Independence day platter

This is next in the series of Independence day special platter. The theme here is the color of the national flag.

Saffron, white and green, are the colors of our national flag. The flag was designed by Pingli Venkayya.  All the color is equal horizontal bars. The deep saffron colors shows courage and sacrifice. The saffron color is also called the Bhagwa color, this is a symbol of Hindusm.The white color symbolism for peace, unity and truth. The green color shows the culture and fertility. The blue colors for the sky and the ocean this is in Chakra. The Chakra (wheel) has 24 spokes, representing the 24 hours in a day.

The flag was best described by Vice President (later President), Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, as follows :

“Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The “Ashoka Chakra” in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change. ”

Today India entered 68th year of it’s Independence. I and my family celebrate this joyous day with a themed platter signifying the colors of the flag 🙂

This is also the Fiesta Friday #29 and it is being co -hosted by Jhuls @  http://thenotsocreativecook.wordpress.com/ and Selma @

http://selmastable.wordpress.com/

Thank you Angie @ http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

I am so happy to be here and this time a platterful of colorful, flavorful food 🙂

From left to right : Beetroot dumplings in spinach gravy, Channar payesh ( cottage cheese in flavored condensed milk), Shahi paneer ( cottage cheese cube in tomato-dry fruit gravy), tri- color basmati rice with three different sesonings.

No artificial color used.

For Channar payesh recipe click here

All recipes will be posted as separate posts.

For the tri-color rice, here’s what i did…..

INGREDIENTS

2 cups – semi- cooked basmati rice

2 tbsp – carrot paste

2 tbsp – spinach paste(blanched and grounded to paste)

2 tsp – onion paste

pinch of cardamom powder

pinch of cinnamon powder

salt and sugar to taste

1/4 tsp – ginger paste

pinch of tumeric

1 tsp – lime juice

METHOD

The semi cooked rice will be seasoned and further cooked separately for the colors, so divide them in three equal portions.

For the saffron color – Heat 1 tsp oil or clarified butter in a pan. Add 1 tsp onion paste and fry till translucent. Add the carrot paste, some salt, pinch of sugar, tumeric powder and cook on a low flame for a couple of mins. Add one portion of rice to this and check for salt. Cover and cook for 2 min and sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon powder. Take it off fire and keep aside.

For the green color – Heat 1 tsp of oil/clarified butter and add 1 tsp of onion paste and 1/4 tsp ginger paste. Fry till onion is translucent and add the spinach paste. Season with some salt and pinch of sugar. Cook for 3-4 mins on a low flame and then add the cardamom powder. Stir in a portion of rice. Check for salt. Cook for 2 mins, mix in the lime juice. Take it off fire and keep aside.

To assemble, let your imagination loose 😀 just remember saffron goes on top, followed by white and green will the lowermost layer. 🙂

P.S. While seasoning the rice with flavors and colors, one may sprinkle some water if it goes dry during the cooking of rice.

Happy cooking !! 🙂

Happy Independence Day !!

Photo source : Google

 

Cheers !!!

 

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