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.