Jodhpur, my beautiful hometown and land of sweetness and colorful people. One of the most popular sweet is Maave ki Kachori. The crunchy outer crust and slightly sweet inside dipped in the sugar syrup.
For Mr. Parveez it was love at first sight or love at first bite. He enjoyed it so much that every Jodhpur visit, Maave Ki Kachori was a must and if we had any one coming over, we would ask them to get it for us, which I would fry again and pour some warm sugar syrup on it ans serve. As much as we would appreciate the pain people would go through to bring/send these awesome sweets to us, but the only problem was that staying without refrigeration for so long would spoil the taste a little and we wouldn’t be able to enjoy more that 25%. So, with time, we had to give up on that.
The best Maava Kachori according the polls is made by Raawat sweet store and I once happened to have a few guests over , out of which one has been to Jodhpur and has tried maava Kachori from that sweet store. I was truly honored when the guest told me that mine would win if there was a competition. Its always great to receive compliments from my boys and as much as I know that they are honest when it comes to food, I still believe they appreciate my efforts at times and never complain if the dish hasn’t come out great.
And then finally one day I decided to try my own. Before I write the whole recipe, let me tell you this…I have never eaten or tried Maave Ki Kachori. I am just few of those “weirdos” who do not enjoy sweets made with sugar syrup and therefore when the thought came to my mind, it was actually an arrow in the dark. What I knew was that the filling has Khoya and nuts and slight taste of some spices. The biggest blessing is to have a husband who has amazing taste buds and therefore, it was easy to have him try the filling before I finalize it.
The first attempt had too much spice and it was hard to taste the khoya and sweetness. The second try had too little spice. The third one was perfect since I understood how and what to do. The khoya needs to have a little bit of clove but suggest that they shouldn’t be powdered and they should be mixed as is in the pan while cooking khoya and should be taken out leaving the flavor. Besides, cloves, its cardamom powder, cinnamon powder and Nutmeg powder.
When you start cooking the Khoya would melt in the pan and that’s good since it makes it easier to blend it with flavor of spices, and when it cools down, it automatically solidifies again. Sugar should be mixed only once its taken off the pan.
I love Ice creams and Kulfis are my complete favorite. Kesar Pista Kulfi are one of the first Kulfis that I tried and have been a big fan of the Kesar Pista Kulfi ever since. In fact, for a very long time, I refrained from trying any other flavor of Kulfi. Those days I couldn’t imagine in the wildest of my dreams that I would be trying so many different flavors of Kulfi and create my own too.
Saffron is not just an expensive spice but a very flavorful one too. We took a trip to Dubai and visited the famous spice souk. Oh my God! what an amazing place. The fragrance throughput that market amazes and kind of is soul satisfying. Its so pure that if you rub a little on your hand, that fragrance won’t leave your hand for hours. So, during our first trip to Dubai, I bought 500 gms of saffron. Yupp! You read it right, half a Kg of Saffron. The thing is that when I travel to different places, I don’t mind spending money on stuff that’s authentic and pure. The quality of spices that you will find in Dubai/Middle East is something you might never find in other places. I have met a lot of people praising Saffron from Spain, and finding it better. But, I believe they haven’t had the privilege to try the Saffron from Middle East.
I would have actually bought a few more spices too, but considering the amount of shopping I had done, my luggage couldn’t have taken more. Coming back to the Kulfi. So, when I started making my own ice creams is when I thought of trying the Kulfi and the first one that came to my mind was Kesar Pista Kulfi.
As much as the flavors convince you that its difficult to make something so amazingly flavorful by yourself. Believe me and follow the recipe step by step and amaze yourself and your loved ones with the super delicious treat.
Gajar ka Halwa is our winter favorite. The lovely sweetness of carrots mixed with sugar and milk and a hint of cardamom with desi ghee leaves you taste buds asking for more.
We always loved the idea of warm Brownies and vanilla ice cream. In fact, my kids are big fans of warm brownies/ cake with Ice cream. Its a desert that they would give away their lunch for. Anyways, Mr. Parveez happens to be almost the same when it comes to warm Brownies with Ice cream. With time he wanted try warm halwa with cold ice cream. I wouldn’t have tried making this had it come from someone else, but since it was my biggest food fan, I had to try it.
Warm Halwa and cold ice cream is a super awesome combination. Its something you will only understand after you try it. In this recipe I am sharing the recipe for Gajar ka Halwa and how I combined it with Vanilla ice cream. You can always check the Vanilla Ice cream recipe in the Dessert/ Sweet section.
Coorg is a beautiful hill station in Karnataka. We visited Coorg in 2015 and the place just doesn’t have amazing scenic views, it also has one of the most beautiful Monastery that we have ever visited.
Coorg serves wonderful coffee as well. Coorg has many coffee plantations and it offers coffee powder that is spiced up with cinnamon powder and cloves powder.
During our visit, we tried Biryani at our resort and it was delicious and different. Though the resort chef did not share the recipe of his delicious Biryani, but with little research about the history of Coorg, I was able to discover the secret to their wonderful Biryani.
The chapters of history of Coorg took me to the wonerful era of The Great “Tipu Sultan”. The history shows that he was a big fan of delicious food and loved variety of different cuisines. While visiting his summer palace and museums and seeking details of his lifestyle, one discovers that he was a super wonderful host too, who loved to serve his guests, not just variety of food, but also food in beautiful China and silverware. I believe this explains Mr. Parveez’s love and interest in The Great Tipu Sultan. My hubby is a big fan of Mughal King Akbar and Tipu Sultan and the only common thing between them and him, besides having wonderful wives, is their love for great food.
Keeping that flavor alive from the era of Great Tipu Sultan, I tried making this Biryani as close to how the original recipe must have been. I found a few wonderful stories of the spices and cooking methods that King Tipu Sultan used. This recipe is following the same methods.
You are always welcome to make changes and to contact me if you’d like to have substitutes for the ingredients.
Different Biryanis and different flavors, so much to try and everything so deliciously fantastic that picking one to be my absolute favorite is impossible.
While growing up, I had a distant family and once a year, every Eid to be precise, they would have a gathering at their place. The lady was from Delhi and a fantastic cook. The best thing was that she always made a dish, that was uncommon in our families. It was always some new variety that belonged to Delhi and other states. For many of you, who aren’t aware, the non vegetarian dishes cooked in one state of India differ completely from the ones cooked in another state, even if we are neighboring state. So, I was 12 and that was the first time I tried Achaari chicken curry.
Now, I am a big fan of Achaar/ pickle. When we got married, I would drive Mr. Parveez crazy with the amount of pickle I consumed. So, to a person like me, eating chicken in Achaar flavor was indeed food from heaven. I really laugh at myself when I remember how I got after my mother to find the recipe and make the dish, which she did and it was always one of favorites. But, the story doesn’t end here.
Now when I am all set to try out new recipes, one fine day I decided to make Biryani out of this masala. As much as the idea sounds absurd and crazy, the Biryani came out delicious. The yakhni has strong flavor of fennel seeds and fenugreek. Its isn’t sour as what usually pickles are, so don’t fear trying out this recipe imagining the taste of boiled rice and pickle, coz it isn’t the same taste. The spice level is medium and i have had loads of people who pick this one to be one of the first dishes they learnt how to cook from me.
Its one of my best food experiments ever. Please feel free to ask if you’d like to make it with mutton/fish.
Dawoodi Bohras are a Shia Muslim community. Most people from this community are settled India and Pakistan. As much as the people are loving, they are very generous hosts and love serving their guests to the best of their ability. We happen to have few friends from the community and we love their food.
My Mom had a best friend who passed away a few years ago and also happened to be a Bohri Muslim. She was a super fabulous cook and made amazing food and some of her recipes were just hard to make since, it missed out the flavors of her hand. I still remember tasting my first home baked bread at her house and the way she smothered the butter on the bread slice and I loved each bite of that slice. May her soul rest in peace.
So, with all the fabulous people around me, surprisingly no one cooked Biryani. Now, as a Biryani lover I had so much about how their families cooked Biryani in those Big “deg” [a big vessel made of copper or iron] but, they just couldn’t get down to following the hard recipe to make the same Biryani.
I have never met another crazy woman like me, who goes around collecting recipes from different places and communities. I bet sometimes people find that super annoying and honestly, after so much research I have lost the count to how many trials of different Biryanis I have done. Some got wasted since they weren’t so good. But, the collection I offer are from the best ones I made and they came out to be super delicious and fabulous.
Coming back to the Bohri Biryani. After a lot of research from different people, I made this Biryani which is as good as it can be from a Bohri family. Bohri Biryani uses Nutmeg and Mace. So, if its your preference to not use it, then its your personal choice but otherwise Bohri Muslims are allowed to consume both the spices. Do try it and if you miss out on anything or find anything confusing, feel free to ask.
This Biryani is from Bihar. I got the recipe while I was reading a book on Bihari cuisine by a famous chef who hails from the state. Its a shame, but Bihar isn’t very popular for its non vegetarian cuisine. Like, most of us, when we talk about Bihar’s cuisine, we do not go beyond Litti chokha. The fact is that Bihar offers some of the best recipes for kebabs and Biryani.
The flavors are pretty spicy, like the Bihari movies and for sure would make any Biryani lover super happy. Its one of best Biryani recipes and pretty easy for beginners too. You could always make a little change to the spice level to suit your taste buds. You could always ask for changes you’d like to make, if you aren’t too sure. After all, Biryani is a way big of a dish for anyone to mess up. You have to be very careful before you start.
I have some weird connection to bengali cuisine. I wish I knew the reason. They just so easily attract me and I literally crave to try them. The funniest part is that I am not a fan of Bengali sweets, that actually has the world going crazy. I am a fan of their Biryani, egg rolls, fish curries, fish fry and the chicken curries. You can search this site for more recipes from the east region.
Coming back to this Biryani. Once during my search for a new recipe, I came across the fact that Bangladesh has a unique flavors during Ramadan, specially for Biryani. This particular Biryani is only served during Ramadan in Bangladesh. Ramadan is a wonderful time for Muslims, actually let me rephrase it, Ramadan is a beautiful time for every food lover. As much as some people think that fasting is tough for Muslims, the fact is that most Muslims gain weight during Ramadan. I India, most foods like samosas, kebabs, Haleem etc are made specially during Ramadan and street foods are sold all night with every food you can think of. From crispy pastries to Turkey legs, fried fish to Tandoori Raan, different kinds of Mithai to Icecreams…Ramadan is a month of feasting….
This Biryani recipe is simple and delicious. The steps are easy to follow and pics and recipes show things in complete detail. It can be made in Fish as well with few changes to the recipe. You can always contact me to get the details.
Mr. Parveez’s is from a family of Pathans and the family is believed to be the descendant of the Mughals. As much as the relationship is defined by few asharfis and some ancient utensils that are still owned by the family, and endless tales through “Baats” [people who keep records of families and generations in India]. The Indian version of ancestry. Mr. Parveez is very proud of the fact that he has Mughal blood line, and some how is connected to the fierce Mongolians.
I have lived in Jordan for around two years and I loved the delicious Jordanian food. During those days, I tried a dish called Maqluba, which is made with Rice, chicken, Potatoes, cauliflower and a few other vegetables. The spice level was low and decorated with nuts and raisins. Though I still don’t have the authentic recipe till date for Maqluba, and I do wish to make it some day. But till then, I thought of trying something close.
So, I got down to trying the Biryani that’s more connected to Mr. Parveez’s roots and that when I came up with the recipe of this Biryani. The inspiration came from different dishes cooked with Rice and Chicken in the middle east, specially Morocco and flavors used in early Mughal era. Hope you enjoy te recipe as much as I did.
Lucknow offers some super amazing delicacies. The old time Awadh offers numerous vegetarian recipes which are delicious and mouthwatering. And since, its also the city of Nawabs, the Non vegetarian dishes are equally delicious if not more. With all my respect to my vegetarian friends, the non vegetarian food from Lucknow is one of the main reasons why people still visit.
I remember visiting Lucknow with my parents in 2002 and tasting the super yummy Tunde kebab and awesome Biryani. Too bad, we were just there for 2 days and I am sure there was a lot to discover in the food section. Please do try the Lucknowi Biryani and Lucknowi Tunde kebab recipe too.
Nevertheless, from what we tasted, it was like a party in our mouth. One of the best things we tried were Tangdi Kebab and with a lot of research and trial and errors, I was able to get what I had tasted.
This dish fairly easy and the cooking process isn’t that tough to follow so, if you are a newbie, this should be a good one to try.
