Chicken Biryani - No-nonsense meal

I have a friend who believes that Biryani can only be Mutton Biryani. He believes that Chicken Biryani or Vegetarian Biryani are just by-products. Anyways as I don't eat Mutton, when I say Biryani it is always Chicken Biryani.

Recipe Courtesy : Kunal


Ingredients:
1. 6 Drumsticks ( You can make it with Chicken breasts or Thighs but it tastes best with drumsticks).
2 Medium Sized Onions thinly sliced.
2 Medium Sized Tomatoes diced.
1 Cup of finely chopped coriander.
1/2 Cup of finely chopped mint.
1 tablespoon of MDH Bombay Biryani Masala ( Or any other masala if you like)
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger.
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic.
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder.
2 teaspoon of salt.
1/2 cup Yogurt.
2 cups of Basmati Rice.
1 teaspoon Shaha-Jeera.
1 Cinnamon stick.
2 Masala Cardamoms.
4 Green Cardamoms.
Oil for Biryani
1 teaspoon of Ghee ( Clarified butter) for rice.
1/2 cup of Cashew nuts

How to make-
Note : This recipe requires you to cook it on medium flame all the time

1.Clean chicken and marinate in the mixture of Yogurt, turmeric powder, ginger,garlic, 1/2 tablespoon of MDH masala and salt (to taste) for 30-45 minutes.
2. Soak basmati rice in water for 10-15 mins.
3. Heat to the pan, add shaha-jeera, Cinnamon and Cardamoms to that. Add soaked rice and roast for a while.
4. Add 3 cups of water to the rice and cook it just enough ( Cook 70%. Rest 30% would be cooked along with chicken)
5. Add oil in the heavy bottom pan. Add sliced onions and fry till light brown. Take care not to burn it. Burnt onion is not a nice thing to smell in your kitchen :-)
6. Remove from oil and keep it on a kitchen towel to soak the extra oil.
7. Fry Cashews in the same oil, just enough to make them golden in color.
Set aside on the kitchen towels along with onions.
8. In the same oil add the marinated chicken. Do not add all the marinate at this point. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
9. Add the chopped tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
10. Add the chopped coriander. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
11. Add the chopped mint. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
12. At this point you would have some gravy in the pan.
13. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of MDH masala to the chicken. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
14. Remove some gravy ( 1/2 cup approximately) from the chicken and keep aside.
15. Layer the 70% cooked rice on the chicken.
16. Spread the gravy ( kept aside in step 14) over the rice.
17. Spread the fried onions and Cashews on the rice.
18. If you like your biryani spicy you can add chopped chilies at this point and layer them on the rice.
19. Cover tight and cook on lowest flame/heat for 15 minutes.
20. Serve it with Raita or just plain yogurt. Enjoy the succulent taste!!!

Dadape Pohe (दडपे पोहे) - Perfect snack for any day.

I always remember coming back from school when I think of दडपे पोहे (daDape Pohe). My mom would be waiting with something yummy everyday for 5 o' clock snack. It used to be a surprise everyday with homely delicious snacks like Chiwada(चिवडा), Bhadang, Bhel, Upama etc. My favorite would always be daDape pohe (दडपे पोहे).


After many years, today I craved for it. It was a lazy Friday evening and I decided to make daDape Pohe.

Ingredients:
2 Cups of Thin Pohe
1 Medium onion finely chopped.
1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut
1/2 cup Peanuts ( it's never enough really!!)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime juice ( Freshly squeezed is always better).
Salt to taste
Red chilly powder to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
a pinch of Asafetida ( Hing)
1 teaspoon of oil.

How to make-
1. Roast pohe in a pan on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. This is just to add a little crunch to them. Keep seperate.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds,turmeric powder, asafetida in the same orde r. Add peanuts and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Cool this tempering for a while and add to the pohe. Mix it with hands crushing it softly in between. Add sugar, salt and red chilly powder as per the taste.
4. Add chopped onion, coconut and lime juice and mix again ( preferably with hands. Believe me it tastes better!! )
5. Serve it with a little yogurt or shev!! Enjoy!!

Asian Style Roasted Asparagus

Preparation time - 15-20 minutes.
Serving - 2 adults.

Ingredients:

1 Bunch of fresh Asparagus.

1 Medium size Red-Onion thinly chopped.

10 cloves of garlic thinly sliced.

1 spoon of Soy Sauce.

1 spoon of Hot Sauce

Salt and Pepper.

1/2 Spoon of olive oil.

1/2 Spoon of Parmesan cheese.

Procedure:

Wash and Cut the Asparagus into 2 inch long pieces exclding the hard root part.

Heat olive oil in the Wok.

Add sliced onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute until they are just tender.

Add Asparagus, Soy Sauce and hot sauce along with salt and pepper.

Tranfer it into the over safe pan.

Preheat the oven for 250 degrees.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the Asparagus shinks a little and become crisp. (The bake time varies from oven to oven).

Serve hot with a spinkle of Parmesan cheese.

A quick sweet treat!!

I love desserts. I try to find different ways of making it interesting. One of my favorite and quick desserts is Fillo dough chocolate cups. Easy to make especially when you are entertaining a big group and don't want to spend much time in making dessert.

Ingredients:

6 Fillo sheets.

1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips.

1 Teaspoon Orange Zest.

Little bit of Vanilla essence.

1 Cup shredded Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate.

Whipped cream.

1 Teaspoon of unsalted butter.

Procedure:

Arrange Fillo sheets one over the other applying butter after every layer. It is very important to keep the fillo sheets moist as they are very easy to break.

Cut 6 equal portion of the sheet stack. Arrange each portion in a mini-muffin pan making small cups ouf of the sheets.

Melt together chocolate, orange zest and vanilla over a double boiler. Set to cool.

Bake the fillo cups at 350 Degrees in oven till they are golden brown. It would just take 5-10 minutes.

Once the filo cups are cool, fill in the cups with chocolate filling.

Decorate with Whipped cream and semi sweet chocolate chips.

Grilled Veggie Panini

I love sandwiches and I love Italian food. So according to transitive property of equality I love Italian - Sandwiches...aka Paninis.

Essentially Panini is nothing but nice rustic bread, fresh pesto, olive oil, mozzarella cheese and any filling you want. It could be grilled chicken, salmon or salami. I, being a veggie lover would stick to grilled Veggie Panini.


Pesto:

1/4 Cup of olive oil.

1 Cup of fresh basil.

1/2 Cup of grated parmesan reggiano cheese.

1 Teaspoon of black pepper.

Salt to taste.

4-5 Garlic Cloves.

Grind all the ingredients to make smooth and creamy pesto.

Ingredients:

1 focaccia or Sourdough roll.

2 large Onions cut in rings.

1 Zucchini cut in thin strips.

1 Red bell Pepper. Cut in long strips.

1 Roll of fresh mozzarella cheese in water.Cut in thin slices.

1/2 Teaspoon of dried oregano.

1/2 Teaspoon of dried Basil.

1/2 Teaspoon of dried Parsley.

1/2 Teaspoon of black pepper.

Salt to taste.

Store bought salad mix.

Some sprouts (See if you get Alfalfa sprouts).

Procedure:

Slice the bread in half.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and apply the mixture on cut veggies for couple of minutes.

Heat the pan on high heat. Spray on the non-stick spray.

Sizzle the veggies till you see grill marks on them.

Apply pesto on both the slices inside.

Set the grilled veggies on the sandwich.

Set couple of slices of mozzarella cheese on the veggies.

Set a bed of sprouts on the cheese layer.

Close the sandwich and grill it for 2 mins. You can use the sandwich maker to do the same. Do not lock if you are using sandwich maker. You can gently press it against the sandwiches.

Grill it till you see cheese oozing out of it.

Tastes great with side salad of radish and greens.

Bharali Vangi ...aka Stuffed Brinjal

I grew up in a small town on the banks of river Krishna in Maharashtra. We used to buy fresh vegetables everyday from farmers those days. There were no refrigerators, no preservatives. It was really all natural.

I get the same feeling when I go to Farmers' market every Sunday. This Sunday I bought nice tiny green brinjals. Decided to make Bharali Vangi maharashtra special!!.


Preparation time : 20 minutes.
Serves 4 adults.

Ingredients:

5-6 Small size brinjals.

1-2 Small potatoes.

1 Cup of freshly grated coconut.

2 Large Onions finesly chopped.

1 Cup Coriander chopped.

3 Tablespoons of Cumin powder.

3 Tablespoons of Coriander powder.

2 Tablespoons of red chilly powder.

1 Heap spoon of tamarind juice

1/4 Cup Jaggary

2 Tablespoons of garam masala.

2 Tablespoons of Ginger Garlic paste.

3 Tablespoons of Goda Masala.

Salt to taste.

Curry leaves

2-3 Red chilies.

1 Teaspoon of oil.

1 Teaspoon of musturd.

1 Teaspoon of cumin.

1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder.

Procedure:

Cut 4 slits per brinjal and soak them in water for 10 mins.

Cut Potatoes in small cubes and soak in the water for 10 mins.

Combine coconut,onions, ginger garlic paste, and all the dry ingredients except musturd and cumin.

Add tamarind to the mixture.

Stuff brijals with the above mixture.

Heat oil in the pan.

Add musturd, cumin, turmeric powder and red chilies.

Add stuffed brijals and potatoes once it is hot.

Close and let it cook for 1 minute.

Add jaggary alone with the rest of the mixture, cover the brijals and cook for 5-6 mins on medium heat.

Add salt to taste.

Tastes best with Jawar Roti.

Sol Kadhi....Home's calling....

Sol Kadhi is specialty of Konkan.Simple but exotic. Kokam (Garcinia indica) is basically a fruit in plum family with pretty bitter juice. This juice is used by Ayurveda as an antacid. The dried shell of the fruit is used in flavoring curries in Maharashtrian cooking. It is similar to how south Indian cuisine uses tamarind for little sour taste. You can get the Kokam extract as well as the dried shell in Indian markets. Here in US though I haven't seen it in many stores. Some of the organic stores have it as kokam Juice. For detailed information about 'how it's made'

Preparation time - 5 minutes.
Serving - 2 adults.

Ingredients:

1 cup Kokam Juice (Without Sugar).

2 cans of Coconut milk (You can opt to make coconut milk from grated coconut; but why bother?

6 cloves of Garlic.

4 Green Chilies.

salt to taste .

Coriander for garnishing.

Procedure:

Mix coconut milk with kokam juice. It should get the baby pink color. Adjust kokam to get to that color.

Grind Garlic, green chilies and salt together. It adds a strong garlic kick!!

Mix everything together and garnish with coriander.

Tastes best with Mung-Dal khichadhi!Garnish with coriander leaves.

Happy Holidays!!

Asha's Christmas Wreath Bread inspired me to cook something special for my Christmas party this weekend. Thank you so much Asha!! This is my version of Christmas Wreath Bread; not sweet but savory!!
Ingredients:

1 tube of Ready-bake Pillsbury Pizza Crust.

2 spoons of dried Basil.

2 spoons of dried Oregano.

2 spoons of dried Thyme.

9-10 Garlic cloves finely chopped.

9-10 canned Jalapenos.

2 spoons of fresh black pepper powder.

1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese shredded.

Garlic Salt.

1 spoon of Paprika.

1 spoon of garlic butter ( Optional).

1 Egg.

Procedure:

Mix the ingredients except the pizza crust.

Cut the Pizza crust lengthwise in 3 pieces.

Spread a little garlic butter on each piece.

Spread the mixture prepared in the middle of the each piece.

Fold the pieces to stuff the mixture.

Prepare 3 such pieces and make a braid.

Join the ends and create a circular wreath.

Decorate with Jalapinos or olives at the joints of the braid.

Beat one egg and add a little water to create egg-wash.

Apply the egg wash on the braid. Add little cheese for decoration.

Bake it on a non-stick plate for 350 degrees in a preheated oven till the out side of the wreath becomes golden brown.

Dabeli - A college memory

Dabeli has always been the favorite street food.It reminds me the college days.Cool evenings breeze,a cup of hot coffee, chatpata gossips and a plate full of Dabeli was real treat!!
Here goes the recipe.( For recipes of Mint and Tamarind-Date chutney, refer the old posts on the same blog)

Preparation time : 30 minutes.
Serves 2 adults.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized potatoes.

4 spoons of cumin powder.

5-6 spoons of black salt.

1/3 cup of lemon juice.

2 spoons of red chilly powder.

1 cup of Honey Roasted Peanuts.

Very little oil.

Pav-bhaji bun - 6.

Finely chopped onions.

Finely chopped coriander.

Fine shev.

Salt to taste.

Potato stuffing
Boil potatoes, mash and add cumin powder , black salt, lemon juice and red chilly powder with salt.

Masala Peanuts

In a cup of honey roasted peanuts add 1 spoon of lemon juice, 2 drops of oil ,1 spoon of black salt and 1 spoon of red chilly powder.

Beat it as we beat egg so as to mix oil and lemon juice.3. Add peanuts to this mixture.

The Real Showtime!!

Cut the bun in half. Don't reach till the end.

Apply mint and Tamarind-date chutney on both sides.

Place 1.5 spoon of potato stuffing on it.

Put some chopped onions and coriander.

Put masala peanuts.

Press and close the bun.

Heat little oil in the pan.Heat the bun side wise and keep pressing it well so that the stuffing doesn't come out.

Roll the hot sandwich in the bed of "shev". The shev sticks to the outer side of the bun and adds crispiness to it.

Enjoy!!
Photo courtesy: Anjali Prabhu

A Perfect Sunday Night

Sunday nights are perpetually depressing. The Monday blues start bugging since the afternoon. A good afternoon nap and a soothing dinner is the perfect remedy for it. That's the reason why I decided to make my mother's version of Masoor Dal Usal with extra garlic.

Preparation time - 20-25 minutes.
Serving - 2 adults.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Masoor Dal Soaked for 4-5 hrs.

1 Medium size Red-Onion thinly chopped.

1 Medium size tomato thinly chopped.

1/2 cup of garlic sliced.

2 spoons of Tamarind Paste diluted in water.

1/2 cup of grated coconut.

1 spoon of cumin powder.

1 spoon of mustard seeds.

1 spoon of cumin seeds.

1 spoon of red chilly powder.

1/2 spoon turmeric powder.

1 spoon of Fenugreek seeds.

2-3 curry leaves.

1/2 cup of coriander leaves chopped.

salt to taste .


Procedure:

Heat the oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds,Fenugreek seeds, turmeric and curry leaves.

Add sliced onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Add tomato and then immediately add salt. This helps in making smooth gravy.

Add tamarind, coconut,cumin powder and red chilly powder.

Add soaked dal with 2 cups of water and cook it uncovered. This makes the extra water evaporate.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Tastes best with plain nonfat yogurt, a slice of onion and Roti.

Tandoor Platter - The '007'

Tagged with: VCC:VCC-Q4-2006: FAHC: FAHC-campaign

Preparation time - 15-20 minutes.
Serving - 4 adults.

This reminds me of my childhood. We used to watch cricket matches and movies on TV in India and my mother used to prepare these for us as a snack. We did not have an oven then so she used to prepare it in the hot griddle with little oil. It was a lot of work so I thought of making it simpler and healthier by baking it.

With 'Casino Royale' the Bond fever started again and we watched few old bond movies on TV. It was a "hit" snack during one of those Saturday night TV-movies. The Bond-mood got reflected in arranging the dish.


Ingredients:

1 cube of cottage cheese ( Paneer)

2 medium sized Onions.

10 florets of Cauliflower.

1 Red Capsicum.

1 Green capsicum.

1 Yellow Capsicum.

For Marinate:

2 Cups of Non-fat Yogurt.

2 spoons of turmeric.

2 spoons of red chilly powder.

2 spoons of ginger paste.

2 spoons of garlic paste.

2 spoons of coriander powder.

2 spoons of cumin powder.

1 spoon of salt.

1 spoon of ground pepper.

Procedure:

Mix the ingredients for marinate.

Cut the veggies and cottage cheese in 1 inch squares.

Marinate them overnight (for better taste.) You can also make them immediately after 10 minutes of marination.

Arrange them on skewers.Apply the left out marinate on them before baking.

Preheat the oven for 350 degrees. Arrange the skewers in such a way that you can turn them around.

Take care that the pieces don't get stuck to the grill.

Bake for 15 minutes. ( The bake time varies from oven to oven.Remove the skewers once they start looking brown on the edges).

Serve with Tamarind-date chutney and mint chutney.

Tamarind-date Chutney

Soak 8-10 Tamarind rounds in the water for about 10 minutes. Grind well.

Mix tamarind ( about 2-3 spoons paste) with 1/2 cup of jaggery, 2 spoons of red chilly powder,1 spoon of salt and 8-10 dates.

Boil the mixture until it reduces to half. Adjust red chilly powder and salt as per taste.

Grind it well in to make a smooth paste.

Mint Chutney

Grind 1 cup of mint leaves with 1/2 cup of coriander leaves, 1 inch of thinly sliced ginger,2 spoons of roasted cumins, 2 spoons of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 spoon of salt and 2 green chilies.

Adjust salt and green chillies as per the taste.

Serve cold with hot tikkas.