Rose Kulfi

The wonderful world of cold desserts and the version of ice creams served in India “Kulfi”. The word Kulfi or Qulfi is an Indian word derived from the Persian word “Qufli” which means “covered cup”. The dessert was likely originated during the era of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The mixture of milk, sugar and nuts. Kulfi is a gifted recipe from the Middle eastern travelers and settlers to India and neighboring countries. Along with so many architectural gifts to India, like the Taj mahal, which even till date makes our country so proud and has millions of visitors travel India only to see Taj Mahal once in their lifetime and so many gorgeous forts, along with Red Fort where the PM addresses the nation every year are all an awesome example of Mughal architectural skill.

Coming back the Kulfi, Indian cuisine were not aware of using Orange blossom, Rose water, saffron or a wide variety of dry fruits in the cuisine. The Mughals while introducing their cuisines and blending them with Indian flavors resulted in wide variety of Biryanis, Kebabs, curries and sweet dishes including Gulab Jamun, Jalebi and Rabri to name a few and of course, Kulfi.

This sweet dish is rich in flavor and can be made in various flavors and is always served cold. It can be served with Basil seeds or sabza that are soaked for an hour, as falooda. It can be flavored while serving as well. I usually like mine to be served with Rose syrup, or the popular Rooh Afza.

This particular recipe has Milk boiled till it thickens and reduces. Added Khoya and cooked further after adding sugar, cardamom powder, saffron, crushed Rose petals, Rose flavoring, a little red food color and Milk powder to thicken the mixture making the Kulfi more dense and creamier. You can always change the flavors in a Kulfi keeping the base the same.

I also use Silver leaf for decoration, but that’s always optional, but something that makes you home kulfi different from the restaurant and trust me, even better.

Kolhapuri Chicken Biryani

Biryani is an absolute classic that needs no introduction. India offers so much on its culinary platter but the one dish Non vegetarian Indians unanimously love indulging in is the mouth-watering biryani. With local and hyperlocal variations having evolved into distinctive styles of biryanis, one is spoilt for options when it comes to experiencing this melting pot of flavors. The delicious complex blend of spices are the reason behind the love this dish gets from people of all generations.So if you are a die-hard fan of this delicious dish, take things up a notch and tease your taste buds a little more with the story of what makes biryani so extraordinary.

Though it may appear to be a dish indigenous to  India, in reality the dish originated quite far away. Biryani is derived from the Persian word Birian, which means ‘fried before cooking’ and  Birinj, the Persian word for rice. While there are multiple theories about how biryani made its way to India, it is generally accepted that its a gift to the Indian cuisine from the Mughals. Along with extraordinary skills of architecture and artillery, they also came along with the beautiful flavors of orange blossom, screw pine water and Rose water mixed with saffron and the skill of using the beautiful spices India offered with other spices from the middle east and create so many non vegetarian dishes that would make Indian/Pakistani cuisines thank them till the end of the world.

One legend has it that the Turk-Mongol conqueror, Temur, brought the precursor to the biryani with him when he arrived at the frontiers of India in 1398. Believed to be the war campaign diet of Temur’s army, an earthen pot full of rice, spices and whatever meats were available would be buried in a hot pit, before being eventually dug up and served to the warriors.

The Nizams of Hyderabad and Nawabs of Lucknow were most famous for their appreciation of the subtle nuances of biryani. Their chefs are renowned the world over for their signature dishes. These rulers popularized their versions of the biryani, which by the way, just in Hyderabad is around 20-25 varieties along with mouth watering accompaniments like mirchi ka salan, Dahi ki chutney/ Raita, khatte baingan, Dalcha and baghare baingan. All different regions in India offer different accompaniments with the Biryani that they serve.

The perfect biryani calls for meticulously measured ingredients and a practiced technique. Other than the technique, spices also play a critical role in dishing out a good biryani – some recipes call for a very limited use of spices while others use more than 15 different spices. Meat or chicken is often the main ingredient, though in some coastal varieties, fish, prawns, and crabs are also used. Use of rose water, screw pine water / kewra water in biryani is also common, a practice prevalent since the medieval era. The pot, sealed around the edges with dough, or covered with a cloth with the lid or something heavy is placed on the lid that doesn’t allow the steam to escape and for the meat to tenderize in its own juices while flavoring the rice.

This recipe of Biryani as the name indicates is from the princely state in Southern Maharashtra, Kolhapur, also popular for its footwear. Though the original recipe also has Raisins, but I have not added them as I do not enjoy sweet with spicy in my Biryani. You can always add it if you prefer. This recipe is super spicy, since most Maharashtrian foods are spicy so this one is a little more for the daring ones. But for sure a recipe that’s a must try for any Biryani lover.


Goat Paaya

Goat Paaya or Goat Trotters is a widely loved dish in the Muslim community. It’s made in several different ways around the world, but no matter how its made, I have always seen people enjoying it with every bite. Mostly served for breakfast, Paaya is usually served with Bheja and Naan/ Roomali Roti. Paaya will be in the favorite list in any hardcore non vegetarian.

It is a dish that can be made any time of the year but during festival of Eid ul Adha, It is a must for Breakfast on the second day. It takes pretty long to cook, so in times of today when everything is made in a rush, use of pressure cooker is a must. Long before the pressure cooker, Paaya was a dish made with slow cooking and was made over coal fire and usually took around 12-15 hours to cook. A lot of people like my Late Father used to love consuming it as soup. It makes a pretty healthy and flavorful Shorba / curry.

I believe the fashion of cooking Goat Trotters must be from the Muslim rulers who travelled from other countries. A lot of dishes from the Middle east have resemblance to dishes cooked in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh. Not just Non vegetarian but even sweet dishes like Jalebi and Gulab Jamun or for any sweet dish that uses Orange blossom/ Kewra water/ Rose water are also a gift from the Middle east to us, along with Biryani. The fact is that they always traveled with a huge army and therefore made sure that every part of the animal slaughtered should be used. Goat trotters are pretty high in Cholesterol, so they aren’t a great breakfast choice for anyone in today’s date and time since our lifestyle is very sedentary, but back in days for people who did so much of physical labor and most distance were traveled on foot, this dish was not just delicious, but also nutritious and filling.

Like I always say, every dish has a story, so let me share my memories with “Paaya”. As a kid I always saw my Mom make Paaya for breakfast and the whole family, except me relish it. For some reason I am not a big fan of liking the flavor of Bone Marrow in my food. Nevertheless, to make my father happy I would slide a few bites down my throat, until one day he realized that it was tough for me and he let me slide. Paaya is specially cooked for breakfast at all Muslim restaurants that are popular for authentic Muslim food. Most of these restaurants are located in highly populated Muslim areas, like Jama Masjid in Delhi, Frazer town in Bengaluru and Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai. I am sure there are these areas in almost all cities, I am mentioning these because these are places I have been to and relished all the awesome delicacies. My breakfast has always been bheja fry and Nahari though the family had their love for Paaya. My faher would always order what we liked and those times were a lot of fun. After marriage, I learnt that Mr. Parveez likes Paaya too and since we do not have similar arrangements of eating and enjoying authentic Muslim breakfast therefore, I started making it at home.

Paaya isn’t a difficult dish to make. It’s a heavy stew created from trotters/ feet of goat or lamb. The bones of the Goat leg are rich in gelatin marrow and are barely covered with meat once cleaned, they are just rich in bone marrow which secretes once cooked. Most people/families have their own variation of cooking Paaya, and knowing that India is so culturally varied, every other place has their own cooking style and recipes based on the local ingredients and flavors they are used to. In North India, paaya is served as a breakfast with Tandoori Roti / Roomali Roti. Is believed to be nourishing and is served to patients when sick and is kind of mandatory for new mothers, specially during the early days when her body is going through the recovery process. I usually use a pressure cooker to cook them, but you are more than welcome to cook it in a traditional way. Though time consuming, but its extremely flavorful. I do try the slow cooking method as well when I have more time in hand. Either way, its delicious, so don’t think that you are missing out on flavors if using the pressure cooker.

If you are thinking of making an authentic Muslim breakfast or cooking a non vegetarian breakfast that’s a little different, Paaya is what you need. Serve it with brain fry/ Bheja Fry and people will be praising your breakfast spread for years and looking forward to more. The recipe is in complete detail and if you follow the steps correctly, you will make a perfect dish. Again, spices make a dish flavorful, but cooking with love is what makes it delicious. Enjoy!!!

Halloween Chocolate Candy

My family and I love homemade chocolates…From Atlantic city, New Jersey to Ooti, India… any place that said homemade chocolates, we were there . We would try almost all kinds, cashews, coconut, caramel and our most favorite Almond. I would always look forward to our trips or spend a fortune online to have them shipped to us.

Finally, one day I got down to trying my own and Oh boy! They were out of the world. And since then, everything changed… Now I make chocolates for all different occasions. These were made on Halloween 2020. With the global Pandemic hitting us all so hard, Halloween isn’t that spooky anymore. I am just totally spooked out since the start of this year watching businesses shut down and so many sufferings. But like there is always a ray of hope hidden behind dark clouds and we should always look at the brighter side and so these chocolates were made with a happy heart full of hope.

I made this with dark chocolate, added cream and shortening. Making it a little colorful, I mixed in a few m&m’s, sprinkled some crushed nuts and sprinkles. I drizzled some candy melt in Red and Orange. Finally, decorated it with some bat and pumpkin decoration for cupcakes. I only used things that I had at home, but you can always go fancier.

I made these and cut them uneven like homemade chocolate bars. But you can always get molds and make them any which way you desire. Enjoy!!!

Kaachra aur Gawarfali sabzi

I have no idea how some vegetables in India got their names, considering that the meaning of their names in Hindi is weird, forget the meaning in any other language. Like Kaachra is close to “Kachra” which means trash and the term Gawar in Gawarfali stands for uneducated and so, we do have loads of people referring to these beans as uneducated beans. Its pretty hilarious, but these veggies still seem to be a summer time favorite in my state, Rajasthan.

My Mom made an awesome gawarfali sabzi/ curry and it was one of my all time favorites. Eating it with a hot phulka and yogurt was amazing. Now, living far away from home, craving home food is normal and I am glad that we get so many vegetables that we are used to eating back home. I started cooking gawarfali by itself soon after we got married and Mr. Parveez loved it, because most of the time my Mom would cook it this way. I believe it had to do with the availability of Kaachra or may be it had something to do with my father probably not enjoying it much. I am not too sure of the reason, but I started cooking gawarfali by itself since I never found Kaachra in USA. Finally I discovered it in a Chinese vegetable market and was super delighted.

Mr. Parveez is not a big fan of the cucumber family so, Kaachra wasn’t his cup of tea and of course I will have to continue making the veggie without it but for the time I did make it, I had to click pictures and share the wonderful dish with all the flavors of my hometown. This is great as Keto/ low calorie/ low carb diet option as well. Enjoy!!

Chhilli Daal Chicken Curry

Chicken as a curry is made in so many varieties that sometimes it amazes me how people from different regions in just one state make so many different dishes, with every dish varying in flavor from the other. The basis of making these curries are basically the availability of ingredients in that region.

I am from the northern west part of India, Rajasthan. Its a desert part so every time we make a Chicken curry, its mostly Yogurt based, which I think is because back in the days there weren’t many ways of getting any fresh vegetables, like Tomatoes and since water was always scarce, growing your own was difficult as well. Since there weren’t any fresh veggies, we barely have any Chicken dishes that are cooked with vegetables.

On the other hand, Mr. Parveez is from the southern part of India and there is loads of greenery and fresh vegetables are always available, so most of the dishes are tomato based and also use a lot of other green vegetables and thus we get loads of chicken curry which aren’t just protein rich but also have loads of fiber. Honestly, I feel my in laws eat very healthy. There is always a green veggie curry for morning breakfast and the lunch and dinner also comprises of green leafy vegetables cooked as a curry or mixed in with other veggies or Daal or cooked with Chicken or Meat.

This Chhilli Daal happens to be one such curry. These green beans are also known as Surti Papdi Lilva or Valor Lilva. We get the frozen pack here and they aren’t much big in size either. Addition to that, I also have to clean and peel it when I bring them home which is a tedious job. I guess I feel it more because in India, they are bigger in size, more flavorful and on top of everything they are peeled by the vegetable vendors which makes it so convenient.

This Chicken curry is just so delicious and nutritious, one of my Mother in law’s favorite as well and honestly, mine too. This is my mother in law’s recipe, only that I made some changes to it which she loves as well, I just made it more greener and nutritious. The curry has Fried onions that are further cooked with Ginger garlic paste and spices. Once the Chicken is added, wait till its half cooked, add in the daal/beans and further add the Tomato-coconut puree and cook further for a few minutes. Usually at this point the original recipe for this curry is concluded. But the changes I made to the recipe are that I added methi leaves/ fenugreek leaves and Dill leaves. With Methi, I add fresh if I have it and if not then I use Kasoori Methi. In both cases, the flavor of the dish is not compromised. Serve it with Plain boiled Rice or Roti or Parantha. We love it all ways and I am sure you will too. This is something different and completely worth trying. Enjoy!!!

Kalakand

Kalakand is a popular and delicious Indian sweet. Its made by mixing Paneer with sugar and further mixing them with Reduced milk. Its a pretty dense milk fudge. It’s soft, grainy and delicious. It has a light flavor of Cardamom and saffron.

It has a subtle flavoring of cardamom and fragrance of Saffron. The top is decorated with Almonds and pistachios. You can also add some Rose petals. This recipe helps you make Kalakand at home with ease. The fact is when you are in a country far from home and you don’t get your favorite sweets where you live, then you have to make them at home. This recipe has all the details that will make the perfect Kalakand, the exact flavor from our home country.

Not that this recipe will be easy, but for sure the steps from this recipe are simple to understand and if you follow them properly, your Kalakand will be as amazing as it should be. The recipe is made from scratch and you can do it pretty easily, no fancy gadgets or ingredients needed either. It requires basic skills to stir well and stay focused for an hour and trust me, the result won’t just amaze you but it will be worth every second you spend. My hometown Jodhpur has some wonderful stores that specialize in making Kalakand and every time my family wanted kalakand, we would always get it from that particular sweet shop. When I tried making it at home, my mother definitely thought that I have gone completely nuts, but I didn’t have another option. Another problem with sweet stores in USA is that they do not make sweets other than those which are popular like Bengali sweets, one or 2 kinds of laddus, jalebi to name a few. They do sell Burfi but if you ever feel that you will find a wide variety like India then you will be highly disappointed and that’s when people like me come in and teach you easy ways of making your own.

Kalakand recipe is made using a handful of very basic ingredients like Homemade Cottage cheese/Paneer, Milk, cardamom crushed / cardamom powder, saffron, sugar and almonds+pistachios to garnish. As fancy as it looks, there is actually nothing too hard about this scrumptious sweet dish. Kalakand is best served cold, so make sure you keep it refrigerated.

Just make sure you keep a few things in mind when you decide on making Kalakand. Its always advisable to use freshly homemade Paneer. Fresh Paneer is soft in texture and blends well when we cook it with milk, giving that perfect grainy texture to the Kalakand, which is what you really want. A store bought Paneer is usually not too fresh and becomes firm. A firm and old Paneer or a frozen Paneer will never give you the same results. Almonds, Pistachios are rose petals look on Kalakand. To make it look more expensively rich, adding a few saffron strands would be great too. Enjoy!!!

Chicken in the Egg

This is a fluke dish, like so many other ones. My boys love eating Tandoori chicken and during the covid 19 stay at home days, their super inquisitive minds always came up something new and they were adamant that I implement those ideas and make something for them.

So, one day my older one said, can’t you make Chicken rolls in something that isn’t Roti or bread. I first thought of adding them to Lettuce and making Lettuce wraps, but I was out of Lettuce or Cabbage, so I came up with the idea of making Omelet and wrapping some chicken in it. I initially couldn’t decide how to spice up my chicken, as in what kind of marinade I should use and then I felt trying it with my Tandoori chicken would be the best idea.

Tandoori Chicken was marinated for an hour with Yogurt, ginger garlic paste, tandoori powder, Red chili, salt and Lemon juice. The omelet was made with whisked eggs, salt and white pepper powder. I cooked the Tandoori chicken on a pan, though you can always grill or bake yours if you want to. This is an easy dish, you can always cook it for a playdate, easy snack, Game time snack or even Lunch and Dinner. Enjoy!!!

Hyderabadi Lukhmi

Hyderabad is also popular for its Biryani and Khubani ka Meetha. Along with that, there are loads of other popular Muslim dishes that are very popular in Hyderabad but probably not that popular outside Hyderabad. One of those dishes is Lukhmi. It is a typical rectangle/square samosa kind, which has a filling of mince meat or Chicken. Its regarded as savory or starter of the cuisine of Hyderabad. It is a local variation of samosa.

I though have never visited Hyderabad, but I do want to visit it one day. 2 simple reason to it, one of course is Hyderabadi cuisine and second is the Falaknuma Palace that simply became more popular after my favorite Bollywood actor’s sister got married there…LOLzzz. I know sounds crazy, but speaking my heart out is what I do on my blog and it is what it is. So, going through popular Hyderabadi cuisine is when I came across Lukhmi and that’s when I decided to make it. My boys who are big fans of Samosas, I was kind of unsure if they’d enjoy Lukhmi. Honestly, since none of us had ever tried it before, I wasn’t even sure how it will turn out to be. But, to my amazement, not only did they love it, they went a step further by asking me to make this more than samosas, which honestly is a shock to me because my kids can kill for my chicken samosas…Okay!! May be not kill, but definitely injure someone enough if anyone dares to even look at their samosa, forget eating…LOLzzz.

Hyderabadi cuisine has a variety of scrumptious snacks, and Lukhmi, the flaky savory stuffed with spicy minced meat/chicken is definitely one of them. A popular starter at Hyderabadi marriages, this dish also works well for a quick pair for teatime with family or friends. The name lukhmi originates from the word luqma, which means a small bite in Urdu. Unlike the samosa, lukhmi is usually a flat square/Rectangle shaped flour parcel with a flaky and crisp upper crust and stuffed with beef, chicken or mutton-based filling. You have the snack in other shapes like triangles in some cafes and a vegetarian version mostly  with potato filling is also available.

It is usually served with chopped onions and green chilies or chutney. To prepare lukhmi, all purpose flour/ Maida is kneaded with milk, butter and a little water. The mince or vegetarian filling is cooked separately, with turmeric, onions, ginger, garlic and spices. After resting, the dough is rolled out into a huge rectangular roti. More butter is added in between rolling the Roti and refrigerating it for 20 minutes or a little more. This process is repeated 3-4 times in order to create more flakes or layers to the Lukhmi. After the final process, the Roti is cut to multiple squares. Finally, these multiple small squares each housing a filling pocket forming a Lukhmi.

The edges are closed by pressing them often with a fork, and the stuffed parcel is deep fried in oil. As the color of the patty changes to golden while frying, the lukhmi is ready for consumption. The snack had lost some of its popularity over several decades, as many places in the old city stopped serving it. However, it has made a comeback of sorts in the last few years with an increased interest in lost Hyderabadi recipes.

I really enjoyed making these beautiful and scrumptious pockets of goodness and these are now a family favorite for me. I hope you like them too. If you need help with variations, please feel free to ask. Enjoy!!!

Hyderbadi Lukhmi Dough

Hyderabad is also popular for its Biryani and Khubani ka Meetha. Along with that, there are loads of other popular Muslim dishes that are very popular in Hyderabad but probably not that popular outside Hyderabad. One of those dishes is Lukhmi. It is a typical rectangle/square samosa kind, which has a filling of mince meat or Chicken. Its regarded as savory or starter of the cuisine of Hyderabad. It is a local variation of samosa. Though have never visited Hyderabad, but I do want to visit it one day. 2 simple reason to it, one of course is Hyderabadi cuisine and second is the Falaknuma Palace that simply became more popular after my favorite Bollywood actor’s sister got married there…LOLzzz. I know sounds crazy, but speaking my heart out is what I do on my blog and it is what it is. So, going through popular Hyderabadi cuisine is when I came across Lukhmi and that’s when I decided to make it. My boys who are big fans of Samosas, I was kind of unsure if they’d enjoy Lukhmi. Honestly, since none of us had ever tried it before, I wasn’t even sure how it will turn out to be. But, to my amazement, not only did they love it, they went a step further by asking me to make this more than samosas, which honestly is a shock to me because my kids can kill for my chicken samosas…Okay!! May be not kill, but definitely injure someone enough if anyone dares to even look at their samosa, forget eating…LOLzzz.

 Hyderabadi cuisine has a variety of scrumptious snacks, and Lukhmi, the flaky savory stuffed with spicy minced meat/chicken is definitely one of them. A popular starter at Hyderabadi marriages, this dish also works well for a quick pair for teatime with family or friends. The name lukhmi originates from the word luqma, which means a small bite in Urdu. Unlike the samosa, lukhmi is usually a flat square/Rectangle shaped flour parcel with a flaky and crisp upper crust and stuffed with beef, chicken or mutton-based filling. You have the snack in other shapes like triangles in some cafes and a vegetarian version mostly  with potato filling is also available.

It is usually served with chopped onions and green chilies or chutney. To prepare lukhmi, all purpose flour/ Maida is kneaded with milk, butter and a little water. The mince or vegetarian filling is cooked separately, with turmeric, onions, ginger, garlic and spices. After resting, the dough is rolled out into a huge rectangular roti. More butter is added in between rolling the Roti and refrigerating it for 20 minutes or a little more. This process is repeated 3-4 times in order to create more flakes or layers to the Lukhmi. After the final process, the Roti is cut to multiple squares. Finally, these multiple small squares each housing a filling pocket forming a Lukhmi.

The edges are closed by pressing them often with a fork, and the stuffed parcel is deep fried in oil. As the color of the patty changes to golden while frying, the lukhmi is ready for consumption. The snack had lost some of its popularity over several decades, as many places in the old city stopped serving it. However, it has made a comeback of sorts in the last few years with an increased interest in lost Hyderabadi recipes.

I really enjoyed making these beautiful and scrumptious pockets of goodness and these are now a family favorite for me. I hope you like them too. If you need help with variations, please feel free to ask. Enjoy!!!