Malai chicken tikka biryani|How to make make chicken tikka biryani from scratch

Malai chicken tikka biryani is a variation of biryani with boneless chunks of chicken marinated in yogurt,cream and spices and served with aromatic flavourful biryani rice .A delectable biryani to break the monotony of a regular biryani.It is a good option for parties or celebrations

How to make restaurant style chilli chicken | chilli chicken | Chilli chicken dry

After a long Eid break and celebrating my first blogoversary ,this is the first recipe of the second year of blogging .This eid kids enjoyed a long break from school almost 7 days!!! including weekend .The remaining 2 days of the week I had to lend my aching body some ME TIME .That was a much needed one after the eid gatherings, picnics ,trips to amusement parks ...etc.

Coming to today's post .....after Indian food any thing that my family enjoys is Chinese cuisine .The spicy, tangy ,salty taste of Chinese cuisine always impresses Indian taste buds .The best part of  making Chilli chicken at home is it is low on budget and high on taste,can be made in a jiffy,light on stomach .Make your sunday sunday dinner special with chilli chicken.

Raw Jack fruit dum biryani | Kat-hal dum biryani | Veg biryani using jack fruit| How to cook jack fruit biryani | Party special | biryani recipe|Jack fruit cooked with biryani-spices and layered with basmati rice

Jack fruit in English /kathal in Hindi /panasa pandu in Telugu is a tropical fruit.Jack fruit is widely used in south asian cuisines .It is used both in preparing sweets and savoury dishes .Ripe jack fruit is often savoured as a fruit itself ...though extracting the arils from the big huge fruit in itself is a tricky part which requires a lot of expertise. 

The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous and is a source of dietary fibre. The flavor is comparable to a combination of apple, pineapple, mango, and banana.Ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet with subtle flavouring.The seeds from ripe fruits are edible, are said to have a milky, sweet taste, and may be boiled, baked, or roasted.

 When roasted, the flavor of the seeds is comparable to chestnuts. Seeds are used as snacks either by boiling or fire roasting, or to make desserts. For making the traditional breakfast dish in southern India: idlis, the fruit is used with rice as an ingredient and jackfruit leaves are used as a wrapping for steaming. Jack fruit dosas can be prepared by grinding jackfruit flesh along with the batter.

In southern India, unripe jack fruit slices are deep fried to make chips. In Udipi cuisine, jackfruit is used make appa and addae.Because unripe jack fruit has a meat-like taste, it is used in curry dishes with spices. 

The skin of unripe jack fruit must be peeled first, then the remaining whole jack fruit can be chopped into edible portions and cooked before serving. Young jack fruit has a mild flavor and distinctive meat-like texture and is compared to poultry. Meatless sandwiches have been suggested and are popular with both vegetarian and non vegetarian populations.(Source:wikipedia)

Oats haleem - Guest post for Maha's lovely home

Today is a really special day for me .Ask me why? this is the first guest post by me since I have started blogging .This guest post is for none other than my friend Usha rani who blogs at Mahas lovely home .I came in contact to usha through  common friends on fb .A humble lady juggling between motherhood and blogging . Usha has invited for guest posts as apart of her 3 anniversary celebrations of the blog.I contacted Usha and she readily accepted for it and here I am with this today .Thank you once again Usha for the opportunity.

Coming to today's recipe"Haleem " is generally made with wheat .where in  wheat and meat are cooked together along with spices .Traditionally it is cooked over night ,but in this fast paced world,where every thing we prefer to be instant ,this recipe adds to the list of instant(s) . Though the process and the ingredients seem to be lengthy ,but the end product will be worth it ,i can vouch it !!! 

Hop on to  ushas space, Mahas lovely home to see the complete post .........

or check out the recipe below....

INGREDIENTS  1

• 800 gms Mutton/మటన్ 
• 4 Green chillies/మిరపకాయ 
• 1 tsp pepper corns(black)మిరియాలు 
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera/జీలకర్ర 
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric /పసుపు 
• salt to taste
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• INGREDIENTS  2

• 80 gms / 1/2 cup moong dal(yellow) /green gram / పెసరపప్పు 
• 1 cup /125 gms instant oats
• 1 onion/ఉల్లిపాయలు 
• 1 (big) / 120 gms tomato /టమాటాలు 
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste/అల్లంవెల్లుల్లి పేస్టు 
• 1/2 tsp red chilly powder/మిరపకాయ పొడి 
• 1/4 tsp turmeric/పసుపు 
• 1 tsp garam masala/గరం మసాలా 
• 4 tbsp oil/నూనె 
• 2 tbsp ghee/నెయ్యి 
• salt to taste

• FOR GARNISH

  fried onions/వెయించిన ఉల్లిపాయలు 
• coriander  leaves/కొతిమీర 
• mint leavesల/పుదినా ఆకులు 
• lemon /నిమ్మకాయ 

 

PROCEDURE

1. Add all the ingredients 1 to the pressure cooker ,add water as required and pressure cook it for 1 whistle on high ,and 3-4 whistles on medium heat .
2. Allow the pressure to leave on it self ,after cooling separate the bones from the cooked mutton with your hand and slightly  process it in a processor .
3. Mean while dry roast the oats in a pan ,cool it and grind it to a powder .
4. Cook the moong dal until mushy and set aside.
5. In a heavy bottom sauce pan or a big kadhai add oil and ghee .
6. To it add onions and cook it until brown ,add tomatoes and cook until soft.
7. Now add all the other spices and bhuno(saute)  it until oil leaves the sides of the pan .
8. Add the chopped mutton ,moong Dal(cooked),and 750 ml of water .
9. Make a slurry of the oats (powder) and add it to the water mixture .
10. Mix it well ,and now you can see that the mixture will begin to thicken as it cooks.
11. Cook it for 3-4 minutes and switch of the flame 
12. Serve it by garnishing it with pudina, coriander,lemon. 

NOTES

1. You can use boneless mutton too ,but i prefer bone in since the juices of the bones adds extra flavour to the dish .
2. You can replace it with chicken , but I strongly recommend mutton .
3. we are making a slurry of the oats powder to avoid any lumps .
4. You can grind moong Dal in a blender  to a paste too .
5. if needed more water can be added ,as it entirely depends on the oats, i have used Quaker oats.

Mix veg pulao /pilaf

Recently realised that till date my blog has only 1 rice recipe!!!1and that too a biryani ..Bombay biryani.A south Indian family(mine) where rice is an integral part of every day life and who have rice daily for their lunch and my blog has only 1 rice recipe .......I was totally drenched in remorse.

So set aside my drafts and took up this recipe for today .It is a mild ,aromatic dish low on spices and high on taste with an added crunch and flavour of veggies .A one pot dish that can be done in 20 mints from start to stop. Ideal for lunch box ,a lazy weekend meal or can even cater to the party menu.You can use vegetables of your choice ,but select a combination of different colours as it is visually appealing .Serve it with raita or pickle of your choice.My girl  leaves at 6 am and is back from the school at almost 3 pm in the noon .

A very long stay at the school .Usually they have 2 breaks with a gap of 2 hrs ,so I have to pack her 2 lunch boxes .One box mainly consists of fruits,nuts or some baked goodies ,and the second one should be a proper lunch -I mean to say wholesome food  that could keep her energising as well as healthy,so that she doesn't starve  .I prefer this dish for her lunch box served with pickle and some salad .

Its great for parties ,can be paired with ,chicken kurma  or butter chicken or  mint n cilantro chicken or Achari chicken and your party menu will be all set .

Now over to the recipe.....

Spinach with lentils| Palak dal |Palakura pappu

 UPDATED POST WITH NEW PICTURES ON 13/12/16

Dal's /lentils are rich sources of plant protein,so I make it a weekly twice affair on our dining menu.Alhamdulillah I have a Dal loving family ,my kids enjoy Dal to the extent that they  literally end up  drinking it if it is a sambar or some soupy Dal ,provided that it is not spicy .

Spinach as you all of you know is a power house of nutrients ,besides adding an earthy flavour to Dal adorns it with good colour which makes it even more tempting .

Served as lunch along with baked cauliflower , fryums plain rice ,curd,that was really a  satisfying as well as a nourishing one .

INGREDIENTS

FOR DAL:

• 150 gms toor dal
• 1 C spinach(chopped)
• 1 tomato
• a goose berry size tamarind(optional)
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder /3-4 green chillies
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• coriander leaves 
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil 

    TEMPERING:

  

•  1/2 tsp mustard seeds
•  1/2 tsp cumin seeds
•  2-3  red chillies
•  hing a pinch 
•  2 sprigs curry leaves
• 2 tbsp oil

METHOD

1. Wash Dal ,chopped spinach .
2. In a pressure cooker add all the ingredients except salt mentioned under Dal .
3.  Add water 2 inch above the Dal level  and pressure cook on high for 1 whistle and on medium heat for 4 - 5 whistles  or until the dal is soft .
4. Allow the pressure to leave on its own .
5. using a lentil masher  mash dal until creamy.
6. Now add salt and water as per your need .
7. In a tadka pan add the list under tempering allow it to crackle and pour it over dal and close the lid  so that the aroma of tadka infuses in dal .
8. Serve with rice or chapati .  

old pic of the post

..............................HAPPY COOKING

Indian thali

We Indians love our curries so much...... which evident from the list of spices in our pantries.Unlike Italian(I enjoy my share of pasta too......) or any other cuisine which use 2 or 4 ingredients,Indian cooking is made with an array of spices that makes it different too.

often on our dine out I have seen the khaleejis too enjoy Indian food.S  asked me when we were having our dinner"momma why r these Arabic people coming to Indian restaurant(aah such an innocent..... question na).when ever I get a chance I really love to order a thali for lunch in a Indian restaurant.the huge choice of curries ,pickles, papad,and not to mention the  ......'sweets'.

I still remember  .....when we were on a family trip to Chennai with my father,Abba had taken us to a udupi restaurant ,which serves the best veg thali in the city,as a child I was bowled over at the very sight of so much food with different colours and textures it was then my love for a thali started(growing really nostalgic).Ah good ....old..... GOLDEN DAYS

.So in order to feed my cravings n pamper my self came out with this thali for lunch ......so enjoy it

Dishes for the thali:

CHICKEN KORMA

MUTTER PANEER

PANCHRATNA JALFREZI

Served it along with plain rice ,yoghurt and pickle.......so enjoy ur feast ........HAPPY COOKING.

Linking this to remyas event