Sesame Rice (Nuvvulannam/ Ellu Saadam)

Blogging Marathon# 28: Week 4/ Day 1
Theme: BM Pairs
Dish: Sesame Rice/ Ellu Saadam from Veena's Veg Nation

My theme for the last week of BM# 28 is "Cooking from BM members" and Valli paired us with 3 of the BM members, so I will be cooking from one of them each day for the next 3 days. All the 3 blogging buddies I have been paired with have been blogging for a long time and have ton of recipes that I'd like to try. Picking just one recipe was a very difficult task and I spent quite some time browsing through their pages  and it was mind boggling on how many options I had. 

So finally I decided that I need to have a theme (of sorts) to pick the recipes and since I was cooking for myself (again) this week, I looked for recipes that were (almost) one-pot and didn't leave me with a lot of leftovers. That made my search a little easier and I was able to narrow it down based on the ingredients in my fridge and pantry.

So for the first day, I'm cooking from Veena's blog Veena's Veg Nation. Veena has tons of traditional dishes and eggless bakes along with other delicious dishes. Based on my criteria, I found this simple and easy to make sesame rice or ellu sadam. All you need to make is the sesame spice powder and cook the rice, then the meal will be ready in no time.

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup

For Sesame Spice Powder:
White Sesame seeds - ¼cup
Fresh grated coconut - 3tbsp (optional, but highly recommended)
Urad dal (Minapappu) - 3tbsp
Dry red chilies - 6-8
Salt - to taste

For Tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cashews - 1tbsp
Curry Leaves - few

Method:

• Cook rice so that the grains are separate and not mushy. Set aside to cool.
• In a small saute pan; dry roast sesame seeds until golden. This doesn't too long, so keep an eye on it and stir frequently. Remove into a bowl.
• In the same pan, dry roast coconut (if using) for 1-2 minutes. Do not let the coconut change color. Remove into the bowl along with sesame seeds.
• In the same pan, add 1tsp oil and roast urad dal and red chilies until dal turns golden. Let cool and grind into a powder along with sesame seeds, grated coconut (if using) and salt.
• Add the spice powder to the cooked rice. Mix well.
• In a small saute pan, heat 1tbsp oil and add tempering ingredients. Once mustard seeds start to splutter, add it to the rice and mix well. Enjoy as is or with a side dish. I had mine with walnut chutney. 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today for BM# 28.