Egg Biriyani & Pista Kulfi for an awesome treat!

I just dont know how fast each week passes by! Dividing my time between taking care of a 3 year old, her pre-school, JM's busy schedule and household chores, I just know that Monday (the dreaded day!!) comes by just as soon as the previous one is over! So these days, I havent done much of baking or cooking "specials", for that matter. I am inviting you to share two excellent recipes that I had tried out earlier, from two other talented bloggers. The first one is Shn's Egg Biriyani and to finish it off with a sweet note, there is Sujatha's Pista Kulfi.

This egg biriyani caught my interest the first time I came across Shn's post on the recipe. Immediately I bookmarked it in my favourites. Last year at Christmas, I decided to give this a try. Just because it was just the three of us on Christmas, I didnt feel like preparing an elaborate meal. And coincidentally I fell sick the two days before Christmas. By that time I really needed something simple. We were all happy with the egg biriyani which is actually a little more complex than the name suggests. One would expect the biriyani to be biriyani rice and masala with just hard boiled eggs. But this recipe is a bit more complex with egg omelettes and homemade masala. I was a bit overwhelmed with all the steps, probably because I was not feeling well. Anyways, try this out and you wont be disappointed.

Check out Shn's Egg Biriyani at Mishmash!

I really dont have to say how much I love desserts. When Sujatha posted this Pista Kulfi recipe, I was itching to make it as soon as possible. But since I am on a small sugar-high dessert ban, I had to be patient. The recipe remained attractive among all my bookmarked recipes. Finally a few weeks ago, I made the kulfi and it was out of the world!! I am not kidding, it was awesome! It was melt in your mouth kind which no one would be able to resist. The best part about the recipe is its simplicity and can me mixed together in minutes. JM absolutely loved it, he was willing to have it for breakfast, if I would let him! The recipe was enough for probably 12-14 kulfi-sicles but they were gone in a day! I just cant thank her enough for this delicious dessert. Dont believe me?, try it out for yourself......

Do try out Sujatha's Pista Kulfi recipe at Spicy Khazaana.

My dear friend Ivy of Kopiaste has bestowed upon me, the Adorable Blog award. I thank her immensely for remembering me while passing on the award.

I would love to pass it on to,

Asha of Foodie's Hope and Aroma

Divya Kudua of Easy Cooking

Priya of Priya's Easy N' Tasty recipes

Trupti of Recipe Center

Aquadaze of Served with Love

Soma of eCurry

Finally, dont forget that Lets go nuts: Almonds is the "happening thing"/ ongoing event on Tasty treats. Do check out the event announcement and rush in your delicious entries with almonds in them, before March 31.

Have a great day!

Chicken Biriyani

I have always been fond of biriyanis. It truly is a treat for all senses. The wonderful aroma, color and the taste of the biriyanis would beat any other rice dish, hands down! It also has cherished memories associated with it. It reminds me of my friends whom I am proud to have as friends even after these 5 years! Hmmm!! those really were the good times! I also prefer biriyanis for entertaining because if you get it right, you dont need many other sides to complete the meal. I have already posted another version of chicken biriyani (Hyderabadi dum biriyani) in which the uncooked meat is layered with rice in a pot sealed with dough and cooked over the flame until done. This technique is called a kacchi biriyani in which the meat is cooked after layering with rice. The other one is the pakki biriyani in which the meat and rice are pre-cooked before layering and allowing the flavors to mingle.

This recipe for Chicken Biriyani is one that JM's mother made when she was visiting. It is a very interesting recipe which makes use of both cooking and baking the rice - chicken mix. Addition of ground cashews and khuskhus gives richness and body to the chicken gravy. The other techniques are the ones regularly followed in biriyani recipes. Dont be alarmed by the long list of ingredients, most of them (if not all) would definitely be available in an Indian pantry. I have tried to break up the process into easy steps and I hope it helps anyone who wants to try this wonderful and flavorful dish.

For the rice:

Basmati rice - 1 lb 4 oz

Cardamom - 2

Cinnamon - 1" piece

Cloves - 3

Lime juice - as needed

Rinse the rice with water until the water runs clear.Cook the rice in a heavy pot with salt, cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves and lime juice or oil, to prevent the rice from sticking. Drain when the rice is just done (the grains should be cooked but separate and not mushy). Keep aside to cool.

Chicken marinade:

Chicken - 1 1/2 lb

Plain yoghurt - 3/4 cup

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - as needed

Cut the chicken into large chunks and marinate with youghurt, turmeric powder and salt for an hour.

To grind:

Cashewnuts - 8-12
Khuskhus - 3/4 tsp

Soak the cashewnuts and khuskhus together and grind to a fine paste. Keep aside. Alternatively, I used dry cashews and khuskhus and powdered them in a spice grinder.

For garnish:

Cashewnuts - a handful
Raisins - a handful
Onion - 1, sliced thin

Fry the cashewnuts until golden brown. Fry the raisins until they puff up. Keep them aside. Fry the sliced onions until crisp and brown. Drain on paper towels and keep aside.

For the chicken gravy:

Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Cloves - 5
Star anise - 1, broken
Fennel - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 3 1/2, sliced thin
Green chilli - 2, split lengthwise
Curry leaves - a handful (if using)
Ginger - 1" sliced
Garlic - 3 pods, sliced
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 2 small, chopped
Cilantro - 1/2 cup
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Ghee/Butter - 1 tsp, melted

Heat oil in a heavy pan.

Toss in cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and fennel and saute.

Add the sliced onions, green chillies, curry leaves (if using), ginger and garlic.

Saute until the onions are cooked and tender.

Measure the red chilly powder, turmeric powder and pepper powder and add to the onion mixture.

Add the marinated chicken to this mixture and toss to coat.

Cover and cook the chicken until half done.

Add the chopped tomatoes, cilantro and mint leaves to the chicken and cook until well done.

Now add the ground cashewnut-khuskhus mixture and mix well.

Allow to bring to a boil.

Remove from heat when the chicken is cooked all the way through with a bit of gravy.

Final assembly:

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Grease an oven-safe baking pan.

Layer the pan with chicken and gravy.

Line with a layer of rice.

Repeat the layering and finish off with a layer of rice.

Drizzle a bit of melted ghee or butter on the top.

Cover with aluminium foil and bake in an oven until the gravy is absorbed into the rice.

Open the foil when ready to serve.

Garnish with nuts, raisins and fried onions.

Enjoy hot with pickles, raita and pappad.

Tip:

I unfortunately dont remember the exact temperature at which I baked the rice, but I believe it was 300F for 20 minutes. Since the rice and chicken are cooked before layering and baking, I assure you that it wont be undercooked. the purpose of the baking is to allow the gravy to eveporate and flavor the rice.

I am sending this to the "Rice Mela" hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons. While I am at it, I am also sending a few of my previous rice posts to the mela.

Pineapple Fried Rice:
Coconut Rice:

Turkish tomato pilaf:


Lemon rice:

Click here for more of my rice dishes.

Prawns (Shrimp) biriyani

Biriyani is one of our favourite dishes, a rice medley made of either vegetables or more commonly egg, chicken, goat, lamb or beef and flavoured with spices. Seafood biriyanis are also very popular and includes fish biriyani and prawns biriyani. There are regional differences in the preparation of biriyani with changes in the combination of spices used and/or the variations in the techniques of cooking. It is traditionally served with raita (a yoghurt sauce with vegetables or fruits), crispy wafers called pappads and spicy pickles. I am not a very big fan of seafood, so I do not experiment with a lot of seafood. Being born and brought-up in a city where fresh seafood is abundant, JM is fond of seafood dishes and favours prawns (shrimp), although the frozen shrimp available in the US is not as tasty as the fresh ones available back home.

When a fellow blogger visited my blog, I went back to explore hers. I found a recipe for a very appetizing prawns biriyani. It seemed good with a layer of cooked shrimp masala sandwiched between two layers of rice, covered and baked in the oven. After going through the recipe, I was left with a longing for such a biriyani from my kitchen and I knew that JM would appreciate it very much. Thankfully, I had a packet of frozen shrimp, so I planned the preparation for the next day. Usually, JM does not come for lunch, and I lured him home with the promise of a good lunch. I got to cooking after he left for work, and finished earlier than I expected. I did not have any cashewnuts because the "resident thieves" had raided the cashews reserved for such impulsive cooking. When JM came home for lunch, excited about my promise, I showed my creation to him. He was impressed by the presentation and we happily clicked away for my blog! As soon as we finished taking pictures, we started our taste-testing. Needless to say, we were not disappointed, infact we were hooked !! It was not very spicy, was cooked to perfection and looked stunning, perfect for when you have guests over. Thanks Remya for the wonderful recipe. I would suggest checking out her blog for the recipe and instructions. Do try this one out, the work you put in will be worth it! We had the biriyani with grape raita, the recipe for which I will be posting soon. Hope you'll enjoy the pictures of my biriyani, dont forget to leave words of encouragement. Enjoy, you all !!

Tips:

1. I used frozen, deveined, cooked tail-on shrimp. Thaw before use.
2. I would suggest to sprinkle about 2-3 tbsp of water over the layered rice and prawns, so that the baked biriyani will remain moist and flavorful.
   

Hyderabadi dum biriyani

Biriyani is a family of primarily South Asian dishes made from a mixture of spices, rice (usually basmati), meat/vegetable and yoghurt. Biriyani has always been an all time favourite Indian dish. All of us have a favourite biriyani either from a region (Hyderabadi, Malabari), by a special cook or from a specific restaurant. During my childhood, biriyani was always served as the special dish on family gatherings and important occasions. When I was in college, three of us close friends would get together after classes at one of our homes, buy a couple of biriyanis and share them between us. Even now, after 6 more years of studies, marriages and kids between the years, whenever I go to India, we would get together to share gossips and ofcourse biriyanis ! Until I came to the US, I never knew all the steps behind making the wonderful dish. This recipe for Hyderabadi dum biriyani from pachakam.com is one of recipes that I have frequented. Hyderabadi biriyani is notable because of the technique of cooking in dum, where the vessel is sealed with flour and the whole thing is cooked in the steam within. Eventhough this recipe has mixed reviews, I have found this to be one that has consistently given good results for me. I have tried this with lamb and chicken. Hope you will find this recipe to your liking too. Enjoy hot with raita !!

Tips:

The changes that I made to the recipe include,

1. I omitted the pudina (mint) leaves because I am not a fan of minty flavour.


2. I also did not add saffron. The color can be attained by sprinkling a bit of water with yellow food color.


3. The lamb in the US is not as tough as the meat in India, so it cooks at around 30 minutes.


4. Be careful about the cooking time beacuse the meat layered at the bottom could burn if left longer on the flame.


5. The biriyani shown was garnished with sliced hard-boiled eggs, fried raisins and cashew nuts.