Chicken Kabsa

Chicken Kabsa is one of the most popular dishes in Saudi Arabia. The recipe is less oily, less spicy & very tasty with a beautiful aroma. Hope you like it. The recipe (with a little modification) is here.
If you like my recipes, then please join my blog by clicking here.

Ingredients:

1 2/12 - 3 pound chicken, cut into eight pieces

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 (12 ounce) can tomato puree

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 medium onions, sliced

5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 medium carrots, grated

4 cardamom pods

3 sticks cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound long grain rice

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup sliced almonds

I have removed the orange rind & added 4tbs lemon juice in the recipe.

Method:

1. Saute onion in oil until it begins to brown. Add chicken pieces, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and garlic and stir for about five minutes over low heat.

2. Stir in three cups hot water, grated carrot, spices, salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cook over medium heat, covered, about 20-25 minutes, until chicken is done.

4. Remove chicken. Set aside to keep warm.

5. Stir rice into the liquid in the pan, and cook, covered over low heat for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Add lemon juice & toss properly.

6. Put rice on a serving platter with chicken pieces arranged around the circumference. Toss raisins and almonds over all.

Serves: 6

If you like my recipes, then please join my blog by clicking here.

(The original recipe is adapted from homemade-recipes)

Fish Biriyani with Thekera

I have tried biriyani in different flavors, but this time I tried biriyani with fish & added a tangy flavor. So here is my recipe. Hope you enjoy it & send me some of your feedback :)

Ingredients:

1 large - Capsicum, cut into small diamond shapes

2 medium - Onion, chopped

3 cups thekera soaked water (soaked for whole night)

1 large - Carrot, grated

2 - Chilly

1 cup - Dhania patta, chopped

200gm - Fish

4 tbs - thekera paste

2 cups - Basmati Rice

Salt To Taste

Turmeric powder

1 tb spoon - garam masala

2 - bay leaves

1 tbs - Sesame seeds

4 - cardamom

2 - Cinnamon sticks

6 - raisins

Rice:Water - 1: 1 1/2

Method:

1. Wash & soak rice for half an hour. Soak kismis in water.

2. In the cooker heat refined oil; add bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, thekera water, drained rice and salt.

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

4. Spread rice on a plate to cool. 

5. Clean fish & marinate them with salt & turmeric powder for min 1/2 an hour.

6. In a kadai, heat oil & dip fry the fishes; keep in a separate plate. Keep the remaining oil in a bowl.

7. Take 3tbs of that oil (in which you fried the fishes) in the same kadai & add chopped onions. When onions become soft, add the vegetables. Add salt, dhania patta & chilly. Lower the flame. Saute for 6-7mins or until the vegetables become soft. Keep aside.

8. In that same kadai, heat 1tea spoon of that oil; add half of the cooked rice, add turmeric powder & saute for 3-4mins.

9. Now in the cooker, heat 1tbs of the fish-fried remaining oil. Add bay leaves, garam masala powder, sesame seeds & thekera paste.

10. Arrange a layer of the turmeric rice & then place the fishes and spread the remaining white rice over it.

11. Sprinkle lime juice, saffron with milk. Spread the fried vegetables.

12. Place the cooker (without the whistle) on heat & cook on medium flame for 5min.

13. Place the cooker in a kadai filled with water & cook on low heat for 10 min.

14. Garnish with dhania patta and fried onions. Serve hot. 

Plain Khichuri \ Khichdi

Khichuri is commonly considered to be a comfort food. In Bengali tradition, it is customary to cook khichuri on rainy days :) . It is also traditional in Bengal to cook khichuri for lunch at the Saraswati Puja during the month of February—the invocation of the goddess of learning—and for other popular pujas such as Durga Puja.

While khichuri is cooked as a rather rich gourmet delicacy in Bengal, it is cooked very differently in northern and western India, where it is considered a very plain bland dish usually served to people who are ill. Khichdi is also the first solid that babies are introduced to.

After staying in Bangalore, I have come to know one more thing; the Bisi Bele Bath or "Hot Lentil Rice" is famous variant of Kichdi from Karnataka, a state in Southern India.

These days, the weather is pleasant & very perfect to have khichuri or khichdi in meals. So last night we had this simple & plain food in dinner. We had this after a long long time, so enjoyed this plain version with a spicy fish item. 

Hope you will love it & send me some comment too :)

Ingredients:

Rice - 100gm \ 1 cup, uncooked

Musur daal\Red Lentils- 100gm

Onion - 1 large, coarsely chopped

chilly - 1

Bay leaf - 2

oil to fry

salt to taste

sugar

Panchforon (cumin, nigella\kalo jeera, fenugreek\methi, wild celary\randhuni & fennel\mouri seeds)

Turmeric powder

water (do not worry about quantity)

Method:

1. Soak rice & daal

2. Heat oil in a cooker. Add bay leaves, panchforon. When panchforon starts to splatter, add onions. Saute for 5min

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. Transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot.

We had our khichuri with the spicy fish bhurji.

Green-Cheesy Pulao

This rice recipe was another successful attempt with spinach leaves. It is simple but tasty. It went well with Spinach Chicken. Hope you like the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups - Basmati Rice
1 - Capsicum, cut into diamond shapes
50gm spinach, soaked in warm water, finely chopped
Salt To Taste
1 Pinch - Turmeric powder
1 tb spoon - garam masala
2 - bay leaves
3 - cardamom
1 - Cinnamon
6 - kismis
Cheese to granish

Rice:Water - 1: 1 1/2

Method:


1. Soak rice for half an hour. Soaked kismis in water.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp of ghee is a cooker, fry bay leaves. Add  cinnamon & cardamom.
3. Add the garam masala and fry. Add the capsicum & chopped spinach and mix well.
4. Cook until the masala separates from oil and vegetables (capsicum+spinach) gets tender. Add turmeric powder.
5. Add rice, salt, 3 cups of water and stir well. Add kismis. Cover and 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 with cheese & Serve hot.

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.

Soya Pulao

I made this pulao with some left-overs.

Ingredients:

2 cups - Basmati Rice
1 - Onions
3 tbsp - Ghee
1 - Carrots, cut into cubes
6 - soya chunks
1/2 - capsicum, cut into pieces 
Salt To Taste
1 Pinch - Turmeric powder
1 tb spoon - garam masala
2 - bay leaves

Method:

1. Soak rice for half an hour. Soak soya chunks in hot water till these are soft.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp of ghee is a cooker, fry bay leaves.

3. Add the garam masala and fry. Add the vegetables & soya chunks and mix well.

4. Cook until the masala separates from oil and vegetables (subzi) gets tender. Add turmeric powder.

5. Add rice, salt, four cups of water and stir well. Cover and cook until the rice is done on slow flame. Stir once a while .

6. Serve soya pulao hot with curry

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.