Pressure Cooker Chicken Biriyani

Now don't get fooled by the words "pressure cooker" in the title and turn your nose up thinking how authentic can a biriyani be if its made in a pressure cooker! Because then you'd be missing out on a lipsmacking recipe that's so easy to make that even amateurs can get it right! I know many people who are hesitant to try out a biriyani at home, even though they love it, for fear that it's a complicated process. Well, if you're one of them, then this recipe is the one you should start with. My mom used to make this on weekends when she had less time to cook for us or too tired to try something more elaborate-and it never disappointed! One unique factor in this recipe is the absence of any garam masala or biriyani masala-and yet the rice and meat are so flavorful!

Beetroot Rice, Spinach Rice, Carrot Rice (Toddler Lunchbox Series Menu #3)

My quest for nutritious, cook-in-a-jiffy recipes to pack for my son to take to his daycare continues! I'm happy to report I've made good progress and this week have 3  recipes to give you...Although my mom usually cooks what he takes for his lunch, I keep foraging around for newer recipes and that's how I came across this wonderful site Archana's Kitchen, from where all 3 of today's recipes are sourced. I think these need not be limited to kids lunchboxes but can be just right for those lazy afternoons if you're alone at home or to pack for your own lunchbox, if you take one to work! If you start cooking the veggies at the same time as the rice, this dish will get ready in less than 20 minutes. Pair it with a raitha, pickle, and pappad and you're all set!

Malabar Special Fish Biriyani and Malabar Pudding

Today, April 15, marks the start of a new year according to the Malayalam calendar for us in Kerala (and for Keralites around the world). The day starts first by looking at auspicious and sacred objects arranged in the living room (which have been arranged the night before by the matriarch of the house) in a ritual called "vishukkani". Usually, the eldest in the house wakes up the next younger person and leads him/her to the vishukkani blindfolded and so it continues until everyone is awake. The next ritual, which everyone looks forward to, is "vishukaineetam" where the younger ones get "pocket money" . often in substantial amounts, from the elders. Of course, there's the "vishukkodi", new clothes to wear, and all the fireworks to burst and the temples to visit and.....the food! Vishusadya! This is usually a grand feast laid out on banana leaves, with almost 24 to 28 vegetarian dishes served on it.

Toddler Lunchbox Series-Menu #1 (Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins & Cheesy Tomato Rice)

Yes, I'm starting a new series today, one that I will be adding to frequently over the next year. This series is my way of recording and keeping track of recipes my son likes as well as helping anyone out there who is in a similar predicament like me, having to pack a variety of delectable lunchboxes on a daily basis (and I know there will be many!). My dear reader friends who are already veterans in this lunchbox routine, please feel free to send me your suggestions/recipes/tips-it would be more than welcome!


The first recipe is one among my son's favorites. I like it particularly because it sneaks in everything we mothers would like our kids to eat - oats (high in fiber and vitamins), bananas (high in fiber, iron, vitamin B6), peanut butter (very high protein and calorific value), yoghurt and milk. The second recipe is something I made up and packs in a goodie bag of betacarotenes (with carrots), lycopenes and vitamin C (tomatoes) calcium (from cheese) and of course carbs (rice). Of course, the muffins and rice is something even grownups can take in their lunchboxes :-)

50-50 Chicken Yakhni Pulao

This is my ultimate go-to recipe for those days when I don't have time or am too lazy to cook, yet get hungry and want a hearty meal of rice and meat! It's also special enough when you have unexpected (or even invited!) guests. Those of you in India must have heard of chicken 65, but I bet you've not heard of 50-50 chicken! Well, it's just a name I thought up for this pulao that I make often, from the Samsung Book of Microwave Recipes by Tarla Dalal (now, those of you in the know will know that Tarla Dalal writes only vegetarian recipes-so don't ask me how non-vegetarian recipes got included in this book!!).

Ghee Rice (Neychoru)

In India, rice is one of the staple foods of the vast majority of people. There are as many varieties of rice as there are ways of cooking it. Ghee rice (fondly called “neychoru” by Keralites) is something that’s made on special occasions. Actually I would be lying if I said it’s only made on special occasions. Sometimes the occasion can be just a lazy, laidback weekend lunch. For me, this is one of the easiest ways of cooking rice and I think it must be one of the first dishes I learnt to cook from my mother and grandmother.

Vegetable Baked (Dum) Biryani

In India, for the last 7 days and culminating tomorrow, Hindus have been celebrating the festival of "Navarathri", which basically means "Nine Nights", worshiping the Divine in the form of the Mother Goddess. It also marks the advent of winter. It is basically observed by fasting and various religious rituals. Because of this, even Hindus who are non-vegetarians follow a vegetarian diet during these days. So my recipe for today is for a vegetarian biryani (biryani is basically a rice dish, mixed with either vegetables or fish or meat, prepared for special occasions).

If you are a nonvegetarian like me, you'll understand perfectly what I mean when I say it's difficult for people like us to follow a vegetarian diet and sometimes the only dish that makes the cooking and eating worth it is a pulao or biryani! This recipe has been adapted from the book that was a gift from my dad and which has now become my Go-To book for vegetarian recipes-India's Vegetarian Cooking by Monisha Bharadwaj. As is my habit, I don't usually follow the measurements to a T and in this case, had modified some of the steps to suit my time and pace and changed some of the ingredients to suit my taste. Do the same!

We had some friends over for lunch when I made this and everyone was of the opinion that this was a very flavorsome, delicious dish-and it wasn't difficult nor did it take too much time to make either (maximum 60 minutes, including chopping, washing, frying, and baking). As everybody was impatient and just couldn't wait to start lunch, I really didn't have enough time to take a good picture-so this photo does not do justice to the taste or aroma of this dish...Don't let the photo put you off from trying the recipe!

Ingredients to serve 6

For the bouquet garni (called a "potli" in Hindi, it is nothing but spices tied up in a muslin cloth and submerged in water to make it flavorful. This way, you don't have all the spices floating around in the final dish!)

1. 10 black or green cardamoms
2. 12 to 15 black peppercorns
3. 1-inch stick of cinnamon
4. 10 cloves
5. A few shavings of nutmeg
6. 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (perinjeerakam)
7. 2 bay leaves
8. Tie up all these spices in a muslin cloth.

For the vegetable layer:

1. 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or butter or vegetable oil
2. 4 medium onions, sliced
3. 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
4. 1/4th cup tomato puree
5. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
6. 1 teaspoon garam masala powder (I used 1 teaspoon chicken biriyani masala powder!)
7. 1 cup mixed vegetables, all diced (I used 1 large carrot, 1 large potato-you could also add half a cup of green peas)
8. 200 g paneer (cottage cheese), cubed (this is my addition)
9. Salt to taste

For the rice layer (normally the rice is washed, soaked and drained, but in this recipe, it was mentioned NOT to wash it beforehand)

1. 1 tablespoon ghee
2. 3 cups basmati rice
3. 6 cups water
4. Salt to taste

For the garnish:

1. Handful of mint leaves, chopped
2. Handful of coriander leaves, chopped
3. 2 tablespoons cashewnuts, fried till golden
4. 2 tablespoons raisins, fried till golden
5. 1 small onion, sliced and fried till golden

• First off, in a saucepan, boil the 6 cups of water with the bouquet garni inside it. When it comes to the boil, turn off the heat and cover and keep aside. This will allow the spices time to get infused into the water.
• In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon ghee and fry the onions until they turn golden brown.
• Add the ginger-garlic paste now and stir for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Grind this mixture in your blender till it becomes a smooth paste.
• In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon ghee and transfer the onion paste into it and fry over high heat for 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, the garam masala/biriyani masala powders, and salt. Fry for another 2 minutes.
• Wash and drain the vegetables and add to the pan.
• Add the paneer cubes also and fry everything well to combine with the spice powders. Cover and simmer for a few minutes until the ghee separates from the mixture (you will see the ghee/oil spreading out to the periphery). Remove from heat at this stage.
• Now onto the rice: heat the one teaspoon ghee in a separate pan and fry the rice over high heat. When it becomes shiny and the rice grains start popping, pour in the boiled aromatic water (remove the bouquet garni/potli). Add salt to taste and when it comes to the boil, simmer covered until all the water evaporates.

To assemble:

Now take a bake-n-serve dish, layer the rice first, top with the vegetable mixture, then sprinkle the coriander and mint leaves on top, followed by another layer of rice. Garnish with the fried onions, raisins and cashewnuts. Seal the dish with tinfoil/aluminium foil.

To Bake (or dum):

• Preheat your oven to 220 C.
• Place the biriyani dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
• Open the seal just before serving....to oohs and aahs from your family and friends :-)

TIPS:

This is quite a rich and flavorsome dish that does not require any side-dishes. I served it with an onion-tomato-green chilli raita, mango pickle, and pappads.

Party Menu Series#1-Parsee-Style Coconut and Cashewnut Rice

This is the third and penultimate recipe in my first party menu series. This recipe is from the book "India's Vegetarian Cooking-A Regional Guide" by Monisha Bharadwaj. It's a great book, with delicious-looking recipes. The photograph for this recipe was particularly yummilicious (in the book) but unfortunately, my photography skills could not do justice to the dish, so please bear with me.

This is a very simple and flavorsome rice preparation. Even though I stuck with the ingredients given in the book, I made modifications regarding the method of cooking the rice. In the book, it says to add the coconut milk in two stages, and did not require the rice or vegetables to be stir-fried. I stir-fried the rice and vegetables and added the coconut milk all at once, partly because that's the way I always do it and partly because I was short on patience and time (with my lil impish baby-turned toddler standing at my feet demanding my attention-after all, how much can you keep a 16-month-old occupied with playing with pots and pans and assorted toys!). I also did not use fresh coconut milk-I almost never do, for any recipe. But if you want to, there would be nothing better to bring out the authentic taste of this dish!

To serve 6

1. 3 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked for 15 minutes and drained well
2. 6 cups coconut milk (use fresh or tinned-I used 6 tablespoons coconut milk powder dissolved in 6 cups water)
3. 3 tablespoons sunflower oil or ghee
4. 1 medium onion, sliced thin
5. 10 black peppercorns
6. 3 cloves
7. 3 green cardamom pods, crushed
8. 2 bay leaves
9. 1 capsicum, deseeded and sliced
10. 3 tablespoons fresh or frozen green peas
11. Salt to taste
12. 2 tablespoons raisins
13. 2 tablespoons cashewnuts

• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil/ghee.
• Add the onions and fry till golden brown.
• Add the whole spices and bayleaves and stir for 1 min, until they pop and sizzle.
• Now add the rice and stir-fry on high heat for 1 minute, or until the rice starts popping here and there.
• Add the capsicum and green peas and fry for about 30 seconds.
• Now add the coconut milk and salt. Let it boil and bubble, then reduce to simmer and cover until cooked through and all the fluid has been absorbed.
• To garnish, heat 1 tablespoon oil/ghee in a small saucepan and fry the raisins and cashewnuts until golden brown. It's better to do this on a low flame, one after the other, as the raisins get to the golden stage much quicker than the cashewnuts.
• Pour this over the rice and serve hot.

TIPS:

The recipe listed green capsicum, but I used red, as I thought it would make a prettier visual contrast to the green color of the peas.

For the other recipes in this menu series, please see:

Mother's Day Cauliflower-Potato Fry

Chicken Mixed Masala
Strawberry Cheesecake

Jeera (Cumin) Rice

I'm not a very "rice" person....plain rice, that is. I much prefer rice in its more glamorous avatars of pulaos (or pilaf!), biriyani, ghee rice, fried rice....and of course, jeera rice! I can have jeera rice with almost anything. I've searched high and low for an authentic-tasting jeera rice recipe (the kind you get in North Indian restaurants) and finally hit the jackpot with this one, which I saw on a TV show. I don't recall the name of the show or the chef, unfortunately. This is perfect for seasoned cooks and amateurs alike. Its especially perfect for those rainy afternoon lunches!

      To serve 2

1. 3 to 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
2. 2 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
3. 4 cloves
4. 2 green cardamoms
5. 1 bayleaf
6. 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
7. 2 to 3 green chillies, slit
8. 1 sprig curry leaves
9. 1/2 teaspoon cumin (jeera) powder
10. 1/2 teaspoon coriander (dhaniya) powder
11. 1 cup rice (basmati or any other), washed, soaked for at least 15 minutes, and drained well.
12. 2 cups water, boiling hot
13. Salt to taste

• In a pan, heat the butter or ghee.
• When hot, switch to low flame and add the cumin seeds, wait till they splutter and become darker.
• Then add in the cloves, cardamom, bayleaf, pepper, green chillies, curry leaves.
• When the green chillies change color and the curry leaves wither, add the cumin-coriander powder and stir till the aroma of the powders wafts through.
• Now add the drained rice and stir around till you can see some of the rice starting to pop up and down (my grandmother's tip). The rice will also take on a glossy tint.
• That's the sign for you to add the hot water and salt. Just give it a good stir and cover.
• Let it simmer until all the water has been absorbed. Do not stir with a spoon to check. Use a fork to fluff it up, so that the grains remain unbroken.
• Serve hot with dal or chicken/mutton curry.

        Alternatively:

• You could also cook the rice separately, without any of the spices or powders.
• Just boil the water and add the rice to it, cover and simmer till done.
• In another pan, prepare the rest of the ingredients, as above.
• Add the cooked rice and mix well to combine.
• Or, just use a rice cooker or pressure cooker to cook the rice. Mix with the tempering and you're done!

TIPS:
This recipe is perfect to spruce up leftover rice.

The No-Fry Chicken Pulao

I love technology...whether it's in the form of a new web browser, a new handset, a new TV set, a new camera, domestic appliances..whatever it is, the moment I get it, I get this urge to get to the bottom of it, into each and every nook and corner, find out how it works, what it can do for me, how it can make my life better and easier; in short, I like to milk it to its maximum potential! Even when I started this blog, I couldn't help staying up late at night, tweaking the template, trying out new color schemes, changing the fonts, researching gadgets and widgets, adding and removing elements and changing layouts....you get the idea!

So it was when I got a new microwave oven - I have used it in whichever way it could be used, all the options that came with it, tried out most of the recipes in the cookery book that came with it, and also the cookery books that came with my friends' microwave ovens! After all, if a piece of technology is there for your use, why not use it to the maximum for your own benefit? So I will be adding a new category here-Microwave recipes.

This recipe, simply called "Murg Pulao" is from the Nita Mehta microwave cookbook that came with my friend Lakshmi's oven. I've made it a couple of times and I think it's a great recipe to have in your repertoire. For those times when you have unexpected guests (as a certain friend of mine seems to be having trouble with!)....you might want to give them great food, but not feel like slogging away in the kitchen while everyone else seems to be having a fun time in the living room! Or you just might want to give your family a delicious Sunday lunch, but feel like taking a rest from the kitchen yourself. Or you might just be lazy to cook. Or you might have a toddler who wants all your attention and you just can't spend too much time in the kitchen without a major toddler nuclear meltdown! Or you're a bachelor/bachelorette, wanting to impress that special someone or just your friends, but don't know much of cooking. This recipe is perfect for all these scenarios.

Serves 2 (according to the recipe in the book-increase the quantities if you want more)

The measurements for the spices are my own approximate measurements

    1 cup (185 g) Basmati rice, washed and soaked in 2 cups water for 20 to 30 minutes

    250 gm chicken, cut small (or 2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks)

    To be ground to a fine paste:

1. 2 onions, large
2. 1-inch ginger
3. A handful of garlic flakes
4. 3 red chillies
5. 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
6. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
7. 1 teaspoon saunf (perinjeera)
8. 1-inch cinnamon stick
9. 1 teaspoon cloves
10. 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
11. Salt to taste
12. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• Wash the chicken and keep in a strainer to drain off all the water.
• Mix the ground paste with the chicken pieces (no need to keep for marination).
• Transfer to a FLAT and DEEP microwaveable dish. Microwave, covered, on high power for 3 minutes.
• When the 3 minutes is up, add the rice with its water, salt to taste, and a pinch of turmeric powder. Stir to combine everything well.
• Cover again and microwave on high power for 13 minutes (open and stir again at around 6 minutes).
• Serve after 5 minutes with papad, raitha, and pickle....

Because most of the whole spices in the Indian garam masala repertoire is included in this list, the aroma that wafts out of the oven and when you open the lid of the dish is incredibly aromatic....just a friendly warning, in advance :-)

TIPS:

Make sure to drain all the water from the chicken pieces after you wash them.

Resist the temptation to rinse out the mixie jar with water to get out all the spice paste to pour into the chicken. If you stick to just the water that's with the rice, you'll get a better result.

Garnish with cilantro if you like.

Green Gram Pulao

There is something to be said about the pleasures of spending time with a friend who enjoys doing the same things you do and who also has a child almost the same age as yours. I think my son and Priya's son met each other for the first time when we were still pregnant with them! Now we get together often in each others houses, have lunch/snacks, swap books, share notes on stuff, even do baking together (recipes to follow soon). So this post and the two posts that follow this one will be of dishes that I cooked when I invited Priya and her kids for lunch the other day (that's when I made the Caramel Custard for dessert).

The recipe for this particular rice dish was given to me by Asha (Koshy) aunty, a very dear friend of ours. She's someone who is not only a culinary expert, but also an extremely quick cook, who makes even a complicated meal seem like child's play. She wouldn't break into a sweat even if 10 more people unexpectedly dropped in for a meal and in fact, loves having people around. Not to mention her joie de vivre and motherly nature, which makes us look forward to going to Pune often!

I make this dish frequently, as it's very easy and quick...

 Ingredients (To serve 2 to 3)

1. Rice (Basmati)                   1 cup
2. Green gram                         Half cup
3. Water                                  2-1/2 cups
4. Ghee                                    2 tablespoons
5. Cloves                                 4
6. Cinnamon                            1-inch stick
7. Onions                                 1, big, sliced thin
8. Green chillies                      3, slit into half
9. Ginger-Garlic paste             1 tablespoon
10. Tomato                                 1, big, chopped fine
11. Cilantro (coriander leaves)  A handful, chopped fine

• Wash the rice and green gram.
• Soak the rice and green gram together for at least 4 hours.
• In a pressure cooker, heat the ghee and let the cloves and cinnamon splutter.
• Add the onions and fry till translucent.
• Add the green chillies and ginger-garlic paste and fry till a nice aroma wafts out.
• Now add the tomato and fry till a little pulpy.
• Drain water from the rice and green gram and tilt both into the pan. Fry for about 2-3 minutes.
• Pour in the water, add salt, and close the lid. Put the weight on, and after the first whistle, simmer for 5 minutes.
• When cool, garnish with cilantro, transfer to a serving dish, and happily tuck in!

This goes well with just a pickle and pappad as accompaniments (so it's perfect for all you students, singletons, and generally lazybones!). It is even better with pepper chicken, the recipe of which will follow this one!

TIPS:

You can increase the health quotient of this by substituting sprouted green gram for the whole gram.