Ambur Dum Biriyani

If its weekend, then it ought to be biriyani and kebabs. We Indians, love biriyani and that so evident from North India to South India. I like to try various biriyani recipes every time, so that i don't get bored cooking and even people who eat keep praising me for the new variety:). There are atleast 25 biriyani recipes which i prepare and will keep sharing the same with this group.

Off late, there are many Ambur biriyani centres which have mushroomed in Bangalore. While my way back from office, the aroma from those biriyani centres made me curious. Didn't enjoy much due to too much oil in the biriyani. But, the mild flavour attracted me and i wanted to give it a short. Was trying out the perfect authentic recipe , reached out to few people to get authentic recipe and here i am posting this for all you people.If you have to impress your spouses or kids, this is the best biriyani recipe.

Key success to cooking is using fresh ingredients , grinding own masalas. Try madi and share pics :)

Prep Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Cooking Complexity : Medium

Ingredients:

Chicken : 1 kg
Jeera Rice : 1 Kg ( 3.5 glasses)
Finely chopped mint Leaves : 1 Cup
Finely chopped coriander leaves : 1 Cup
Dry Chillies (Byadige) : 15
Finely chopped tomatoes: 3
Cinnamon : 1 inch
Cloves: 4
Elaichi: 3
Onion Thin Sliced: 3
Fresh Ginger : 2 inches
Fresh Garlic : 10 pods
Grind ginger and garlic to fine paste
Curd : 1 cup
Oil : 5 tbsp

Method:

Soak Dry chillies in water for 5 mins and grind to fine paste using little water.

Wash and soak Jeera rice for 30 mins.

After 30 mins , Boil Water in a big bowl. Add rice and let it cook until 3/4th done,. Add 1 tsp salt

Strain the rice and let it rest for sometime.

To prepare Biriyani

In a large Kadai, heat oil. Add Cinnamon, cloves, elaichi. After a min add onions, ginger garlic paste and fry well

Now add half chopped mint and coriander leaves, tomato and fry well,
After this is fried add red chillies paste and after 5 mins add curd.

Now add chicken and let it cook for 20 mins. Add salt

Add the semi cooked rice on top of the masala and let it cook on slow flame for 45 mins.

Mix well and serve hot.
This can be served with Raita or Chicken gravy.

I did serve with liver fry and it was a hit.

Happy Cooking:)

Akki Roti

Akki Roti

One more regular and famous dish from Karnataka. I love cooking our own special dishes. Akki roti with groundnut chutney is the best combination and you can never eat just one.There can be so many varieties prepared in akki roti. You guys, would have heard about 99 dosa varieties. The same applies to akki roti as well.Yes, you heard me right!. There so many healthy and tasty variants with diff chutney.This will be my basic akki roti version.
Just to mention few variants: Palak, menthi, carrot, shredded potato, onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves, shredded chicken(i can never leave chicken in any dish):p

Ingredients:

Rice flour: 2 cups
Cooked rice and grinded to fine paste: 2 tbsp
Finely chopped onions: 1 small cup
Green chillies and coriander leaves : as per taste
Oil: 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Water : to mix the dough

Method:

Take rice flour, cooked rice in a bowl.

Add salt , onion, green chillies, coriander leaves . Add sufficient water to make a dough. Ensure the mixture is not watery.

In a tawa, add one drop oil and spread across.

Take a ball size mixture and keep it in the centre.
Now pat it from centre and keep spreading till the edge of tawa. This need to be very thin. You can dip your hand in water and pat the roti.

Add oil around the roti. Close it with lid and switch on the stove.

Turn it when its cooked well.

Serve with ghee & your favourite chutney

Chicken Pickle

Its very boring to have just rice with dal during weekdays. In the mornings its tough to prepare  breakfast and pack yummy lunch for office. In the last few weeks, i have started having small frequent meals and more healthy ones. This is filled with loads of protein. Yay!! I am happy, as this includes more chicken in my diet. I am not complaining:).  Here, i go with making chicken pickle to fullfill my weekday cravings. This is tangy, spicy filled with loads of flavours and to top it its very simple to make. This can be kept in fridge for close to 4 weeks. Try madi and let me know

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken : 500 gms
Chilli powder : 3 tbsp
Mustard powder : 1 tsp
Menthya powder : 1tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Garlic : 10 pods
Green chillies : 10 whole
Red chillies: 5 broken
Curry leaves
Lemon: 4
Mustard oil : 10 tbsp
Oil for deep frying
Salt: 2 tsp

Method:

Cut boneless chicken in to small pieces. Boil 2 litre water by adding 1 tsp salt , turmeric powder. Add chicken pieces to it. Once the chicken cooks well.Strain the chicken and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai. Fry the boiled chicken pieces.

In a bowl mix chilli powder, 1 tsp salt,mustard powder,menthya powder by adding lime juice

In a separate kadai, heat mustard oil, garlic, green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves.  Add the chilli powder mix. Mix well. Now add chicken and mix well.

After 5 min, remove from flame and let it cool down. Check salt and add accordingly.

Store in glass jar and keep in fridge

Note : Use dry spoons while using. This will increase the shelf life

How to make mustard and menthya powder
In a small kadai, dry roast separately menthya for a min. let it cool down. Remove this on to a plate. Now in teh same kadai, dry roast mustard until it splutters. Once both cool downs.

Grind to  fine powder.

Hitikida Avarekalu Saru(Hyacinth bean)

You can rarely find a Kannadiga who doesn't like Avarekalu. There are so many varieties which are prepared and you can see the skin peel thrown on the roads in front of all houses. During my childhood, I used to always wonder why people throw this on the road. My granny said that people throw the hyacinth bean peels on the road believing that the curry will turn out very well . LOL , not sure how will curry be tasting good if people stamp the peel . There might be some pipe connection to their kitchen :p

Jokes apart, try this curry and enjoy with dosa / ragi balls.

Prep time : 5 hrs
Cooking time : 1hr
Complexity : High

Ingredients:

Hitikida Avarekalu: 4 Cups (1 KG Avarekalu).
(Peel Avarekalu and soak in water for 5 hrs. De-skin the seeds)

Grated Coconut: 3 Tbsp
Green Chillies: 10
Dhaniya Powder: 1 tbsp
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Cloves: 4
Onion : 2
Tomato : 3
Ginger Garlic Paste : 1tsp
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Oil : 3 Tbsp

Method:

Masala:

In a small kadai, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add chopped 1 onion, green chillies, cloves, cinnamon, 1 chopped tomato. Fry well. Add ginger garlic paste. Switch off the stove and add Dhaniya powder and grated coconut.

Grind this mixture to a fine paste. Add coriander leaves and grind.

Heat vessel, add onion . Fry Avarebele by adding salt.

Let this cook well. Once this is cooked add the grinded masala  with one glass water and let it boil . Add finely chopped tomatoes.

Let it boil .

Avarebele Curry is ready to be served with Ragi Balls/Rice/Dosa.

Happy Cooking:)

Honey Cake

Happy New Year!!!!

To celebrate new year , prepared 2 cakes this year. My son's fav Chocolate cake and wanted to prepare something spl - Honey cake.
There is 40 years old iyengar bakery near my house.When you pass that lane in the eve, you can smell the fresh aroma of bread, cakes. Wow.. Sooo yum. Forget all those diet and feel like just munching...
The best in  iyengar bakery is dil pasand, honey cake. People who stay in blore are aware of this awesome cake. I used to love the jam and coconut on top of the cake. This is soo juicy.
Dad used to pack them while coming back from office. There used be a small newspaper cut and on top of it was honey cake packed in a cover.Newspaper used to be soaked in that juice and the cover had cream attached to it. Finger licking good:)
Enjoy this cake!!!




Basic Cake 

Maida: 3/4 cup
Sugar : 1/2 cup
Baking Powder: 1tsp
Yoghurt : 1/2 cup
Milk : 1/4 cup
Oil: 1/4 cup
Vanilla Essence: 1tsp
Baking Soda: 1/4 tsp

Method:

Sieve the dry ingredients well.
Preheat the oven at 180 degree for 20 mins.
Mix all wet ingredients and then dry ingrdients.
Grease the pan and line up a butter paper.

Now pour the cake mix and bake at 180 degrees for 30 mins.

To Make Honey cake.
Boil 1 cup water , add 3 tbsp honey and let it boil for 5 mins. Let it cool .
Now pour this mixture on the cake so that it soaks well.

Heat 4-5 tbsp fruit jam in a non stick pan .
Spread the jam mixture on the cake .
Now sprinkle dessicated coconut on the cake,

You can decorate with whipping cream

Happy Baking:)

Aloo Paratha (Bangalore Ishytle)

I love adding lot of onions, garlic and ginger in my food. I always felt the aloo paratha in north restaurants were never interesting to me. Tried making this south indian version and was a instant hit with my family, relatives. Whenever my hubby’s relative prepare this , they say they prepared smitha’s aloo paratha. Hiihihi.

I prepare this aloo palya for dosa/poori and ofcourse to prepare this yummilicious parathas. 

Ingredients:

Boiled Potatoes: 2

Finely chopped onions : 1

Finely chopped Chillies : 3

Garlic chopped – 2

Ginger chopped – 1inch

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Chopped Curry leaves

Coriander leaves chopped – 2tbsp

Oil

For Chapathi Dough:

Warm milk – 1 cup

Wheat flour – 2 cups

Ghee – 1tbsp

Salt

Method

To prepare dough:

Mix wheat flour, ghee, milk, salt to a fine dough. Add more warm milk if required. Cover with a lid and let it rest for an hour.

To prepare aloo palya:

In a kadai add oil, add mustard seeds. Once mustard seeds splutters, add onion, chillies, ginger , garlic, curry leaves, turmeric powder. Fry well until golden brown.

Peel boiled potatoes and smash well. Add them in the kadai, salt and mix well.

After 5 mins, turn off the stove. Add coriander leaves and mix well.You can add lemon juice if required. I add them as it gives tangy flavor.

To make parathas

Make small ball of dough and potato mixture.

Need the dough to a small round shape. Keep the potato mixture in it and close as in the below pic.

Now again, knead it well to a round shape.

Heat tawa on a stove, place the kneaded paratha on the tawa. Add butter/oil on it. Turn over and add butter/oil.

Let it cook until goldern brown on lo flame.

Paratha are ready to be served with curd/pickle.

Happy cooking

Crispy Tomato Gobi

Its raining in blore. The best part of blore is we never know when it will rain after a sunny afternoon. Born , brought up in blore ,i love blore weather and find it very difficult to adjust else where. True bangaloreans know that when it rains it ought to be the best filter coffee, bajji , onion pakoda or mangalore bajjis. This time wanted to treat my taste buds with something different. Had one  cauliflower floret in the fridge. So here I go with a diff gobi for evening snacks

Ingredients:

Cauliflower : 1

Tomato : 2

Jeera : 1tbsp

Coriander leaves: 4 tbsp

Dry red chillies : 14

Ginger garlic paste : 1 tsp

Corn flour : 3 tbsp

Gram flour : 4 tbsp
Salt : as required

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Clean the cauliflower and add them in boiling water and salt. Remove cauliflower after half an hour

Now blanch the cauliflower florets by adding water for 10 min. This should be half cooked.

In a mixer grinder add, red chillies, ginger garlic paste, coriander leaves, jeera, corn flour, gram flour water. Grind to fine paste.

Now add the strained cauliflower in the mixture. Add less salt(remember salt is added while boiling)

Mix well. Let it rest for a while.

Deep fry in oil.

Serve hot with tomato sauce .

Happy Snacking: )