Author: admin

Ingredients:

1 cup mint leaves, chopped

½ cup coriander leaves, chopped

1 to 2 green chillies, chopped

½ inch ginger, chopped

½ Tbsp. chopped garlic

2 Tbsp. coconut milk

½ Tbsp. cumin seeds (jeera)

Prepare paste by grinding the above ingredients

1 inch cinnamon,

1 Bay leaf ,

1 green cardamom,

2 cloves,

2 single strands of mace

1 Tbsp. Cooking Oil

4 cups cooked Basmati Rice.

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a wok, add 1 inch cinnamon, 1 bay leaf, 1 green cardamom, 2 cloves, 2 single strands of mace, fry the spices for a minute till you smell aroma of the spices. Now it time to add the ground mint paste. Stir and saute the masala paste for a minute or two. Add cooked basmati rice at this time and toss for a minute ,add salt and lemon juice. Garnish with chopped mint leaves and julienned ginger. Serve pudina rice with stew, or raita of your choice.

Ingredients:

250 grams potatoes  diced

2 tablespoons coconut oil

½ cup  sliced onions

1 small bay leaf

1 inch ginger (Chopped)

1 Tbsp. crushed black pepper

2 cloves (Crushed)

1 sprig curry leaves

2 cups thin coconut milk

1/2 cup  coconut cream

salt to taste

Method:

In a frying pan ,heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil add onions, bay leaf, ginger, curry leave sprig. Saute for a minute then add crushed black pepper and cloves. Sauté the onions till translucent. do not brown them. Now add diced potatoes and mix them well with the  onions and spices.Saute further for few more minute then add thin coconut milk, add salt and simmer on medium heat , cover the pan. After 5-6 minute check if potatoes are cooked well, Cover the pan and simmer till the potatoes have softened but make sure they are not overcooked. On low flame add Coconut Cream mix well stir lightly the potatoes need to be cooked well, but do not overcook the potatoes. Keep the flame low and add 1 cup thick coconut milk. Mix well and gently stir for a minute or two. Potato Stew is ready to be served with idiyappams, soft dosa , appams,or rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice (soaked for 1 hour)

4 cups water for cooking the rice

Two strands of mace (javitri)

5 green cardamoms ( chhoti elaichi)

1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)

6 cloves (laung)

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp. Salt

400 grams raw unripe chopped jackfruit ( Big Chunks) kept in bowl of warm water

1 cup yogurt

½ Tbsp. turmeric 

½ Tbsp. red chili powder 

a small piece of stone flower (patthar ke phool) Optional

1 Tbsp. shah jeera (caraway seeds)

2 medium to large onions, thinly sliced

1 medium tomato, chopped

1.5 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves 

1.5 tablespoon chopped mint leaves 

5 tablespoon clarified butter (Desi ghee)

1 inch ginger (Chopped)

4 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 green chili (crushed)

1.5 to 2 cups water

salt to Taste

1 Tbsp. ghee

pinch of saffron (kesar) soaked in warm milk and kept aside

1/4 Tbsp. rose water

Method:

Boil 4 cups of water in a large pot, drain the rice and then add it to the boiling water.

add all the whole spices (1 string of mace, 2cardamoms, ½ inch cinnamon, 3cloves and 1 bay leaf) , add salt and cook the rice till the grains are 80% cooked. Drain and keep the rice aside.

Now we should start work on jackfruit , remove the seeds from the chopped jackfruit, heat clarified butter in a pot, add all the whole spices ( mace, stone flower, cinnamon, cloves, caraway seeds, cardamoms. saute for a minute. Add the sliced onions and fry them till they begun to get caramelized or golden. When the onions begin to get golden, remove half of the onions and drain them on paper towels. Add crushed ginger, garlic and green chili . Saute for a minute. Now add the Chopped Jackfruit. saute for 2 minutes, add red chili and turmeric powder stir and saute for 7 to 8 minutes, add the beaten yogurt. Stir and add water. add salt and cover the pot with its lid. Simmer the gravy till the jackfruit is cooked and tender. Add water if required to make sure jackfruit is cooked properly. Once cooked add Tomatoes , mint leaves and coriander leaves. Let the gravey simmer til you are ready with layering.

Layering the kathal biryani

Take a Pot (I use my clay pot), spread first layer of the jackfruit gravy, add half of the fried onions, Spread a second layer of rice. Third layer of Jackfruit Gravy some fried onion and on top of it add all the rice in this layer. Sprinkle the saffron flavored milk along with the saffron threads, rose water, remaining fried onions and fresh chopped mint and dollop of clarified butter to enhance the flavour. Cover the pot with lid and cook on very very low heat (on Dum) for 20-30 minutes . For Dum you must avoid direct contact of pot with the flame/heat, instead you may keep the pot on top of a girdle or in large pan with boiling water. The Kathal Biryani is ready.Serve the kathal biryani with Mirch ka salan or Cucumber Raita.

Ingredients:

for kadhi

1 cups  sour curd 

5 tablespoon gram flour

2 cups water 

½ Tbsp. asafoetida 

½ Tbsp. red chilli powder 

½ Tbsp. turmeric powder 

½ Tbsp. garam masala powder

 salt to taste

for pakoras (Fritters)

1/2 cup besan (gram flour)

½ Tbsp. red chilli powder 

½ Tbsp. turmeric powder

½ Tbsp.  carom seeds (ajwain)

salt to taste

¼ cup water or as required to make a batter (Gooey Consistancy)

Vegetable oil for deep frying pakoras

For tempering kadhi

1 Tbsp. chopped ginger

¼ Tbsp. fenugreek seeds 

2 green chillies, chopped

2 red chillies, broken

1 Tbsp. cumin seeds 

a generous pinch of asafoetida 

1 sprig curry leaves

2 tablespoons mustard oil

Method

For Kadhi

In a large bowl take yogurt ,whisk it well till smooth, add gram flour, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt to the whisked yogurt. Mix well add water ,continue stirring to make a smooth mixture without lumps. Your Kadhi Batter is ready.

Now take a large deep frying pan ( Kadhai) , heat 2 Tbsp. oil, add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. Stir and saute for 3 minutes on a low flame. Now add chopped ginger and chopped green chillies, stir and saute for a minute. Now add curry leave sprig and saute for a minute on a low flame. Finely add yogurt and gram flour mixture ,stir very well. Increase the flame to medium and bring the kadhi to a boil. keep on stirring often so that the bottom does not burn. Simmer for 15 minutes. If the kadhi becomes too thick, then add some hot water. Your Kadhi is ready, but you should keep it on low heat. While making the kadhi you must work on the fritters (Pakoda).

Take the 1 cup gram flour in a bowl and add carom seeds, red chili powder and pinch of salt ,mix well to make a thick batter and keep aside covered for 30 minutes.

Now heat oil for deep frying in a pan or kadhai. with a spoon or with your hands drop the pakora batter in the oil. when the pakoras are partly cooked, then turn over and fry the other side. Fry till the pakoras are crisp and golden. Remove the fried pakoras and place them in a warm water bowl . Now add the pakoras in the kadhi. stir gently. Cover the kadhi with a lid and let the pakoras be soaked in the kadhi for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve kadhi pakora with steamed rice.

Garnish with tempering of red chilli powder, carom seeds , curry leaves and sliced green chili.

Variation: If you want to try this kadhi with methi (Green fenugreek) , Palak (Spinach) or onion pakora , add the required portion while making pakoda batter. The only difference is to add very little water while making the batter .

Ingredients:

10 Green chilies ( not of the hot variety)

Rinse and wipe dry the green chilies. Slit the chilies vertically but keep them intact

1 Tbsp. tamarind dissolved in ⅓ cup hot water

1.5 to 2 cups water

½ Tbsp. mustard

½ Tbsp. nigella seeds 

½ Tbsp. cumin seeds 

8 to 10 curry leaves 

3 to 4 Tbsp. oil

salt to taste

¼ cup desiccated coconut

¼ cup peanuts, roasted

1.5 tablespoon sesame seeds, roasted

1 medium size onion (Chopped)

2 to 3 garlic cloves (

½ inch ginger 

½ Tbsp. red chili powder 

½ Tbsp. turmeric powder 

½ Tbsp. garam masala powder (curry powder)

water for grinding and Salan Gravy (approx. 2.5 Cups)

Method:

Preparing Paste for Salan

Heat the oil (1/2 Tbsp.) in a pan, add onions till they turn lightly brown, add the desiccated coconut and brown it. Add garlic, ginger and other spices (Red chilli ,Turmeric ,Garam Masala ) roast for a minute . Take this mixture off heat, add roasted ground nuts and sesame seeds to this mixture. Make a smooth paste of the above by adding little water. This paste will serve as base for salan (gravy).

Preparing salan

Heat about 2 Tbsp. oil in a pan, fry green chilies for a minute, remove and put on a paper towel. In the same pan add one more Tbsp. of oil, add mustard seeds till splutter , add nigella seeds, cumin seeds add curry leaves and fry for a minute. At this point add the paste, keep stirring for few minutes, you can see oil starts leaving the sides of the masala. Its time to add tamarind pulp and 2 cups water. Simmer for 5 minutes add fried green chilies plus salt and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes more. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve mirchi ka salan hot with biryani. You can also add 2-3 small size fried egg plant (Baigan) at the time of adding  fried chillies in the salan. This will enhance the flavours of the salan.

Ingredients:

(Boiling Chickpeas)

1 cup dried chickpeas (Chhole) Soaked Overnight

¼ Tbsp. salt

3 cups water for pressure cooking

6 Pieces of dried gooseberry / 2 Black Tea bags

For gravy

2 to 3 tablespoon oil or ghee

1Tbsp. Dry Pomegranate Powder

½ Tbsp. turmeric powder 

¼ Tbsp. red chilli powder 

1 Tbsp. coriander powder 

½  Tbsp. dry mango powder 

1 to 1.5 cups water to be added later

salt to taste

2 green chilli -Chopped

1 Tbsp.  chhole masala

1 Tbsp. cumin seeds 

1 large bay leaf

1 inch cinnamon 

2  cloves 

2 green cardamom 

1 medium size onion – chopped

2 medium size tomatoes – chopped

1 inch ginger – chopped

5 medium sized garlic cloves – chopped

Method

Wash the soaked chickpeas ,cook the chickpeas with 3 cups of water, pinch of salt and add dried gooseberries or drop two black tea bags (To bring out dark coloured cooked chickpeas) in a pressure cooker. It will take 10-15 minutes to properly cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker (Turn off the heat after 4 whistle). Once cooked, drain the water and keep the chickpeas aside.

Preparation for masala gravy

Grind onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic cloves and green chili. grind to paste. Now

heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add spices ( cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom Fry till you smell spices in the oil , be careful not to burn them. Add ground paste and saute till the oil starts to leave the sides of the masala paste. Now add dry spice powders ( turmeric, red chili, coriander , mango powder and dried pomegranate powder.Mix very well and saute for a minute. Now add the cooked chickpeas (do not forget to remove tea bags or gooseberry pieces ) ,salt and stir. If required add 1 cup water .On low heat cook the chickpeas for 12 to 15 minutes or till the curry thickens. Do not cover the pan, stir occasionally. At end of the cooking add chickpeas masala powder, mix well and simmer for a minute or two. Check Seasoning , if required add salt or chilli. add some chopped coriander, ginger julienne on cooked Chhole (chickpeas). Serve chickpeas(Chhole) with onion slices, lemon wedges along with bhatura. enjoy the chickpeas bhature.