 1 inch Cinnamon stick, 2 Cardamom, 4 pepper corn, 4 cloves, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 3 dry red chilies, 2 tbsp fresh scraped coconut
For Tempering: 1 tbsp Ghee, 1/8 tsp Mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 2 pinches asafoetida, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 5 to 6 curry leaves
7 to 8 cashew nuts
Salt to taste
Finely chopped Cilantro, fresh scraped coconut for garnishing
Pure ghee

Method:
1) Wash rice with water. Drain and leave aside for 15 minutes.
2) Wash Tondali with water. Cut off the ends. Cut each tondali lengthwise, into 4 quarters. Immerse cut tondali into water.
3) To make spice blend, heat 1 tsp oil and add all the whole spices. Then saute dry chilies and coconut. Saute over medium low heat and remove from heat after 2 minutes. Once this mixture becomes cool, grind it to a fine powder.
4) Heat 1 tbsp ghee into a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Turn the heat to low. Add cashew nuts and tondali. Saute for a minute. Now turn off the heat.
5) In a microwave safe bowl, add 2 cups of water. Microwave for 2 minutes over high power. Add washed rice, salt, sauteed tondali mixture (Step 4), and spice blend (step 3). Mix nicely.
6) Microwave over high power (100) for 5 minutes and over medium power (40) for 15 minutes. While microwaving, give a nice stir after 10 minutes.
Transfer cooked rice to serving plates. Garnish with cilantro, coconut, and pure Ghee. Serve hot.

Tips:
1) 2 cups of water is enough for 1 cup of rice. However, some people like little moist Rice. For that, you can use 1/4 cup more water to microwave the rice.
2) The Tempering (Step 4) can be done in the microwave. However, tempering prepared in a pan over stove-top has more flavor.
3) This Rice can be prepared in a deep pan over stove-top. Follow first 3 steps from the above recipe. Prepare tempering (Step 4) in a deep pan, saute washed rice for a minute. Add hot water, spice blend and salt. Mix nicely and cook covered over medium heat.