Mint rice and a Carrot-yogurt raita

Mint Rice

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of fresh mint leaves
A few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves
4 bay leaves
1 chopped onion
3 green chillies, chopped
2 spoons Garam masala
Salt, to taste
2 spoons of oil (sunflower oil will do)
2.5-3 cups of cooked Basmati rice, depending on how green you'd like the dish to look!

Method:
1. Clean and wash the mint and coriander leaves.
2. Blend/grind the leaves and the chopped chillies finely to a paste, with a few drops of water.
3. In a pan, heat the oil, add the chopped onion and bay leaves.
4. When the onion turns golden, add the paste, garam masala and salt. Give it a good stir.
5. When the paste starts bubbling, lower the heat, and add the cooked rice. Mix thoroughly.
6. Alternately, you can refrigerate/freeze the prepared paste for use later. Do note that the rice needs to be freshly prepared for this dish.
7. If preferred, you can add fennel seeds (saunf, Hindi) to the paste while cooking, for an added zing. You might also want to add fried cashewnuts to posh up the rice!

I normally pair this Mint Rice with the following Carrot Raita, as the nutritious carrot provides a crunch to the meal while the yogurt soothes the palate after the spiciness of the chillies n masala:
Ingredients:
1 cup beaten low-fat natural yogurt
1/2 cup grated carrot
1 green chilli, slit
Salt, to taste
A few sprigs of coriander, for decoration

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Leave to rest for half an hour before serving, decorated with coriander.