Traditional Indian Cousins Vegeterian
By Lalit Niranjan.
MUGHLAI BIRYANI
INGREDIENTS:
For the meat:
1kg lamb/ chicken cut into 2" pieces
(If using chicken, use breast or thigh fillet)
4 large onions sliced thin
2 tsp garlic paste, 2 tsp ginger paste
2 tbsp almonds
6 tbsp ghee
1" stick of cinnamon, 5 cloves, and 3 pods cardamom
8 peppercorns, 1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala
1 cup yoghurt 2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
PREPARATION & METHOD
1 Put the almonds in a bowl of hot water (enough to cover them) and set aside for 10 minutes, remove skins from all the almonds and keep aside
2 Mix the garlic and ginger pastes, the peeled almonds and grind to a smooth paste
3 Heat a handi, add rice and enough water to cook, add salt to taste. Let the rice to boil. Cook till almost done.
(To determine when it has reached that stage, remove a few grains from the pot and press between your thumb and forefinger. The rice should mostly mash but will have a firm whitish core.)
4 Turn off the fire. Strain and keep drained aside.
5 Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry 2 of the onions till deep golden, drain and keep aside on paper towels
6 Heat 3 tbsp of oil in another pan and add the whole spices - cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and peppercorns. Sauté it. Add the 2 remaining onions and fry till they are translucent. Add the ginger-garlic-almond paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.
7 Add all the spice powders - coriander, cumin and garam masala and mix well. fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala and then add the lamb/ chicken. Keep frying till the meat is fully sealed
8 Now add the yoghurt, lime juice, stock, coriander and mint leaves and salt to taste (if needed). Mix well.
9 Cover the pot and allow cooking till the meat is tender.
FOR BIRYANI
Take a handi and grease with desi ghee, place evenly layer the cooked rice, meat (and its gravy) in it to form at least 2 sets of layers (rice-meat-rice-meat-rice), garnish with the fried onions. Cover the dish tightly.
Dum it for 30 minutes, take off the lid at the time of serving and serve hot with
Raita like Chatpata Channa Raita (chickpeas in hot-sour yoghurt
CHICKEN BIRYANI
INGREDIENTS
½ kg basmati rice
¾ kg chicken.
1 cup beaten yoghurt
2 onions thinly sliced
1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste.
2 tsp green chilly paste
½ cup tomato puree, 2 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp cumin powder (roasted.
2 tsp garam masala powder, 1 tsp black pepper crushed
½ tsp green cardamom powder
1 tsp coriander powder,
A pinch of saffron soaked in milk
2 tsp lemon juice
¼ cup dsei ghee or vegetable oil
A bunch of coriander leaves
Salt to taste
PREPARATION
FOR CHICKEN
Mix tomato puree, yoghurt, ginger garlic paste, green chilly paste, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, roasted cumin powder, gram macula, coriander powder and salt thoroughly, make a fine paste of it,
Marinate the chicken with this paste and lemon juice for 3-4 hrs
FOR RICE
Soak saffron in milk, wash the rice, soak in water for 45 minutes, Heat a handy, add water and soaked saffron, and let it boil, add rice and half cook it, strain the excess water and keep aside.
FOR GARNISHING
Heat some oil and deep fry onion till reddish brown and crispy, remove from the heat and keep aside on kitchen paper to dry the excess
METHOD
1 Heat oil in a handi, add onion and fry till golden brown, add the marinated chicken with masala and cook on low flame till the chicken is tender, remove and keep aside
2 Take another handi, put some oil on bottom of it to make oily base, spread some rice over it, add half of the mutton over it, cover with half of the rice, add remaining mutton again, add remaining rice to cover the mutton, spread half of the fried onion over the rice, seal it with the lid and cook for 20-30 minutes (depending upon the quality) on low heat.
3 Take out the handi, Garnish with remaining crispy onion and chopped coriander leaves; serve hot with raita and coriander chutney
KEEMA BHARA PARATHA
INGREDIENTS
2 cups wheat flour
½ cup milk
½ kg mutton keema
6-8 green chilies finely chopped
¼ cup coriander leaves finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp crushed black pepper corns
1 tsp red chilly powder
¼ tsp garam masala powder
¼ cup desi ghee
Salt to taste
PREPARATION & METHOD
1 knead flour in milk, add salt to taste and make dough of it, keep aside for 45 minutes, make small ball of dough, keep aside.
2 Boil the keema in one cup hot water for few minutes, strain the excess water if any, blend it to make a course paste ( not fine or thick), mix all the ingredients thoroughly for stuffing in a bowl (except ghee), add this mixture to the course paste of keema and mix thoroughly; “this is the mixture for stuffing”
3 Roll the small ball it in to circular roti; brush it with ghee on top,
Place about 2 tbsp stuffing mixture in the center and close the ends of the roti and seal it from all ends nicely so that stuffing doesn’t come out while rolling
4 Now make the roti of the stuffed ball, heat the tawa put the rolled paratha on it cook both side till it is done, brush it with 1 tbsp of ghee on both the sides, and cook it till crispy brown
5 Serve hot with chutney, raita etc.
NOTE; the keema may be of mutton of the lamb or boneless chicken, for making chicken bhara parantha, follow the same procedure
MUTTON YAKH NI PULAO
INGREDIENTS
1 kg mutton
1 onion roughly chopped
2”x1 ginger, 8-10 garlic cloves
2-3 bay leaves, 3-4 cloves
4-6 green cardamom pods
1’x1 cinnamon sticks
FOR PULAO
2 cups fine basmati rice
1-2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves, 3x1’cinnamon sticks
6-7 green cardamom pods
4-6 onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp ginger paste, 2 tbsp garlic paste
1 grated nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ cup desi ghee
4 cups mutton stock
Salt to taste
METHOD
1 Tie the onion and all the spices into a potali ( A cloth bag), heat a kadahi add 2 tbsp desi ghee, add the mutton with enough water to make 4 cups of mutton stock, cook till the mutton is soft and tender and it is well cooked, strain the mutton stock and keep mutton and stock separately
2 Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan, add the whole spices and allow it to splutter, add onion and deep fry it till golden brown
3 Add ginger and garlic paste, cook for few minutes, add nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder, stir for few minutes
3 Now mix the cooked mutton and rice and cook for 3-4 minute on medium flame, add salt and pour the mutton stock
4 Place the heavy lid and seal it, Cook on low flame (simmer), for about 10 – 15 minutes
5 Serve hot with raita and chutney
HYDERABADI BIRYANI
INGREDIENTS
FOR RICE:
½ kg basmati rice
3 each of cloves, cardamoms, & cinnamon
1 tsp black cumin seeds, 1 bay leaf
3 tsp ghee, Salt to taste
FOR MUTTON:
½ kg mutton
4-6 green chilies finely chopped
2 large onions finely chopped
2 tomatoes thinly sliced
2 cloves, 4-6 cardamom & 1” cinnamon stick
1 bunch coriander leaves, ½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp ginger paste
1”x 4 ginger finely chopped
8-10 whole red chilly, 1tsp black pepper crushed
4 tsp ghee
8-10 whole red chilies
2 tbsp coriander seeds (A) Grind together to make a
2 tsp fennel seeds fine paste)
2 tsp khus khus seeds
½ cup grated coconut (B) Grind together to make a
2 tbsp chopped cashew nuts fine paste)
½ cup yogurt
For garnishing
4-6 boiled eggs, a bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped
PREPARATION & MEHOD
RICE
1. Soak rice in water for 30 minutes, drain and keep aside.
2. Heat ghee, add remaining spices for rice preparation and sauté for a minute or two, add rice and fry till the rice particles are done, add water and salt, and cook till the water is absorbed. It may be noted that rice is almost (75%) cooked and will be finally cooked on DUM with mutton.
FOR MUTTON
1. Marinate mutton in curd with crushed black pepper and salt for 45 minutes
2. Heat ghee in a handi, add bay leaves, onion and fry till golden brown, now add the tomatoes and fry for few minutes.
3. Add mutton and cook on low heat till mutton is tender, add all the remaining masala and the (A) and (B) paste) and cook till the mutton is almost (75%) done. Remove from the heat and keep aside.
BIRYANI
1. Take a handi, or dekchi, spread some ghee on the bottom of the handi and pour some rice, make a layer with half the mutton, cover it with the half the rice, again make the layer of mutton over it and then place remaining rice to finish the Biryani arrangement. Seal with the lead and DUM it for 30 minutes.
2. Take out the lid at the time of serving and garnish with boiled eggs, fried onion, cashew nut, raisin and coriander leaves. Serve hot