Hyderabadi Biriyani

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken / 2 lbs chicken,

1 kg Basmati rice / 2 lbs rice

1 cup thinly sliced onions,

2 tsp ginger/garlic paste,

3 tsp chilli powder,

½ tsp turmeric,

100 g cashew nuts,

4 or 5 bay leaves,

4 or 5 cloves,

2 cm long cinnamon sticks,

3 or 4 cardamom pods,

1 or 2 tsp shah jeera,

2 cups mint leaves,

1 cup coriander leaves (cilantro),

½ tsp garam masala powder(shah jeera, elachi, dal chini, lavang),

1 lemon,

1 ½ tsp salt (according to taste),

1 cup ghee (clarified butter),

½ cup yogurt,

1 cup oil,

few strands of saffron,

2 cups finely sliced onions,

Method

Make deep incisions on the chicken flesh - deep enough for spices to get absorbed but making them too deep could render the pieces smaller. Mix turmeric, chilli powder, salt, garlic paste, yogurt, and half-lemon's juice. Thoroughly apply this paste onto the meat flesh and let marinate for an hour. Heat about 100 ml of oil. Roast cumin, cloves, cinnamon, depoded cardamom, bay leaves, ½ spoon cumin, 1 spoon coriander powder, and finally add onions.Wait a couple of minutes to add mint leaves. When onions turn slight brown, add marinated chicken and cook for about 20-30 min. It should NOT be fully cooked at this stage; add garam masala and coconut powder and turn off flame when about ¾ cooked. Gravy should not be much, chicken pieces should look roasted. Meanwhile, while the chicken is still cooking, prepare the biryani rice. Slightly rinse 3 cups of basmati, and add water little less than the volume of the rice itself so that its only half cooked preferably in an electric cooker. Amount of water actually depends on kind of rice at hand and your experience helps to judge it. Also add 1-2 teaspoons of salt to it. Take a few semi-cooked grains of rice and colour them with diluted saffron for garnishing.You will need a utensil of about 12" (300 mm) base. Place about half of semi-cooked rice in it. Next, layer half of chicken on it again topped by a layer of rice (half of the remaining). One more layer of remaining chicken, finally with layer of rest of the rice on top ends the rice-chicken layering stage.Heat oil and deep fry half the sliced onions to golden brown. Similarly fry cashew. Garnish the top layer with these two along with 100 ml ghee, coconut milk, saffron rice grains and coriander. Lid the vessel and try making it airtight (but no pressure should build up). Put on high flame for 5 min before reducing it to low flame. The flame should NOT be at the vessel's centre, but on one side of it. Wait for 2-3 min and turn the vessel to heat other next part on its circumference. This way, keep rotating the vessel every 2-3 min for about 20 min. Every time you turn it, carefully disturb the contents by a shake/jerk so as to avoid settling of ghee at the bottom.Put off the flame and wait for about 10 min before opening. Before serving, mix the medley from the bottom. Serve with boiled egg halves. Enjoy. Rightly and carefully made, its an epicure's paradise.

Bread Jamun

Ingredients :
Brown corners of the bread
Oil
Water
Sugar
Method :Combine sugar & water. Heat until it becomes a thick sugar syrup. Take the brown corners of the bread and make it into smooth dough with enough water.Make small balls from the dough.Heat oil in a deep curved pan & fry few bread balls at a time in medium flame till it becomes crispy & brown. Then put this fried ones in the sugar syrup.Ready to serve.

Paper Dosa

Ingredients : For Paper Dosa
½ cup raw rice
¾ cup urad dal
½ cup rice flour
salt to taste
oil for cooking
For the Sambhar :
1 cup toovar dal
1 chopped tomato
1 chopped onion
2 brinjals, cubed
1 drumstick, cut into 4 pieces
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
salt to taste
For the Sambhar Masala :
6 to 8 red chillies
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp methi
1 tbsp toovar dal
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tsp haldi powder
½ tsp hing
1 tsp oil
For the Tempering :
1 tsp mustard seeds
6 curry leaves
¼ tsp hing
2 tbsp oil
**********************************LETS START COOKING
For the Sambhar Masala : Heat the oil and roast all the ingredients for the sambhar masala in it.Grind to make a fine paste in a mixer using a little water. Keep aside.
For the Paper Dosa: Wash and soak the raw rice and urad dal for 4 hours.Drain, mix the rice flour and grind to make a smooth paste using enough water to get a batter of coating consistency. Heat a non-stick tava and grease it lightly with oil. When hot, pour a ladle full of the batter and spread it using circular motion to make a paper thin dosa. Cook on one side, pouring a little oil along the edges while cooking. When it becomes crispy, make a roll.Repeat the same procedure for the remaining batter.
How to Proceed : Wash and pressure-cook the dal, tomato, onion, brinjals, drumstick and potato with 2 cups of water.Then put the tamarind pulp, sambhar masala, salt and 4 cups of water and allow it to boil.Prepare the tempering by heating the oil and frying the mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing until the mustard seeds crackle. Put this to the sambhar and boil for at least 15 minutes. Ready to serve.

Vegetable Pulav

Ingredients :
¼ kg basmati Rice
25 gms carrots, chopped.
25 gms french beans, chopped.
25 gms cauliflower, chopped.
25 gms peas.
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
2 pieces cinnamon
2 onion, sliced.
¼" piece ginger, crushed
3 flakes garlic, crushed
¼ tbsp chilli powder.
a pinch haldi powder
1 tbsp coriander, chopped
3 green chili
2½ cup water
3 tbsp ghee
salt to taste
***************************************LETS START COOKING
Heat ghee in a cooker, then put the cloves, cardamoms, cinnamom, slicedonions and sauté for sometime.Put the ginger garlic and sauté till it smells nicely.Put the rice and mix for sometime, then put vegetables, chili powder, haldi powder, coriander leaves, green chilies, salt and water.Close the cooker lid and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Take out from heat.Ready to serve.

Kerala Style Chicken Curry

Chicken - 1 kg
Onion(large) - 3 nos(finely sliced)
Tomato - 3 - 4 nos
Pepper powder - 3 tsp
Dried red chillies - 4 - 5 nos
Ginger - A two inch piece
Garlic pods - 10 nos
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - As reqd
Oil - 3 - 4 tbsp
Curry leaves - A few
Coriander powder - 4 tbsp
Tamarind - A lemon sized ball
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves(chopped) - 2 tbsp
***********************************LETS START COOKING**
1)Clean the chicken and cut into small pieces.
2)Marinate the chicken with a paste of dry red chillies, ginger and garlic, lemon juice, salt and turmeric powder. Let it remain for 3 to 4 hours.
3)Heat oil in a pan or a kadai.
4)Fry finely sliced onions till golden brown.
5)Add curry leaves, tomatoes, salt and coriander powder and fry till the tomatoes become pulpy. Keep it aside.
6)Heat 2 tbsp of oil in another kadai.
7)Fry the chicken for 5 minutes on high flame. :- The chicken will cook very quickly.
8)Add the tomato-onion mix and blend everything properly.
9)Add tamarind pulp dissolved in half cup of water and simmer for some time.
10)Add garam masala. Mix lightly.
11)Add coarsely ground peppercorns.
12)Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot.

Chola Battura

Ingredients :

500 grams maida

1½ tsp sugar

20 grams fresh yeast or 2 tsp dry yeast

2 tbsp fresh curds

25 grams ghee or margarine or butter

1 tsp salt
Oil for deep frying

***********************************LETS START COOKING
Sieve the flour properly.Put the sugar and yeast in 1 teacup of warm water and mix till the yeast gets dissolves. Cover and leave for 5 to 7 minutes till the mixture is full of froth.Put this liquid along with the curds, ghee and salt to the flour. Put some warm water to make a soft dough.Knead the dough for 6 to 7 minutes.Keep the dough in a wet cloth for 30 minutes. Knead for 1 minute.Divide the dough into 20 parts. Apply a little ghee and roll out puris.Deep fry the puris in oil.Ready to serve.

Chapati

Ingredients :

Wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ghee
*******************************************LETS START COOKING

Prepare dough by mixing together ½ cup of water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ghee and just enough wheat flour. Knead well. Let the dough be a little softer than that of puri.Keep aside for an hour.Then shape parts of dough into balls bigger than the ones fit for puris.Dust with wheat flour. Roll into chapatis on a rolling board. Smear chapati tawa with ghee. Keep on flame. Roast both sides of chapati on the tawa moderately.Ready to serve.

Poori

Ingredients :

Wheat flour

2 tsp sugaroil or ghee for frying

asafoetida

water

salt to taste
**********************************LETS START COOKING

Prepare dough for puri by adding together 1 tsp table salt, ½ cup of water, sufficient quantity of wheat flour and 1 tsp ghee. Knead well. Shape parts of the dough into balls of desired size.Dust them with wheat flour. Roll into puris on a wooden board.Deep-fry them in hot oil or ghee, in a frying pan.

Spicy Paneer Nan

Ingredients :

For the dough :

500 grams maida

20 grams fresh yeast or 2 tsp dry yeast

25 grams ghee or margarine or butter

2 tbsp fresh curds

1½ tsp sugar

1 tsp salt
For the stuffing :

100 grams paneer,

grated1 onion, chopped

3-4 green chillies, chopped

2 tbsp coriander, chopped

salt to taste
****************************************LETS START COOKING

Sieve the flour properly.Put the sugar and yeast in 1 teacup of warm water and mix till the yeast dissolves. Cover and wait for 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture is full of froth.Put this liquid along with the curds, ghee and salt to the flour and make soft dough by using some more warm water.Knead the dough for at least 6 to 7 minutes.Keep the dough under a wet cloth for 30 minutes. Knead again for 1 minute.Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing properly.Divide the dough into 20 small parts and shape into naans. Put 1 tbsp of the filling in the centre.Seal the edges and roll into oblong shape to any other shape whichever you like.Grease a pressure cooker very lightly with oil. Take out the lid from the pressure cooker and heat it upside down.Take each naan, apply a little water on one side and stick the wet side around the inside of the pressure cooker till brown spots appear. Continue the same procedure for the remaining naans. (One at a time you can apply 3 to 4 naans inside the walls of a pressure cooker).Take out and apply butter.Ready to serve.

Green peas paratha

Ingredients :

For the stuffing :

2 teacups boiled green peas

5 green chillies, finely chopped

1 tsp jeera

1 tbsp ghee

salt to taste
For the dough :

3 teacups whole meal flour

2 tbsp ghee

½ tsp salt
For the parathas : Ghee for frying
***************************************LETS START COOKING

For the stuffing :Mash the boiled green peas. Heat the ghee in a vessel and sauté the jeera. Put the green chillies, sauté for 1 minute and then put the mashed peas and salt. Cook for 1 minute and allow the mixture to cool.
For the dough: Sieve the flour with the salt. Apply ghee to the flour. Use water and make into small parts.Knead properly and divide into 10 to 12 parts.
How to proceed:Take a small part of the dough, flatten a little and put 1 tbsp of the green peas mixture in the center.Cover the mixture by drawing up the edges towards the center.Press on a floured board and roll out into a round as large as saucer. Put the paratha on a hot tava (griddle). Cook for a minute or two and turn once. After 1 minute, put a little ghee around the edges, turn again and fry the other side. When brown patches appear on both sides, the paratha is ready. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the dough.Ready to serve hot

Methi Ki Roti

Ingredients :

2 teacups cauliflower, grated

½ tsp jeera

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

2 green chillies, chopped

½ tsp ginger, chopped

2 tsp oil

salt to taste
***********************************LETS START COOKING

Heat the oil and sauté the jeera until they crackle.Put the onion, green chillies and ginger and sauté for further ½ minute.Put the cauliflower and salt. Sprinkle a little water and cook until three quarters cooked.Put the coriander and stir well.

Aloo ki Poori

Ingredients :

2 teacups maida

2 potatoes, boiled

2 pinches pepper powder

½ teacup milk

2 pinches saffron

2 tbsp melted ghee

½ tsp salt

ghee for deep frying

Method :

Peel and grate the potatoes and make a fine paste.Mix the flour, pepper, ghee and salt properly.Put the saffron in the milk and mix with the flour. If you want, put a little saffron colour in the milk.Knead and dough properly. Leave aside for 1 hour.Roll into small puris and deep fry in hot ghee till they puff up.Ready to serve.