Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Egg Biryani


This is my favorite quick recipe. It doesn't take much effort or time, and ends up tasting pretty good. For about 1 1/2 cups of rice, use atleast 6 eggs, from here on the more the eggs the merrier :-)


Hard boil 4 of the eggs and soak 1 1/2 cups of rice in 3 cups of water.

Heat some oil in a pan and add whole garam masala (i.e. some jeera, 1 black elaichi/cardamom, a stick of cinnamon, couple of bay leaves, few whole black peppercorns, couple of whole star anise).

Now add half an onion (julienned), whole slit green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and saute them till onions turn brownish. Add haldi, chilli powder, biryani masala and tomatoes.

Once the masalas are fully cooked i.e. you can see the oil leaving the sides of the pan, crack open 2 eggs into the pan and stir it vigorously so that it cooks in a scrambled fashion. Quickly add your pre-soaked rice along with its water, the 4 hardboiled egg halves and salt to taste.

Let the rice cook through and serve with your favorite raita. (I just used yogurt + diced onions + green chillies + salt + water).

Tips: 
1. Use fresh pudina/mint leaves if available, it gives a wonderful aroma
2. Use chicken bouillon if you have some at home and accordingly use less or no salt. It adds to the flavor of the biryani.
3. I used a pressure cooker to cook this so it took me very little time. You can cook this in your rice cooker or on your stove, anything works :-) 
4. I use Everest Biryani masala, probably because Mom uses the same. Prefer its flavor over MDH and Shaan

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Pepper Chicken and Lemon Rice


My mom made this for us while she was visiting this holiday season. It was very tasty and extremely easy to cook. I have listed my Mom's chicken recipe and my friend, Roopa Shankar's, lemon rice recipe. Bon Apetit!!!





Pepper Chicken

Heat oil. Add mustard, jeera & whole garam masala (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves & bay leaves).

Add chopped onions, ginger/garlic paste. Fry till it turns brownish.

Add 3-4 slit green chilles, lots of curry leaves, haldi, tomatoes. Cook till oil separates from the masala.

Add chicken ( preferably small cut thigh pieces) Mix, cover & cook till done (it took me about 7-10 mins on medium heat).

Add about 2 tsp or more ( till you get taste & flavour) of pepper pd, garnish with coriander leaves & serve hot.

Tips: Add the pepper powder right before you serve the dish for the best aroma and flavor. Use fresh ground pepper if possible. 





Lemon Rice

Precook 1 cup of rice ( not too hard or sticky)

Heat Oil. Add mustard and jeera.
Then add 1 fist full of raw peanuts and saute for about 1/2 min.
Then add 1 tbsp of urud dal and 1 tbsp of chana dal (the dahlia used for chutney, not the chana dal used for dal). Just when they start to turn brown (less than 15 seconds) add the following:

split green chilies
curry leaves.
2 pinch turmeric powder
1/2 cut lemon juice (I mean the huge US style lemons)
salt
1 - 2 pinch sugar

Mix the above well, add rice and toss together. Right before you serve add remaining 1/2 lemon's juice and fresh cut coriander.

Tips: 
1. Cook on medium or low heat, or else ingredients can get burnt very easily.
2. Keep all the ingredients ready before you start. There shouldn't be any delay in adding the ingredients or the previous ingredients in the pan will get burnt. 
3. Always add the peanuts before the urad dal & chana dal because the peanuts will take slightly more time to roast.
4. Add the remaining lemon juice to the rice, right before you serve, or else the flavor of the lemons get absorbed by the rice. 
5. You can make Onion Lemon Rice or Garlic Lemon Rice by adding onions or garlic to the tadka before adding the rice.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Healthy eat


Mashed Potatoes
Boil and mash potatoes. Whip with half & half till desired consistency. Add salt, garlic powder, parsley & grated Parmesan. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top sprinkled with parsley. Eat with favorite gravy.

Steamed mixed vegetables
Steam cauliflower, carrots, green peas, green beans & corn for 15-20 mins in a steamer. Toss with butter, salt & pepper.

Grilled Portabello Mushrooms & Asparagus
Toss Mushrooms with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and chili flakes. Grill on grill pan.
Toss asparagus with olive oil, salt and Italian herbs. Grill on grill pan. 

Oven Roasted Potato Wedges
Toss potato wedges with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper & chili flakes. Place on a oiled tray or foil and bake in oven at 450 F for 15-20 mins or till crispy brown on all sides. Toss the potatoes around in regular intervals while it is roasting.

Tandoori Chicken
Marinate chicken thighs (breast fillets are more fibrous) in tandoori masala, ginger-garlic paste, yogurt & salt for a couple of hours. Place on a greased tray or foil, and coat the top of the chicken with some oil too. Place in oven on the the topmost rack at 450 F for 20 mins. If the outside of the chicken is not roasted enough, broil for the next 3-5 mins. Do not overcook chicken of it will become dry.


Oven Roasted Tilapia
Marinate fish fillet with ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, fish fry masala, chili powder, haldi & salt. Place on oiled tray or foil, coat the outside of fish with some more oil and bake in oven at 450 F for 20 mins or less. Serve with chat masala, kala namak & lemon.

Note: Make slits on the chicken thighs and fish before marinating so that the masalas get incorporated into the meat better.