Phodnicha Bhat (Maharashtrian Fried Rice)

A Popular and simple Maharashtrian recipe..."Phodnicha Bhaat". Actually it is a breakfast dish. But this dish can be served for lunch, dinner or even as a quick brunch. If you have some leftover rice, and you do not want to waste, here is an easy way to turn your plain  leftover white rice into one dish meal which has completely different flavor, taste and color within minutes.

In my childhood, this rice was frequently made. This is apparently linked to my childhood memories. I liked to eat this rice also with roasted dried fish..“bangada or vakati”. This dried fish was roasted in our backyard “chul/chulha".

Now to the recipe... 

Ingredients:

• Cooked leftover rice- 1 ½ cups
• Onion- 1 med. size
• Garlic- 5-6 cloves
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Asafetida (Hing)- ¼ tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1tsp
• Malwani masala or our homemade masala- 2 tsp (OR instead of malwani masala, you may use chilli powder + goda masala)
• Salt to taste
• Sugar- 1 tsp
• Veg. oil- 2 tbsp
• Fresh coriander-  as required, for garnishing

Method:

Separate the cooked rice granules with soft hand & add masala powder, sugar & salt. Mix well & keep aside.

Heat oil in a large pan or kadai (wok). Add mustard seeds for tempering. Let them pop. Add  garlic & sauté for a minute. Add onion & sauté till translucent.  Add hing, turmeric powder & sauté for a minute. 

Add rice, mix well & sauté for a minute. Cover & cook for 2 minutes on low flame.

Serve hot  with pickle, roasted papad. I served here fried dried stuffed chilli (sandgi mirachi). 

Notes:

• My recipe is basic and authentic. I like to make this simple way but you can do variations.
• Although traditionally this recipe was made to use the leftover rice, you can still make it using freshly cooked rice. Just ensure the cooked rice is cooled properly before making this dish. Hot rice used for this recipe would cause the rice granules to stick & become lumpy.
• You can use green chilli or dried red chilli or dried stuffed chilli (sandgi mircahi) instead of chilli powder/ masala.
• You can add groundnuts or green peas.
• You can add curry leaves in tempering.