Dum Maro Dum......

He! He! Sorry about the really cheesy title, could not think of a better one to go with "Dum".

This story goes a long way back, 17 years to be precise. My sister gifted me a rice cooker for my wedding(sis, the same one is still going strong- thank you). The rice cooker( my savior) came along with an instruction manual and a cookbook. Come to think of it that was my first cookbook and only cookbook for a long time. It had an interesting Biryani recipe which I managed to perfect after a few attempts. I loved making Biryani, the Khila Khila Basmati, the kesar flavoring and colour, the aroma of whole spices, the subtle combination of ingredients- only a hint of this and a whiff of that. But above all what I liked best about making Biryani was that post the initial preparatory work the Biryani cooked on its own. Left me free to clear up, get the starters ready etc. etc. Being a one dish meal it also ensured that there were fewer dirty dishes at the end of the meal.

Somewhere along the line I stopped making Biryani. A lot of us stopped eating rice especially at night(typically guests came for dinner), oil/ghee gave way to no oil/low oil cooking. It is still a convenient option and I order in when we have a large number of guests.

About a week back I watched Biryani being prepared on one of the cookery shows. It rekindled my interest in the once popular family dish. I made it yesterday and served it with a basic raita. The men loved it and wolfed almost all of it down. Older one wanted the little bit that was leftover for breakfast today. Me happy.

Looks like Biryani has managed a successful re-entry into the household even if that means 10 extra laps in the pool or 5 more surya namaskars. Given the overwhelming response I think the dish is here to stay and before long I will have the boys asking for it to be made again.

Dum Murgh Ki Kachi Biryani

Ingredients

Biryani though really simple to prepare needs a long list of ingredients and tons of patience. If you are looking for a quick fix try making a pulao and add some Biryani masala to it.

Basmati rice: 2 cups, choose from the premium range to get really long grained rice. I tried Arise, Saffold Gold- nice, long grained khila khila rice just as the ad promised.

Chicken: 1.5 kg, ask your butcher to cut into large pieces, about 6/8 pieces from a kilo

Onions: 6 medium sized ones, sliced fine

Turmeric powder: 1 tsp

Chilli powder: 1 tsp

Garam Masala powder: Roast some green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, clove and grind to a coarse powder. If you were me you would just add some Roopak Biryani Masala, really good.

Whole spices: Cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom

Lime juice: 1 to 2 tbsp( so about half a lime)

Saffron: a few strands( now this is an expensive ingredient but a key to getting the flavor right)

Milk: 1 cup

Curd: 1.5 cups( If using home made curd, strain the water out using a muslin cloth)

Ghee: 2 tbsps

Oil: 2 tbsps

Ginger garlic paste: 2tbsps

Green corriander: 2 tbsps, chopped fine

Green chillies: 2 tbsps, chopped fine

Method

The preparation needs to begin a couple of hours before.

Start by preparing the marinade. To the curd add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt.

Add the chicken pieces to the marinade and mix really well. Use your hands as the marinade needs to coat all the individual chicken pieces . Let the chicken rest in the refrigerator for a few hours. I would suggest you leave it there for at least four hours.

When ready to start making the Biryani heat the oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions till they turn a dark brown. Chop them fine and add half of the fried onions to the marinated chicken. Leave it for about 30 minutes.

Cook the rice with the whole spices. Drain out the water once the rice is half cooked. Keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a deep bottomed flat pan, add the chicken and cook till the chicken is half done. Arrange into a layer. Sprinkle some finely chopped corriander and some green chillies over it.

Add the rice over it to form a second layer.

Dissolve the saffron strands in some warm milk and spoon over the rice.

Squeeze some lime juice over the rice.

Garnish with the remaining fried onions.

Cover the pan and seal with some atta dough or aluminium foil. Helps retain the flavors and keeps the chicken pieces succulent.

Let the Biryani cook for about 45 minutes on low flame.

Once done open the lid and let the flavors do the talking.

Serve hot with a raita.

Thank the Mughals and savor every bite.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!

The seven day itch...

Come Saturday and I start feeling restless if I haven't uploaded a new post. Yes, blogging is addictive, Like my son says " passion becomes addiction". But then blogging is therapeutic as well( I have said this before).

No posts also means that we haven't eaten anything new, different or interesting through the week. That makes me go on an overdrive to create interesting weekend food.

The inspiration for this dish came from some fresh basil that my cousin gave me. She has also gifted me a Basil plant. So I can make this dish over and over again. Yipee!

Fresh herbs can completely transform a dish. Pardon the hyperbole but I just love the fusion of ingredients, the ones that flood your taste buds with their amazing flavors, I am referring to dishes where all the individual ingredients come together to create magic. No single flavor stands out but there are subtle hints in each bite.

Chicken forms a good base when it comes to a creating flavorsome food, highly versatile, so soaks up dhania, butter and tomato puree(refer Dhania Chicken) as easily as orange juice. Works for me either ways.

Basil Chicken( serve four)

Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 45 minutes.

Ingredients

Fresh Basil: 1/2 cup, chopped

Dried Basil: 1 tsp

Chicken: About 8 pieces, choose nice, large pieces for this fish.

Orange juice: 1 cup, freshly squeezed would work best but Tropicana came fairly close

Lime juice: 3/4 tbsps, definitely freshly squeezed

Onion: 2, finely chopped

Cumin powder: 1 tsp, roasted and ground cumin adds to the fresh taste of the dish

Salt to taste

Olive oil: 2 tbsps

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan.

Add the chicken and fry for a couple of minutes.

Then sprinkle the finely chopped onion and continue to fry.

Add the orange juice, cumin powder, dried basil and salt. Stir.

Simmer and cook covered for 5/7 minutes.

Open the lid, add the lime juice and mix well.

Remove the chicken pieces onto a plate.

Let the sauce thicken a little more, add the fresh basil leaves and ladle over the chicken.

Serve the chicken with some herbed rice( add some butter, finely chopped coriander, chili flakes and salt to rice) and boiled vegetables.

Delicious! Finger lickin' good!

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!

Rang Barse.....the riot of colors.....

Happy Holi and just the right time to post a recipe that looks colorful. Making your food look fancier than it is adds to the overall taste( given that we eat with most of our senses). And if cooking for children tricks them into actually eating more. Usually the more colorful your food, the healthier it is. Simple, you need to add more greens to add more color. Compare a macaroni with cheese and mushroom to one with macaroni, tomatoes, yellow/red bell pepper and beans. You got it?

Plating which translates into serving your food elegantly and artistically is a complex process. Master chefs on cookery shows say that it is not as difficult as it looks or sounds. It basically means getting the colors and balance of composition right.

Someday I shall be there. For now I follow some basic color rules.

• Planning the menu well so that each ingredient adds color to the dish and to the table.
• Making sure that no two dishes being served look alike, this automatically ensures that there is a fair variety in terms of ingredients, recipe types and taste
• Use of colorful garnishes like cream or yoghurt for soups, ginger juliennes for the daal, fresh corriander for the rich gravies, nuts for the salads etc.

So, a little bit of creativity, an eagerness to learn and a lot of planning and patience is what would finally get you there.

Meanwhile the recipe that follows is the result of one such attempt. Very proud of it as I created it out of party leftovers. The source of inspiration was the lettuce I had leftover from Pinacorn salad made for lunch. I also had some herbed cottage cheese that I had used as cracker topping. Decided to combine the two along with some cherry tomatoes. Incidentally my kids love eating cherry tomatoes, must be to do with the size/form. Instead of making a regular salad, I decided to make these into tiny wraps. They looked quite exotic and tasted nice.

Lettuce Wraps( Serves 4)

Ingredients

Lettuce: 1 bunch(refresh the lettuce in ice cold water to which a few drops of vinegar have been added)

Cheery tomatoes: 12/15, halved

Herbed cottage cheese: 200 grams( This is available off the shelf as ' Masala' paneer, you can very easily make your own with some roasted cumin seeds together with fresh mint, green corriander, green chillies- all chopped fine, some salt)

Method

Choose the bigger leaves. Lay them out on a plate.

Place the herbed cottage cheese in the middle.

Fold in lengthwise and then widthwise.

Place half a cherry tomato on top and secure with a toothpick.

Serve along with a spicy, hung curd dip.

The lettuce gives this a fresh, crunchy feel. A light summer starter and an anytime snack for all those weight watchers.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!

Blowing my own trumpet........

Sis had made this poster which read:" I love blowing my own trumpet but off late it has been getting a little too loud for my own ears".

I am sorry but I just can't help it. I cooked something that I just loved. I think it is one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had. Such unusual flavor, texture, taste, the combination of seemingly varied ingredients came together to create sheer magic.

The recipe has been on my mind for a while now. Getting the ingredients together took some effort. I was quite determined to make it for dinner last night so trudged all the way to the speciality store and picked up my couscous. Hopefully I now have enough to make the dish seven times over( 500 gram pack and 75 grams each time I make this dish). I also had some Apricots leftover from Diwali( eating dry fruits during the winter months is big in the North of India), managed to find some raisins in the store next door. Rest of the ingredients were all available at home. Oh! Yes, I must add that I picked up Chicken thigh pieces for this dish which are the tenderest pieces( sold for a premium, sold as " boneless chicken legs", but well worth the price if you are making a boneless chicken dish).

Cooking the chicken with couscous makes it a balanced ,one dish meal. It has some really quick, easy steps( the dish is set on simmer for most part of the cooking time). I think substituting cous cous with daliya( widely available, lower priced) should give similar results. Going forward I also plan to add vegetables like beans, carrots and mushrooms. I think they would complement the taste. But that story is for another day. I am really eager to share this wonderful recipe which I just loved(despite cooking it myself).

Chicken with Couscous, serves 4

A popular Moroccan dish prepared with the Moroccan staple couscous

Ingredients

Chicken: 500 grams, boneless, ideally the thigh pieces

Olive oil: 1 tbsp

Apricots: 75 grams, chopped

Raisins: 3/4 tbsps

Jeera powder: 1/2 tsp

Dhania powder: 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon powder:1/2 tsp( grind this fresh for best results)

Water:2/3 cups

Couscous: 75 grams

Green coriander: 2/3 tbsp, chopped fine

Tomatoes: 4/5, chopped fine

Method

Heat the oil in a non-stick kadai.

Add the chicken pieces and cook till it changes colour.

Add the powder spices and cook for a minute or two.

Add the tomatoes, raisins, apricot, salt and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. You could cover and cook to help the chicken cook faster.

Once the chicken is done, stir in the couscous and cook for another 5/7 minutes till the couscous is tender.

Garnish with finely chopped green corriander.

Though this is a one dish meal you could also serve it with a stir fry. The apricot, raisin, tomato and couscous combination is sure to appeal.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!