Biriyani Masala Powder

Hi All
Today I am sharing this biriyani masala which you can keep ready . You can use this for any  type of biriyani...Chicken,Mutton ,egg or veg biriyani .

Biriyani Masala Powder 

Makes - 1/2 cup

Ingredients Needed:

1. Cumin seed – 1 tsp
2. Shah jeera (Caraway seeds) – 1 tsp
3. Fennel Seeds- 1/2 tsp
4. Black Cardamom - 2
5. Cinnamon – 1 big stick
6. Cloves – 7 - 9
7. Green Cardamom – 5
8. Marathi Mogga (Kapok Buds) - 1(Optional)
9. Star Anise - 2
10.  Dagad Phool / Pathar Phool / Black Stone Flower - 3 -4 nos
11. Nutmeg,  – 1/4 tsp
12. Mace – 3 

Method

Roast the masala in the sequence as mentioned....

Start Roasting the Jeera first followed by rest of the ingredients and end it with mace. This is to ensure that the ingredients do not get burnt or over roasted. Ensure the heat is controlled so that you do not let any of these get burnt.

Once Roasted and starts leaving a nice smell...let it cool for sometime. Then grind it to fine powder and store it in an air tight jar.

Once you have this masala ready I will put up the biriyani recipe

Happy Cooking!!!!

Beef Pepper Fry

This dish I am sharing today can be made for snacks or can be eaten as dinner too.

It is very easy and yummy!!!!

You can replace the beef with mutton or chicken.

Ingredients

Beef (boneless)                                                           :               1 kg

Onion Sliced lengthwise                                               :               2 large

Curry Leaves                                                              :               1 cup

Green Chili (Slit lengthwise)                                         :               4-5

Garlic paste                                                                :               1 ½ tsp.

Ginger Paste                                                               :               ¾ tsp.

Turmeric                                                                    :               1 tsp.

Salt                                                                            :               to taste

Oil                                                                             :               2-3 tbsp.

Masala

Black Pepper                                                              :               2 tbsp.

Fennel Seeds                                                              :               2 tsp.

Cumin Seeds                                                              :               1 tsp.

Method

Clean the beef and cut into bite size pieces. Put it in a cooker add little salt and turmeric and pressure cook it for 15-20 minutes or till the beef is just cooked. Add very little water as the beef will leave water too and we want this dish to be little dry and not gravy. Do not make it tender at this point.

While the meat is getting cooked in a separate tawa/griddle roast the pepper and fennel till you start getting the roasted pepper smell. Once its almost done but not burnt add the cumin and give a final roast. Let it cool and dry grind the masala and keep it aside.

In a wok/kadai add oil .When the oil heat up add the onion fry till they turn slightly pink. Add the slit green chilis and ¾ cup curry leave and fry till the onion just starts to turn brownish. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for few more minutes. Now add the boiled beef and add little more salt ...you might need it .Taste and check. Start frying, if you have excess water in the cooker add them little by little and keep stirring the beef at high heat. When you see most of the water is absorbed add the grinded masala and stir for another few minutes to incorporate all the masala.

Add ½ cup water and the rest ¼ cup curry leaves and cover it. After 10 minutes almost all water will be absorbed and you should have a blackish dry gravy.

Enjoy this with Appamg or Idli. You can also have it with Malabar Paratha.

Thanks

Arpita

 PS: If you are doing this with chicken, do not pressure cook but follow all the other steps

                                                                                                                                                                

Bhindi Masala

Hi All

I am back again…have been away for many days….

Today I am going to share a recipe which I learnt from my colleague’s mom. I have learnt it some 12-13 years back but have not forgotten the recipe and I enjoy my Bhindi/Okra this way only. This dish used to be a delicacy in our office and yesterday when I reminded all my friends about it, they all got nostalgic about it. J So I thought of sharing the recipe with all

Ingredients

Bhindi/Okra                          :               500 Gms.

Tomato                                :               1 large

Potato                                  :               1 large

Turmeric powder                  :               ½ tsp.

Chili Powder                         :               1 tsp.

Coriander Powder                 :               ¾ tsp.

Dry Mango powder               :               ¼ tsp. (Amchoor)

Salt                                      :               to taste

Oil                                       :               2 tbsp.

Method

Wash and dry the bhindi/okra. Cut the two ends and slit it lengthwise in the middle till ¾ of the length.

Slice the potato and tomato in medium thickness.

Heat the oil in kadai/wok and add half the oil and fry the bhindi/okra till they turn brown and wilt slightly. Take it out and keep it aside. Add rest of the oil (as I remember aunty used to add lots of oil for the taste but weight watchers can reduce but please do not make this dish in drops of oil) and add the potatoes. Fry on medium heat till it gets brown edges. Now add the all the dry ingredients and fry for few seconds and add the tomatoes and cover it and let it cook on low flame. Uncover it and check the tenderness of the potato and by now the tomatoes must have become mushy. Once you see the oil leaving the gravy add the bhindi and mix it with the masala. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes for all the masala to incorporate. Serve hot with chapattis or parathas.

This dish is dedicated to all my friends with whom I have had one of the best time of my life...

Love

Arpita

Chicken Kheema

Hi All

I am back after a long time… hope you guys are enjoying…today I am going to share a very simple but extremely tasty recipe. This is all time favorite of my daughter, husband and my nephew and many friends.

You need just few ingredients and it’s the dish you can die for.

Its Chicken Kheema. Please note that the kheema /Mince that you buy should be reddish/pinkish in shade. The white ones will turn very dry and tasteless. I use Venky’s chicken kheema rolls but if it not available, just ensure that the color of mince/kheema is Pink/red

Ingredients

Chicken Kheema/Mince                                                    : 500 gms.

Finely Chopped Onion                                                      : 1 Cup

Garlic Paste                                                                     : 1 ½ tsp.

Ginger Paste                                                                    : ¾ tsp

Tomato Paste                                                                   : ¾ cup (freshly grinded)

Salt                                                                                 : as per taste

Chili powder                                                                     : as per taste

Green Cardamom                                                              : 3-4 nos.

Oil                                                                                   : 1 tbsp.

Method

Heat the wok/kadai, add oil . When the oil is heated up crush the green cardamom and put it in the oil. Add the chopped onions and fry till they turn pink. Add the ginger garlic paste and put the heat on low and fry for 5-7 minutes. Now add the freshly grinded tomato paste, chili powder and salt. PLEASE NOTE: NO TURMERIC POWDER. Cover the wok/kadai and let it simmer for some time. Stir in between. When you see oil starts leaving add the kheema/mince. Mix it well and cover. Do not add water. Kheema/mince will leave water on its own. Break the mince block in between and let it simmer for 10-15 mins. After 15 minutes just remove the cover stir well and let the water evaporate. Again you will see the mixture is leaving fat. Turn off the gas and enjoy this with Paratha, rice, etc.

You can use the same mixture for Kheema Paratha , Sandwich or cutlets.

Love

Arpita

Jhinga Postu (Ridge gourd with Poppy Seeds)

Hi All

It’s been a while, I have posted something vegetarian for my friends. You all must have heard about aloo postu (potato in poppy seeds) which is a famous Bengali vegan dish. Today, I am going to post something different with posto (poppy seeds). This is for people who want to avoid potatoes totally. This is made with ridge gourd which is known as Todi in Hindi, dodka in Marathi and jhinga in Bengali.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd                                                      : 250 Gms

Poppy Seeds (khus Khus)                                   : ¾ cup

Green Chili                                                        : 5 nos

Kalonji                                                               : ½ tsp.

Oil                                                                     : 3 tsp.

Salt                                                                    : as per taste

Turmeric powder                                                : ¾ tsp.

Method

Soak the poppy seeds for ½ hr. and wash it clean through a sieve. Then put it in a grinder, add one green chili and little water to make a smooth paste. Please do not omit the chili since it makes the poppy seeds (khus khus) go little bitter without it. Ensure there are no grains in the paste. Grind it really well.

Peel the ridge gourd clean and chop them in cubes, ensure they are not too small. Ridge gourd leaves lots of water and will become totally mushy once cooked. So ensure they are medium sized.

Now heat the kadai/wok. Add the oil and let it heat. Add the kalonji and once it starts spluttering add the ridge gourd. Add turmeric powder, fry it till it starts wilting. Now add the Poppy seeds’ paste and keep frying. DO NOT add salt at this stage. Let the water evaporate as much as possible. When the mixture starts sticking to the wok/kadai wall add the salt. Mix it well, add ¼ cup water, and add the whole green chili (you can split it if you want hot or leave it whole without the stock). This gives a flavour to the dish. Once it become thick remove from heat and enjoy it with steamed rice. It will not become too dry since ridge gourd is high in water content.

Enjoy your meal and do give me feedback once you have tried.

Love

Arpita

Bengali Mustard Fish curry

Hi All

Have been away for some time, hope you all are trying out my dishes. Today I am going to share Bengali fish curry…which is my personal favorite and lots of my friends who are non-Bengalis they like it too. Though I am using Eel (Baam) here you can cook this with any sea fish like seer (Surmai), catfish (Ayer), Muller (Sole)

This dish is made with mustard seeds. There are two types of mustard Bengalis use one is black and the other is yellow. I prefer the yellow one since it’s less pungent and tastes better.

Today I do not have photograph, will post once I get it.

Ingredients

Fish                                                                : 500gms

Mustard seeds                                                  : 2 tbsp.

Kalonji (onion seeds)                                         : ½ tsp.

Oil                                                                   : 3 tbsp.

Turmeric                                                          : 1 ½ tsp.

Salt                                                                  : as per taste

Green Chili                                                        : 2-3 split lengthwise, 1 whole.

Onion Chopped                                                  : 1 tbsp.

Garlic                                                                : 1 pod finely chopped (if small then 2)

Method

Clean the fish thoroughly, marinate with ½ tsp. turmeric and salt and keep it aside for 5-10 minutes.

Soak the mustard seeds for ½ hour and then grind it in a grinder with the whole green chili. Add little water while grinding so that it gets a thick paste consistency. Make the mustard paste smooth. Remove it from the grinder and add little more water so that the paste can be sieved. Keep the strained liquid aside and throw the residue.

 Now heat the oil in the wok, add the kalonji (onion seeds) let it splutter then add the chopped onions and garlic let it fry but do not let it turn brown. Add the fish and let them turn opaque, now add the strained mustard liquid, add turmeric and salt. Let it fry at high heat. Keep stirring gently so that the fish does not break. This way water evaporates and the oil leaves. Add water but not too much …you can add approx. ½ cup water, add the slit green chili and get it to boil on simmer. Once it’s boiled. Remove it from heat and serve hot with steamed rice.

Note: If you want to try with Rohu, Katla, Tilapia or any freshwater fish just omit the onion & garlic and follow all the other process.

Padval Jhinga

Hi All

Today I am going to share a Bengali prawn recipe. There is a myth that Bengali food is all about Kosha Mangsho (mutton in dry gravy) and prawns malai curry (prawn cooked in coconut milk), etc. There are lots of forgotten or lost recipe of Bengal which I am going to share. These recipes are simple and cooked with very less spices but extremely tasty. Since Bengalis eat lots of fish, they do include vegetables in them to make it wholesome.

Today I am sharing a recipe called Parwal Jhinga (Snake gourd with prawns.)

Ingredients

Padval (Snake gourd)                                                    : 500gms

Potato                                                                          : 1 large

Prawns (medium size)                                                   : 300gms

Onions                                                                         : ½ cup sliced

Turmeric                                                                      : ¾ tsp.

Chili powder                                                                 : as per taste

Salt                                                                              : as per taste

Oil                                                                                : 2 tbsp.

Green Chili                                                                    : 3-4 Nos.

Method

Peel and slit the snake gourd lengthwise, remove the seeds and cut into semi circles not very thick. Please refer to the photo.

Peel the potato and slice them as thick as the snake gourd.

Clean the prawns and devein them.

Now take a wok/Kadai and put the oil. Once the oil is hot add the potatoes, once they get slightly wrinkled and edges turn slightly brown add the onions. Put the flame low and fry till the onions become soft. Now add the snake gourd, turmeric, chili powder, salt and green chilies slit length wise. Stir well and keep the heat low and cover the wok/kadai. After 5 minutes you will see that snake gourd, has left water, if not then add few table spoons. Once the potato and snake gourd is almost cooked add the prawns and cover it for another 7-10 minutes. You will see the prawns curling up and turning white. Mix well in the mixture. Put the flame off but keep it covered for 10 minutes as a standing time for the prawns to cook thoroughly in its own heat.

This dish is supposed to be dry but can be enjoyed with steamed rice or chapatti.

Enjoy your meal and see how easy and soothing to eat as the spices are minimal.

Note: 

• You can avoid splitting the green chili, if you do not like it hot. You can add it without slitting and by only removing the stalk. Green chili gives a very fresh flavor.
• I use fresh prawns and they taste better than the frozen ones, but you can use the frozen ones.

Love
Arpita