Hyderabadi Murg Dum Biriyani...!!!

                                   

           

Biriyani..!!! The single word is enough to bring water in the mouth of all the foodlovers,especiallly the Indians.Who doesnt love this aromatic, delicate, delicious, rich ,one pot rice preparation...????
But Before I start to write the recipe I should describe a little about the dish.
Biriyani,Biriani,buriyani,beryani or beriani  is a set of rice-based foods made with spices,rice (usually basmati), and Chicken/Mutton/Fish/Eggs or Vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word 'beryā(n)', which means "fried" or "roasted".Biriyani was invented in the kitchen of Mughal Emperors. Lahore,Kashmir,Kolkata,Lucknow,Hyderabas and Delhi/Agra are the main centres of biryani cuisine.There are two versions of Biriyani.They are,1.Kachha(raw) and 2.Pakki(cooked).

Before I came to Mumbai,I never even thought to prepare this at home as in Kolkata one can have delicious Biriyani everywhere leaving apart the famous restaurants like Rahmania or Ali baba. But in Mumbai the preparation of Biriyani is bit different (Tawa Biriyani) and somehow never able to satisfy our taste buds which is been seasoned with the Dum Biriyani .


This was the first time I prepared Biriyani at my home in a simple easier way,but I should mention it was extra-ordinarily good .It made us so happy that atleast it will give a rest of our restaurant hopping habits in weekends in search of Biriyani,(LOL).

Here is the Recipe:

Ingredients:

•  Chicken:500gm(washed and drained completely)
• 1 tsp saffron
• 1/2 cup luke warm milk
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsps ghee + 5 tbsps oil
• For Marination:
• 3/4 cup  of thick unsweetened yogurt
• 1 medium chopped Onion
• 1 tbsps Ginger paste
• 1tbsp Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp red chilli pwd (adjust)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
• 3/4 tbsp coriander pwd
•  Lemon Juice(1-2 tbsp)
•  Salt(as per taste)
• For Biriyani Masala(make powder):
• 8 cloves
• 1″ cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom
• 3/4 tsp Shah Jeera(Caraway seed)
• 12 Pepper corns
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1/2 of a whole Nutmeg(Jaiphal)
• 4-5 pieces of Mace(javitri)
• Dry red chilli(optonal).
• To Cook The Rice:
• 3 Cups of long grain very good quality basmati rice.
• 6 cloves
• 3 cardamoms
• 1″ cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 1/2 tbsps salt
• water
• Few More Ingredients:
• 4 hard boiled Eggs
• 2 Large Potato(halves)
• 1tsp Biriyani Masala
• Salt
 
 

Procedure:

• Marinate chicken with the ingredients called for ‘marination’ along with biryani masala powder.
• Fry the potatoes and the hard boiled eggs in a pan with little oil and pinch of salt and mix well with 1 tsp of biriyani masala.You could avoid the use of biriyani masala in patato and eggs.
• Keep aside for 4 hrs or a min of 1 1/2 hrs.
• .Meanwhile,cook basmati rice in lots of water along with bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom,  oil, salt till its half cooked.
• Strain the water and spread the rice on a large wide plate.
• Allow to cool under the fan.
• Add the saffron to the  1 cup of  luke warm milk and combine well.Keep it aside.
• Take a wide deep vessel to prepare the biryani. Add 3 tbsps oil, add the marinated chicken and spread out over the vessel. Cook on high for 2 mts. Add a tbsp of oil over the chicken pieces. Reduce flame.
• Add one tsp of ghee also over the chicken.
• Spread half of the rice over the chicken layer, and addthe fried potatoes,then pour half a tbsp of ghee all over the rice.
• Now pour about one fourth cup of saffron milk over the rice.
• Over this layer, spread the remaining rice. Again pour half a tbsp of ghee all over.
• Now and pour remaining saffron milk over the rice.
• Close the vessel with a tight lid or keep a heavy weight to close the lid.
• If you are using the pressure cooker then close the cooker but don't put the whistle and let it cook for 25 mins on low-medium flame and after that, let it stand on low heat for 10 minutes and then switch off the flame.
• Don't open the lid before serving.
• Now your hyderabadi Dum Murg Biriyani is ready,serve it with raita or curry of your choice.
• I should mention that in this whole process I just avoid the use of coriander leaves and mint leaves,if you want you should use them also.

 

                                                   Enjoy Your Food..!!



 










 

Mutton Vindaloo With Sandeep's Recipe..!!!

                                               
                   

                                             Mutton Vindaloo...!!!!

Vindaloo is an Indian Curry dish popular in the region of Goa. It is the Cuisine of the Mumbai-based East-Indians.But  globally it is famous as an Anglo-Indian preparation.

The name Vindaloo is derived from the Portuguese dish "Carne de Vinha d' Alhos", which is a dish of meat, usually pork, with red wine and garlic The Portuguese dish was modified by the substitution of vinegar (usually palm vinegar) for the red wine and the addition of red Kashmiri chillies with additional spices to evolve into Vindaloo.Alternative terms are vindalho or vindallo,[Source: Wikipedia].

In my family,I prepare mutton only for my hubby and rarely my daughter eats that. And this time I thought to prepare this when I saw a tempting pork vindaloo preparation in one of my favorite blogs.With very little variation using mutton I prepared this and nevertheless to tell that it turned out really good and satisfied my hubby.

Here is the recipe:




Ingredients:

• Mutton: 1kg
• Potato:2 medium(large diced,you can avoid the potato also)
• Dried Kashmiri red chilli:10-12( though kashmiri chillies are not hot usually and mainly used for color but still you can reduce the amount)
• Mustard Seeds:1 1/2 Tbsp
• Cumin Seeds:1 tsp
• Black Pepper:1 table spoon
• Vinegar:1 cup
• Onions: 2 large(finely chopped)
• Garlic Cloves:8 Cloves (chopped fine)
• 1 inch Ginger:Make paste
• Cinnamon Stick:1
• Green Cardamon:3
• Cloves:6
• Mustard Oil:1/2 cup
• Salt:to taste
• Sugar: A pinch
• Hot Boiling water:3-4 cups

 

 

Preparation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Soak the kashmiri chillies in 1 cup of warm vinegar for 30 minutes.
• Fry the diced potatoes in oil with salt and turmeric till golden yellow in color and keep them aside.
• Then in a blender add the vinegar soaked kashmiri chillies,the rest of the vinegar,the mustard seeds,cumin seeds and the black pepper and make a very smooth paste.
• Now in a deep bottom vessel/kadhai,which would be used to cook, add the washed cleaned mutton pieces,along with the ground paste and the mustard oil and marinate it for 2 hours.
• Now add onion,garlic,ginger ,cinnamon,cloves and cardamon and mix well.
• Then place the kadhai on a high heat and then braise the mutton for 10 minutes stirring constantly.
• Now add the fried diced potatoes and add the water and then bring it to boil.
• Then add salt to taste,sugar and let it simmer for 1 hr.
• Add boiling water little by little as per the consistency and the meat is ready when the oil from the fat surfaces comes out and you are able to cut through the fat pieces smoothly.
• Serve it with steaming hot rice or roti /paratha or naan.

 

 

                                                        Enjoy Your Food..!!!

 

 

 

 

Palak Paneer...Cottage Cheese cubes prepared in Spinach gravy...!!!

                        Palak Paneer..Cottage Cheese Cubes Prepared In Spinach Gravy...

Well,Palak Paneer is an Indian -Pakistani dish consisting of spinach and paneer in a thick curry sauce based on a pureed spinach.It's a very popular vegetarian dish.
Palak Paneer is mainly served with roti,naan,or boiled rice.It  is very nutritious with all the goodness of spinach and paneer.

I like to enjoy palak paneer  in roadside punjabi dhabas,they specliaze in this dish I must say.So many times,I tried to bring the exact taste like them in my homemade palak panner but it failed.But this time I prepared it with a little twist and my experinment was super successful and made us completely satisfied.

Unlike the usual recipes,I didnt use tomatoes,ginger paste and used some more garlic,black salt,coriander leaves paste and lemon juice.Garlic and the black salt gave it a very special flavour and lemon juice I added for the easy digestion .
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Panner(Cottage Cheese):200 gms(cut in cubes)
• Spinach Leaves: (Boiled and Pureed)2 cups
• Coriander leaves: (Fresh and Pureed) 1 big table spoon
• Garlic Cloves:15-20(very finely chopped)
• Onion:2 medium(very thin sliced/otherwise make a smooth paste)
• White Oil:2-3 table spoon
• Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
• Green Chillis:4-5(finely chopped)
• Unsweetened Yoghurt:1 cup
• Coriander Powder:1 Big tablespoon
• Turmeric Powder:1/2 tsp
• Black Salt:1/4 th tsp
• Salt: To taste
• Juice of half of a lemon
• Fresh Cream 2 table spoon.

Process:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• At first boil the fresh spinach leaves in water with little salt.Drain the water and immediate mae a smooth paste.Keep it aside.
• Cut the paneer in small cubes.Soak them in warm water for 15-20 minutes with little salt.
• Now take thick bottomed vessel and add 2-3 table spoon of oil.
• Add the cumin seeds and when they start to splutter add the chopped garlic
• Fry them until brown.
• Then add the sliced onion and in medium flame fry them for 4-5 minutes until they become traslucent.
• Then beat the yoghurt with little water and add into it.
• Add cumin powder,turmeric powder,black salt ,salt to taste accordingly.
• Mix well and add the spinach paste ans the coriander leaves paste.
• Mix again very well and cook for few minutes in low fame.
• Then add the soaked paneer .
• Mix up well and bring it to one boil.
• Add the fresh heavy cream and mix well.
• Now the palak paneer is ready.
• At last roll a lemon very well and cut it into two halves,discard the seeds and add the lemon juice squeezing half of it.
• Adding lemon juice to the leafy vegetables helps easy diegstion.
• Now serve it with roti ,paratha or any rice of your choice.

 

                                                 Enjoy Your Food...!!!

Tangy Fish And Tomato Curry..!! Masoor Tenga..!!!

Tangy Fish Curry is one of the Signature dishes of Assam and before I have tried this I didn’t have any idea about Assamese Cuisine. I learned the basic recipe from one of my Assamese Friend and she told that it is one of their very eminent fish preparations. The tangy taste of this dish comes from the use of tomatoes. 
 But the recipe I am going to share today, has a little twist. I made it slightly in a Bengali way. 
So, here it is:






Ingredients:

• Rohu Fish/Katla Fish:6-8 pieces
• Tomatoes(red/ripe): 2 chopped
• Tamarind Pulp: 1/2 tsp ( dissolved in water)
• Potato: 2 midium(cut in wedges)
• Onion: 1 large(thine sliced)
• Fenugreek (methi):1/4 tsp
• Mustard Seeds:1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder:1 tsp
• Salt and Sugar:As per Taste
• Green Chilli:2-4(optional)
• Kashmiri Mirch Powder:1 tsp(as per taste)
• Mustard Oil: 4 tbsp
• Coriander Leaves: For Garnishing.

  

Method:

• Marinate the fish with little turmeric powder and salt for 10 minutes.
• Shallow fry them in mustard oil till golden brown in color and keep them aside.
• Now heat 2tbsp of fresh oil in the pan and add methi for tempering.
• When the strong aroma of the methi or the fenugreek comes out discard them from the pan and temper with mustard seeds.
•  When the mustard seeds start to splutter add the onions and fry then until translucent.
• Then add the chopped tomatoes.
• Cook untill the tomatoes become soft and pulpy. 
• Add turmeric powder and kashmiri mirch powder
• Now add the potatoes, Green chillies, Chopped coriander leaves. Mix them well.
• Add 2-3 cups of water with the dissolved tamarind pulp.
• Adjust seasoning and add 1/2 tsp of sugar at this point of cooking,mix.
• .Cover cook until the potatoes become soft and you will get a thick consistency.
• Then add the fish pieces.
• Cover and cook for more 6-8 mins until the fishes become tender and well coated with the gravy.
• Turn off the heat and serve with steamimg hot rice.
• It taste aweosme and specially enjoyable by those who love the tangy twist.
  
   

                                                Enjoy your food.....!!!!

Chingri Chachchori..Prawns cooked in mustard and poppy seed paste with Potato...!!!

Chingri Chachchori...Prawns & Potato Cooked in Mustard and Poppy Seed Paste...A Complete Easy Bong Delicacy...!!!

Prawns in my fridge,always make me happy whenerver on a lazy day, I just cant decide what to prepare in a very easy and simple way without much effort.And for us, the bengali people,the poppy seed paste is a superhit ingedient all the time.Even we love to eat it raw ,with steaming hot rice.
However,this chingri chachchori is just a simple and easy yet delicious  recipe which I have learned from Maa.Moreover,with limited amount of prawns a satisfactory amount of gravy can be prepared in this way.

Here is the process of making my Prawn and Potato Curry with Poppy Seed and Mustard seed paste.



Ingredients:

 

• Prawns: 250 gm(medium sized,deveined,deshelled,peeled,washed) 
• Onions: 1 large(thinely sliced)
• Potato: 1 large(cut into wedges)
• Poppy seed paste: 2 tbsp(soak them in little warm water and using a mixer grinder make a fine and smooth paste).
• Mustard Seed paste: 2 tsp( mix the paste in 2 tbsp of water to avoid its bitterness)
• Turmeric Powder:1 tsp
• Chilli Powder:1 tsp(or as per choice)
• Salt:Accoridng to taste
• Green Chilli:2-4 nos(or as per your choice)
• Mustard Oil:4 tbsp
• Water:1/2 to 1 cup

Process:

• At first clean the prawns properly and devein,deshell & peel it.You may keep their head and tail portions.
• Marinate them with little salt and turmeric powder for few minutes.
• Heat 2-3 tbsp of mustard oil in the pan add the green chilli and then add the sliced onions.
• Saute the onions for few minutes until transluscent but dont burn them.
• Then add the potato wedges with the onion and also add little turmeric powder and salt.
• Saute them slightly for few minutes and then add the marinated prawns.
• On medium flame saute the prawns until they turn nice golden in colour.
• Then add the poppy seed paste and nicely mix it with potato and prawns.
• Now after 2-3 minutes add the mustard paste and mix well.
• Add little chilli powder.
• Now add 1/2 cup of water.
• Cover it and cook until the potatoes become soft and prawns are done.
• Increase the flame little and make a thick nice curry.
• Turn off the flame and sprinkle one tbsp of raw mustard oil on it.
• Serve with steaming hot rice garnished with coriander leaves and green chilli.

                                                          Enjoy Your Food..!!

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes...!!

   

When you love someone, it's something. When someone loves you, it's another thing. When you love the person who loves you back, it's everything.Yes,it's the time to cheer ...it's the time to say I love you...each and every time these three words could give someone an another strength ..Yes,I believe so.Though personally I think that,if you really love someone there is no need of such celebrations.But still sometimes we need to indulge ourselves, need to cheer some moments...because in our usual busy life,sometimes we really become exhausted..frustrated and during that time some special occasions help us to feel amazing from inside.


It gives me an another different pleasure when I used to do something different for Him specially on a very special occasion.So,this year ,since last few days I was thinking ,what should I prepare special,but as I am phyiscally not well due to viral fever I didnt want to go for something very difficult preparation.Then I decided nothing would be better than a cake to celebrate your special moments.And in valentine's day Red Velvet Cake will be perfect when I will serve it to my Valentine with a bunch of red roses.

These Red Velvet Cup cakes are really vetvety,soft like sponge,wonderful in taste and easy to make.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour:2/3 cup
• Granulated Sugar:2/3cup                     
• Baking Powder:1 tsp
• Butter:50 gm
• Vanilla essence:1 tsp
• Cocoa Powder:1 tbsp
• Salt:1/4 tsp
• Egg:1
• Vinegar:1tsp
• Red colour:1 tsp
• Butter milk:4 tbsp
• Readymade Cream for Icing

Process:

• Keep the butter at room temperature and at first beat it on low speed with a hand mixer.With out the hand mixer you could also beat it.
• Mix the butter milk and the red colour together and mix well and keep aside.
• Add sugar with the butter and beat them again.
• Now add the egg at a time with it and beat again in low speed until it become absolutely smooth and lump free and creamy.
• Add the vanilla essence and beat again.
• Keep it aside.
• Take an another bowl and mix the flour, baking soda,cocoa powder and salt and mix.
• Now add the half of the dry ingredients directly on the previous batter of butter,sugar,egg and vanilla essence and beat them at medium speed for 2-4 minutes.
• Then add the mixture of the butter milk and the color and beat it for 1 min.
• Now add the rest of the dry ingredients into it and at medium speed beat iy for anoter 3 minutes.
• Now add vinegar to it and mix for one minute.
• A creamy,nice ,smooth red batter is now  ready.
• Now take the cupcake moulds or baking tray.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degree celcius for only 5 minutes.
• Grease your cup cake moulds with little butter.
• Pour the cake batter into the moulds .
• Bake it only for 10-13 minutes.
• Now if a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean then it's ready.
• The Read velvety Cup cakes are ready.
• Now take the icing cream and beat it very well for 2 minutes until frothy for 3 mintues at medium speed.
• Decorate your cupcakes with the vanilla icing in your own way.
• Serve and enjoy your day.

•                                                                                          Enjoy Your Food...!