Chicken Dum Biriyani

I prepared this biriyani for last week end. Just wanted to note this down as it was so perfect.

Ingredients
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Basmati Rice - 4 Cups ( I used Kohinoor)
Chicken  - 800gms
Onion - 2
Green chilly - 2
Tomato - 2
Curd - 1 Cup
Cinnamon - 4
Cardamom - 5
Cloves  - 4
Bay leaves - 4
Star Anise - 1
Chilly Powder - 1 and half Teaspoon
Garam masala - 1/2 Teaspoon
Ginger Garlic Paste - 3 Teaspoon
Coriander - A handful
Mint - A handful(I substituted with a teaspoon of dried mint)
Oil - 2 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon
Milk - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 2 or 3 Teaspoon
Lemon - 1

Method
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1.Clean the chicken and marinate with half of curd and salt.
2.Wash the Rice and soak them for 20mins.
3.Heat  2 Tablespoons of Oil in a pan and season with 3 Cinnamon, 3 Cardamom, 2 Cloves, 3 Bay leaves .
4. Add sliced onion and fry till they are dark brown. Do not let them burn.
5. Add Ginger garlic paste , green chilly and fry till the raw smell goes.
6. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves and fry.
7. Add chopped tomatoes and fry till the oil comes out.
8. Add chilly powder and garam masala powder.
9.Add  Chicken pieces and fry for 5 minutes.
10. Now add remaining curd, milk and salt and cook till the chicken is almost done. Add 1/4cup of water if necessary. It should not be too thick.
11.In the meantime, boil water in a big pan or pressure cooker and add the soaked rice, salt, remaining spices(cinnamon, cardamom, cloves,star anise , bay leaves) and a teaspoon of oil
12.Cook the rice for 7-8 minutes. It should be cooked only 70%.
13.Drain the water and spread the rice in  colander.
14.Spread little ghee in a pan of electric rice cooker.
15.Put a layer of rice in cooker pan  then top it with chicken gravy. Repeat this until all the rice is done.
16.Spread some chopped coriander, mint leaves and sprinkle lemon juice. Add Ghee.
17.Switch on the electric cooker. After some time, it will go to warm mode.  Let it be in warm mode atleast for 15minutes.
18.While serving, Gently mix the rice with a plastic or light wooden spatula.

Notes
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While cooking chicken, after adding each ingredient , close the lid and cook.
Instead of milk , we can add coconut milk.
Even though , it looks like a elaborate process, it is easy as we can cook chicken and rice side by side. We can make sure rice is not over cooked. No need to worry about the water ratio.
Do not mix the rice with heavy spoons or spatulas. Use lighter ones and handle gently.

Fairy Cakes

This is a simple cake made by my DD during her summer holidays. It was so yummy and so soft..

Ingredients

Butter - 100gms
Self Raising Flour - 100gms
Castor Sugar - 100gms
Egg - 2
Vanilla Essence - 1/2 Teaspoon
Readymade Icing - As required

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Mix all the ingredients with a beater for 3 minutes with a electric beater.
3. Spoon the mixture into 12 cup cases arranged in a muffin tin.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or till done.
5. Once cooled down, decorate with icing.
6. Enjoy ..

Mutton Kola Urundai Kulambu

Amma is an expert in making this and it's Appa's all time favourite. Here, goes the family recipe with little secrets.   

Ingredients

Minced Mutton  - 500gms
Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
Coriander Powder - 2 Tablespoon
Chilly Powder - 1 Tablespoon
Curry Leaves - Few
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 2
Coconut - 1 Tablespoon
Mutton bones - 100gms (optional)
Oil - 1 Tablespoon

Paste 1
Cinnamon - 1
Cardamom - 1
Cloves - 2
Poppy Seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Saunf - 1/2 Teaspoon
Coconut - 1 Tablespoon

Paste 2
Onion - 1(Finely chopped)
Green Chilly - 1
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - little

Method

1. Keep Oil in a kadai and when it is heated, add 3/4th  of mutton mince and fry them with little bit of turmeric powder till it changes colour.
2. Fry ingredients in paste 1 in little bit of oil and keep them aside.
3. Fry ingredients for paste 2 in remaining oil.
4. Grind the fried mutton mince, uncooked 1/4th of mutton mince, ingredients of paste 1 together in the mixie to a coarse paste.
5.Now add ingredients for paste 2 and pulse them together till they are mixed.
6. Make golf size balls with this mixture. We can take half out of this mixture for a fry if we want.
7.If using bones, boil  them in water with salt , take the the stock and discard the bones. If we add bones, it'll break the mince balls.
8. Heat oil in a kadai, season with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, saunf seeds, curry leaves.
9. Add finely chopped onion, ginger garlic paste, tomato and fry them nicely.
10. Add coriander, chilly and turmeric powders.
11. Add 2 cups of water or bone stock and let it boil.
12.Grind coconut into a smooth paste and add it to the kulambu. Add salt.
13. When it is boiling, add 2 minced mutton balls and wait till they are floating on top. Now add next 2 balls. This way, add all the mutton balls 2 by 2.
14. Boil it for 5 minutes.
15.Switch off the stove and serve hot.

                                                                                                                                               

Pizza

Yesterday I prepared this Pizza for dinner and we enjoyed it a lot. It was close to pizza hut. For this measurements, I made 2 large pizzas .

Ingredients

For base
All purpose flour - 3 cups
Yeast - 2 and a half  teaspoon
Olive Oil - 3 Tablespoon
Sugar - 1 Tablespoon
Salt - 1/2 Teaspoon
Water - 1 to 1 and a half Cup

For Sauce
Tomatoes - 10
Garlic - 3 Flakes
Olive Oil - 2 Teaspoon
Oregano - 1 Teaspoon
Basil - 1 Teaspoon
Salt -  To Taste
Chilli Flakes - To Taste

For Topping
Mozzarella cheese -  150gms
Chicken  - 150gms
Oil - 1 Teaspoon
Chilly Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Salt - To Taste
Mushroom - a handful


Method

Pizza Base
1. Mix yeast with lukewarm water,sugar, 2 Tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl and keep aside for 5 minutes.
2. Mix salt and all purpose flour in a bowl and add the yeast mixture and make a dough.
3. Apply little oil in hand and knead the dough well.
4. Wrap the bowl tightly with a cling wrap and place it in a warm place for 90 mins.
5. Punch the dough and keep it aside for second rising for 30 minutes.

Sauce
1.Keep the tomatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes and then remove the skin.
2. Cut the tomatoes into half and remove the juice and seeds. We can use this for making tomato rasam or add them in other kulambu or gravies.
3. Crush the tomato pulp using a hand mixer. or chop them nicely.
4. Finely chop the garlic.
5. Heat oil in a pan and add garlic. Fry slightly and add the crushed tomatoes. Add basil, oregano, chilly flakes and salt.
7.Keep this in low flame till it becomes sauce like consistency. This may take around 20 - 30 mins.

Chicken topping

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add chicken breast cut into stripes, chilly powder and salt. cook in low flame.


Assembling

1.Preheat the oven to 225 C.
2. Apply oil in a non-stick baking tray.
3. Take a pizza dough and stretch it into the tray as thin as possible using hands. Apply oil in hands to prevent the sticking.
4. Spread the sauce all over the pizza.
5. Add the cooked chicken pieces, thinly chopped mushrooms. We can add other toppings such as capsicum, onion , boiled corn here. I didn't add as I didn't have them.
6. Cover the pizza with shredded mozzarella cheese.
7. Sprinkle oregano and basil.
9. Bake it in oven for 10 minutes.
 

Idly Sambar

This is a simple sambar we make in Madurai. I love to have this sambar with dosa. Egg dosa and this sambar is a staple sunday breakfast in our house.

Ingredients

Moongdal - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Sambar Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Green Chilly - 2
Jeera - 1/2 Teaspoon
Mustard - 1/2 Teaspoon
Red Chilly - 2
Asafoetida - 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil
Salt

Method

1. In a pressure cooker, cook Moongdhal,tomato, turmeric powder , sambar powder and salt with 2 cups of water for 2 whistles.
2. Season with mustard, jeera, red chilly, asafoetida and curry leaves.
3.Garnish with coriander leaves.
4.Serve hot with idly or dosa.
 

Muttai Parotta

 

Ingredients

Parotta - 6
Egg - 4
Onion -1
Tomato - 1
Green Chilly - 1
Chilly Powder - 1Teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Pepper - 1/4 Teaspoon
Saunf - 1/2 Teaspoon
Mutton or Chicken Salna - 4 Tablespoon
Curry Leaves - Few
Curry Masal Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon
Oil
Salt


Method

1.Finely Chop the onions. Beat the eggs with little salt.
2.Cut parotta into big pieces. Mince them in  mixie for few seconds.
3.Heat oil in a pan and season with saunf.
4.Add the finely chopped onions, Curry leaves and green chillies and fry till they are golden brown.
5.Add Chopped tomatoes and fry for 3 minutes.
6.Add masala powders and cook till the raw smell goes.
7.Add the minces parotta and fry for 2 minutes.
8.Add the beaten eggs and salna to the parotta and keep on stirring tlll egg seperates from parotta.This process will take about 7 -8 minutes.
9.Serve hot.
 

Chicken Salna

Yesterday I prepared this chicken salna as a side for parotta. It was a close match to the salna we used to get from roadside parotta stalls back home in Madurai.

Ingredients

Chicken - 1/2 Kg
Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Teaspoon
Green Chilly -2
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Chilly Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Jeera  Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry Masala Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon
Corianer - half handful
Mint - 5
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 3
Coconut Milk - 1/2 Cup or Coconut paste - 2 Tablespoon
Oil
Salt

Method

1.Heat oil in a pressure cooker and season with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
2.Add finely chopped onion and fry till it becomes brown.
3.Add ginger garlic paste and slitted green chillies and fry for few minutes.
4.Cut tomatoes into big pieces and add them. Try not to mash them. Just stir it gently.
5.Add  coriander and mint leaves.
6.Add chicken pieces and all masala powders except curry masala and fry them for 3-4 minutes.
7.Add 2 cups of water and let it to boil. or we can pressure cook for 1 whistle.
10.After the chicken is cooked , add the coconut milk and curry masala powder.
11.Switch off the stove after it starts boiling.
12.Serve hot as a side for parotta,chapathi, idli or biriyani.