Chicken Biryani

As told and mentioned, I love Chicken Biryani and all that I do when i taste delicious biryani is to try the recipe
The credit for the below mentioned biryani goes to my colleague Yamini Chowdappa...

Ingredients:
Chicken -1 Kg
Ginger Garlic paste
Onion-whole and sliced ones
Green Chilly
Basamati Rice- 4 cups
Lemon
Ghee
Cashew Powder
Mint and Coriander-1 bunch each
Curd
Kasoori Methi-3 spoon
Garam Masala powder -Home made-4 spoons
Whole of garam masala
Salt
Oil

 Process:

Marinate chicken with curd, ginger garlic paste,green chillies finely cut,garam masala powder,mint and coriander leaves finely chopped. Keep this over night.

Now make a paste of 4 onions whole, this adds to the taste of the biryani.

Wash Basmati rice and soak it in water i.e 1 Rice is 11/2 cup water.

Take a large pan with thick bottom, add oil.
Once oil heats up,add 2 onion finely sliced,onion paste ginger garlic paste,kasoori methi, whole of garam masala and add the marinated chicken.
Let the chicken cook . Add remaining mint and coriander leaves and stir the mix.

Once chicken is cooked, add rice to it and keep stirring. Check if the rice is half done, put on the lid and close it firmly.

Add ghee, cashew powder and lime juice and mix it.
Garnish with fried onion.

Methi Dal :)

Tried it yesterday and literally we had 5 of us fighting for this :)
Goes well with Phulkas ,Chapati....healthy and less oil.

Ingredients:

Methi leaves- 2 bunches
Toor Dal-1 cup
Oil
Turmeric
Onion
Curry leaves
Green Chilly sliced
Mustard
Jeera

Process:

Take toor dal and soak it in water for 5 hours.
Clean the methi leaves nicely and wash it

Now take a pan, add oil.
Once it gets heated, add mustard and wait for it to splutter.
 Add Jeera, Garlic paste green chilly,curry leaves Onions, Garlic cloves and wait till everything gets fried.
Add methi leaves,dal,turmeric powder, salt to taste.
Do not add lots of water as the consistency of this has to be maintained thick.

Once done, serve it with Phulkas:)

Seven Cups

MY friends mom was an innovative and a creative cook! She always came up with her versions of cooking:)
Now this is her recipe


1 cup besan (Bengal gram flour)
1 cup ghee
1 cup dessicated coconut
3 cups sugar
1 cup milk


Mix all the above mentioned ingredient in a thick bottom pan and let it cook for 20 minutes.Keep stirring the mix
Check if the mixture is binding and leaving the edges of the tray.


Now grease a plate with ghee and spread this into a thick layer.
Cut it in even sized diamond shapes.

Kesari Bhaat

Also called as Sheera in South India, this one is quick to make and is tasty.

Ingredients:

Rava/Sooji- 1 cup
Milk- 3 cups
Dry fruits
Ghee
Sugar-11/2 cup (this depends on the taste of individual)
Saffron
Cardamom Powder
Banana/Pineapples- cut in smaller pieces

Fry cashews/raisins/almonds in ghee and keep seperately

First fry the rava in ghee on a low flame. Keep stirring the rava till it gets red in color, do not burn rava. Better it gets fried better it tastes.
Heat milk in separate container.Now to this milk add saffron and keep aside.
Once rava is fried, add milk to it.
Rava gets cooked in milk.
Adding banana and pineapples are optional. If you want to add, do it now.
Once done, add sugar to it and stir the mix.
Add cardamom powder and mix nicely

Ghee always add to the taste of  Kesari Bhaat, but since people are all health conscious these days it depends on individual's choice.
Adding Saffron adds on the color.

Serve hot.

Crunchy Fried Groundnuts

Well peanut is something you can eat, be it salted,fried or just like that!:) Here is another version of it and it is more nicer than previous versions:) Try it and let me know

Ingredients:

Groundnut -whole
Gram Flour
Salt
Red Chilly Powder
Oil

Make a paste of gram flour, red chilly powder, salt  with water.The consistency should be maintained to coat peanuts with  fine layer .
Heat oil, maintain medium flame and fry the peanuts.
Keep stirring them, once you see that the peanuts have been properly coated with the paste take it out and spread on a tissue paper.

Here it is...goes very nice with "Alcohol"!

Chiroti

Diwali is a time for celebration and enjoyment! :) Sweets, fun and frolic..

Preparation of sweet forms an integral part of the celebration.

Chiroti is a sweet dish which can preserved for many days and believe me it tastes heavenly.

Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose flour
Ghee
Sugar
Salt
oil
cardamom

Preparation:

Make a dough of maida with salt to taste into Chapati dough consistency. Knead the dough nicely so that there are no lumps.
Make balls of dough and roll them in thinner spread.

Take 4 of such spreads, apply ghee to one and lay the next one on it.
Follow the same procedure. Once stacked up, roll them ( like chapati roll).

Cut the roll and again

And then roll them as shown below

Fry this in oil, on a medium flame so that they become golden brown.

Make a powder of sugar and cardamom .
Dip the above fried chiroti into the powder. It is so crunchy that it melts in the mouth.

Tuna Fish Cutlet

Courtesy: Sharon Dilone Mascarenhas

Tuna fish
Potato mashed
Bread Crumbs
Egg
Ginger -Chopped
Garlic- Chopped
Onion- Finely Chopped
Green Chilly finely chopped
Coriander leaves
Salt
Oil

Mix Tuna fish,Potato mashed,ginger,garlic,onion,green chilly, coriander leaves,salt into a thick and hard mixture.
Make sure that you do not add water.

Get them done in small balls,dip in egg and then in bread crumbs.
Take a pan and pre-heat it.
Press the balls into the shape of flat cutlets.

Fry it.
Serve it hot.

Sphagetti and Meat balls

Loved it and one of the best!
Tried it today and must say it exceeded my expectation.

Ingredients:

Minced Chicken
Oregano
Olive Oil
Parsley
Parmesan cheese
Egg
Bread Crumbs

Basil
Chilly Flakes
Grounded Pepper
Roasted Garlic

Salt and sugar to taste
Tomatoes finely chopped
Garlic mashed
Pasta Sauce

Spaghetti.

Procedure:

Mix the minced meat with oregano,cheese,chilly flakes,salt, pepper,bread crumbs,egg into a nice paste.

Make them into smaller balls.

Take a pan, add olive oil, garlic and get the meat balls fried.

Once fried, take them out in a plate.

In a pan, add olive oil, tomatoes chopped, garlic mashed,sugar,salt,chilly flakes, Pasta sauce.
Once cooked, add the meat balls.

Cook it till the meat balls is done.

Parboil spaghetti and get it strained.

Serve it hot and enjoy it.

Carrot/Spice cake

I got introduced to this cake by a colleague of mine in Sun Microsystems. Her mom was an excellent cook.
Later, I baked it with my friend Roopa Joseph and it turned out to be wonders.
Its very easy and tastes very different because of the spices that you add into it.

So here it goes:

Ingredients:
Eggs: 3
Oil/Ghee-1/2 Cup
All Purpose Flour(Maida)-1 cup
Powdered Sugar/Brown Sugar-1 cup
Baking Powder-1/2 Spoon
Rose/Vanilla Essence
Grated Carrot
Nutmeg, Cinnamon stick,Cardamom- Powder
Cherries/Almonds/Pistachio-Add nuts of your choice


Firstly whisk the egg till it gets fluffy. Add sugar to it and mix it.

Sieve maida with baking powder so that the powder gets mixed evenly.
Add this mixture to the egg-sugar mix and add oil.
Make sure that all of the above added ingredients form a paste.

To this add, essence, grated carrot,Nutmeg,Cardamom,Cinnamon powder. Add salt to taste.
Top it with nuts.

One of the quintessential thing to note is to mix the above mix with a spatula in one direction. If you have started it clockwise make sure you maintain it till the end.

Take a container, grease it and dust it with flour.
Pour the above mix.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees for 15 minutes.
Place the container for one hour.
Cake is done if you pierce a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

Chicken Biryani

Yes,my all time favourite!
I love chicken biryani and I have mastered the art of biryani making.
Now here is my "Mint-Coriander" Biryani!

Ingredients:
Chicken- 1 kg
Coriander leaves- 1 bunch
Green Chilly- depends on spice level
Mint leaves- depends how minty you want the biryani to be
Whole of all garam masala*


black & white peppercorns
cloves
malabar leaves
mace blades
black & white cumin seeds
cinnamon
black, brown & green cardamom pods
nutmeg
star anise
coriander seeds

Basamati Rice- 4 cups
Coconut milk
Tomatoes -3
Oil/Ghee
Onion- 5 to 6
Curd- to marinate chicken
Lemon
Kasuri Methi
Ginger Garlic paste
Red Chilly Powder.

Procedure:
Take a thick bottom pan, in a low flame fry all of the whole garam masala till it leaves aroma.
Blend it in to a fine powder.

Make incision into the chicken pieces.
Marinate chicken with curd, garam masala powder,red chilly powder,garlic, ginger paste and kasuri methi.
Keep this over night in the refrigerator.

Take Basamati rice and wash it. After draining the water, spread it on a plate. Make sure that all the water has evaporated from the rice and it is dry.
Now in a pan, take ghee/oil, add bay leaf,cardamom,clove and fry it.
Add the rice and fry it in low flame. Make sure the rice is fried properly and keep it aside.

Blend coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chilly into a thicker paste.

In pressure cooker, pour oil. Add ginger garlic paste, onion finely chopped,tomatoes. Once onion turn golden brown add the marinated chicken, mint/coriander paste, salt to taste and let the chicken cook in the mix.
Dont add water as the marinated chicken will leave water.

Once chicken is cooked add the fried rice.
For 1 cup of rice we have to add 1 1/2 cup of coconut milk.
Squeeze lemon.
Pressure cook till 2 whistles.

Turn of the flame and let the rice and chicken cook.

Adding oil,spice level depends on individual taste.

:)Maggie Masala Mix

Maggie has always been a savior! Period!

What will you do extra bit to make it relishing ? Here is a recipe which I have tried, tested ,tweaked..and must say it was a bit diffferent!

Ingredients:

Maggie Noodles which are smashed in smaller equi strands.
Maggie Masala
Garam Masala Powder
Tomato
Ginger Garlic Paste
Oil (Butter)
Beans
Cauliflower
Peas
Onions.
Green Chilly (Finely chopped)
Lemon(Optional)
Coconut shredded (Optional)
Cilantro
Egg beaten (Optional)

Par boil maggie noodles and drain the water.

In a pan, take butter (oil), add ginger garlic paste, Green Chilly, vegetables which are finely chopped and stir the mixture.
Add salt to taste, dash of lemon (Optional), Maggie Masala,Garam Masala powder.
When the vegetables are done, add the par boiled noodle strands and stir it till done.
Make sure that the mix is not soggy.

Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot.
You can also add tomato sauce and whipped egg if needed.

Lemon Chicken

I love this for the lemon flavour, very easy to make!

Chicken- Boneless-1/2 Kg
Lemon Juice-1 cup (depends on the taste,I like it to be lemony)
Green chilly-3 (chopped finely)
Lemon rind (optional)
Corn Flour
Pepper Powder
Onion-Cut Finely
Ginger Garlic paste
Salt
Sugar
Oil

Take a pan, add oil.
Once oil gets heated add onion,green chilly,Ginger Garlic paste and fry well till onion becomes golden brown.
Add chicken,lemon juice,salt,a pinch of sugar and let the chicken cook. Lemon rind can also be added to give the chicken lemony flavor.
Do not add lots of water, once salt is added to the mixture chicken leaves water.
Keep stirring.

Take a bowl and mix corn flour with water,make sure there are no lumps.
Once chicken is cooked, simmer the flame and add the corn flour water.
Corn flour is used to maintain consistency, it soaks up additional water and gives the chicken glazy look.
Add pepper,coriander leaves and mix evenly.

Serve hot!

Fish Fry-Goan Style

Fish is one of the staple food of all inhabitants settled in the coastal belt,I am not an exception.
I love fish and the below mentioned Fish Fry is very easy to make and must say yumm!

Ingredients

Sea fish which is cleaned and cut well.
Mackarels,Prawns,Pomfret,Seer fish are the ones which are my favourites.

Tamarind Pulp
Garlic-Mashed
Red Chilly Powder
Turmeric Powder
Salt
Rava/ Fine Rice Powder
Oil

Fish has to be cleaned well and water has to be drained out.
Take above mentioned ingredients and mix it well to form a paste. Make sure to maintain the right consistency  of the paste. Neither too lumpy or too watery.
Apply the mix to the fish nicely and let it marinate for a while. Refrigerating this for a hour or so will make the fish to  absorb the mixture.
Make sure that the paste is evenly spread else it will form into lumps and fish wont be fried crisply.

Take rava/rice powder and dip the fish in it so that it is covered.
Pan has to be pre-heated, add two spoon of oil and smear it over the pan.
Make sure the flame is in medium and fry the fish properly with oil.
Adding oil depends upon how health conscious you are, I usually like my fish to be crispy/roasted.

Tapioca Khichdi (Sabudana Khichdi)

Tapioca Khichdi is a Konkani/Maharastrian dish which is usually prepared during days of fasting. The below mentioned quantity will serve two people

Ingredients

Tapioca/sabudana -1 cup
Mustard Seed
Jeera
Oil
Ground Nut- Roasted and Powdered
Green Chilly- 3
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves (garnishing)
Salt
Sugar-1 spoon
Turmeric Powder

Wash tapioca and drain the water, this has to be kept for atleast 8 hours.

Take a pan, add mustard.
Wait till it splutters.
Add Green Chilly sliced,Curry leaves, Jeera,Turmeric powder.
After a while add tapioca and keep stirring so that it does not touch the base.
Add Salt, Sugar as per taste.
Garnish it with ground nut and coriander leaves.

Note:The flame has to be kept in medium when you are cooking and it should be continuously stirred after adding tapioca.It will be good to use a non-stick pan.

Cold Cofee !

Yes, this is my all time favorite drink:) you can whip it in a jiffy with out much of an effort.

Ingredient:

Cold Milk- 1 cup
Sugar- 2 Spoon
Vanilla Ice cream-1 /2 scoop.
Nescafe/ Bru Coffee Powder- 1 spoon (depends on the taste)

Have all the above mentioned ingredients poured in a blender and whip it till it is evenly mixed.Serve it with a scoop of ice-cream to top it.