Back with some Biriyani

After a long time, i am typing something for the blog. I love to write, at least I used to love. But typing (not writing) is not my happy-mood thing. This blog also started out of boredom. It was during 2012, I left my 1st job because it was monotonous; I was waiting for the second job confirmation (that was monotonous too, but at that time I thought of getting enough time for my hobbies along with good payment, what a wrong view I had!!!). Anyway, so during that waiting period, I was busy in cooking and making my friends eat those experimented foods; and I started sharing those experiences through this blog. It was kind of lovely experimental time. Once I got the job (the same job I am in now, completed 5 years, yeaaah,!!!), the cooking continued, but typing and posting was never the same. As I told, the job did not give me time for my hobbies during the 1st two years.

After the last post in 2014, so many things happened in life:: Induction training,few more trainings in different places, after a long discussion between the families finally married to 'college-friend cum long time love of my life" Mr Sarmah, experienced working with a Bad boss and fighting in workplace, late honeymoon to Rajasthan, a few more trips during last two years, lost my Father-in-law- a very kind person who used to prefer chicken biriyani cooked by me (just like my husband), became mother of a healthy baby and just like that my 35th birthday is around the corner.

Now I am on maternity leave till August and this writing flu is again showing it's symptoms. Symptom like sharing stories of all those special events which happened during  last few years. But before all that, I need to push myself to write ( type, precisely) and complete the first post of this year. So here is a old recipe presenting in new way with new pics.

17th June was Father's day. It was the first Father's day for my husband Mr Sarmah, as Deuta (in Assamese, father).

Also my parents are here, because of the baby. So I was able to celebrate the day with my Baba (in Bengali, Father).

First I planned to cook different tasty foods, searching for Father's Day special menu ideas. But then I did something else. I asked my hubby and my Baba about their favorite foods and guess what? Both replied same things. Luchi and Chholar daal (Poori and bengal gram lentil) in Breakfast; Chicken biriyani and some sweet thing in Lunch. It made work less for me. I am always lucky with the men in my life; they are not fussy and always helpful. 

So this was the lunch.

Paneer biriyani was there for Mother-in-law, a first time attempt and what I can say, it was so tasty, that we all had it. But since this post is about my old love of biriyani, so I will stick to less spicey but full of flavour Chicken biriyani.

Chicken biriyani for 4:

Biriyani Rice 3 cups (washed and soaked in water for 15mins, mixed with 2teaspoon refined oil and salt). This will help to make the rice non-sticky.

Chicken 500gm, you can use less or more as per your requirements.

Marinated this chicken overnight in paste of 2 big onions, 10/12 cloves garlic, 1inch ginger, 4 green chillies, 5 cardamom,2 1inch cinnamon, 1 tablespoon cumin powder, half cup liquid garlic butter, salt.

Onion 2 big for frying, make big slices

10/15 cardamom

1 cinnamon of 10cm

Cloves 5/6

Star anise 1

Nutmeg 1small piece

2 bay leaves

Saffron few strands soaked in milk

That's it. See no chilly powder, no curd. You can add cashew if you want. 

Generally the biriyani is full of spices and after eating this we are going to need a walk to digest all these spices and oil. The mailn masala is garam masala, which has beautiful fragrance but it is very rich in taste. But a few years back, I and Mr Sarmah (before becoming Mr and Mrs ), tasted biriyani in a restaurant, which was very mild in spices but made our heart (yes tummy too) full. I loved the smell of garam masala but the food was not at all spicey. We loved that biriyani and I started to recreate that biriyani. The first trial was a hit and I was finally able to cook biriyani which has the rich aroma of GARAM MASALA but does not have lots of spices. The procedure is a simple one and I shared the same recipe with one of my cousine and they loved it. According to her, the best thing about this biriyani was they did not have any medicine to digest the food. Hmmm that's another good reason for you to try this.

Now, i will type the procedure of cooking and finally post it. This is the most tiresome part for me. I will finish typing it soon.

Cook the soaked rice with all the whole masalas, in a pressure cooker. You will need 4 cups and little less than half cup of water to cook rice. Put the flame in high, one whistle and immediately turn off the heat. Let the gas pass and open the lid. Take out the whole masalas and spread tge rice in plate. You need to make it completely cool, otherwise while making the layers for biriyani, rice will become soggy.

In the mean time, heat sufficient amount of oil in a wok. Put the chicken pieces and cook in very low flame. Keep the marinated masalas for later use. Turn the pieces once it becomes red in one side. In this way chicken will become tender.

Take out the chickens. Fry the onuons in that oil with medium heat. Once onions are red and fried (not burnt), take it out, keep the oil for later use.

Now the final part. Put a tawa on stove. Place the pressure cooker on it. Use the oil now. Add the marinated masala. Spread half portion of rice on this. Place the chicken pieces. Add the rest of the rice. Spread the fried onions. Pour the saffron milk. Close the cooker lid, without whistle. Put the heat on high for 3mins. Now make the heat low and very slowly and carefully shake the cooker. Again after 5min shake tge cooker very slowly. And the biriyani is ready. Shaking should be done very carefully. This will mix the lower level of marinated masalas and other ingredients with rice properly; but if shaken fast or hard, it will make the rice sticky and you will lose the proper taste of biriyani.

Yes, finally done typing my post, the first post in a long time. Hope you enjoy the recipe and give it a try. Anyone who is afraid of indigestion (which is common in Bengalis), can give this a try, you will not have acidity or any unwanted burp! 

We all had this fruity punch after the biriyani. My father liked it so much that today, on Jamai soshthi, he wants this again. Just enjoy the view, I will tell the recipe in my future posts.

In a few days will come with another biriyani and some other story.
 Till then Bye.

Honey-Orange Chicken with Sesame Sauce

To the 8-years Old Friendship! To Yambem & Bunny! Love you Both.

This one was our in our 31st Night Girls-In Party Dinner. I and my old friend Nandita (we share the same Name!) Yambem spent a great 31st night with her 2 years old son Boon. Boon was busy in his cute-naughty things & I was busy with trying some new recipes. My friend Yambem was taking care of us :) But that night, we missed our old friend & my best friend Nabamita, the third member of our "N-Team" (our name starts with 'N').

This recipe went very well with the Pulao. I was not able to post the recipes regularly because of a major incident of my life. Now I have done my work for that "Major Thing", now waiting for the result. Wish me Luck! After the result, I'll be very much regular in posting. I have so much recipes to share with you all. In the mean time, you can visit my Facebook page "Foods from my Kitchen".

I am sorry I could not take the photo, as my friend R, who always reminds me about taking photographs after I finish cooking something, was not present on that day. But I would love if any of my readers share their photo.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup(s) fresh orange juice

1/3 cup(s) orange blossom or clover honey

1 teaspoon(s) grated ginger

1 teaspoon(s) garlic

1 teaspoon(s) orange zest

1 teaspoon(s) salt

1/8 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper

500gm Chicken

1 teaspoon(s) vegetable oil

1 teaspoon(s) toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon(s) toasted sesame seeds

Recipe:

1. Combine juice, honey, ginger, garlic, zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add chicken; stir to coat. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot; add vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Lift chicken from marinade and let excess drip back into bowl. When oil is hot, add chicken and cook over medium heat 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

3. Add reserved marinade to skillet and boil over medium-high heat, turning chicken once or twice, 3 to 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce is reduced by half. Transfer chicken to a cutting board, cut into diagonal slices, and arrange on a platter. Stir sesame oil into thickened sauce and spoon it over chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Papaya Chicken

After my last post, I was quite busy with some works, house shifting & medical issues. I am not sure when I shall be able to post regularly, again. Anyway, here is a quick post on the chicken dish I prepared last weekend. It is tasty & requires very less oil.

Ingredients:

Raw Papaya - 1

Chicken - 500 gm

Onion - 1, medium, chopped

Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped

Chilly - 2, chopped

Refined Oil - 2 tbsp

Garam Masala- a small pinch

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste

Onion seeds - 1/4 tsp

Water - 3 cups (depends upon the amount of gravy you want)

Recipe:

1. Half the papaya, take out the seeds & peel off the skin. Chop the papayas in small cubes & wash.

2. Heat oil in a kadai, add the onion seeds. When the seeds start to spatter, add chopped garlic, onion & chilly.

3. After frying on low heat for 2-3 mins, add chopped papayas. Add turmeric powder, salt & sugar. Saute for 3-5 mins on medium heat.

4. Add the chicken pieces. Mix everything properly & cover the kadai. Cook for 6-7 mins on medium heat.

5. Add water & cover, cook on low heat until the chicken is done & only a little amount of water remains. It may take 10-15 mins.

6. Add garam masala powder, mix & cook for 1-2 mins again. Serve hot with puri. We had this with the green luchi. 

Chicken Khichdi

The festive season was never like this for me. For the first time, I am so busy, that I am not able to visit my own blog. This year, I started my Laxmi puja, all alone in the new city. But I really enjoyed doing all the works which my Ma does at home, during the Pujas. Now I am busy with packing because I am going home after so many months. So here is the recipe of my favorite old dish & may be I will start posting the new ones soon.

Ingredients:

Rice - 100gm \ 1 large cup, uncooked

Red Lentil or Musur daal- 50gm, no need to fry

Chicken - 1 cup, chopped or shreded

onion - 1, small, chopped

Garlic - 4-4 cloves, halved

Ginger paste - 1tbsp

chilly - 1, halved

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Fenugreek sedds - 1tsp

Onion seeds - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/3 tsp

Oil to fry

Salt to taste

Sugar

Water (do not worry about quantity)

Method:

1. Wash & soak, both rice & daal, together or separately.

2. Heat oil in a cooker. Add onion, cumin & fenugreek seeds. When the seeds start to splatter, add garlic, followed by onions. Saute for 1-2min. Add the ginger pastes. Add chicken pieces. Cook for 3mins.

3. Add rice & daal. Add salt, sugar, chilly flakes & turmeric powder. Saute for 5 more mins.

4. Add 4cups of water. Cover and cook on high flame & wait for the cooker to whistle 4-5 times. Turn off the heat & let it set for 10-15 mins.

5. You can adjust the liquid amount of the khichdi according to your taste. Transfer to a serving plate & enjoy.

Bottle Gourd Chicken\Lau Chicken

In this recipe, I have used the young bottle gourd, as my experimental ingredient with chicken. Since the Lau\Bottle Gourd was very tender, so I used all the parts (skin, flesh & seeds) of the vegetable. Cut the bottle gourd into four parts & take out the seeds. Make paste\thick juice in a blender or juicer. Dry fry the seeds & keep aside.

Hope to get some feedback if you like the recipe :)

Ingredients:

500gm chicken, medium pieces

1 medium, young Bottle Gourd\Lau

1 small onion, sliced

2 large potatoes, each cut into 4 pieces

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 tbsp cooking oil

1 green chilly, halved

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

salt & sugar 

Method:

1. Heat oil, add chopped garlic, chopped onions & saute until the onion becomes soft. Add potato pieces & gourd seeds. Saute for 4-5mins.

2. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilly, sugar & salt. Simmer on low flame.

3. Add the chicken pieces. Saute in medium flame for 2-3mins. Add the Lau\Bottle Gourd paste & mix everything properly. After 5mins, add water. Cook on medium fire until chicken is soft & desired amount of gravy is there.

4. Serve with rice, pulao or roti.

Amarnath Chicken

Few words of knowledge :)

Amaranth is a leaf vegetable and grain that has been eaten for centuries all over the world. Amaranth seeds have been used since ancient times in Central and Latin America and in the countries of the Himalayas. Amaranth leaves are used across Asia.

Red amaranth is also known as Chinese Spinach.  It shares no familiar ties to spinach, but it shares a similar taste.  Both stems and leaves have a slightly rough texture but are completely edible.  The leaves can be eaten raw as a salad green, though it is most commonly cooked, either by quickly stir frying the green, tossing some of the chopped leaves into a soup, or adding steamed and chopped amaranth greens as an ingredient in sauces.

Amaranth greens are believed to help enhance eyesight.  It is also loaded with with vitamins A and C, and iron, calcium and quite a bit of protein for a leafy green.

Hmmm, done with the knowledge thing, here is why I am using these vegetable(or shall I say leaves!). In this recipe, I have used both the red & green Amarnath leaves. The aroma as well as the taste, both are too tasty  to leave a single drop of the gravy.

Hope to get some feedback if you like the recipe :)

Here's the recipe I have used. 

Ingredients:

500gm chicken, peeled the skin

100 grams of Amarnath leaves, soaked in warm water, blended in a blender

1 large onion, chopped

1 large potato, cut into 8 pieces

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

cooking oil

1 tbs coriander powder

1/2 tea spoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon chilly powder

1tbs turmeric powder

salt

Method:

1. Heat oil, add chopped garlic, chopped onions & saute until the onion becomes soft.

2. Add potato pieces, Amarnath paste. Saute for 4-5mins.

3. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilly powder & salt. Simmer on low flame. 

4. Add the chicken pieces. Higher the flame. After 5min, add water. Cook on medium fire until chicken is soft & desired amount of gravy is there.

5. Serve with rice, pulao or roti.

Spinach Chicken

This time I prepared this Spinach chicken with a touch of cheese. The taste was good as well as different; at the same time very less calorie :)

Ingredients:

500 g chicken leg piece, peeled the skin

100 grams of spinach, soaked in warm water, coarsely chopped

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

cooking oil

salt

coriander powder

Processed Cheese to garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil, add garlic paste, chopped onions & saute until the onion becomes soft.

2. Add  Spinach leaves.

3. Add turmeric powder,  coriander powder , salt. Simmer on low fire. 

4. Add the chicken pieces. Higher the flame. After 5min, add water. Cook on medium fire until chicken is soft & desired amount of curry is there.

5. Garnish with cheese & serve with pulao.

Chicken Pulau

Today's rainy sunday weather was perfect for a heavy & spicy lunch. So prepared the Chicken Pulao. But  since I do not like too much spice & curd, so discarded curd from my recipe & made it less spicy.

Enjoy the less spicy Chicken Pulao!

Ingredients :

Chicken - 500 grams

Onion - 3 (2 - paste use in marination; 1 - fry)

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Ghee - 50gm

Poppy seed paste - 1/2 tea spoon

Kaju paste - 1 tbs

Oil

Green Chilly,chopped- 1

Cinnamon Stick - 1

Star Anise - 1

Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Bay leaves - 1

Water

Method:

1. Take Chicken, wash well and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Marinate the chicken with poppy seed paste, red chilly powder, salt and ginger-garlic-onion paste. Massage well using your hands to rub in the masala and then keep aside for half an hour to marinate.

2. In a wok heat 1 tbsp desi ghee and add 2 onions, chopped lengthwise and brown them. Keep the fried onions aside along with the ghee.

3. . In a wok heat 1 tbsp desi ghee and  add cinnamon stick, 1 star anise and saute. Now add the marinated chicken with all masalas. Cook for 5-8 minutes on high flame till colour of chicken changes. Add Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Red chilly powder, Salt. On high flame fry for 5-8 minutes.

4. Add chopped green chillies according to taste.

5. Then add 1 cup of water and let it come to a boil. When the chicken will be soft & the water is soaked completely, keep the chicken aside.

6. Wash and soak rice in water for 1/2hr. In the cooker take ghee, whole garam masala, drained rice. 

Add 1 1/2cups water (use the same cup used for measuring rice), chicken with gravy and salt. 

7. Cook on high flame & wait for the cooker to whistle once. Turn off the heat & let it set for 10-15 mins.

8. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish Serve hot.

Tuberose Chicken

I always look for something to improve my experiments with foods. A few days back, watched the movie Bacuse I said so and there in one seen the character Milly said to the little kid that the flowers of the bouquet were edible. Her words gave me the idea & I started looking in internet. There it was! So many recipes (mainly desserts) with flowers.

This weekend I wanted to prepare something with chicken but I could not find any recipe with chicken & rose/ tuberose (these two are very much available near my house :) )

So I tried this one on my own & it came out very tasty. My friend liked it & we are planning to have it on next weekend with some other friends :) .

(Sorry for the picture quality)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons cooking oil

250 g chicken, peeled the skin, leaving the tail

1 capsicum, chopped

50 grams of tuberose flowers, soaked in warm water, 1 tomato

1 tea spoon salt

1 tsp coriander powder

2 onions

8 cloves of garlic

Method:

1. Heat oil, add garlic paste, chopped onions & saute until the onion becomes soft.

2. Add  chicken, cook until it changes color

3. Add capsicum, tomato, tuberose flowers & mix well

4. Add turmeric powder,  coriander powder , salt. Simmer on low fire. 

5. Add the tuberose soaked water. Add more water if you want more curry. Stir and cover. Cook on medium fire until chicken is soft & desired amount of curry is there.

6. Server with rice or roti.

Enjoy :)

Chicken Biriyani (my less spicy way)

Try this less spicy Chicken Biriyani!!

Ingredients:

For Chicken:
1 chicken medium size
3-4 chopped onions
10-12 green chilies cut into halves
2 tea spoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tea spoon garam masala
1 tea spoon chilli powder
1 table spoon ghee or oil
Chopped coriander
Salt to taste.

Marinate chicken with ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder and salt. 
Keep aside for 2-3hrs.
Heat ghee in a kadai & add chopped onions
Stir in -between. 
Add marinated chicken pieces and garam masala. 
Cook for 5m. 
Stir. Cook for 5m.

For the Rice:
2 cups basmati rice
1 table spoon ghee,
2 cinamons
2 cloves
2 black pepper corns
1/2 tsp shahjeera
2 tej patta
1 cardamom
Salt to taste. 

Wash and soak rice in water for 1/2hr. 
In the cooker take ghee, whole garam masala, drained rice. 
Add 3cups water (use the same cup used for measuring rice)and salt. 
Cook on high flame & wait for the cooker to whistle once. Turn off the heat & let it set for 10-15 mins.
Spread rice on a plate to cool. 


Now in the cooker arrange a layer of half of the rice & then place the chicken and spread the remaining rice over it. 
Sprinkle lime juice, saffron with milk. 
Place the cooker (without the whistle) on heat & cook on medium flame for 5min.
Place the cooker in a kadai filled with water & cook on low heat for 10 min.

Garnish with fried onions. 
Serve hot with onion tomato raita.