Bhuna Gosht Masala

As a kid, I never liked mutton curries. I grew up believing that Goat/Lamb is something I just never enjoy until, I started my cooking experiments and realized that the problem is not with mutton, its the way it was cooked in my house. There were just 2 kinds of curries and I just happened to not like any. Though, I did prefer one and found it a little easier to gulp down somehow. I think the reason that I didn’t have too many options as a kid when it came to food choices is the reason I make so many varieties…LOLzzz.

So, when I started cooking lamb/goat, I preferred cooking them as kebabs. Different kebabs, with bones, boneless, minced meat, but never a curry. I could just never gather courage to make a curry, because I was convinced that it wouldn’t be good.

All that changed after I got married. Mr. Parveez has some fabulous goat curry recipes, passed down from his family and that’s when I started following the recipes and got more confident about it. Experimenting with different flavors added a lot of variety to my lamb and goat dishes. This recipe happens to be one of them.

This dish is a little thick in gravy, so its great to be eaten with phulkas or Rotis or a side dish with Daal-Chawal.

Malabar Chicken Biryani

Malabar food is a Biryani dish from Kerela. The famous dish is made by layering aromatic Rice with chicken masala, mostly made in Ghee. The recipe demands the pot to be sealed with flour or tight cloth, after the Rice and chicken are layered and Biryani is set to dumm. It should be cooked on low heat to get the perfect Biryani that has been one of Kerela’s most popular and beautiful recipes.

The great town Calicut, now known has Kozhikode is known for its amazing cuisines along with beautiful beaches. The place has had many settlers and the cuisines show an influence of the the travelers from different countries that had once been the part of Calicut’s gorgeous history. Biryani of course shows a clear influence of Persin / Mughal era. the local cuisine is known for its sumptuous non vegetarian food and Chicken Biryani seems to be one of the top favorites.

Coming back to today’s recipe for Malabar Biryani, its usually made with Chicken, but I am sure the recipe would work great on Meat and Fish too, though you might want to change the proportion of spices. The Malabari call the cooking of this Biryani to be a “Pakki method” in which Rice and chicken are cooked separately and then layered and put to dumm.

Malabar Biryani is usually cooked in Ghee. The liberal use of ghee along side of whole spices, like Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and star anise make an awesomely fragrant dish. I am not a big fan of cooking the whole Biryani in Ghee, so I have been slightly careful. But you can always substitute Oil for Ghee if it suits your taste buds. This dish is spicy, but not spicy enough to make you cry. So, if you like Biryani, but aren’t a fan of Indian food that’s “hot”, this dish is for you.

Malabar Biryani uses Khaima Rice and I tried to look for a good quality Khaima Rice in United States. Since my search didn’t give me any results, I am sticking to my original long grained Basmati Rice. My Mother in law loves her Biryani cooked with Jeerakasala Rice, which is close or same as Khaima Rice. So, if you do happen to find a good brand, Please use it and also let me know in the comment section. The extra water in the Rice is drained and the rice is cooled slightly. Unlike the absorption method of cooking, this method of cooking rice in an open pan in excess water and draining it like pasta will always give you perfect Rice thats needed for a good Biryani.

The chicken is first cooked in onions, ginger, garlic, fresh cilantro, mint and green chilies and yogurt. Tomatoes can or cannot be used. I saw different recipes and I preferred the one with tomatoes. Once the chicken is all cooked, layer it with the Rice and seal the Biryani with a cloth and a tight lid. Adding some kind of weight to the lid is advisable too. I usually keep my Biryani in the oven but you can always dumm it on the gas at low flame for around 30 minutes.

Chhole Sev Chaat

Do you ever have those days when you feel like having something filling, flavorful, colorful, sweet and sour, but you don’t want the dish to be heavy and not too filling. It’s one of those days when you don’t want those extra calories to pile up but, it’s hard to give up on that craving.

Well, this dish is for those days. To me, its a perfect weekend lunch. Our weekend lunch is difficult decision to make, specially on Sunday. My boys have sports and morning are always eggs, banana and milk or smoothies. After spending most of our day at sports ground and returning home at 2 PM, you can imagine the huge hunger pangs and growling stomachs.

At this point, serving my boys with kebabs or burgers is fine since they can easily digest it but the problem is that with 4 hours remaining in dinner, you want something filling but nothing too heavy. This dish is is perfect for those days.

Chhole/chickpeas are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Mixing them up with tomato, onion, coriander leaves and few spices with yogurt, chutneys and sev make an excellent chaat which is satisfying to your belly and craving. A mouthful of delicious bites without the fear of adding extra calories.

Thalassery Chicken Biryani

This recipe is from the land of Kerala. Thalassery food has a distinct  flavor. Thalassery town of Northern Kerala, that has a blend in Arabian, Persian, Indian and European styles of cooking as a result of its long history as a maritime trading post. Thalassery is very popular for its delicious Biryani. Unlike other biryani dishes, Thalassery Biryani, originally uses jeerakshala/kaima rice instead of the usual long grained Basmati Rice. I used Basmati Rice since I cannot see my Biryani any other way. My Mother in law still prefers the kaima rice over Basmati rice, even for Biryani. Kaima rice has its own exclusive flavor and they have a wonderful fragrance as well, but I just come from a very Mughlia thought and prefer my Rice grain to be beautifully long

The influence of Arabian/Mughal culture is evident, especially in the dishes of the Muslim community of Kerala and Thalassery Biryani happens to be one of those dishes that shows it Mughlia flavors and is still enjoyed by all.

We, personally as a family love the food made in Kerala, vegetarian and Non vegetarian. You will find us taking time out if any of the hotels are celebrating “Kerala food festival week” during our stay in India. The best thing I enjoy about Kerala cuisine is the fact that the flavor of each ingredient comes out distinct in its own way making the dish complete. The way the cuisine has its ingredients listed and the process in which you add the spice changes the flavor of a dish. With Kerala cuisine , they make sure that no one ingredient over powers the flavor of the other ingredient. In fact, they blend in symphony making the dish delicious and exclusive.

Chatpata Murgh Tangdi Kebab

A unique recipe from Old Delhi, Purani Dilli ki Jama Masjid ki galiyaan. I have literally known that area almost by heart. Okay, may be not the whole area, but definitely the famous restaurants, Kareem and Jawahar happen to be my father’s favorite. I remember as a young child looking forward to going to Jama Masjid just for the food and how much I wished those days that we should have lived in Delhi. My idea of living in Delhi soon changed as I got older thanks to the heavy traffic, but my taste buds still crave the lovely food. I think that might be the only reason most of my Kebabs are inspired by the flavors i experienced as a kid.

It’s one of the kebabs made specially during Ramadan. As much as Jama Masjid is popular for its non vegetarian cuisines, but some dishes are exclusively for this special month. This dish happens to be one of those special ones. The marinade is easy to do and it adds a lot of flavor to the chicken legs. The best part about the marinade is that it leaves the Kebab moist from inside with a crunchy exterior. I cooked these in the oven, but you can always barbecue them or even cook them on a pan. An oven though is always preferred. The second best thing after an oven would be a Gas Tandoor.

I would recommend you to marinate the kebabs for at least 3 hours, but if you happen to be in a rush, an hour in the refrigerator would also be fine. The result might not be as amazing, but still good.

This Kebab chatpata as the name suggests and makes a wonderful side dish to your regular dishes and will also amaze your guests.

Rajasthani Malai Biryani

A recipe close to my heart. Rajasthan is my home state. The land of Marwar is popular for its beautiful and sweet spoken people along with the gorgeous forts and palaces. Its also known for its beautiful colors that can be easily seen in the attires and things people use. We proudly call it our “Rangeelo Rajasthan”.

Rajasthan is mostly popular for its vegetarian food but little do people know that Non vegetarian food of Rajasthan is not only very popular between Non vegetarians but also portrays the love for cooking from the Royal Palaces. Most kings in Rajasthan have loved to cook in their leisure time and they enjoy cooking the traditional Marwar recipes that have passed on to us from generations.

Rajasthani Malai Biryani comes in from the kitchens of the Mughals and clearly shows the bond of brotherhood and relationship shared by Rajputs and Mughals. When Princess Jodha married the Great Mughal Emperor Akbar, the Mughal cuisine was all set to merge like the traditions and fesivals of the two different faiths. This dish uses a lot of chili. Well, that’s what Rajasthan is popular for, but to calm it down it uses cream or malai. Mughals used a lot of cream and dry fruits in the cuisine and most dishes that use a lot of cream or saffron are actually a gift from the Mughal Era. In fact, its surprising how many dishes in Persia or Arab countries sound and look similar to Indian/pakistani cuisine and it clearly shows how the foods welcomed the merge and till today we enjoy and take pride of what our history gifted us.

Drumstick Leaves Ka Chaar

“Har Khana kuchh kehta hai…Kuchh meethi yaadein…kuchh kisse…har bachpan ke unchuhe hisse…”

Every dish has a story…some beautiful memories…some childhood stories that you remember with every flavor….This dish belongs to my better half’s, Mr. Parveez’s hometown, Bengaluru. The name has been derived from Tamilian word “Chaaru” that stands for curry.

Living in USA, we Indians learn how to substitute few ingredients with what we have back home to what’s available in our grocery store. So, one day I found a new addition to our local grocer’s Veggie section. Like a little happy child in candy land, I called up my husband informing him about the drumstick leaves, asking him if they can be used.

You might find it extremely funny to read, but I normally text and call him when I am at grocery store. I actually became pretty popular among workers at the store since they always see me clicking pictures and texting someone [my husband] and then come back to the section to pick what I clicked. I really don’t know what kind of husbands take their wives calls in one time because it never happens with me. I usually get a call back after 5 minutes, with a patent dialogue “phone was on silent” or “Dekha nahi” [I didn’t pay attention] or a text back saying “meeting”. And as much as I feel that he should attend me before the rest of the world, I let it go…LOLzzz… Not really, the poor guy works very hard and I know if it isn’t work, he would make sure he talks to me first.

Ohh sorry, the story took a sweet romantic turn, lets get back to the main story. So, I call him all happy that I found drumstick leaves and he got super excited and asked me to buy them.

Once home, he asks me to make this dish which we normally make with spinach [equally flavorful, though]. This dish is healthy and its great for diets or low carb diets. The good thing about this dish is that this two dishes in one. This dish gives out a dry dish and a liquid daal type dish that makes it easy to eat with Rice and parantha/phulkas.

With each bite, he remembered his childhood of how his mother prepared this from the fresh leaves plucked from the neighbor’s tree….childhood flavors stay for life.

Aaloo Palak Methi Ki Sabzi

My Hometown had dishes like Aaloo palak and aaloo methi, but my mom never cooked all three together. I have never been much of a fan of “green leafy veggies”…A truth that I never share with my boys, though…LOLzzz.  Like most kids, it was a hard job for my mom to feed the greens to me. I believe as a kid it was the fear that made me eat and as a teenager and young adult, it was just to not make her feel bad.

Honestly, sometimes when I think of it, I feel that we as parents don’t like experimenting much. I don’t mean everyone, but most of us. We follow the standard recipes passed on from generations and fail to understand that if we didn’t like it and expected changes, its the same with our kids. Its less of empathizing with the situation and dealing with it differently.

So, after I was married, one fine morning my hubby, who happens to be an excellent cook himself decided to surprise me with this “lovely sabzi” ….At first i was a little apprehensive, but then I didn’t want to fuss and make a big deal, so, with the same mindset to what I had for my mom’s greens, I tried it out.

To my surprise, I actually liked it. It has palak, methi and potatoes and I loved the flavors of this dish. Years later when I compared it to my mom’s I realized that it was the absence of whole masalas and powdered masalas that my taste buds enjoyed. Something we all fail to understand. Each one of us are born with different taste buds and its your taste buds that like certain flavors. For example, in Rajasthan we love parantha with aamras during Mango season. Where as, down south they enjoy bananas with parantha. So, for my taste buds, I prefer my green cooked with lighter spices and give out more flavors of the green.

Though even I make this dish now, it still tastes better when Mr. Parveez makes it. And now it’s a family favorite. Even my boys never  fuss over  this. A must try for all.

Mughlai Biryani

This Biryani is very close to my heart. This recipe was shared by Mr. Parveez, some 4 years ago and since then it has been a family favorite. My younger son calls it “Mogli Biryani”, since he feels that Mughlai is very close to”Mogli”, and I am sure somewhere he also believes that this recipe came in from the Jungle book…LOLzzz.

Mr. Parveez came across an article about Mughal migration and food and thats when he learnt that the initial use of spices in Biryani was actually white pepper and not the chilies. Though with time, chilies made a very special place in the Biryani recipes and no Biryani recipe seem to be complete without them, but that wasn’t the way it all started.

Black pepper has a very strong flavor and if you use it often, you would know that using black pepper even little more than required makes the taste of a dish bitter, therefore you need to be careful when handling that spice. Unlike, black pepper, white pepper is easier to handle and does not add bitterness if slightly over used.

This dish has flavors from the Middle east. it isn’t too spicy so it matched perfectly with Mirch ka saalan or Baghare Baingan or khatte Baingan. I have made this for my son’s school party for teachers and it was a big hit. You can use regular chicken cut to medium or small size pieces, though I preferred using chicken legs. It doesn’t change the taste but definitely enhances the look. I have used green chilies, but from the article that I read, it wasn’t a requirement so, the use is optional. Also the garnishing with boiled eggs is completely optional. You can also use cashews, and/or almonds to garnish if you feel like.

 

Methi Murgh Biryani

For the huge variety of Biryanis that I have cooked, I sometimes feel I should make a separate section for “Hyderabadi Biryanis”. The city is as popular for Biryanis as much as its for Falakhnuma Palace. Talking about Falakhnuma palace, though I am from the state of Forts and Palaces, Falakhnuma happens to be one palace that I would want to visit only because my favorite actor, Salman Khan had his sister married there and that’s when I was in love with the interiors.

Hyderabad does excite me for food, not just Biryanis but Haleem and samosas too. I love watching food shows and one such had details of a famous joint who cook their Haleem all day in nuemerous different large size pots only to last 2 hours. Its that popular and I am sure super delicious. Hyderabad has at least 20 kinds of different Biryanis but I think its more for the Hyderabadis to understand and for the rest of the world, its just Hyderabadi Biryani. I love to cook the different recipes of Hyderbadi Biryani. They are all so distinct from one another that tasting them is any Biryani lover’s dream come true.

Each Biryani is so distinct and as much as I read more, the ingredients that makes each Biryani stand out are so simple and yet make the Biryani so exclusively delicious.

This Biryani is very delicious and the flavor of Fenugreek adds a very different taste to the Yakhni. This Biryani actually is one of my older son’s favorite Biryanis, who loves kebabs and honestly isn’t a big fan of Biryani. This is a great recipe for people who enjoy their Biryani spicy or masaledaar. It tastes best with Dalcha and Onion Raita. Since, the Biryani is high in spices, you would want to serve it with something that mellows down the spice level.