Risotto...finally!

Dear Foodies,

Having seen many many recipes for risotto on blogs and the high praise that is showered on this dish, I just had to try it out. So off I went to the store one fine day and picked up some Arborio rice...and so the story ended! Yes, that box of rice was sitting on my pantry shelf for more than 2 months without complaints!! Last week I finally decided it was time to bring it out, I was out of fresh vegetables and the Risi e Bisi photo flashed past my mind.

So I checked their recipe, realized I had just about everything needed and set out making the risotto before the moment passed! I used frozen peas and arborio rice .... and sprinkled some (gulp) chole masala (!!) .....I also skipped the cheese & the parsley, apart from that ;) the recipe is intact and so check the recipe here. I am not a huge fan of mint but I absolutely loved its flavor in this recipe, it was wonderful. Thank you Bee & Jai!

Now, you cannot possibly take a photo without garnishing the dish first, right? So I brought out some baby carrots, chopped them up into little flower-like shapes, decorated the risotto with it and took the pictures. Later when I took a bite of the risotto with the carrots, I loved the crunch...so... I hurriedly diced up some more carrots and added it to the risotto. I had it with some yogurt for dinner, Absolutely lovely! Now that the box has been opened, I am surely going to try out other flavors soon.

Since this is my first time ever making or eating risotto, I am not sure if the consistency was perfect. The rice grains were a little sticky but also had a slight bite to them. I hope that is how its supposed to be, cos I liked it that way :D It was wonderful hot off the stove, but the next day since I had refrigerated it by then, I had trouble liking the consistency, because re-heating it in the microwave made it dry and yet sticky....it probably needs a little stock when re-heated. Any suggestions ?

Happy Monday!