Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:-

• Half kg chicken, cut into pieces
• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 4 cups water
• 5 tablespoons curd
• Half lemon’s juice, freshly squeezed
• Cilantro leaves for garnishing
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• Half tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon Garam masala
• 4 whole cloves
• Salt, according to taste
• Oil for frying
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 onions, sliced thin
• 4 to 5 green chili, sliced
• 2 tablespoons ginger paste
• 2 tablespoons garlic paste
• 2 tomatoes, chopped

Method:-


Initially you need to marinate the chicken. For this mix the curd, chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and salt in a bowl. Add the fresh chicken pieces to this well mixed curd paste and keep aside for at-least 30 to 60 minutes.


In a pan heat the cooking oil, sauté the cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf. Add onions, green chilies, ginger paste, garlic paste and the tomatoes. Fry until it’s cooked.


Now add the marinated chicken to this and sauté well. Add washed rice over this and fry for around 5 minutes. After this, add the water, lemon juice and salt as required. Stir well and cook until the rice is done. Now your Chicken Biryani is almost ready to serve. Garnish it with fresh cilantro leaves. Serve hot with Raita.

Bell pepper dry curry

Ingredients:-

• Yellow Bell peppers - 1 cup (cut into thin strips)
• Red capsicum - 1 cup (cut into thin strips)
• Onions - 1 Medium
• Olive or corn oil - 1 tbsp
• Tomato - 1 small
• Green chilies - 2
• Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Fennel seeds (saunf) - 2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Garam masala - 2 tsp
• Salt for taste

Method:-


Heat some cooking oil in a pan. Add jeera (cumin seeds) and mustard seeds. When it splutters, add fennel seeds. After few seconds, add the green chilies. Fry for a while. Add the chopped onions and fry till tender. 


Add curry leaves and chopped tomatoes. Now add the cut bell peppers. Add garam masala, turmeric powder and salt. Cover and cook on a low flame till vegetables are tender. Cover and leave on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Now your dish is ready to serve.

GUILT-FREE CABBAGE THOGAYAL

Ingredients:-

• 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 3-4 dried red chilies (or to taste)
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tbsp urad daal
• 10 fresh curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp tamarind paste (or large marble-sized piece of dried tamarind)
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• Salt for taste

Method:-

Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan and add the curry leaves, red chilies, urad daal and asafoetida powder. Fry these till the daals are golden brown and the red chilies a darker shade. Remove all the red chilies and most of the daal and curry leaves. Reserve for later.

Add the sliced green cabbage to the pan (adding one spoon oil more if you feel like it), stir well and let it cook on medium heat till the cabbage is soft and wilted. Let the cabbage cool.

Put all the chilies, the tamarind, and all but 1/2 tsp of the daal/curry leaves in a mixer along with some of the cabbage, and grind it to a smooth paste. Now add the rest of the cabbage and grind to a more coarse paste. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp daal/curry leaves and give it all one quick final whirl so that the daal remains mostly whole to provide a bit of crunch. 

Remove to a serving bowl and add salt to taste. Mix well and serve immediately with hot plain rice and ghee and any vegetable dish. This thogayal is also good as a side dish for Dosas, Idlis, etc and makes a great base for sandwiches.

Papaya Chayote Salad

Ingredients:

• Raw Papaya 1/8 of Small One Tomato 1 Small
• Chayote 1/2 of Medium One
• Boiled Edamame Beans 2 Tbsps
• Lemon Juice 1 tbsp
• Black Pepper Powder to taste
• Chaat Masala a Pinch
• Salt to taste

Method:

Unwrap and wash the green papaya and chayote. Use a julienne peeler to thinly shred the papaya and chayote (around 2 cups). Wash it and finely slice the tomato. Peel the garlic cloves. Eliminate stems and wash the green chilies. Wash and tear the cilantro leaves.

In a mixing bowl, add lemon juice, green Chile, black pepper powder, chaat masala and salt. Lightly crush everything and stir in julienne papaya, chayote, tomato slices, edamame, green chilies and cilantro. Set aside for couple of minutes for flavors to develop. Serve papaya chayote salad without delay.

Eggplant Tomato Daal

Ingredients:

• Red Lentils Split / Masoor Dal 1 Cup
• Baby Eggplants 3
• Tomato 1 Large
• Green Chiles 3 – 4
• Tamarind 1 inch Piece
• Turmeric Powder a big pinch
• Red Chile Powder 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste

Talimpu Ingredients-

• Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
• Urad Dal 1/4 tsp
• Broken Dried Red Chiles 3 – 4
• Garlic 1 Clove
• Curry Leaves 5
• Oil 2 tsps

Method:-

Wash masoor daal under fresh water to eliminate any dirt. Boil masoor daal in 2 cups of water and turmeric powder  until masoor daal is cooked and is transparent. Take away stems, wash and chop the eggplant into small chunks. Remove stems, wash and slice the green chilies. Wash and finely chop the tomato. Peel and slice the garlic. Soak tamarind in quarter cup of water and extract all the juice. 

Heat oil in a small pan; add all talimpu ingredients in order. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add green chilies, chopped eggplant, red Chile powder and salt. Fry briefly and stir in chopped tomato and tamarind extract. Cook till tomato and eggplant is soft. 

Then stir in cooked masoor daal and adjust the salt if necessary. Cook on low flame for around 5 minutes to let all the flavors develop. Serve eggplant tomato daal with steamed rice and a crispy papad or with roti (chapaati).

Broken Wheat Salad

Ingredients:

• Broken Wheat 1/2 Cup
• Green Chile 1 Small
• Tomato 4 Tbsps (chopped)
• Cucumber 5 Tbsps (chopped)
• Onion 3 Tbsps (chopped)
• Lemon Juice 1 – 2 Tbsps
• Bell Pepper 2 Tbsps (chopped)
• Cilantro Couple of Leaves
• Salt to taste
• Sesame Oil 1 Tbsp

Method:


Eliminate stem, wash and finely chop the green Chile. Wash it and finely chop the cilantro leaves. Wash all the vegetables and chop them into small pieces.


Boil one cup of water, add broken wheat, salt and sesame oil. Lower the heat and cook covered until broken wheat has absorbed all the water and turns soft.


Eliminate from heat, cool to room temperature and fluff up the broken wheat.


In a bowl, mix together chopped cucumber, onion, tomato, lemon juice, bell pepper, cilantro and salt. Let it stand for couple of minutes and vigilantly fold the broken wheat into the above mixture. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve broken wheat salad immediately.

Chicken Soup with Noodles

Ingredients :

• Boneless Chicken - 100 grms
• Noodles - 1/2 cup
• Pepper - 1 spoon
• Ajnomoto - a pinch
• Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
• Soya sauce - 1 spoon
• Salt - To taste
• Olive Oil 

Method:


Soak the noodles it in boiling water for 15 minute. At first take fresh chicken. Now cleaned the chicken & chopped it. In a pan add 4 spoons of Olive oil and add the chopped chicken. 


Fry this chicken for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes when chicken turning pale white, then add the 4 cups water in it. Add turmeric powder, Soya sauce, pepper, Ajinomoto in it and mix well. 


Add salt according to your taste. Cook it for 15- 20 minutes on medium flame. Finally check that the chicken are cooked and add the noodles to it and mix well. After 5 minutes. 


Your chicken soup with noodles is ready to be served. It contains lot of fat in it. So keep going with it.

Aam Kasondi - Mango pickle

(Mango pickle with mustard)

Ingredients:

• Green mangoes
• Coarse Salt
• Ginger paste
• Red chilli powder
• Mustard powder
• Ripe tamarind (seedless
• Mustard oil
• Salt for taste.

Unwrap and remove the seeds of the mangoes and cut into equal small pieces.

Mix in the common salt. Use ordinary sea salt and not iodized salt because iodized salt is not a preservative. Place in a wooden or a porcelain bowl. 

Now leave this bowl in the sun for a couple of days until the mango pieces become quite soft. Lightly press and drain the excess liquid accumulated in the bowl. Now add to the mangoes all the spices, the ripe tamarind and salt. 

Mix carefully. In a large aluminum pan heat the oil until a blue haze appears. Add the spiced mango pieces into this. Stir and mix carefully with the oil and eliminate from fire. Allow to cool and then transfer into an airtight glass or stoneware jar. After some days your can serve it with any dish.

Mattar paneer

Ingredients:-

• Fresh paneer
• Tomatoes
• Turmeric
• Chills
• Cumin seeds
• Onions
• Cookong Oil
• Butter
• Coriander
• Salt

Take fresh paneer. Cut the fresh paneer into little cubes. Shred the onions. Mix together the tomatoes, turmeric, chills and keep it to the side.

Now take a non-stick pan and bring to heat. Then put butter and melt it. Place the paneer cubes on the pan and low fry till the paneer cubes edges start turning light brown.

Eliminate from flame and make tiny holes in each paneer cube. Boil some water and then put the Mattar and paneer in that to soak. This will make the paneer really soft. Take a pressure pan and pour the oil. Let it come to heat and add the cumin seeds. Once they turn golden brown add the Shred onions. Fry up till the onions turn golden brown.

Then add the tomatoes, turmeric, chill paste and cook until the raw small leaves. The tomatoes will then begin giving out oil. Add the paneer cubes and mattar. Mix well. Add some water and bring to boil. Once its boiling, add the salt stir well and close the pan.

Keep it on a low flame for about 8-10 minutes or for two whistles. If you want it to be dry then after opening the pressure pan, keep it on the stove and keep stirring till the water reduces and it becomes some dry. Decorate with coriander leaves or grated butter and serve.