THE BUDGET FRIENDLY RISOTTO

Namaskara Earthlings! Or Shall I say Nama-Slay people of the Earth! 

As usual, Spice Woman is here to save the day with another one of her super food recipes!
....Drum Roll Please.....
My Special -Brown Rice - Non Alcoholic - Doesn't burn a hole in your Pocket -Risotto ......!!

This was my first time making Risotto , I was cooking for my vegetarian friends. I only had one carrot, one tomato , some olives and one onion in my kitchen, and no time to buy fresh produce!
But off course! My awesome food sensibilities did not let me down! I put it all together with a truck load of Amul Cheese cubes and slices to make a nice creamy dish.

I've made this Risotto to suit the Indian taste buds, you may spice it up as you like. Customise it, have fun with your food!

Ingredients:

Brown Rice (The south Indian in me is screaming Murder!)
3tbsp Olive Oil and 3 tbsp Butter (depends on the quantity of rice you've added)
Carrots diced into small tiny cubes fit for the hamster gods to relish
Tomato, again small tiny cubes
Mixed Italian herbs ( I use the one from Keya)
Peri Peri mix powder (surprise ingredient, adds that tang!)
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Garlic ( I used 8 cloves or is it pods ...??  add as much as you like really!)
Salt to taste
Olives (green or black , fresh or canned, whatever catches your fancy)
Amul Cheese Cubes and slices ( I used two cubes and two slices for two small cups of rice)
I did not have vegetable/chicken stock with me, I've just used water.

Recipe:
Be warned Earthling: Brown rice takes a zillion years to cook, you might want to pre cook it a little in the pressure cooker or be prepared to wait till your hair turns grey and your teeth fall out!

I learnt this the hard way, cooking has aged me......in a not so graceful way. 👀🙇But I have super powers, so I'm fine 💁

Anyhoooo....... back to the burner.

Chop chop chop away your veggies into tiny perfection sized square-ish cube like portions. Make sure all the cubes have the same dimension, volume , density and can be equally divided by 𝝅.

Wait Wait Wait... don't go! I'm kidding... chop the veggies as you fancy. Whatever makes you happy really. Stay on this page , it gets better!

Hulk smash the garlic , or you could elegantly chop it real fine...tch.. how boring!

Get your sh***t together , heat the olive oil and butter on a pan , once the butter melts, add the finely chopped onion, and garlic.
We do not want to brown this while frying, so you're going to put a lid on it. Let the onion and the garlic sweat a little and turn into this beautiful translucent shade. Once they soften, add the herbs , peri peri mix, the crushed black pepper and stir fry for a minute.

Add the chopped carrots and tomato and stir fry for two minutes. Now add the pre cooked brown rice ( or the raw brown rice like me and wait for generations for it to boil and cook! )
Let the rice absorb the flavours really well, add some water - you want a gravy like texture.
Once you feel the rice is cooked to your liking, add the chopped olives and the cheese. Add as much as you like , don't over do it though.

Let the mix come to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes with the lid on. Be careful the cheese tends to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, you have to make sure the consistency of the rice/veggie mix has enough water but not too much. Goey , not too dry , but not soup like either. We want a pasta like consistency.

Annnnnnndddddd..... There you have it! Risotto is ready to eat! Slaying it like those purist rich Italians but saving wayyyyy more money this way! Tasty too!

Eat what you like, cook the way you like - whatever make yourself happy!
Thats what counts.
Everyone has their own taste, some of you might not like this recipe - you can modify it - add chilli flakes, some more seasoning and spices or add ketchup if you like!
Who cares? You're the one eating it , at the end of the day.

SPICE WOMAN does it again! Bringing you good food time and again! 

You Are Welcome! 💁