Hyderabadi Chicken dum Biryani

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 750 gms
2. Basmati Rice - 3 cups(little less than 1/2 kg)
3. Onions - 3-4 large finely sliced
4. Tomatoes - 2 medium finely chopped
5. Ginger-garlic paste - 3 tsp
6. Green chillies - 2
7. Coriander leaves - handful/1 cup+ some for garnish
8. Mint leaves/pudina - 1/2 cup/ 1 small bunch
9. Curd - 1/2 cup/ 5 tbsp
10. Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
11. Haldi powder - 2 tsp
12. Everest Biryani masala - 2 tsp
13. Cloves - 6-7
14. Peppercorns - 7-8
15. Cinnamon stick - 2 small piece
16. Bay leaf - 1
17. Green cardamon - 2
18. Black cardamon - 1
19. Salt as per taste
20. Atta Dough for sealing
21. Water as required
22. Oil - 8-9 tbsp

Method:

1. Clean, wash chicken and keep aside.
2. Grind pudina,coriander, ginger-garlic paste and green chillies to a fine thick paste.
3. Heat 6 tbsp oil in a kadai, fry sliced onions till crispy brown in colour remove it in a bowl, keep some onions for garnish and mix curd to remaining onions to form a thick brown paste.
4. Marinate chicken with salt, chilli pd, haldi pd, green paste, thick curd-onion paste, chopped tomatoes, everest biryani masala, little oil(use leftover oil after frying onion).Mix all nicely with your hands and keep for 2 hours.Marinate in the same kadai in which you are going to cook biryani.
5. Soak Basmati Rice for half an hour.
6. Take a big deep wide mouth vessel, add lots of water and bring it to a boil.
7. Add salt, cloves, pepper, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, green and black cardamon.
8. Add soaked rice and cook for 10-12 mins. Strain the rice and spread it on a plate. Sprinkle little oil over it. The rice needs to be only 1/2 cooked. The rest of it gets cooked on dum.
9. Now spread cooked rice nicely on the marinated chicken all over. Garnish with some fried onion and chopped coriander leaves.
10. Close the kadai with a lid and seal the same with atta dough.
11. Allow it to cook on high flame for first 10 mins. Then reduce the flame and let it cook for 20 mins. Lastly for 10 mins keep on tawa and cook so that it doesn't burn. In total cook for 35-40 mins.
12. Let it cool for 10 mins.
13. Mix nicely and serve with raita.

**Use thick bottom pan.

Marinated chicken

Cooked Rice

Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice - 2 cups
2. Mix vegetables - 1 cup (carrot,beans,peas,cauliflower,potato) chopped length wise
3. Onions - 3 medium finely sliced
4. Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped
5. Garlic - 7-8
6. Ginger - 1/2 inch/small piece
7. Green chilli - 1
8. Coriander leaves - handful/1 cup+ some for garnish
9. Mint leaves/pudina - 1/2 cup
10. Curd - 4-5 tbsp
11. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
12. Haldi powder - 1 tsp
13. Everest Biryani masala - 2 tsp
14. Cloves - 3-4
15. Peppercorns - 3-4
16. Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece
17. Cardamon - 2
18. Bay leaf - 1
19. Shahi jeera - 1/4 tsp
20. Salt as per taste
21. Water as required
22. Oil - 5-6 tbsp
23. Atta Dough for sealing

Method:

• Grind pudina,coriander, ginger, garlic and green chillies to a fine thick paste.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadai, fry sliced onions till crispy brown in colour remove it in a bowl(Sprinkle little salt to speed up the process of frying).
• Keep some onions for garnish and mix curd to remaining onions to form a thick paste.
• Soak Basmati Rice for half an hour.
• Take a big deep wide mouth vessel, add lots of water and bring it to a boil.
• Add salt, cloves, pepper, cinnamon stick, cardamon.
• Add soaked rice and cook for 10-12 mins. Strain the rice and spread it on a plate. The rice needs to be 3/4th cooked. The rest of it gets cooked on dum.
• In the same kadai(in which onions were fried) add remaining oil, add bay leaf, shahi jeera.
• Then add green paste(step 1) fry till raw smell disappears.
• Now add onion curd paste(step 3)fry for 2-3 mins.
• Add finely chopped tomatoes fry for few seconds.
• Add all spice powders chilli powder, haldi powder, everest shahi Biryani masala, little salt(salt is already added to rice) fry for 3-4 mins.
• Add vegetables, mix nicely and allow it to cook on medium flame till vegetables are half cooked.
• Now add parboiled rice(Don't mix just spread it), garnish with fried onions and chopped coriander leaves.
• Close the kadai with a lid and seal the same with atta dough.
• Allow it to cook on dum for 10-15 mins on low flame.
• Let it cool for 10 mins.
• Mix nicely and serve with raita.

**You can also use paneer but instead of adding in gravy fry it and garnish on top of rice before sealing the kadai.

Chicken do pyaza

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 500gms
2. Onion - 3 medium(2 finely chopped and 1 cut into cubes)
3. Tomatoes - 3 medium
4. Capsicum - 1 medium cut into cubes
5. Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp
6. Green chilli - 2
7. Coriander-pudina - 1 small cup finely chopped
8. Curd - 2 tbsp
9. Red chilli pd - 1 1/2 tsp
10. Haldi pd - 1 1/2 tsp
11. Salt - as per taste
12. Oil - 3 tbsp
13. Butter - 1 tsp
14. Water - as required

For Garam masala:

1. Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
2. Cumin - 1/2 tsp
3. Cloves - 5-6
4. Peppercorn - 7-8
5. Cinnamon - 1 small stick
6. Star annise - 1
7. Green cardamon - 2
8. Black cardamon - 1

Method:

• Dry roast all ingredients under garam masala, cool it and make powder.(instead you can also use chicken masala or any garam masala)
• Clean and wash chicken pieces.
• Marinate chicken with 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp red chilli pd, 1 tsp haldi pd, 1 tsp garam masala pd(freshly ground),curd and salt. Mix all this and rest it for 1 hour.
• Blanch tomatoes and make puree.
• Heat oil and butter in a pan.
• Add green chilli, finely chopped onions and fry till translucent.
• Add remaining ginger-garlic paste and fry till raw smell disappears.
• Add tomato puree, fry for few seconds till oil seperates from sides.
• Add little salt(already added in marination), 1/2 tsp red chilli pd, 1/2 tsp haldi pd. Fry for few seconds.
• Add marinated chicken. Mix well. Cover with a lid and cook for 5-7 mins.
• Add chopped coriander-pudina, 1 1/2 tsp garam masala, onion and capsicum(cut into cubes).
• Add water as per consistency of gravy required.
• Cover and cook until chiken is soft and done.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with Roti, paratha.

Non deep fried Dahi Vada

Ingredients:

1. Urad dal - 1 cup
2. Moong dal - 1/2 cup
3. Ginger - 1/2 tsp grated
4. Green chilli - 1 no
5. Thick curd - as required
6. Sweet tamarind chutney - for garnish
7. Red chilli pd - for garnish
8. Roasted jeera pd - for garnish
9. Sugar - as required
10. Salt - as per taste
11. Coriander leaves - chopped for garnish
12. Oil - 2 tbsp
13. Water -  to soak vadas

Method:

• Soak urad dal and moong dal for 4-5 hours.
• Then drain water from the dal and by adding ginger and green chilli grind to a smooth paste. If required just sprinkle some water just 1 spoon.
• Take ground batter in a bowl, add salt and beat nicely.
• Heat appe pan, put little oil in each mould, add a spoonful of batter in each mould.
• Cover with a lid and allow it to cook for 7-8 mins on low flame.
• Once done on one side flip it with the help of spoon and cook on other side till done.
• Remove it and add in a bowl of water. Keep for few seconds. Then take each vada press between your palms to remove excess water.
• Place vadas in serving bowl. Whisk curd till smooth, add sugar and salt as per taste.
• Pour curd over vadas, sprinkle red chilli pd, jeera pd, sweet chutney, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Coconut jaggery stuffed spicy Paratha

Ingredients:

1. Coconut - 1 cup scrapped
2. Jaggery - 1/4 cup grated
3. Red chilli pd - 1/2 tsp
4. Cardamon/elaichi pd - 1/2 tsp

For the dough:

1. Wheat flour/Atta - 1 1/2 cup+ for dusting
2. Salt - as required
3. Oil - 1 tbsp
4. Water - as required
5. Ghee - 2-3 tbsp to apply while roasting.

Method:

• In a pan add scrapped coconut and jaggery and mix well.
• Add red chilli pd and cook till jaggery melts and the mixture is nice dry.
• Add Elaichi pd, mix and allow it to cool.
• To make dough take atta in a bowl, add salt, oil and by adding water knead to a soft dough(like chapati dough). Keep aside for 20 mins.
• Make equal sized balls of the dough and mixture.
• Take one portion of the dough stuff coconut jaggery mixture,and roll it flat. Don't roll it too thin keep it slightly thick.
• Heat a non stick pan, add few drops of ghee and roast it on both sides till done.

Custard powder Cookies

Ingredients:

1. Maida - 1 cup
2. Sugar - 1/2 cup powdered
3. Ghee -  1/2 cup melted and cooled
4. Vanilla flavour custard pd - 2-3 tbsp
5. Milk - 4-5 tbsp
6. Cardamon/Elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Baking powder - 1/4 tsp

Method: 

• In a bowl mix milk and custard powder to form a paste.
• In another bowl sieve the maida and baking powder.
• Add powdered sugar, cardomon/elaichi pd and mix well.
• Add milk and custard pd mixture and mix nicely with your fingers.
• Then add melted ghee little by little kneading it to a dough consistency(it might not be a perfect dough). Quantity of ghee required may be slightly more or less, adjust accordingly.
• Roll small balls out of them and slightly press them on the top with fork not much.
• Grease the baking tray with little ghee and place the cookies on the tray.
• Pre-heat oven to 180 degree celcius and bake them for 25-30 mins.Check after 20 min cookies will turn light brown in colour.
• Once done let it cool for 10 mins.

Potato stuffed Mirchi Bhajji

Ingredients:

1. Long Bhajji green chillies (non spicy) - 4 nos
2. Tamarind pulp - 1 tsp
3. Besan - 1 cup
4. Rice flour - 2 tbsp
5. Red chilli pd - 1/2 tsp
6. Haldi pd - 1/2 tsp
7. Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt - as per taste
9. Water - as required
10. Oil - for deep frying

For the stuffing:

1. Potatoes - 2 boiled and smashed
2. Red chilli pd - 1/2 tsp
3. Jeera pd - 1/2 tsp
4. Coriander pd - 1/2 tsp
5. Coriander leaves - 1 tsp chopped
6. Salt - as per taste

Method:

• Wash green chillies, pat dry and keeping the top intact give a slit in the middle without breaking them in to halves remove seeds with the help of spoon or fingers.
• Apply little salt and rub tamarind pulp to the chillies and keep aside for 10-15 mins.
• In a bowl, take smashed potatoes, add red chilli pd, jeera pd, coriander pd,coriander leaves and little salt.Mix nicely and keep aside.
• Stuff each chillies with the above potato mixture. With the help of your fingers push the stuffing and seal the chillies tightly and keep aside.
• For the batter in a bowl take besan, rice flour,add red chilli pd, haldi pd, ajwain and little salt, mix it.Add water little by little and make a thick batter. To check insert your finger and see if the batter is coated well without dropping.
• Heat oil in a kadai.
• Take one stuffed chilli and dip into the batter, make sure that batter is coated evenly.
• Gently slide each chilli into hot oil and fry till golden brown in colour.
• Remove and drain excess oil on a napkin.
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup or chutney.