Vegetable Pulao (without onion and garlic)

I am a lover of rice. Serve it to me in breakfast, lunch or even dinner I wouldn’t complain. I do struggle with rotis and even paranthas but when it comes to rice my real and huge appetite shows up. For me the word satisfaction and rice goes hand in hand. I, so badly wish rice was as healthy as wheat flour or multigrain flour. Then, I could have truly lived up to my love for rice.

I like to try varieties of rice and I am pretty good at some of them. Now it’s hard to believe that I have tried hard for 2 long years to re-create this simple magical vegetable pulao. In retrospection, I feel that I had nurtured the misconception that such an awesome tasting pulao could never be so simple. But the fact is that it is indeed very simple- no onion, no garlic and even no ginger or tomatoes. So when I first made it few days back with this particular recipe, I was not high on expectation and packed it for lunch. The first bite one of my friend’s took she said with a happy expression “yum…biryani”. Now that’s the mutual words of appreciation we use for awesome tasting rice item. Then there was another friend who traded her lunch box for mine. So I was finally elated at my success. So sharing this recipe for this simple and tasty Vegetable Pulao

Vegetable Pulao (no onion no garlic recipe)

Serves: 2 persons

Ingredients: 

Basmati rice- 1 glass

Water- 1 ¾ glass

Carrots- ½ cup (chopped into fine cubes)

Beans- ½ cup (finely chopped)

Green peas- ½ cup (3/4^th boiled)

Whole garam masalas

Green cardamom- 6

Cloves- 6

Bay leaf- 1

Cinnamon- 1 inch stick

Oil- 1 tbsp.

Ghee- 1 tbsp.

Salt to taste

Procedure:

Heat oil+ghee in a pressure cooker. Once hot add the whole garam masalas. Now reduce the flame to low and let the garam masalas splutter for 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye so as not to burn the masalas. This step is crucial as it helps the oil to extract the flavors from masalas. Then add carrot and beans. Cover and fry over medium flame till it is half done. Then add the peas and cook for another 2 minutes. After that add rice and fry it well for 1-2 minutes. Then add water, salt and bring the flame to high. Close the lid and wait for the first whistle. Then lower the flame and cook for another 7-8 minutes. Switch off the flame and let all the steam escape on its own and then open the lid. The simple yet magnificent pulao is ready to be served.

Notes:

Use good quality of Basmati rice for preparing this vegetable pulao.

You may reduce the ghee quantity used by ½ tbsp.

I have cooked the rice in pressure cooker and because of the correct way of cooking by rice didn’t stick.

One may also cook the rice through traditional method, but do follow the instructions provided by the particular brand of Basmati rice you would be using.

Chicken Biryani Kolkota style

Biryani is undoubtedly one of the most popular food across India and interestingly different parts of India have different versions of Biryani and all are equally delectable. I am fonder of Hyderabadi style Biryani while hubby is an ardent fan of Kerala style Biryani. I am from Cuttack and we too have places that serves amazing Biryani. I feel “Cuttack style Biryani” it is somewhat closer to both Kolkota and Hyderabadi style Biryani and after moving to Bangalore there was a place where I had authentic Kolkota Biryani. It was really good and my husband loved it because it had those fried potatoes in it. However, that place doesn't any longer serve the same quality of Biryani. I am deeply irritated when the greed for profit rules out the importance of consumer satisfaction.

I have tried to cook my own version of Kolkota style biryani. I have used store bought Biryani masala, but hopefully I would soon be coming with my own version of Biryani masala. Now coming to the Biryani, hubby loved it and said that it tastes better than the restaurant. However, I would have like it little more hot. But then, one can add extra chili powder if one wants.

Chicken Biryani Kolkota style

Serves : 4 persons

Ingredients:

For rice

Rice- 2 glasses

Cardamom- 8

Cinnamon- 2” inch stick

Cloves- 8

Peppercorns- 10

Star anise-2

Bay leaf- 2

Salt to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp+ 1 tbsp ghee

Water as required

For gravy

Marinate chicken with the following ingredients:

Chicken- 600-700 gms

Thick yogurt- 4 tbsp.

Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp.

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp.

Red chili powder- 3 tsp.

For masala

Fried onions- 4 tbsp.

Tomato (large) - 2 (chopped)

Yogurt- ¼ cup

Green chilies- 4

Biryani masala- 1 tbsp.

Coriander leaves- ½ cup (Finely chopped)

Mint leaves- ½ cup (Finely chopped)

Water- ½ cup

Oil- 1 tbsp.

Salt to taste

For layering of Biryani

Onions (medium) – 10 (cut into thin slices)

Biryani masala- 3 tsp

Cashews - 30 nos.

Kismis- 40 nos

Baby potato- 5-6 (peeled)

Coriander leaves- ½ cup (Finely chopped)

Mint leaves- ½ cup (Finely chopped)

Ghee- 1 tbsp+1 tbsp+ 1 tbsp

Oil- 2 tbsp. + ½ tbsp. + ½ tbsp.

½ tsp of kesar soaked in warm milk.

Salt to taste

Procedure:

Marinating the chicken: Marinate chicken with the above mentioned ingredients for 4-6 hours or overnight.

For layering:

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pan, add sliced onions, salt and sauté well till translucent.  Take it off flame and keep it aside. Then take ½ tbsp. of oil and fry the potatoes with dash of a salt, till its turns golden brown. Then cover and cook till done. Once done, keep it aside. Finally, heat another ½ tbsp. of oil and fry the cashews and raisins and keep it aside.

Keep the Ghee, mint leaves and coriander leaves, kesar soaked milk and Biryani masala ready.

For rice:

Cook rice along with salt, water, oil, ghee and whole garam masalas. When it is 3/4^th done, strain away the water and let it rest.

For gravy:

Heat oil in a pan, add the marinated chicken, green chilies, fried onions (the one we have already prepared), tomatoes and salt. When the chicken is half done, take it out from the flame and add curd and biryani masala. When the chicken is almost done add coriander and mint leaves. Take care not to overcook the chicken. 

For the dum:

Take a big vessel. Coat the vessel with ghee, now in three parts first layer rice, then the chicken along with the gravy and onion-raisin-cashew, coriander, mint leaves and 1-2 potatoes for each layer. Remember to sprinkle 1 tsp. of biryani masala .Then pour 1 tbsp. of ghee for each layer and then follow the mentioned layering patter. Finally add the milk with kesar on the layer.  You may use a dough to seal the edges. But I used the silver foil and then put the lid on it.

Now put the vessel on low flame and let it be on "dum" for 15-20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove it from flame and it is ready to be served.

Notes:

Use basmati rice for biryani as it is the best rice for biryani.

I have used market bought “Biryani masala” which in my opinion was very not very spicy. Now different biryani masalas have varying spice level. So keep a watch and use, if you are not very fond of spicy food.

If you don’t like potatoes then you may not include it in the recipe.

Eggless Chocolate Cherry cake

This is the second cake that I ever baked and it was a success. It is quite easy and is a favorite with my friends. So, I bake it quite often but still one can never get enough of it. The most amazing part about this cake is that it is “vegan” and is made with the magical liquid called “water”. The recipe calls for simple ingredients and results into soft and chocolaty cake. I highly recommend this cake and once u get it right, you are surely going to bake it again and again.

In  this recipe, I have included elaborate notes. Kindly, go through them before you start baking. I understand the pain of disastrous cake, so here is my small set of tips to make your baking joyful and successful.

Eggless Chocolate Cherry cake

Recipe Source: http://showmethecurry.com/desserts/eggless-chocolate-cake.html

Serves: 6 to 8 persons

Ingredients :

Dry Ingredients:

Maida or All-purpose flour – 1 ½ cup + 2 tsp (for dusting the cherries)

Cocoa powder- 3 tbsp.

Salt- ½ tsp

Baking soda- 1 tsp.

Sugar- 1 ¼ cup

Cherries- ½ cup (chopped)

Wet Ingredients:

Water (cold)- 1 cup

Vinegar- 1 tbsp. (preferably apple cider vinegar)

Oil- 6 tbsp.

Vanilla essence- 1 ½ tsp

Procedure:

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius. Take all the dry ingredients, except sugar and cherries and mix everything well in a bowl. Then sieve it thrice and keep aside. After that take a 6 inch square pan and apply oil all over the pan, then coat it well with maida or all-purpose flour. Keep the tin aside. Then dust the cherries and powder the sugar respectively.

Now take a big bowl and pour water to it, then add the powdered sugar and stir well till it melts completely into the water. After that add vanilla essence, water and oil. Now in two parts add the maida or all-purpose flour mix into the water-mix. Mix everything well and gently fold in the cherries and pour the batter into the tin. Bake it for 35-40 minutes. Check if the cake is done with the help of a skewer, insert it and it should come clean. Ta-tada and your soft moist eggless chocolate cake is done.

It tastes best with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream

Notes:

Don’t over beat the batter otherwise you may get a cake which sinks in the middle.

The original recipe calls for 5 tbsp. of oil, but an extra 1 tbsp. of oil gives extra moisture to the cake.

Dust your cherries properly otherwise they will settle at the bottom of your cake.

Pre-heating the oven is crucial. So do not ever skip this step.

After pouring the batter in the tin, do not let it rest. Put it immediately in the oven and start baking.

Keep an eye on the cake after 35 minutes and when the upper part of the cake appears firm do a skewer test and remove it from the oven.

Coating the baking tin with maida or all-purpose flour is important, otherwise it may stick to the pan.

Instead of coating the tin, you may use butter paper to line it on all sides.

Do not try to de-mold the cake immediately. Let it cool for an hour or two. Invert the cake on the plate and tap the bottom of the tin on all the sides. The cake would come off. If are still having difficulty then take a fine knife and move it around the corners of the cake and lift it little from the sides.

You can make it a pure chocolate cake by excluding addition of cherries. 

An over-baked cake usually sticks to the bottom of the pan.

Chicken Kasha

The special Oriya Sunday meals is essentially inclusive of a non-vegetarian delight. I remember almost all Sundays at home meant the yummy chicken curry for lunch. But, today I would be sharing the beloved recipe of “Chicken Kasha” which is a comparatively drier and richer version of the regular Oriya chicken curry.  

As my family was fonder of the gravy part, the chicken curry was mostly prepared. But I too had my fair encounters with “Chicken kasha” at relatives’ places. My recent memories of “Chicken Kasha” was that of one that was prepared by my cook. Yes, my hubby had hired a cook as he never wished to over burden me with cooking. Moreover, I was kind of zero in cooking then. I do know men who are obsessed with the idea of their wives cooking for them. But I have been lucky as my hubby never viewed cooking as something of an indispensable quality in his wife.  He always gave me freedom to choose. So I chose to learn to cook. But yes, I was never pressurized to get into it. I cook because I love food and I love him. That’s it!!

From all the varieties of “Chicken Kasha” I have tasted, I have developed my own recipe. So here it goes:

Chicken Kasha Recipe

Serves : 5 to 6 persons

Ingredients:

Chicken – 1 kg

Onion (medium) - 6

Tomatoes (small)- 4

Coriander powder- 2tbsp

Cumin powder- 2tsp

Oriya garam masala- 1 tsp

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp. (finely chopped)

Oil- 3 tbsp.

Sugar- 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Ingredients for tempering:

Cinnamon- 1’’ sticks

Green cardamom- 4

Cloves- 6

Bay leaf- 2

Marinate chicken with the following ingredients:

Thick yogurt- 1 cup

Turmeric powder- 1tsp

Red chili powder- 1 tbsp.

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp.

Procedure:

 Wash the chicken well and marinate with the above mentioned ingredients for 1 hour. Taken kadhai, pour in oil and sugar. Once the oil is hot, goes in the ingredients for tempering and then the thinly sliced onions. After it turns translucent goes in the tomatoes and powdered masalas- coriander and cumin. Cover and cook for 3 minutes and finally add the chicken and salt. Fry the chicken well mixing in with the onion-tomato mixture on high heat. Once the chicken has browned lightly, pour the reserve marinade and reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking with the lid covered. Avoid adding any extra water and let the chicken cook in its own juice and that of yogurt. It may take around 45 minutes for the chicken to be done. After that garnish it with coriander leaves and my version of oriya garam masala.

“Chicken Kasha” is best served with paranthas and plain rice with dal.

Notes:

My version of oriya garam masala- take equal quantites of cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Dry roast it and then ground it into a smooth powder.

If you desire some gravy, you may add 1 cup of water while you add chicken.

Anda malai masala

Eggs are not only versatile but for life like ours were we juggle hard to meet deadlines at work and timely completion of household chores, it comes as rescuer too. Well, when you are running out of time and still want to dish out something special without any extra effort and time. Then, here it comes “Anda malai masala”. If you go through the recipe you will find that there is no fancy spice-mix, it is just the cream that will do wanders to the dish. So if you have stock of fresh cream at home do try it out for a different “Eggie” treat.

Anda malai masala

Serves: 2 persons

Ingredients:

Eggs- 6 (boiled and peeled)

Onions (medium)-3 (finely chopped)

Tomato (medium) - 1 (chopped)

Garlic- 2 tbsp (chopped)

Ginger-garlic paste- 2 tsp

Turmeric powder- ½ tsp

Chili powder- 3 tsp

Black pepper powder- ½ tsp

Cream- 5 tbsp

Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Procedure: 

Take around ½ tbsp. of oil and fry the eggs well. Then add remaining oil to the pan. Once hot add, garlic and fry it for few seconds. Then add onions and sauté it well. Meanwhile grind the tomatoes into a fine paste. After the onions have turned translucent add ginger-garlic paste and fry well till the raw smell disappears. Then add the tomato paste, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Drizzle the pan with water and continue cooking till masala leaves out oil from it sides. It may take around 15-18 minutes. Then add eggs and fry it well for another 5 minutes. Finally add cream, stir well and switch off the flame. Sprinkle black pepper powder, garnish with some more cream and it is ready to be served.

Anda malai masala tastes best with pulao or paranthas.

Notes:

You may add ½ tsp of Garam masala if you like.

Chopped coriander leaves can be used for garnishing.

Sambari Baingan

Sometime back we both were not baingan or brinjal eaters. But with time and to some extent because of compulsion we both have started to eat this vegetable. All thanks to my Delhi days I could had some of the best tasting dishes prepared with brinjal, but my hubby has not be so lucky.  So after marriage, I have started to prepare different dishes with brinjal and to some extent he is now enjoying to eat it.

Sambari Baingan has been developed to include the zesty South Indian flavors. In my trial I went with the most reliable sambar powder. I have never prepared sambar but with this versatile spice-mix, I have succeeded in adding that extra of zing of flavors. So here is the simple Sambari Baingan.

Sambari Baingan

Serves : 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients :

Baingan or brinjal- 250 gms (chopped into cubes)

Onion (medium) - 3 (cut into fine slices)

Tomatoes (medium) - 2 (finely chopped)

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Sambar powder- 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp

Curry leaves- 1 small spring

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Chili powder- ½ tsp

Green chilies (small)- 2

Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Procedure:

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and after they have spluttered add onions, curry leaves , green chilies and turmeric powder. Sauté the onions well till translucent, after that add ginger garlic paste and fry it till the raw smell disappears. Then add chopped brinjal/ baingan, salt, sambar powder, chili powder and tomatoes. Cook on high heat for 2 minutes, then add little water and mix everything well. Cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes till the brinjals/ baingan is done. Remember to stir in between and whenever you find the masala sticking to the pan, add some water.

Sambari Baingan tastes best with with rice, dal and pickle.

Notes:

If you don’t like it very spicy then you may reduce the sambar powder to 1 tbsp.

Aloo Shimla mirch ki Sookhi Sabzi (no onion no garlic recipe)

Staying away from the home may not be seen as a great option. But, then indeed life away from the comfort zone and protection of parents is worth experiencing. For a foodie like me, I was introduced to an entirely new ocean of culinary delicacies. I love the way vegetables are perceived and treated differently in kitchens across various regions of India. For instance “Capsicum” or “Shimla mirch” would be used mainly for Chinese trial at home but not as “hero” sabzi.

In Delhi, I was living with a wonderful family from Uttar Pradesh for two year as part of PG accommodation. Both Uncle and Aunty were amazing cooks and at their place I was introduced to Aloo Shimla mirch ki Sookhi Sabzi. Though they used onions and garlic in their recipe, I thought of replicating it but without use of onions and garlic. It turned out well and I was happy that without additional ingredients it still managed to taste good.

Aloo Shimla mirch ki Sookhi Sabzi

Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients:

Capsicum (large) - 2 (chopped into cubes)

Potato (medium) - 3 (chopped into cubes)

Tomato (medium) - 2 (roughly chopped)

Coriander powder- 1 tbsp

Cumin powder- 2 tsp

Chili powder- 2 tsp

Cumin seeds- ½ tsp

Garam masala- ½ tsp

Ginger- 1 tsp (grated)

Oil- 11/2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Procedure:

Heat oil in pan, add cumin seeds and ginger. Fry it for few seconds and then add potatoes. Cover and cook till the potatoes are half fried. Meanwhile take the tomatoes, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder and grind it into a smooth paste. When the potatoes are fried well, add capsicum and fry it well. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. This will help the capsicum loose its raw smell. Then add the grounded masala, salt and stir everything well. Cover and cook till the potatoes, capsicums are done and the masala is well cooked. It may take around 15-20 minutes. When the masala starts sticking, just sprinkle some water and let it cook. Finally add garam masala and it is ready to be served.  

Notes:

You may also add finely chopped tomatoes instead of tomato paste.

You may also ground two green chilies along tomatoes to make it spicier.