Tomato Jam

Tomato jam is one of the important side dish served along with biryani in weddings at our place. Though as an effect of modernization, the recipe has changed a lot with added fruits and nuts. This classic recipe is always a hit. Like tomato jam we have few more must haves with the meal, like boiled eggs, fried appalam and onion raita. Its very simple but tastes soo yumm.

INGREDIENTS :

Tomatoes   - 4 big ones
Sugar         - 1/4 cup
Ghee          - 3 + 1 Tblsp
Cashews     - 1 Tblsp
Raisins        - 1 Tblsp
Lemon Juice - 1 Tblsp
Salt              - A Pinch

METHOD :

    Blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin. Cool them a bit and in a food processor just mash them well. Don't puree them because the texture adds a nice texture to the jam.
   Heat a pan and add a tablespoon of ghee and roast the cashews and raisins and keep aside. In the same pan bring the pureed tomatoes cook under medium flame. Add the sugar with a pinch of salt. Let the sugar dissolve completely. At this point you can check the sweetness and add more sugar if you like, because if the fruits are not that sweet you might need more sugar. Then add the lemon juice. Reduce flame and let the mix evaporate, add the ghee now and let it thicken a bit.
   When it starts to leave the sides add the roasted cashews and raisins and remove from fire and cool down.
  This has a shelf life of a week and can be refrigerated for a month or frozen for about 3 months.

Nawabi Biryani

       This Nawabi biryani is a rich flavorful dish. I have tried this dish long back during my early days of cooking when one of my Hyderabadi friends gave me the recipe. But maybe because I haven't learned certain techniques or didn't know to differentiate flavors like something between jeera and shahi jeera, I missed the real flavor of this dish even though it came out really good. But again the meat didn't get that soft, fall-apart texture from the dum cooking. So I always had the fear of ending up with hard meat and never tried this recipe again. But later, I found out it needed this secret ingredient which is the meat tenderizer or the more natural papaya paste. And one more thing I missed was Shahi Jeera, which gave the biryani a unique flavor. So recently when I happened to watch a show by Chef Venkatesh Bhatt, I finally reinvented my recipe and as a result, got this flavor rich biryani. Don't get put off by the number of steps. This is mess free cooking! Such a grand dish with easy cleaning. Do try and your comments are greatly appreciated.

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati Rice         - 1lb
Coriander Leaves  - 1/4 cup chopped
Mint Leaves          - 1/4 cup chopped
Green Chilly         - 1 split
Shahi Jeera           - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom           - 4 nos
Cinnamon            - 3 inch piece
Cloves                 - 4 Nos
Water                  - As needed

Mutton           - 2 lbs
Onion             - 3 big
Papaya Paste  -2 tsp
Yogurt            - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tblsp
Turmeric Powder    - 1tsp
Chilly Powder         - 2 tsp
Shahi Jeera              - 2 tsp
Coriander Leaves    - 1/4 cup
Mint Leaves            - 1/4 cup
Salt

METHOD :

            First, thinly slice the onions and deep fry them in oil until golden brown. The onions should not be burned or the whole dish will get a bitter taste. After slicing the onions give them a squeeze to make sure the strips are well seperated. The onion should be added in medium high oil at first. Once they turn translucent, reduce the flame and keep stirring often to ensure all the onion strips are cooked and let it brown. Once it turns color remove them from oil into paper towel lined plates and let them turn crispy.
              Clean the mutton and  marinate it in papaya paste for about 15 mins. After 15 mins, add 3/4th of the golden fried onions, yogurt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilly powder, shahi jeera, coriander leaves, mint leaves and salt and mix them well. Marinate this mutton for at least 45mins. You can even marinate overnite if you plan to make ahead, but make sure to bring it to room temperature at least 30 mins before making the biryani.
        Now make the rice. Clean and soak the rice in room temperature water for 30 mins. In another big pot bring water to a brisk boil. When the water is boiling, add the soaked and drained rice along with the whole spices and green chilly, coriander leaves and mint leaves and add enough salt along with two tsp ghee. Bring this to a boil and set the timer for just 7 mins. When its time drain the water. Make sure all the spices and leaves stay with rice.
       Meanwhile, get the tava ready for the dum process. On medium high flame heat a big tava. In a heavy bottomed pan or deep pot brush little ghee and add the marinated mutton(Its not cooked) to the pot and spread it out. Above this spread the half cooked rice and over the top dot with ghee and sprinkle enough salt and saffron strands. Cover tightly and leave it on medium flame for about 25mins and then simmer for about 10 mins.
      Switch off the stove and leave it for 15 mins. Transfer the biryani to a serving tray and garnish with the reserved 1/4 part of golden fried onions and chopped coriander leaves. Serve with tomato jam.

Gulab Jamun

 My childhood favorite Gulab Jamuns. Whenever we got a chance to go to a restaurant, I always go for this dessert. That may be because it was not easily available elsewhere in my place. But that craving has become a "long time ago" story.

 After I started cooking, I tried making this just to learn the technique. Then my girl had a love towards this dessert. So made them a few times.When she didn't like them anymore, I forgot all about them.

After a long time, we had to make a dessert for a party at home.  Zei then promised to take care of dessert  and made around 100 Jamuns. Wow! isn't it?

This list would help you make around 15 balls, depending on the size you choose. Ok just go ahead and make and just stay back and relax. Sometimes its ok to just make it for yourself too.

And one more thing, don't just make them on a day when you serve heavy lunch, make it along with a light lunch so you can eat as many as you want guilt free.

INGREDIENTS:

For Jamuns :
  Milk Powder      – 1/2 cup
  Flour                  – 2 tblsp
  Yogurt                – 2 tblsp
  Ghee                  – 1 tblsp (Clarified Butter)
  Baking Soda      – 1/4 tsp
  Oil – for deep frying

For Syrup:
  Water                – 2 cups
  Sugar                – 2 cups
  Rose Essence   – few drops
  Cardamom Powder – 1/2 tsp
  Saffron            – few strands

METHOD:
   The first step is to make the syrup. Use a not so deep, but wide pan, so the balls can float evenly absorbing as much syrup and turn out to be even in size. Over medium flame, place the pan with sugar and water and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer. Add the cardamom to this.
   In a mixing bowl, add in all dry ingredients from the For Jamun list. Mix well and add the ghee. Give it a nice stir and start mixing in the yogurt to make into a dough. Allow to stand for 5 mins.
   Meanwhile, heat up the oil on low-to-medium heat in a frying pan.
  After 5 mins take the dough and make small balls, about 2cm in diameter. It's perfectly ok for the balls to be tiny at this point. They become much larger in size after frying and soaking in sugar syrup.
  The oil should be in right temperature to get the right texture. Check if the oil is ready by dropping a small ball first, it should sit at the bottom of the pan for sometime before rising to the surface.
   Once the oil is ready, drop as many balls as you could depending on the pan size and amount of oil you use. It could be atleast 4 to 5 at a time. Keep stirring the balls to get even color on all sides.Once the balls turn to a dark brown color, remove them to a plate lined with paper towel.
 Once all the balls are fried, bring the syrup to a quick boil and add all the fried balls. Give a stir and add the rose water and saffron.
Let the balls/jamuns soak for about atleast 30 mins.
Serve them hot or cold.They pair well when served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, yummm....

Chicken Malai Karahi

Chicken malai  karahi , very recently came across this dish.Very rich and flavorful. After tasting this dish I wanted to try it at home. Though I could guess a few ingredients, wasn't really sure how it would turn out. So searched the web and found two recipes. But in some way both the recipes sounded as if they won't taste as good as the one we enjoyed. So I tried to combine both the recipes came up with this one which was so close in taste. It's really simple and easy to make  with very few ingredients. I would make a healthy version by substituting low fat sour cream and milk instead of yogurt and heavy cream. Hope you would enjoy chicken malai karahi as much as we did. 

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken  : 1 lb
Yogurt    : 1/2 cup
Coriander Powder : 2 tsp
White Pepper Powder : 2tsp
Jeera Powder  : 1tsp
Garam Masala :  1/2 tsp
Heavy Cream : 1/4 cup
Fresh Coriander Leaves : 1/2 cup
Canola oil : 1/4 cup 

Method :

  Clean and cut chicken in to small pieces. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat. Add oil to the pan and when almost hot add the chicken pieces and cook the chicken pieces , remove and keep aside.
Discard the liquid  in  the pan and add  a tablespoon of oil in the pan and add the cooked chicken pieces along with the spice powders and fry them well.
  Now add the yogurt along with salt, give it a stir close the lid over medium low fire and allow the chicken to blend with the yogurt and the spices.Cook until  the raw smell goes away for about 5 to 7 minutes. Open the lid, check for salt and add the cream. Give it a stir and cook until the cream gets heated through. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves and transfer to a serving dish.
 The fresh smell and taste of the herb adds the real flavor to the curry,that the fresh coriander leaves are a must for this recipe.

Chilli Idli

 Idli, though a comfort food to many is not a welcoming one for others. So when it comes to feeding kids, often we have to try out different ways to brighten up the plate. This dish is quite simple and easy way to include veggies in to your little one's healthy diet. Its an instant hit at my house, hopefully might turn out to be the same at yours too.

INGREDIENTS :

Idli      : 10 Nos
Onion  : 1 Big
Green Bell Pepper      : 1 Small
Yellow Bell Pepper     : 1 Small
Spring Onion               : 2 Nos
Chopped Coriander     : 2  Tblsp
Soy Sauce                    : 3 Tblsp
Tomato Ketchup          : 3 Tblsp
Hot Sauce/Chilly Sauce : 2 Tsp
Chilly Powder              : 1 Tsp
Garam Masala              :1/2 Tsp
Salt     
Oil         

METHOD :

    Cut the idlis, onion and bell peppers into small cubes and finely chop the spring onion. In a deep fry pan add about 3 tablespoon oil and fry the idli pieces, remove from oil and keep aside. To the same pan add the chopped onion. Sometimes the idli might absorb all the oil so you might want to add a tablespoon of oil to cook the veggies. Half way through, add the bell peppers and fry them for about 5 mins and then add the white part of the spring onion. Reserve the green part for garnish.

When the veggies are cooked, add the chilly powder, garam masala, soy sauce, hot sauce and ketchup to the vegetables and fry them for about 2 mins. Now add the fried idli to this and mix them well. Adjust salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and the green onion and cover and simmer for 3 mins.

    This can be served with raita on the side or as such for breakfast or dinner. Kids would really love the color.

Kadaai Mutton/Kadhai Gosht

Kadhai Gosht is a popular Indian/Pakistani dish. This is mostly prepared with lamb in a large wok (a kadhai/karahi) and hence the name. I first tried this at a kabob place and always wanted to try it at home. Have been looking for the recipe and finally got it from a Pakistani blog. That recipe suggested frying the meat in ghee and didn't call for the final step of frying the meat with the veggies. But the Kadhai Gosht I tried in the restaurant was made with chunks of meat, onion and bell pepper and we loved the flavor. So, I came up with this idea and made this recipe. If you really don't like the flavor of bell peppers, feel free to leave it out but I still recommend the final sauteing with onion and ginger.
 Again we are not big fans of lamb and always love the taste and flavor of goat. So I made my own version with goat and so the name Kadaai Mutton.

INGREDIENTS :

Mutton : 2 lbs

To Marinate:
Onion - 1 big
Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tblsp
Yogurt - 3 tblsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tblsp
Salt

For Curry:
Oil - 3 tblsp
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 2inch piece
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies - 2
Tomato - 1 Large

To Fry :
Onion - 1 big
Bell Pepper - 1
Tomato - 1 big
Ginger Julienne - 1 tblsp

METHOD:

Clean and cut mutton into medium size pieces. Chop the onion given under "to marinate" into fine pieces and mix with other marinating ingredients along with meat and keep aside for atleast 40 mins. You can always marinate this for almost 4 hrs to overnite. But atleast 40 mins in case you decided at the last minute to go for this recipe.
In a pressure pan, heat one tablespoon oil. Add the whole spices and fry until the aroma comes out. Add in the marinated meat and fry well for 3 to 5 mins. Then add the spice powders along with salt and fry for a min. Then add the chopped tomato and split chillies. Its better to remove the skin and seeds from the tomatoes. Check and add more salt if needed. Add 1/4 cup water and cook the meat until almost cooked but still firm. I do it for 2 whistles in medium high and then for 10 mins on medium low flame. Depending on the freshness of the meat, this might vary.
Once the meat is cooked remove the pieces and let the gravy thicken in an open pan at high flame.
When the meat is cooking, chop the ingredients under to fry into cubes. In another pan, add a tablespoon of oil and fry the ginger. Then add the onion, bell pepper and then tomato. To this add the cooked mutton pieces and give a nice stir to get a coat of the oil.Then add the thickened gravy and fry well. Close the pan and simmer for 5 mins.
This is such a flavorful recipe and meat lovers would fall for it. It goes really well with ghee rice/ veggy pulao or chappathi/naan.

Chicken Dahi Roast

A simple and easy chicken recipe, I would say. It's versatile too as it can be had with rotis or with rice. It can be made quickly if boneless pieces are available.

INGREDIENTS :
Boneless Chicken Cubes - 1lb
Yogurt                              - 2 cups
Cumin Powder                 - 1tsp
Ginger and Garlic             - 2tsp
Red Chilly Powder           - 1tsp
Turmeric Powder              - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala                   - 1/4tsp
Onion                                - 2  Nos
Tomato                              -1 No
Green Chilly                     - 3 Nos
Coriander Leaves              -2 Tblsp
Oil                                     -3 Tsp
Salt                                    -To Taste


METHOD:
                
 Clean and cut chicken into pieces of desired size. To this, add the yogurt, split green chillies and all the spice powders along with a little salt and marinate for 30 mins.
 In the meantime, heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and cook the onions until slightly brown. Add the tomatoes and fry for 2mins.
 Now add the marinated chicken pieces. Close with a lid and cook the chicken on medium low flame for 10 mins. Remove lid and add salt. If you are serving with rice, you might want to remove the curry from the stove when it reaches a gravy consistency.
 If you like it to be a dry fry, add the remaining oil and fry until dry. Finally garnish with the coriander leaves.