Harees/Ganjee

Ganjee, or Harees as I was recently taught by my dad is the proper name for it, is a yummy Indian soup that is a staple for iftaar in South Indian families, or at least in my dad's family. It is usually served with fried yummies. I got the recipe from my Nani-in-law and tried it today! Yay me!

I've usually had this with kheema but you can make it with kheema, vegetables, or neither. I'll include both in the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
1-2 green chilies, cut in half or thirds
1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
1/3 tsp garam masala
pinch of haldi/turmeric
1 small tomato, diced
1 carrot, sliced, or a handful of baby carrots
a handful of green beans ((fresh would work best I think))
handful of peas/tuvar daaney
1/3 lb kheema or the size of a fist ((there should be very little in the soup))
1 handful of uncooked white rice
1/2 handful of moong daal/yellow lentils
mint/pudina, crushed dried form or fresh finely chopped to garnish
finely chopped hara dhanya/cilantro to garnish

Crush the rice and daal just slightly in a coffee grinder or soak for a few minutes and crush with your hands only a little! Heat oil in a pot and sautee the onions until they are translucent. Add the garlic-ginger paste and garam masala and sautee for a minute. Add haldi and green chilis and sautee for another minute. Add the tomato and cook for another minute or so until they start to look mushy. Add either the vegetables or kheema and cook. When the veggies or kheema look just about cooked, add the rice and daal and stir. Add about 3-4 cups of water and salt to taste, cover and cook until the rice and daal are soft and mushy. You can add finely chopped/crushed mint/pudina and finely chopped hara dhanya/cilantro. Enjoy!