Saturday 5 November 2016

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

We normally prepare the lucknowi style biryani at home.But always wanted to try out the hyderabi style.In this the chicken is cooked along with the rice.Hence it is also sometimes called as Kachhi biryani.This recipe is quite simple only with some preparation for the marinade.Rest you don't need to do anything,just the dum cooking does it all..:)

Ingredients -
chicken
ginger garlic paste
curd
garam masala
coriander/dhaniya powder
cumin/jeera powder
turmeric/haldi powder
red chilly/mirchi powder
salt
coriander leaves/dhaniya patta
mint leaves/pudina
oil
onion
basmati rice

Method -
Wash the chicken.
Marinate the chicken with the following for around 3-4 hours-hung curd,ginger garlic paste,garam masala powder,haldi,mirchi,dhaniya,jeera powder,dhaniya patta and pudina.
Cook the basmati rice half done with some whole garam masala(elaichi,dalchini,laung).
Heat oil in a non-stick pan.
Fry some chopped onion till brown.
Once done remove the onion and keep them aside.
Now layer the half done rice,fried onions,then the marinated chicken,again the rice and so on.
You can add whole slited green chillies in between.
On the top layer add a lemon wedge.This gives a nice tangy taste.
Cover the pan and cook it on sim for around 45min.
Cut through the layers and serve hot biryani with raita :)

Tuesday 30 August 2016

Bread Pancake


My toddler loves pancakes.One morning when I served him bread for breakfast,he said he wanted pancakes.I tried to make him understand that I would prepare them some other day, but was in vain.I did not want to prepare the normal pancakes as I already had bread.So I thought of using the bread, and the pancakes made out of bread turned out so yummy that everyone just loved them and they are a hot favourite in my house now :)

Ingredients -
bread slices-2
milk-1/2cup
egg-1
water
sugar
oil/butter for frying
 

Method -
Cut the edges off the bread slices.
Dip them in water till soft and squeeze out the water.
whisk 1 egg in a bowl.
Add milk,the softened bread slices and sugar to it.
Adjust the sugar quantity as per your need.
Mix well.
Heat a non-stick pan.
Add few drops of oil/butter to it.
Pour one laddle full of the batter.
Cook till the pancake turns light brown and then flip and cook on the other side.
Soft pancakes are ready to serve :-)
This quantity makes 3 pancakes.

Friday 24 June 2016

Rava Uttapam/Savoury Sooji Pancake

This recipe is easy as compared to the normal uttapam as in you do not need to plan the previous day and soak the ingredients.You can prepare instant yummy uttapams whenever you feel like.If you have not tried this one, please do, as this is a delicious variation :)
  
Ingredients -
sooji/rava - 1cup
all purpose flour/maida - 2tspn 
water
salt
onion
tomato
green chillies
capsicum
coriander leaves

Method -
Soak the sooji and maida in water for about half an hour.
Chop the vegetables finely - onion,tomato, chillies and capsicum.
Add salt in the batter.
If required add more water to the batter to get the desired pouring consistency.
Heat a non-stick pan.
Drizzle few drops of oil.
Pour a laddle full of batter.Sprinkle the vegetables over it.
Let it cook on a medium flame till it gets light brown on the edges.
The cooking time is a little longer than a normal uttapam.
Serve hot rava uttapam with sambar or chutney of your choice :-)

Monday 30 May 2016

Atta Biscuits/Cookies


These biscuits are made up of whole wheat flour or atta.Needless to mention that they are healthy.If  you are wondering how might atta biscuits taste, let me tell you that they were just delicious and my toddler just loved them and I was satisfied and happy with the fact that he was munching on some healthy home made stuff :)

Ingredients -
wheat flour/atta - 1.5cup
all purpose flour/maida - 0.5cup 
powdered sugar - 1cup
baking powder - 2tspn
ghee - 3/4th cup
milk - 2-3tbspn

Method -
Mix the atta, maida and baking powder.
Beat the sugar and ghee well.
Now put in the atta little by little into the sugar-ghee mixture.
Mix it till a dough is formed.Add some milk for kneading it.
Keep this dough aside for about 30min.
Preheat the microwave to 180deg.
Take some dough, roll it with the help of a rolling pin.
Now cut them into desired shaped cookies.
Grease the glass plate with ghee and place the cookies keeping some distance between each of them.
Set the convection option of microwave for about 10min.After 10min, turn over the cookies so that they get baked on the other side for another 10min.
Once done you will notice that the cookies get a light brown colour.
Let them cool and then store in an air-tight container.
Enjoy home made healthy cookies at tea time :-)

You might also like Nankhatais

Thursday 28 April 2016

Semolina/Sooji/Rava Cake


This is a cake which contains sooji and not maida.So it is rest assured that its a healthier version of cake which you can prepare at home.Its a perfect snack or tiffin which is filling and healthy both.Don't go by the thought that how can you bake a cake without maida, please give it a try and know for yourself :-)


Ingredients -
sooji-rava (2 cups)
baking powder (1 tspn)
eggs (2)
sugar (1.5 cups)
oil (1/2 cup)
vanilla essence

Method -
Beat the eggs together.Add sugar to the eggs and mix well.Powdered sugar is preferable since it will
take less time.Or else you can blend the egg-sugar mixture.
Mix the sooji and baking powder.
Start adding oil little by little and knead the dough simultaneously.
Now add this dough to the egg-sugar mix.
Mix it well so that the batter is consistent and smooth.
Preheat the oven.
Grease a baking dish and bake it in microwave(convection option) for 40min.
Yummy rava cake is ready :)


Friday 8 January 2016

Pav Bhaji


Pav bhaji or Mumbai pav bhaji as it is famously known as, is a street food in Maharashtra.It is a vegetable curry known as bhaji in marathi served with pav(bread).It is full of vegetables so its pretty healthy when you have it at home specially where you can control the amount of butter you add :P So if you have never tasted this maharashtrian snack please try it once !

Ingredients-
cauliflower -1 cup
carrot - 1/2 cup
green peas - 1/2 cup
capsicum - 1/2 cup
potatoes - 1 cup
tomatoes - 2 cups
green chillies
onion
ginger-garlic paste
coriander leaves
lemon wedges
turmeric/haldi powder
red chilly powder
everest pav bhaji masala
oil/butter
pav

Method-
Cut all the vegetables into medium cubes.
Chop the onion,chillies and tomatoes finely.
Make a paste of ginger and garlic.You can also use the ready made ginger-garlic paste.
Pressure cook all the vegetables except capsicum and onions with water.
Strain the water and keep it. We shall use it later as a vegetable stock.
Heat oil and butter in a non-stick pan.
Put in the onions, chillies and ginger-garlic paste.
After 2min add the chopped tomatoes.
Add salt and let it cook till the oil separates out.
This will take some time..around 4-5min.
In the meanwhile mash the boiled vegetables with the help of a spatula/big spoon.
Add the mashed veggies to the pan.
Add haldi powder,mirchi powder,salt and pav bhaji masala.
Add some vegetable stock and let it cook for another 2-3min.
Sprinkle some finely chopped coriander leaves and turn off the flame.
The bhaji is now ready.
For the pav - toast the pav in butter on both sides.
Serve hot pav-bhaji with a dollop of butter with some chopped onion,green chilly and lemon :-)