Monday, October 31, 2011

Vegetable Biriyani

 I learnt this method of making biriyani from a television show some 20 years back.This is really an easy way of making and is very tasty too.

INGREDIENTS


Basmathi rice------------------------------------------2 cups
Beans------------------------------------------------- 100 grams
Carrot------------------------------------------------100 grams
Onion-------------------------------------------------3 medium size
Tomato----------------------------------------------- 4 medium size
Ginger------------------------------------------------ 2 inch piece peel and keep it
Mint leaves ------------------------------------------- 1cup
Coriander leaves--------------------------------------  1 cup
Turmeric powder-------------------------------------- 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder----------------------------------------- 1 tsp
Dhaniya powder--------------------------------------- 1 tbsp
Garam masala-----------------------------------------  1 tsp
Curd--------------------------------------------------  1 cup
Lime juice--------------------------------------------- 2 tsp
Oil---------------------------------------------------- 4 tbsp or as per your need.


METHOD
Prepare a paste with 1 onion and the ginger and keep(As I told in the introduction to my blog I don't use garlic,so I use onion instead of that).Cut the onions, beans and carrot length wise.cut or grate the mint leaves and coriander leaves.Chop the tomatoes finely.Keep everything ready before putting the vessel on the stove.

Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel as we are not going to cook it in a pressure cooker.So a heavy bottomed pan is a must so that it will not get burnt in the base. Add the onions first and fry it till it is cooked and turned into light brown colour.If you like fried onions as a topping on the finished Biriyani take 2 more onions and slice it and then fry it in oil with little salt and add it once the Biriyani is ready to serve or when serving you can add it on top of the Biriyani.Add the ginger ONION paste and mix it well.Once the raw smell of the ginger and onion goes add the turmeric powder, chilly powder and little salt and saute for a minute.Add the vegetables and toss it and then add the masala powders and the finely chopped mint and coriander leaves.Toss this and once it is mixed well add the tomatoes and the curd and saute for 2 minutes in low flame From hereon we have to do the entire process in low flame only.


Add the rice.(there is no need to wash or soak the rice for this method)Add 4 cups (or what your rice requires) into the vessel and add enough salt and mix well.Carefully mix this without breaking the rice or vegetables.Once the water is fully absorbed and vegetables and rice are cooked, add the lime juice and mix well.Switch off the stove. Close the vessel  immediately with a proper fitting lid, and keep a heavy item on top of so that the steam is not let out.This will make the Biriyani even more tastier and it will not be sticky too.
Serve this with any raitha.
Take care in adding the water as each variety of rice need different amount of water.



Sunday, October 30, 2011

Paneer Burji

This is a North Indian side dish which my family loves,especially my son and daughter.This is not a gravy but is like a curry which goes well with chappati,Naan.and roti.

INGREDIENTS


Beans--------------------------------------100gms
Carrot-------------------------------------100 gms  
Onion--------------------------------------2  big
Potato-------------------------------------2 big
Paneer-------------------------------------100 gms
Coriander leaves---------------------------- a liberal bunch
Turmeric powder----------------------------1 tsp
Chilly powder-------------------------------- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt------------------------------------------ 1 1/2 tsp
Dhaniya powder----------------------------- 1 1/2 tbsp
Garam masala--------------------------------1 tbsp
Cardamom powder--------------------------1/4 tsp
Clove powder-------------------------------- 2 liberal pinch
Cinnamon powder-----------------------------2 liberal pinch
Oil---------------------------------------------2 tbsp
Dice all the vegetables and keep aside.Grate the paneer.Chop the coriander leaves finely.Heat oil in a kadai and add the onions and fry for a minute.then add the turmeric powder and saute for a minute.Then add the chilly powder and salt and mix it well.Then add the other vegetables and cover and cook for 5 minutes in low flame.toss the vegetables once again and  when cooked fully add the dhaniya powder,garam masala, cloves,cardomom and cinnamon powder and saute for 2 minutes.Add the grated paneer and coriander leaves and saute for one more minute.switch off the flame and the YUMMY Paneer burji is ready.

I always keep handy the three powders.... cradomom,cinnamon and cloves( which I call the Magic powders).This enhances the taste of any North Indian gravy or curry.








Saturday, October 22, 2011

Murrukku

This is  very easy to make  and is very crunchy.

INGREDIENTS


Moong dhal-----------------1 cup
Puffed gram dhal------------1 cup(Puttani or chutney paruppu)
Channa dhal-----------------1/2 cup
Rice flour--------------------1 cup
Salt to taste
Hing------------------------A liberal pinch
Sesame or Cummin seeds-----1 tbsp
Butter or ghee----------------- 2 tsp
Oil for frying
Water for kneading the dough

Dry roast all the three dhals separately.As all the three variety are of different sizes it is better to roast them separately.Make a fine powder and keep it.Mix one cup of rice flour with one cup of the mixed dhal powder.

Take a convenient vessel, add butter and salt and mix well.Then add the other ingredients and  the mixed flour and mix well.Make a soft dough by adding water.The dough should be very soft.

Heat oil in a kadai.Don't over heat the oil. Use the star disk and squeeze the murrukku in the oil.Fry till it is golden brown in colour and strain it in the strainer.The YUMMY murrukku is ready.







Badusha

WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY DIWALI!!!

This is a recipe given to me by my best friend.It is very very easy to make and yummy too.

INGREDIENTS


Maida or All purpose flour--------------4 Cups
Unsalted Butter------------------------- 1 Cup
Cooking Soda--------------------------1/4 tsp
Salt(optional)--------------------------- 1/4 tsp or little less.
Some people add salt to enhance the taste.
Sugar----------------------------------- 3 Cups
Rose essence (optional)------------------ Few drops
Oil for frying

Measure the butter and add the cooking soda and salt in a bowl and mix it thoroughly till it becomes fluffy.
Add the flour to it little by little and mix it well.Then add little water and make a soft dough.Keep kneading it till it becomes  a soft and smooth dough.The trick lies in preparing the dough.So take care in making it.Close it and keep it aside.



Pour 1 cup water in the sugar and keep it on a low flame.Strain the sugar when it is fully dissolved, if it has any particles in it.Let it boil on low flame.

Heat oil in a kadai.Keep the stove in low flame and once the oil is ready make small balls and flatten it in your palm( as shown in the figure)and press your thumb in the middle and make a depression.Do not over heat the oil as the dough will not be cooked in the inside and more over the balls will become brown too.Drop the flattened balls one by one.(not more than 4 )It will raise and start floating.Then turn it carefully without breaking it.



The sugar syrup  must be made to a single strand consistency(Just touch the syrup from the ladle and try to stretch it between your fore finger and thumb)If it is ready then switch off the stove.Add rose essence or elachi or saffron as you wish.If you add saffron the badusha might be of a little yellow in colour but that's ok.I am posting both the pics with  and without saffron for you to get an idea of how it looks.

This is with Saffron..



This is without Saffron...



Turn the badusha in the oil again and if it is has become fluffy remove it  from the oil and put it in a strainer.Add 4 more in the oil and by then your strained pieces will be ready to be soaked in the sugar syrup.Soak it till you remove the next batch from the oil.Drain it and keep it in a plate.If you like to have a sugar crusted coating over the badusha,you have make the sugar syrup to a strong string consistency.

The sugar syrup might become thick in the process.So add a little water and again make it to the desired consistency once again.

For 1 cup you can make 8 medium sized Badusha.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

My New Mixer Grinder

I wanted to buy a new mixie and was looking for some good make.We kept searching for something good and not very fancy.One day we went to a shop which sold almost all brands and bumped into this make and was really happy to see a mixie in that brand.It is ELGI ULTRA + and it was very good and sturdy.Its power was 1000 watts and as my husband is an engineer, he told that the brand is very good and  so we bought it.I  wanted to try grinding Sambar powder and I had the ingredients also ready for it.So I tried,and to my surprise it DID grind it, and within a few minutes the sambar powder was ready.The motor is so powerful it was over in a few minutes.I wanted to share  this with everybody and here I am...




Monday, October 17, 2011

Thugayal or Thuvayal

This can be called as chutney too,as one of my Telugu friend told me that they call it so.Any way,whatever way you call it it very yummy and hot too.This can be taken with rice or roti.

Puli(Tamarind) Thuvayal
Ingredients


Tamarind------------------------one small lemon size(make it into small pieces or soak it in little water)
Urid dhal------------------------1/4 cup
Red chilly------------------------8 to 10
Hing----------------------------1/4 inch piece
Grated coconut--------------------1/4 cup
Oil --------------------------------1 tbsp
Mustard seeds ---------------------1/4 tsp

Usually I fry the tamarind and hence I told you to make it into small pieces so as it will be easy to grind in the mixie.If you think you cannot do it in your mixer grinder you can soak it in little water which makes grinding easier.If you fry the tamarind, it will stay good for a week(in a Refrigerator).

Fry all the ingredients in oil except the coconut.Add it lastly before switching off the flame.And regarding the hing, if you use the powdered form, add it before adding the coconut and then switch off the flame.
Grind it with minimum water and the yummy dish is ready.You can add more water if you like it a little bit looser.







Friday, October 14, 2011

Easy Kootu

Ingredients
Moong Dhal--------------------------1/4 cup
Vegetable(ANY one)------------------250 to 300 gms
Turmeric powder-----------------------1/2 tsp
Hing-----------------------------------A liberal pinch
Salt ----------------------------------- To taste
Curry powder--------------------------1tbsp
Grated coconut(optional)----------------2 tsp
Oil--------------------------------------1tbsp( if you like you can add 1 more tbsp too)
Mustard seeds--------------------------1/2 tsp
Curry leaves----------------------------- few



This is a very easy Kootu to make.As I told for the other kootu with Moong Dhal(Payatham Paruppu), we can use any of the vegetables mentioned in that post. This one I made with Avarakkai(Broad beans).Cook the vegetable with the Moong Dhal with turmeric powder and hing.After it is cooked  add salt and stir.Add the curry powder and the grated coconut on top of it. Heat oil and  add mustard seeds and pour it hot on top of the curry powder and the grated coconut.Mix well  and add the curry leaves.If you want you can cook the moong dhal and vegetable in a pressure cooker too(with hing and turmeric powder).Then the remaining part is the same.


Monday, October 10, 2011

More kuzambu

Actually this is made with Thayir(curd) but it is called more (buttermilk) Kuzambu.

For grinding:
Toor dhal------------------1tbsp(soak in water)
Green chilly----------------4
Cumin seeds----------------1 1/2 tsp(one and half)
Grated coconut---------------2 tbsp

For this we can use White pumpkin(winter gourd)Chow chow(chayote)Ladies fingerAnd some people put tomato too.But I have not tried it so far.If you want to put ladies finger you have fry it in oil with a little salt.Cook till it becomes slightly brown and then add it to the More kuzambu and boil for 5 more minutes.

Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste and add it to two cups of curd.Add salt just enough for the curd as we have cooked the vegetables with salt.(Drain the water from the boiled vegetables and use this water for grinding the masala.That way you don't waste the nutrients of the vegetables.)Add curry leaves.Heat oil in kadai and add 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds and add it to the more kuzambu.Boil this mixture for 5 more minutes.And the yummy more kuzambu is ready to serve.This is yummy with Paruppu sadam :)

We can add 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder to the curd and add the vegetables and remaining procedure is all the same.This will have different taste.






Monday, October 3, 2011

Cabbage and Carrot kootu

Cabbage--------------300 gms
Carrot-----------------150 gms
Cooked toor dhal------1 cup

For the masala

urid dhal-----------------1tbsp
Black pepper------------1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds-------------1/2 tsp
Rice----------------------1 tbsp
Red chilly-----------------2
Grated coconut-----------1 tbsp

Fry all the ingredients in 2 tsp of oil excepting the coconut.Add it after switching off the flame.
Grind it to a smooth paste and keep aside.
In a cooking vessel or a pressure cooker put the vegetables with enough water add salt,1/2 tsp of Sambar powder, little hing and cook.Add the masala and the cooked toor dhal and cook for 5 more minutes.Add curry leaves and temper it with mustard seeds.
Many would have never tasted this kootu at all.It is very unique and my family loves it.For those who don't like  North Indian this goes very well with chapatti too.


Raw Banana curry

Raw banana is one of my favorite vegetable.My father loves it as bajji.This can be done in so many ways and I will give the variations in the end.The one I made is very very easy and tasty too.

Raw Banana-------------2 medium size
Peel and cut the bananas into cubes.Cook this in water with 1tsp of salt in low flame.See that it is not over cooked. If it is over cooked it will break when we saute it in Kadai.Drain and keep aside.
Oil----------------1 tbsp
Urid dhal----------1tsp
Channa dhal-------1tsp
Hing ---------------little
Salt----------------1/2 tsp
Curry powder------1tbsp
 curry leaves--------few


For the curry powder..

Urid dhal--------1/2 cup
Channa dhal------1/2 cup
Dry red chilies---1/2 cup(break the chilly and measure)
Coriander seeds----1 cup

Dry roast everything individually.Always keep in mind that the coriander seeds should not be roasted like the other ingredients.Dry grind this coarsely and store it in a air tight container.This curry powder  can be used in many dishes.

Heat oil in a kadai and put mustard seeds once it becomes hot then add  a little hing,1 tsp of Urid dhal and 1 tsp of Channa dhal.Fry till it is golden brown.Add the cooked and drained raw banana to it.As we have added salt for the banana already just add a little just enough for the curry powder.Saute this for two minutes and then add 1 tbsp of the curry powder and a few curry leaves.Saute this for another two minutes.You can add 1 tsp of grated coconut if you like.







Variations:
When cooking the banana You can add 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder.Drain and keep aside.Heat oil in kadai and put mustard seed urid dhal ,channa dhal, and 3 red chilies.Then add the cooked banana and saute it.Add curry leaves and it is ready to serve.