Corn Coriander Paratha

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

To all the blogger readers Happy New year. After rejuvenating holidays this is my first post of the new year. Well I had made these parathas the day Ajoy came from India but its today I finally get to post the recipe. The parathas are very simple easy, using whatever I had in fridge but the end product was very tasty.


Ingredients
2 Cup Corn
2 Cup Wheat Flour
Handful of Coriander Leaves
5 Garlic Cloves
2 Green Chillies
1/2 Lemon
Chaat Masala
Salt to taste
Ghee
Oil

Method

• Add in a spoon of oil in the wheat flour. Add water and knead the soft dough. Keep it aside.
• Microwave the corn for two minutes.
• In a mixie add in garlic, coriander, green chillies, corn, lemon juice and salt and make a smooth paste.
• Make lemon sized dough balls and roll two rotis.
• On one roti, spread the corn-coriander paste, roll over the second roti and close the sides.
• On hot tawa, cook it over medium flame with ghee and oil.
• Sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala on top and serve with pickle and cold curd

Notes
I microwaved the corns instead of boiling them as its quick and easy but if you don't have microwave you can always boil them with water and then let the water drain out.

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Veg Biryaani

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I had been making this for a while now, but its only yesterday that I actually managed to click the photos. So here I am posting this recipe, esp for all my vegetarian friends who are craving for Biryaani.


Ingredients
3 Cup Rice
350g Bhendi
250g Small Eggplants
250g Carrots
2 Raw Bananas
4 Potatoes
4 Onion
3 Tomato
2 Spoon Pudina Leaves
10 Garlic Cloves
2 Spoon Grated Ginger
1/2 Cup Cashews
1/4 Cup Almonds
1 Spoon Dry Coconut
1/2 Spoon Poppy Seeds
2 Dried Red Chillies
1/4 Spoon Saunf
1/4 Spoon Black Pepper
1 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Corriander Seeds
3/4 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1 Spoon Garam Masala
2 Cardamom
2 Cloves
3 Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Milk
A Pinch Of Saffron
Salt to taste
Ghee
Oil

Method

• Pressure cook 2 potatoes
• Soak rice in warm water for half an hour.
• Soak poppy seeds and keep aside
• Fry the whole egg plants, bhendi, peeled and diced bananas, 2 potatoes, and carrots and keep aside.
• Boil a pot full of water and add in the soaked rice. Cook till almost done Let the extra water drain completely through sieve.
• Heat a spoon of ghee and add in cardamoms, a cinnamon stick, cloves and salt. Add it to the rice and keep it aside.
• Heat oil and add in finely chopped 2 onions. Fry till translucent and keep aside.
• In same pan heat another spoon of oil and add in jeera, red chillies, coriander seeds, black pepper, saunf, dried coconut, cinnamon, 1/4 cup cashews and almonds.
• Add in garam masala, red chili powder, poppy seeds, pudina leaves and earlier fried onions. Cook till spices start spreading aroma.
• Let the mixture cool down and then adding the chopped tomatoes grind it to fine paste.
• Heat the ghee and add in the ground mixture. Fry till oil separates
• Add in all fried vegetables and salt to taste and cook for couple of minutes. Keep aside.
• Warm the milk with safron and keep aside.
• Deep fry the thin sliced onions and cashews till they are crisp and light brown in color. Keep aside
• In a greased cooker layer the sliced boiled potatoes, then 1/3rd of rice, 1/2 of vegetable, again 1/3rd portion of rice, remaining half of the vegetable and remaining portion of the rice.
• With big spatula make through and through wholes in the layer and sprinkle the safron milk.
• Let the cooker sit on low heat till the pressure builds up. Garnish with the earlier fried crisp onions and cashews. Serve hot with raita.

Notes
Instead of cooking vegetables in gravy i added fried vegetables to the gravy. The taste was awesome and i could make sure that none of the vegetables are underdone or overdone.
I also wished I had those baby potatoes instead and could use them whole deep fried instead of diced ones.

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Crabs Pulav

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Recently we started getting the crabs from Costco. The first thing I made was this Pulav, an impromptu attempt to make something quick yet tasty. It turned out such a hit that we craved for more for days.. So this dish these days makes appearances in our meal quite regularly.


Ingredients
1.5 Cup Rice
300g Crabs Meat
1 Cup Curd
1/2 Spoon Red Chili Powder
1/2 Cup Black Pepper Powder
1/4 Spoon Coriander Powder
1/4 Spoon Jeera Powder
A pinch of Cinnamon Powder
A pinch of Cloves Powder
Salt to taste
Ghee

Method

• Mix in curd with red chilli powder, black pepper powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, Cinnamon powder, cloves powder and salt to taste.
• Add in the crab meat to the mixture and keep aside for hour or two.
• Soak rice for half an hour.
• Boil water and add in rice. Cook till rice is almost done. Keep aside.
• Heat ghee and add the crabs-curd-spices mixture and on medium heat cook till the crabs are done and the mixture separates from the ghee.
• Add in the cooked rice and mix lightly. Sprinkle salt to taste.
• Cook for a minute or two. Serve with raita.

Notes
Here we get big crabs, we got around 1.5lb = 0.7Kg and then after washing removed the meat from the shell and used the meat. If the shell is too hard or crabs or small try with shell.
To get the crab meat out from shell, we cut the shell with sharp knife and take the meat carefully out.

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Whole Spices Veggie Pulav

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I like black pepper a lot. Not powdered one but whole ones or the crunchy ones, like in papad. Since we moved here, I have been having only garlic papad instead of the spicy one that I normally like. Blame it to Ajoy ;-) for he likes that one or on me that I am bored to serve two different varieties to both of us. But then yesterday I said - that's about it. I have to have those black pepper by hook and crook and that's how this recipe came up :) It was huge hit and I am going to make it again sometime soon.


Ingredients
2.5 Cup Rice
2 Cup Cauliflower florets
2 Raw Bananas
1 Medium sized Eggplant
1 Potato
1 Cup Mutter
1/2 Spoon Black Pepper
1/2 Spoon Jeera
4-5 Cloves
4-5 Cardamom
A pinch of Saffron
Salt to taste
Oil
Ghee

Method

• In a pan bring water to boil and add rice. Cook the rice over high flame, with constant stirring till its done.
• Strain remaining water from the rice and keep the rice aside.
• In another pan, heat oil and fry cauliflower florets, egg plant pieces and raw banana slices. Keep aside.
• Fry mutter for a second and keep them aside too.
• Grate potato and fry them making in chunks to get crispy hash brown like chunks. Keep them aside too.
• In another pan, heat ghee, add cloves, cardamoms, black pepper, jeera and let them splutter.
• Add rice, fried cauliflower, eggplant and banana slices. Stir it and let is cook for couple of minutes.
• Heat a spoon and add saffron crushing it a bit. After it starts sending nice aroma, mix in rice lightly.
• Add in salt and stir for another minute. Serve by garnishing it with fried muttor and crispy potatoes.
  

NotesI wanted rice to be white and yet give that saffron filled rich aroma and hence I didnt put it while making rice but added it at last minute. I used black pepper in abundance as you already know the reason about it too :) but i didnt use much of cardmom or cloves, because I do add it to some of the vegetables or chicken/mutton dishes and also because I dont like them as much as black pepper :) So adjust spices according to your taste. The above portions worked wonders for me and right now enjoying even during lunch while writing this. yummy.

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Rava Dosa

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Rava dosa made into my favorite list the day I ate it opposite my college back in pune. The crispiness of the dosa along with the cashews spread on it made it so much more enjoyable. So when I saw my mom preparing it when I was in India in December and learnt that its so quick and simple, I had been meaning to make it like a long time. Today on Sunday I thought it would be a perfect way to make a tasty brunch that requires minimal efforts.


Ingredients
1 Cup Rava
1 Cup Rice Powder
1/4 Cup Maida
1/2 Spoon Jeera
1/4 Spoon Asafoetida
Finely chopped Roasted Cashews
2 Green Chillies
Salt to taste
Ghee

Method

• Mix rava, rice powder, maida, finely chopped green chillies, jeera, asafoetida with salt.
• Add in lots of water to make a thin batter.
• Keep aside for 20 minutes
• Add in more water so that it is thin consistency
• Heat tawa on medium flame
• Grease tawa with Ghee and pour the 1/2 cup batter at a time spreading it over the tawa.
• Let it cook till the dosa gets light brown color.
• Sprinkle couple of drops of ghee and flip the dosa and let the other side be cooked
• Sprinkle some cashews and fold on either side and serve.

Notes
When I tried making it I didnt let the batter sit for those 20 minutes, because of which the batter kept on thickening - blaming it to the Rava. It made first two dosas thick and soggy. So I strongly suggest letting the batter sit for 20-30 minutes.
To spread the batter on the tawa I dropped the batter on tawa from a bit of distance and slowly over areas that didnt have batter, letting it form the mesh and yet avoiding forming layers, hence keeping it thin.

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Stuffed Spinach Paratha

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Yet another attempt to make Ajoy eat Spinach without making faces ;-) Well to be honest though he doesn't like it he doesn't make faces, its me who does that :) :) Here I tried to combine his well known affinity towards paratha yet trying to be different by making it as stuffing.


Ingredients
3 Cups Wheat Flour
6 Cup Spinach Leaves
2 Potatoes
1/2 Spoon Jeera
1/4 Spoon Mustard Seeds
A Pinch of Asafoetida
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/2 Spoon Garam Masala
Salt to taste
Oil
Ghee

Method

• In a plate, mix wheat flour, a spoonful of oil and salt.
• Add water and knead a soft dough. Keep aside for 30-40 minutes
• Pressure cook the potatoes and keep them aside
• In a pan heat a spoonful of oil and let jeera and mustard splutter in it.
• Add Asafoetida and then spinach
• Keep stirring and after it leaves water from it add red chilli powder, garam masala and salt to taste
• Cook with constant stirring till water evaporates. Keep aside for cooling
• In a mixie, grind the spinach and then mix it with the grated potatoes.
• Prepare the balls of small lemon size out of this mixture
• Make same size balls from the dough and prepare the cup shape.
• Stuff the spinach ball in the cup shape dough and close the ball. Roll the paratha
• On medium flame, heat the tawa and cook the paratha from both sides till brown. Spread few drops of oil while its cooking.
• When completely done apply few drops of ghee and serve with pickle and/or curd

Notes
I didnt want to use lots of masalas or corriander(my another trick to make ajoy like the disk;-)) so that I can still retain a bit of spinach taste. Instead I used potatoes that helped in reducing the intensity of the spinach taste :)

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Khatkhate

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I loved this dish a lot since my childhood. Probably then I didn't realise it was the healthiest dish that I loved :D Just like the name says it uses almost everything that's in your fridge :)


Ingredients
1 Cup Beans
1/2 Cup Mutter
2 Drum Sticks
2 Corn Cobs
1 Potato
1 Sweet Potato
1 Raw Banana
1.5 Spoon Tamarind
1/4 Cup Jaggery
1/2 Cup Coconut
1/4 Spoon Corriander Seeds
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
A pinch of Asafoetida
2 Spoon Ghee
Salt to taste

Method

• In a half cup of water add the tamarind and keep aside.
• In a pan, add beans and 4 cups of water and cook over high flame for 5 minutes
• Cut each corn cob into 3 pieces and add the corn cob pieces and another 2 cups of water, Cook for another 5 minutes
• Add drum sticks - cut into pieces, potato cubes, raw banana pieces, pieces of sweet potato and another 2 cups of water. Cook till they are almost done
• Mean time grate coconut, tamarind (with its water that was it soaked in) and corriander seeds adding half cup of water.
• Add it and mutters to the almost done vegetables.
• Add turmeric powder, jaggery, red chilli powder and salt and simmer it.
• In another small pan, add ghee and let the mustard splutter in it.
• Add asafoetida and mix the tadaka with the vegetable.

Notes
You can optionally add 1 cup of pumpkin pieces too, but I couldn't as it wasn't available in the store here.

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Paneer Biryaani

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Last week I made this but didn't get time to post it. Long time ago Anuja had asked me about preparing the biryaani with something veg. I remember she mentioned that she doesn't want it with paneer but I just couldn't help but make it with paneer. So sorry for fulfilling your wish only half way through but this recipe is just for you. Hope you get to try it and like it :) It turned out a simple affair and yet very delicious. This one is inspired by Spicy Biryaani recipe but I modified it little bit so as to take Paneer taste into account.


Ingredients
3 Cup Rice
400g Paneer
4 Tomatoes
3 Onions
2 Potatoes
1 Cup Cashews
1/2 Cup Almonds
8 Cinnamon
15 Cloves
15 Cardamons
1/2 Spoon Poppy Seeds
1/2 Spoon Black Pepper
1 Spoon Jeera
1/2 Spoon Saunf
1/2 Spoon Turmeric Powder
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1 Spoon Corriander Powder
1/2 Spoon Ginger Paste
1/2 Spoon Garlic Paste
1/4 Cup Curd
1/2 Cup Milk
2 Pinch Saffron
8 Spoon ghee
4 Spoon Butter
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Cut the paneer into cubic pieces
• In a bowl, mix turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ginger paste, garlic paste, curd and salt to taste.
• Add cubed paneer pieces in it and mix well so that the marrination is completely covering the pieces. Keep it in dry, cool place for around couple of hours.
• Soak rice in warm water and keep aside
• In a pan add butter and shallow fry the paneer pieces to light brown tinge over medium heat. Keep them aside
• In same pan, in same butter, add 4 cinamon, 5 cloves, black pepper, poppy seeds, jeera, sauf, corriander powder, almonds and 1/2 cup cashews and roast it over low-medium flame till light aroma feels the air. The masalas would be light brown by now.
• Add one diced onion and cook till onion turns light brown. Let the mixture cool down.
• In a mixie grind 3 tomatoes and keep aside.
• Grind the above cooked masala with remaining tomato to form fine paste.
• In a pan, add 2 spoon of ghee and this masala and roast for a while.
• Add tomato puree and salt to taste in it and cook till the gravy thickens
• Add paneer pieces and cook till the gravy dries completely. Keep aside.
• Pressure cook potatoes, cut them into slices after removing their cover and keep aside.
• Warm Milk, add saffron and keep aside.
• In a pan, boil water and add the soaked rice. Cook till almost done.
• Drain remaining water and run it through cold water.
• In a small pan, heat 4 spoon of ghee and add 4 cinamons, 10 cloves, 15 cardmom and salt to taste. Roast for couple of minutes and add it to the rice. Mix well and keep aside.
• Cut the remaining 2 onions into thin slices.
• In a Pan, add little oil and fry the onions onto medium-high flame till they are light brown in color. Keep aside.
• In same oil, fry the remaining 1/2 cup cashews and keep aside.
• Grease the cooker with 2 spoon of ghee and layer biryaani. Spread the potato slices to cover the cooker bottom first. Spread 1/3 of rice, then spread a layer of half of paneer masala, sprinkle some cashews, and browned onions.
• Do the same layering again (Rice, masala, cashews and onions) and then cover it with remaining 1/3 portion of rice.
• Sprinkle Some more cashews and onions, keeping aside a few for decoration.
• Make few through and through holes through the layered biryaani with the back of spatula.
• Spread the saffron milk in them.
• Cover with the lid and pressure cook over low heat for 25- 30 minutes.
• Garnish with left cashews and onions and serve.

Notes
I used 1 layer of rice 1/2 paneer and then again another layer of rice with rice from just 2 cups of raw rice. Also used half quantity of cashews, onions and garnishing spices. Stored the remaining half portion of paneer masala for later use this week. I just had to do the rice and onion portion again and could quickly make the dinner. Helped on the hectic day a lot. :) And it tasted even much better as well because of storing masala for few days :)
I always use the potato layering to cover up cooker so that the biryaani doesnt get burnt while pressure cooking it. I am speechless for that idea, helps a lot.
Also stored the marrinated paneer in fridge since it was quite hot here. But i think even in other time thats a better way so that it dries even further and the marrination sticks to paneer.

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Tri Colored Rice

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Well, I know its been long since I posted here but I was on a little break from cooking for few weeks. I was busy with work and tired to cook everyday. When I was in India, I use to get this rest when I use to go to pune almost everymonth. Both my mom and mother in law were sweet enough to feed me without doing anything at all :) God.. I miss those days.. Now I had to take this break and rely on MacD/Subway/TacoBell/Husband's cooking once in a while. But now I feel fresh and motivated for cooking again and foremost bored with all the above items.. So here is the new dish that I tried. The recipe is something that I just thought of giving shot and kept on adding ingredients as I felt like. But I am stunned at the outcome. So easy, nutritious and yet good looking dish.


Ingredients
9 Cup Almost cooked Rice
2 Tomatoes
Handful of Corriander Leaves
3 Handsful of Spinach
1 Green Chilli
1 Spoon Corriander Powder
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 Spoom Garam Masala
Roasted Cashews for garnishing
Ghee
Salt to taste

Method

• Add salt in the rice, divide into three parts and keep aside.
• In a mixie grind tomatoes to form the puree. Keep aside
• Grind spinach, corriander leaves and green chilli adding minimal water in it. Keep aside
• Boil the Spinach-corriander leaves puree and let it cook till almost dry and thick enough
• Add corriander powder and 1 part of the rice in it and let it cook and dry completely.
• Add couple of spoons of ghee and mix and cook for another minute. Keep aside.
• Boil tomato puree
• When the puree starts to thicken, add red chilli powder, garam masala and 1 part of the rice.
• When the rice is done and dry sprinkle couple of spoon of ghee and keep aside
• Arranage the rice parts in the rice dish and garnish with the cashews

Notes
When grinding spinach i added little water and only 1/3 of spinach at first. When it was pureed I added another part of spinach and pureed it. That saved me with using extra water and while cooking the spinach wasnt over cooked and didnt have to wait too long for it to thicken.
I boiled rice and when it was almost done, just removed the excess water and ran through cold tap water so that each grain separates out from each other.

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Carrot Paratha

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I was thinking about something new yet simple for dinner yesterday. I thought of parathas as ajoy loves it.. But then I didnt want to cook something that we always eat.. So came up with this idea. Turned quite nice.


Ingredients
1.5 Potato
2 Cup Grated Carrots
2.5 Cup Wheat Flour
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
3/4 Spoon Corriander Powder
1/4 Spoon Carom Seeds
1/2 Lemon
Salt to taste
Oil
Ghee

Method

• Mix wheat flour, salt to taste and 2 spoons of oil.
• Add water to it and make the dough. It shouldnt be too loose or too tight.
• Add another couple of spoon of oil and knead well and keep aside for half an hour atleast.
• Cook potatoes in the pressure cooker and let them cool
• Mash the potatoes and mix with carrots
• Add red chilli powder, salt, corriander powder, carom seeds and lemon juice. Mix well.
• Prepare the balls of small lemon size out of this mixture
• Make same size balls from the dough and prepare the cup shape.
• Stuff the carrot ball in the cup shape dough and close the ball. Roll the paratha
• On medium flame, heat the tawa and cook the paratha from both sides till brown. Spread few drops of oil while its cooking.
• When completely done apply few drops of ghee and serve with pickle and/or curd

Notes
I prefer to use only few drops of ghee at the end of cooking of paratha but if you like you can fry them in ghee itself.

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Corn Sikh Kabab

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

We get lots of corn out here and I think its good source of fiber and roughage :) So we eat in abundance. But its normally after roasting it and sprinkling salt and lemon. This time I decided to try something different with it and here is the recipe I came up with.


Ingredients
4 Cobs with the corn
2 Potatoes
4 Spoon Corn Flour
6 Cloves of Garlic
2 Green Chillies
1 Onion
1/4 Cup Corriander Leaves
Salt to taste
Butter or Ghee

Method

• Add water to corn and cook over medium flame for around 25 minutes or till the corn is cooked. Keep aside to cool down
• Pressure cook potato in the cooker and keep aside to cool down
• In a mixie grind garlic, green chillie and onion to smooth paste
• Grate the corns, Mash the potatoes and mix them
• Add the grinded mixture, finely chopped corriander leaves, corn flour and salt to taste.
• Make the elongated kababs from this mixture.
• Preheat oven to 400F/200C
• Grease the baking tray with butter/ghee and spread the kababs
• Bake at 400F/200C for 15 minutes
• Flip the sides of the kabab and bake for another 15 minutes. Server with tomato ketchup

Notes
While making the mixture I tried to use less spicess as possible so that i can retain the taste of the corn and it worked well with hint of onion-garlic-chilli paste. But if you like you can add other masalas as well.
Just for completeness, the given quantity of corn flour worked best for my kabab mixture to be firm. You can add more or use less according to the consitency of the mixture.
You can also cook the kababs over tawa on medium to low heat but oven cooking worked best as i could manage other work while it was getting cooked :)

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Crisp Indianised Hash Brown

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I had prepared this couple of weeks back but got the chance to post now.. The item was amazingly crispy and tasty :) Yet a quick prepartions :)


Ingredients
2 Potatoes
1 Green Chilli
1/4 Cup Cucumber Pickles
A pinch of Black Pepper Powder
Salt to taste
Ghee

Method

• Grate the potatoes and wash them with lots of water to remove all starch.
• Drain all the water from the grated potatoes and let them dry on a paper towel
• Mix the grated potatoes with finely chopped green chillies, picled cucumbers, black pepper powder and salt.
• Heat the tawa and spread ghee to coat it.
• Spread the potato mixture on the tawa to form a thin layer
• Cook on medium flame on both sides till the colour turns to brown

Notes
I used the medium sized grater for this so that the pototo pieces arent too thin/thick. Thicker version will not give as much crisp as this one did.
The green chillies gave it nice firy - spicy touch

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Masala Daal

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

This Spicy daal was something I just experimented out when I was in pune. It turned out great. Actually mom dad loved it and then when I came here even ajoy liked it :) So thought of posting the recipe


Ingredients
3 Cup Tur Daal
1 Onion
1 Tomato
6-7 Garlic cloves
1/4 Spoon Mustard
1/4 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 Spoon Jeera Powder
1/2 Spoon Corriander Powder
1/4 Spoon Garam Masala
Corriander Leaves for Garnishing
Butter cubes
Salt to taste
Ghee

Method

• Cook tur daal with 1 cup water in the cooker.
• Heat the oil and let the mustard and jeera splutter in it
• Add finely chopped onions, garlic pieces and fry till onions turn translucent.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jeera powder, corriander powder and garam masala and mix well.
• Add tomato and cook till tomato is completely done.
• Add in cooked tur daal, salt and mix well. Cook for couple of minutes with constant stirring
• Add enough water for getting desired consistency to the daal and bring it to the boil.
• Garnish with corriander leaves.
• While serving serve with little butter cubes on top.

Notes
While cooking daal I dont mix too much of water, that way the cooked daal when added to masala completely soaks the taste and aroma.

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Hariyali Chicken Biryani

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I wanted to eat something chatpata and hence had prepared Pani Puri. So i had plenty of pudina remaining. So was frozen chicken waiting for being cooked in freezer. Ajoy wanted to eat biryani and I wanted to get over the freeze items... Thats when this recipe was born :) and became super hit for its different taste and fragnance :)


Ingredients
6 Leg Pieces of Chicken
2 Cup Basamati Rice
1/2 Bunch of Pudina
1/2 Bunch of Corriander Leaves
2 Green Chillies
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1/4 Spoon Black Pepper
4 Cloves
4 Cardamoms
1/2 Cup Ghee
3 Onions
1 Tomato
1/2 Spoon Garlic Paste
4 Spoon Curd
1 Spoon Red chilli powder
A Pinch of Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

Method

• Marinate chicken with red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garlic paste and curd and keep aside for couple of hours.
• Warm around 6 cups of water and soak the rice in it and keep aside for half an hour.
• In a mixie grind pudina leaves, corriander leaves, tomato and green chilli to fine paste.
• Keep aside 2 spoon of ghee and heat remaining ghee in a pan.
• Chop one of the onion into thin slices and fry it to light brown colour into the ghee. Keep aside.
• In remaining ghee from frying, add cinnamon, black pepper and remaining onions - grated and cook them till light brown in colour.
• Add this mixture to mixie along with green paste and grind again to smooth paste
• In same pan add this ground paste, 1.5 cup of water and marinated chicken and cook till completely dry with stirring in between. Add salt to taste and keep aside.
• While chicken is cooking, drain the water from the rice, cook it with another 2 cups of water and salt to taste till almost done. Drain the water and keep aside for cooling down.
• Heat 1/2 spoon of ghee and add cloves and cardamom to it. Fry them for a minute on low flame and then add this ghee to the rice and mix well.
• Grease a thick bottom pan or cooker and layer the rice and chicken mixture alternating. Also add fried onions in between while adding chicken.
• Cook on low flame for 15 minutes and serve hot

Notes
I had leg pieces of chicken so used them all but you can substitute it with equal grams plus little more of normal chicken pieces too.
Here the electric stove has variations of 8 degrees so I used 2 for cooking the layered biryani instead of my usual cooker on top of tawa and a layer of potato down the biryani. So if you are using regular stove you would need to follow same procedure so that biryani doesnt burn.

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Mutton Biryani

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Its been long time since ajoy had been asking me to prepare mutton biryani. But mutton is not my liking and hence I had been conviniently ignoring it. Then it was that fine day that I wished his grant :) and prepared it. It turned out quite well.


Ingredients
3 Cup Rice
1/2 Kg Mutton Pieces
7 Onions
2 Tomatoes
2 Potatoes
1/2 Cup Curd
1/4 Cup Milk
A Handful of Cashews
5 Almonds
1 Ginger Stick
10-15 Garlic Cloves
1 Spoon Garam Masala
2 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
A Pinch of Turmeric Powder
1 Spoon Corriander Seeds
1 Spoon Poppy Seeds
1.5 Spoon Black Pepper
1/2 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Saunf
1 Spoon Dry Coconut
8 Cloves
5 Cinnamon
2 Bay Leaves
5-6 Cardamom
A Pinch of Saffron
1/2 Cup Ghee
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Grind ginger and garlic to paste and keep aside.
• Wash mutton and add curd, turmeric powder, 1 spoon of red chilli powder, half of garlic ginger paste. Mix well and store it in the fridge for atleast 8 hours
• Next Day, Wash the rice and keep it in warm water for half an hour. Remove the excess water and keep aside
• Boil potatoes side by side, cut them in circular pieces and keep aside.
• Warm the milk and mix safron in it and keep aside.
• Chop around 3 onions into fine pieces and keep aside.
• In a pan heat around a spoon of oil and add the chopped onions. Cook till golden brown and keep aside.
• In same pan, heat another spoon of oil and add Jeera, 3 sticks of cinnamon, 5 cloves, 1 spoon of black pepper, corriander seeds, dry coconut, saunf, poppy seeds and remaining spoon of red chilli powder.
• Once the aroma starts coming out of this mixture, add the chopped golden brown mixture of onions in it.
• Add remaining ginger garlic paste to it and mix well and keep aside.
• Grind almonds, the cashews(8-10) that were kept aside and the above fried masala with little water to form paste. Keep aside
• Cut the 4 onions into thin slices and fry it in the ghee and keep aside.
• Keep aside around 8-10 cashews and fry remaining and keep aside.
• Keep aside around a spoon of ghee and transfer remaining ghee to the pressure cooker
• Add the masala paste that we kept aside to this ghee and fry till ghee separates from the paste.
• Add mutton pieces that were kept for marination in this with the marination leftover as well. Cook till ghee separates.
• Puree the tomato in the mixer and add it to this cooking mutton.
• Add around 1/4 cup of water and salt to taste and then cook the mixture on pressure.
• When complete pressure builds up, turn the flame to minimum flame and cook for another 10 minutes. And then remove the pressure cooker from the flame and keep aside to cool down.
• In the mean time, Boil around 10 cups of water and add salt to taste, rice and cook till rice is almost done.
• Remove the excess water from the rice and spread it in the plate to let it cool down.
• In a small pan heat a spoon of ghee(that was kept aside) and add remaining 3 cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/2 spoon black pepper, bay leaves, cardamom. Fry till aroma comes and mix it with the rice and keep aside.
• Now transfer the cooked mutton from pressure cooker to the pan and cook on high flame till it is dry.
• Transfer the excess ghee from this cooked mixture that is now separated into small cup and keep aside.
• Take a pressure cooker(which has good height), Grease it with ghee and arrange the potato discs onto the bottom to cover the bottom completely
• Spread a layer of 1/3 of rice followed by 1/2 of cooked mutton, 1/3 of fried onions, 1/3 of fried cashews.
• Then add next layer of 1/3 rice, followed by another layer of remaining cooked mutton, 1/3 of fried onions, 1/3 of fried cashews
• Layer remaining rice on the top, followed by remaining onions and cashews.
• With the back side of the cooking spoon make 5-6 wholes in this layer biryani till bottom
• Spread the ghee separated out from cooked mutton stored earlier evenly over here. Also spread the milk-safron mixture evenly.
• Close the cooker with the lid, heat tawa and put this cooker on top of it. Cook on low flame for 15 minutes
• Serve hot :)

Notes
While serving, insert the spoon till bottom and get all layers in each servings to get the best taste for the serving :)

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Palak Pakoda Kadhi(Spinach Pakoda Curry)

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Since I was small, My Dad always tells mom that in his company canteen he gets amazing Kadhi Bhaji(Curry Pakoda). And there use to always an attempt from mom to get the same taste and even then dad would be more inclined towards his canteen bhaji. So as kids we normally had this item almost twice a week or so giving another reason that this type of curry wont give cough unlike butter milk. So when I thought of preparing this, I decided to use Green vegetable for pakodas for more nutrition value of the curry. And here I got amazing item in my favourite list.


Ingredients
3 Cup Palak Pakodas
6 Cup Butter Milk
A Pinch of Turmeric Powder
1/4 Spoon of Mustard
A Pinch of Asafoetida
3 Spoon Sugar
1 Spoon Ghee
Salt to taste

Method

• In the butter milk, mix sugar and salt to taste and keep aside.
• Heat the ghee in a small pan and let the mustard splutter in it.
• Add Asafoetida, turmeric powder and take off from the flame
• In the buttermilk add this ghee mixture and mix well.
• While serving, add the pakodas to the above curry and serve.

Notes
You can additionally add Curry leaves in the ghee to give it that flavour but I perferred not to so that I can relish palak and the curry taste rather than the curry taste only.

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