mutton biryani (new recipe better, faster, tastier :p)

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Hi all,


I had an old recipe for mutton biryani on this blog but I am accepting room for improvement and here's the newer, better, nicer, tastier, and easier version.

ingredients (to serve 4 like me)

2 kgs mutton with bone
1 tablespoon meat masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
250 gram yoghurt
50 ml mint sauce

100 ml oil
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon black cumin


whole spices
   6 bay leaves
  10 whole cardamom
  3 black cardamom
  4 cinnamon sticks
  3 star aniseed
 

3 large onions
10 cloves garlic
50 grams ginger

2 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
salt to taste

300 grams long basmati rice (don't be stingy, get the best one!)
a pinch of saffron (so that it's covers a teaspoon - sorry can't explain it better)
sultanas 50 grams
cashews 100 grams
coriander and mint leaves 50 grams each
eggs - 4

first mix the meat, yoghurt, meat masala turmeric and mint sauce and leave overnight at least (24 hours is even better)

blend onions, garlic and ginger.

heat oil, add cumin and black cumin and the whole spices and then the onin paste.

after cooking on low-medium for 30 minutes, turn the heat to high and add the coriander powder, chilli powder, and the marinaded meat. cook on high for 10 mins and then low for 2 hours

when the meat is done for 2.5 hours, start boiling the rice in 2-3 ltrs water half way through (this should take 15 minutes and the meat would be done for 2 hrs 45 mins by now). drain the water out completely. mix saffron in 1/4 cup of hot water and when the color and flavor comes out, mix with rice. chop the coriander and mint and mix with rice, along with cashew, sultanas, half the salt. (the meat would be done around 2 hrs 55 mins by now and would be PERFECT!)

add rest of the salt in mutton and mix.

now spray a deep oven dish with oil and add a layer of 2 cm deep layer of rice, and then add a layer of mutton pieces. drizzle with some of the curry from mutton. another layer of rice, then mutton, then a drizzle of curry. you WILL have extra curry left over. don't dump it into the rice or else it wouldn't be biryani, it'd be khichdi :D

into the oven at 165 degree Celsius for 30 minutes. meanwhile boil the eggs for putting on top. done :)

2009 was a good year!

in terms of professional satisfaction, 2009 couldn't have gone any better (of course, it would have been great if i got a tenure, but then again, it would be awesome if my wallet filled itself, if we could fly @ 200kph, if pizzas were on the official high-fibre detox diet :D)

anyways, the three best things that happened were (in order of importance for me):

1. getting the best paper award at SIGMAP 2009 - I don't know how ;-)
2. getting an average 4.8 / 5 student feedback score for my postgraduate unit Object Oriented Technology
3. getting the teaching excellence award at SIBT and tax-exempt 1000$ to go with it
4. getting my first submitted grant approved (even though it was a tiny tiny grant request :D)

on the personal front, i got to see my sister after 5 years and one of my niece for the first time. I was completely overwhelmed with joy during that entire month.

hope 2010 can be half as awesome :)

vada pav / pao

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Vada pav is the indian version of a burger. contains a fried patty of potato and some spices including  chilli, garlic, cumin, salt, etc  coverd in gramflour batter between two bread rolls and a generous quantity of lahsun ki chutney on the patty .

the idea behind such simple foods is to be able to eat them on-the-run - quite literally. when i was in my teens and went to bombay, the sight of labourers having two vada pavs for lunch was everywhere!

the food is high in carbs which is exactly what physically challenging professions need. also since these men and women are mostly running around the city with no fixed job location, bringing food from home is a bit difficult (not to mention, pointless if you can get a lunch for 5 Rs - 10 years back - now maybe 15rs or 30 cents).

i made vada pavs at home but instead of deep frying i just pan fried the patty. was yum!

will post a pic soon that i have on the sd card of my camera.

marathi lahsun ki chutney (the one you get with vada pav)

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seriously, there can't be a simpler recipe for anything!

grind together roasted peanuts (200 grams), garlic cloves (10-15), chilli powder (1-2 tablespoon based on how hot you want it), salt (1.5 teaspoon)

THAT'S IT!

rajma recipe (red kidney beans curry)

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hey :)

rajma (red kidney beans) was probably one of the first dishes i made completely by myself (after maggi noodles, i.e.). we used to have rajma, chapatis and green coriander chutney on virtually every special occasion at our place or jagrat's. so, after watching mummy and aunty cook it for so many years, i had the recipe pretty much memorized!

there are a couple of ways of making rajma and i like the one where you don't really have so much garam masala in the final product but just the taste of it. you can achieve this by boiling the rajma with a bag containing the different whole spices. squeezing this bag can later to get the most out of it, before throwing it away. not having the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves makes it easier on the stomach too.

ingredients (to serve 6 gluttons or 8 normal people :D) -

for the bag / potli -
3 star aniseed
2 big cinnamon sticks

5 bay leaves

3 black cardamom (badi elaichi)

put these in a musline cloth and tie a double knot.

rajma 500 grams

salt 1 tablespoon

for the curry paste (blend the following together)
3 medium sized onions
50 grams ginger (it's quite nice in rajma, but you can skip it if not a fan)
5 (+/-5) cloves of garlic

for the curry
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/4 tablespoon shaahi jeera/ black cumin seeds
1/2 tablespoon chilli powder
1/3 tablespoon turmeric
1/4 tablespoon cumin powder
1 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
300 grams of tomato soaked in hot water for 20 min (you can soak them after you start the cooking process)
100 ml oil

on one stove, pressure cook the rajma in 2 ltrs water, salt, and the spice bag/ potli. on high heat for 20 minutes and low-medium for 30. if you don't have a pressure cooker, boil it in a stockpot for 30 minutes on high and 30 minutes on medium, till soft (not mushy).

on the other heat the oil, and add the two cumin seeds to it. when browned, add the onion ginger garlic paste and cook on medium/ low-medium for about 15 mins till the oil starts coming out. turn heat to high. mix the remaining 4 curry powders in 50 ml water and add to the paste getting cooked. stir frequently to avoid sticking to the base. blend the tomatoes but not too smoothly and add. turn heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. when the oil starts to separate, add the whole thing to the rajma and cook on medium for another 10. garnish with generous amount of coriander.

serve with rice/ chapati/ bread/ lavaash/ by itself ... it's all good!

have lots of greens with this - that's why it goes very well with palak paneer.

cheers
gaurav

mango pickle / aam ka achaar (achar)

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Hey,

Sydney it all set to witness warmer temperatures of around 28 degrees and the weather's perfect to set mango pickle. I have set chilli, garlic, and lime pickles before but always heard that mango pickles are tricky so never tried them ... until now :)

went to the markets are 06:00 only to find that fridays are wholesale days. so i couldn't pick up a couple of kgs of raw mangoes. So my brain is going "that's it, quit!" but despite all my instincts asking me to drive back home quitely, I go to this HUGE wholesaler and query, "what's the minimum amount i can buy?". "10 kgs", comes the stern and dismissive reply. ok, then, 10 kgs it is...



so - enough small talk. here's the recipe




before i begin, please note that two things are most important in this process - dryness, and cleanliness. You get a little moisture in somewhere and say adios to the pickle. You have a little dirt/ bacteria on your chopping board/ knife/ hands - bye...

chapter 1: the softening process

wash mangoes thoroughly and wipe them with clean cloth. cut the mangoes into 16 pieces (or less if you like chunky pieces, or, more if you like mushy pickles). Make sure to remove any bad mangoes/ bad parts as these might spoil the party. Keep the raw (white) mangoes separate from the semi-raw mangoes (yellowish)...





add 1 tablespoon turmeric and 2 tablespoon salt for 2 kgs of mangoes. mix well, cover / cling wrap and leave in sun for a day.






(btw, the recipe i am following closely is here)

Next day, early morning, heat 3 ltrs of mustard oil for 5 kgs of raw mangoes and let it cool down. (I guess you heat and then cool it to disinfect and de-moisturize the oil).

Drain the moisture out of the mangoes as much as you can.

For the pickle spice. For 5 kgs of mangoes -

1. 200 grams fennel seeds (1/2 crushed, 1/2 intact)
2. 100 grams onion seeds (kalonji) (1/2 crushed, 1/2 intact)
3. 400 grams salt
4. 1 teaspoon asafoetida powder
5. 200 grams chilli powder (lesser if you done want so spicey)
6. 200 grams flattened yellow mustard seeds



mix the ingredients together, add to the mangoes, add the cooled-down oil.



mix well and jar for three days in clean, dry bottles.





After three days, add the leftover oil so that it (the oil) comes at least till the brim. Leave it for at least a month, shaking/ stirring it everyday - but - with a CLEAN spoon. and no licking ;) !

lauki ke kofte

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holy moly, i was writing the title of this post and as usual, i was about to write its english translation when i realized it is "balls of long gaurd". LMAO! But I hope that it doesn't put you off your appetite since this is a healthy version of one truly delicious dish. "Healthy" because instead of frying the balls (ahm...), you can steam them followed by pan frying to hold the shape when put in the gravy.

Ingredients:

For the Koftas:
Long Guard/ Lauki - 1.5 kgs
Ajwain - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Finely Chopped Chilli - 6-10
Finely Chopped Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Finely Chopped Ginger - Finger-size
Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoon
(Besan 4 tablespoon and 1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder)
OR
(4 tablespoon self raising flour)
Jeera (Cumin) powder - 1 teaspoon




Peel, Grate the lauki and mix it all together (don't add water unless required as the lauki leaves water when grated which is enough to hold it together). Done!

Make golf ball sized balls. Now either steam it/ boil it/ deep fry it (deep frying is of course the tastiest, but from health perspective, steaming is perfect!). Steam for 6 minutes. Pan fry the steamed balls so that they hold their shape when put in gravy.

For the gravy -

Ingredients

Finely chopped Onion - 1 medium
Finely chopped Tomatoes - 2 medium
Jeera (Cumin) seeds - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 4 tablespoon
Spice mix paste -
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder,
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder,
1 teaspoon coriander powder,
the three mixed with 50 ml water
Salt 1/2 teaspoon

Put the cumin seeds in hot oil and add the onions. Turn heat to medium. When they are light brown, turn heat to high, add the spice paste. Add tomatoes as soon they start sticking to base (as we don't want to burn the spices). Turn heat to medium again and cook for another 10 minutes till it thickens. Add 1/2 liter water and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the koftas and serve. Yupp - easy :)