Posts by OCS | Saute Fry N Bake

Paped fritters

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 2 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 4 members

Description

Paped fritters. A snack i tried recently when i had to send a vegetarian meal over to a friends place. I came across this recipe from trala dalals magazine cooking and more. The recipe was suggested for Jains so it had no onions or garlic used. I liked the idea of paped used for coating the fritters so grabbed it immediately and tried it out with a little more ingredients added to my choice. I did come across a note recently in Ancesteral chef. Com which said Use “adapted from” if you are making a small modification to someone else’s recipe. Call it your own if you change three or more ingredients (unless the original recipe was so unique that your recipe still looks pretty similar in which case call it “inspired by”) Well i am confused as how to call this dish my own, inspired by or adapted by. Whatever we have an awesome dish to share. That’s good enough isn’t it.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Paneer( cottage cheese )	1 cup crumbled
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Tomato ketchup	1 teaspoon
Coriander leaves	1 tablespoon chopped
Onion	1 big chopped
Green chilli	1 finely chopped
Salt	to taste
Water	1/2 cup
Crushed paped	1 cup ( I used normal South Indian appalam not the Kerala pappadam
Oil	to deep fry
Maida	1/4 teaspoon

Method

Mix paneer , chilli powder , tomato ketchup , salt to taste , onion , green chillieand coriander leaves together . Knead well .
Divide the mixture into equal portions . Roll each portion into long cylinders . Set aside . Mix maida along with water and salt to taste to get a smooth batter .
Dip each cylinder into the batter and then roll in the crushed papad Making sure its coated well all around . Do the same to all the paneer cylinders .
Deep fry in hot oil to golden brown in colour from all sides . Drain and Serve immediately with tomato ketchup or any sauce of your choice .

Note

Can substitute panner with boiled potato alone or a combination of boiled potato and cooked minced chicken or mutton ( like for cutlet ) .
Can make a mix of flavoured papads like garlic , pepper and normal crushed together for the coating .

Hariyali kebab

Preparation Time : 20 minutes + marination for 8 hours or over night .

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 8 to 10 minutes

Description

Hariyali Kabab. A kabab that i have tasted in the tandoori platter when out to a restaurant.The green colour always puts of others so the left overs are always left for me to finish. I tried the recipe on my own once at home with all the ingredients i thought might be used and it did come close.So every time after that when ever i made hariyali kabab made slight clever little twists and now i have finalised and stuck to one recipe which i am going to share with you all.Ummm there are a lot of people who are so hesitant to share their recipes.Wonder why though ? I love to share all i know as i feel after you are no more, you should leave a mark of something behind for others to be kept reminded about you and conquer the world. As my passion is food and cooking. I am on a mission to keep all my known recipes from slipping into food oblivion. Sharing these recipes in my endeavour to keep myself entertained require a little effort but that makes it all the more worth while when i see you all try my recipes at home.

Ingredients for main dish

Ingredients	Quantity
Chicken breasts	1/2 kg cut into cubes
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 tablespoon each
Thick curd	2 tablespoon
Lime juice	1/2
Coriander leaves	1/4 cup
Mint leaves	1 tablespoon
Green chillies	4 to 5
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Chaat masala powder	a huge pinch
Black salt	a pinch
Salt	to taste
White pepper	1/4 teaspoon
Ghee -	1 tablespoon
Vinegar	1/2 teaspoon
Cream	1 tablespoon
Green food color	little ( optional )

Other Ingredients

Butter
Skewers

Method

Grind all the ingredients together except for chicken to a smooth paste . Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces in the ground masala for 8 hours or over night kept in the refrigerator .
Before grilling the kababs make sure the marinated chicken pieces are in room temperature . Preheat oven to 350 degree F .
Skewer the marinated chicken pieces and grill for 14 to 15 minutes basting butter at regular intervals .
Serve hot with tandoori chutney , lemon wedges and a vinegar dressed onion , tomato salad .

Iddiappam tokku sevai

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 6 to 8 minutes

Description

Iddiappam tokku sevai. A delight to the vegetarians which is a one box meal. This dish will surely be easy to pull of at home. All the ingredients in this dish compliment each other well that it helps to add more taste to the dish. A dish which my elder mother – in – law(my father-in -laws elder brothers wife)Mrs. Mahmudha sent over to my place once. She’s become a vegetarian by choice recently.A very knowledgeable lady as she has travelled a lot. she keeps experimenting in her kitchen as i do but with a lot of vegetarian dishes now a days. The word Iddiappam was new to me when i first heard it while on a excursion trip from school to mysore.We were taken to a Restaurant for Dinner and served South Indian Meals.Most of the North Indian senior girls wanted a tiffin item instead so they asked for iddiappam.After that once i was married to Nellai the word iddiappam was mentioned again.Curious to know what it was, to my surprise it was the nool puttu that we make at home so often.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Iddiappam	20
Onion	4 sliced
Tomato	3 chopped
Oil	3 tablespoons
Cinnamon	1 inch piece
Cloves
Green chillies	2 slit
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon ,
Thick coconut milk	1/2 cup
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Cow gram( also known as cow peas , karamani in Tamil )	1/4 cup boiled
Carrot	1 big grated
Salt	to taste

Method

Heat oil add cinnamon and cloves . Once they crackle top with onions and fry to brown in colour .
Add the ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp . Top with tomatoes and green chillies and sauté till the tomatoes lets out all its juices and gets to a thick cooked gravy .
Add turmeric powder , chilli powder and salt to taste . Mix well . Sauté for a minute . Top with thick coconut milk , mix well and bring to boil .
Simmer for 3 minutes or until oil floats on top . Cool the tokku gravy completely . Shred the iddiappam and mix it with the gravy to get a lightly moistened iddiappam which is coated well with the tokku gravy .
Be careful as the Iddiappam should not be mixed with a lot of gravy and get soggy . Garnish with boiled cow gram , grated carrot and chopped coriander leaves .
Toss well . Serve hot .

Bread bonda

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

Bread Bonda. A tea time brunch that my mom used to make when i was a kid . Very rarely did mom get into the kitchen to cook as she was so busy helping dad with his business. I use to love seeing my mom cook and being in the kitchen. Though mom is not a great cook. The little she cooks is jaw dropping.My son till date tells that my mom is the worlds best cook.I am still struggling to win my boys heart through his tummy. My parents were here at my place for a day, last week. They got to see my cooking competition pictures only then.The pride my mom had in her seeing those pictures and showing it to dad. That one moment i was filled with utter joy as my mom was not at all happy about me starting sauté ,fry n bake. She kept complaining saying its not going to do any good to you, stop wasting your time. Recently at a cousins wedding had so many friends,relatives and others who had liked sauté,fry n bake talk to me about my page.All along having my mom beside me. Happy i proved her wrong and made my parents feel proud about me . The joy of connecting with all you people through food which I am passionate about is ultimate .

Ingredients for filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Mixed vegetables	1 1/2 cup chopped ( cabbage , carrots , capsicum , green peas , beans , cauliflower )
Chicken or mutton mince	200 grams ( vegetarians can substitute with paneer or soya chunks )
Oil	1 tablespoon
Onion	1 big chopped
Green chillies	2 chopped
Coriander leaves	chopped few
Salt	to taste
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
Pepper	to taste
Chilli flakes	to taste
Turmeric powder	a pinch
Lime	a squeeze

Other Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Bread	12 slices crusts cut
Water	2 cups
Salt	to taste
Bread crumbs	2 cups
Oil	to deep fry

Method for filling

Mix chicken or mutton mince with turmeric powder , ginger garlic paste , salt to taste and very little water and pressure cook until cooked through .
Boil till all the moisture has evaporated and the meat is dry . Heat oil and fry onions and green chillies to translucent .
Top with chopped mixed vegetables and sauté till vegetables are half cooked , stirring constantly .
Add the cooked minced meat , seasoning with pepper , chilli flakes , lime juice and salt to taste . Toss and mix well . Garnish with coriander leaves .
Set aside and cool completely .

How to Proceed

Mix salt to taste with2 cups of water . Take a slice of bread , dip into the salted water and squeeze between your palms to get a flat wet base .
Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the Center . Bring all the four corners together and shape into a ball . Roll the balls in breadcrumbs evenly all around .
Do the same with all the bread slices and filling . Keep in the refrigerator till needed . ( I follow the recipe till this stage in advance and proceed only when required ) Heat oil to deep fry . Deep fry the bread bondas to golden brown in colour .
Drain and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Summer pudding

Preparation Time : 45 minutes + over night to set

Cooking Time : 5 minutes

Serving : 10 members

Description

Summer pudding . A dessert which is a treat to the eyes as well as your tummy. Recipe adapted from the book classic essential puddings which i bought 15 years back at a book exhibition held at my place. A small book with just 30 english dessert recipes but worth the buy as all the 30 pudding recipes are awesome. I have not yet tried all the recipes.I made this pudding when my cousins had come here. They just loved it. In fact my cousin brother muhazareen (babu)was like you should start a pudding boutique soon. The original recipe demanded a variety of berries , as its not available at my place, I have substituted with easily available fruits always . As summer is on its way soon, get ready for the heat folks.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
black currents	150 gm
red currents	150 gm
raspberries	150 gm
blackberries	150 gm
strawberries	200 gm (Hulled and quartered or halved)
caster sugar	1/2 cup ( 125 g ) or to taste
good quality sliced white bread	6 to 8 slices (crusts removed )

Method

Put all the berries except the strawberries in a large pan with 1/2 cup water and heat gently for 5 minutes or until berries begin to collapse . Add the strawberries and remove from heat . Add sugar to taste and cool .
Line a pudding basin or mould with bread . Cut a large circle out of one slice for the bottom and cut the rest of the bread into wide fingers . Drain a little of the juice off the fruit mixture .
Dip one side of each piece of bread in the juice before fitting in the juice side down , into the basin , leaving no gaps . Do not squeeze or flatten the bread or it will not absorb the juices .
Fill the Center of the basin with the fruits and add a little juice . Cover the top with the remaining dipped bread , juice side down , trimmed to fit . Cover with plastic wrap .
Place a small plate which fits inside the dish onto the plastic wrap ,then weight it down heavy cans or a glass bowl . Place on an oven tray to catch any juices which may over flow the basin .
Refrigerate over night . Carefully turn out the pudding and serve with any leftover fruit mixture and cream .

Original recipe adapted from classic essential puddings

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Apples	150 grams peeled and chopped
Bananas	150 grams chopped
Guava	150 grams chopped
Orange	1 segments alone
Pomegranate juice	1 fruit
Red food color	few drops , ( optional )
Sugar	3/4 cup
Bread slices	10 to 15 crusts removed
Butter	to grease
Strawberry crush	1 cup ( I used mapro toppings brand you can use Hershey's brand also )

Method

Put all the chopped fruits together along with the pomegranate juice and boil for 5 minutes .
Add sugar to taste ( be careful with sugar as the strawberries crush has a lot of sugar already . add the food colour . Cool completely .
Line or grease a pudding basin or a pudding mould . cut a large circle out of one bread slice for the bottom and wide fingers with the rest of bread slices .
Mix strawberry crush with red food colour ( optional , but gives a bright red colour to the pudding ) . Dip one side of each piece of bread in the strawberry crush before fitting it into the pudding mould , crush dipped side down on the bottom and sides with wide fingers over lapping each other leaving no gap .
Do not squeeze or flatten the bread as it will not absorb the juices . Fill the Center with the boiled fruit mixture with its juices . Cover the top with remaining dipped bread , juice side down .
Trim the edges to fit in . Cover with plastic wrap . Place a small plate which fits inside the dish onto the plastic wrap , then weight in down with heavy cans or a glass bowl .
Place over a tray or plate below to catch any juices which may over flow . Refrigerate over night .
Carefully turn out the pudding and serve with another brush up of strawberry crush .

Palak raitha

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 5- 8 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Palak raitha. Normal raitha with a twist which tasted yum and is very healthy to. Last week had to send a vegetarian meal over to my friends place. Vegetarian ???? Didn’t know what to do. Broke my head over the menu for a long time and finally came up with some things and this raitha also was one among the dishes. My friend priyas mother in law loved this raitha that she called up to get the recipe from me. This raitha is an awesome combination with rotis and pulao’s. The word raitha always brings back memories of my class mate Rathi Unnikrishnan as she was the one who used this word first with me.Back then not knowing what a raitha was thought it was some exotic North Indian Dish.She did clear my doubt by taking me to our school library and showed me a book which had a picture of raitha (i think it was cucumber raitha)I was like hay , we always make this at home with onions for biriyani but we call it thayir chutney.

Ingredients	Quantity
Spinach	2 cups blanched
Curd	2 1/2 cups
Green chillies	1 crushed
Salt	to taste
Onion	1 big finely chopped
Coconut grated	2 tablespoons
Sugar	1/2 teaspoon

Method

Mix curd with crushed green chillies , salt and sugar .
Add all the other ingredients and mix well . Taste and adjust .
Keep in the refrigerator and serve chill with rotis , pulaos or biriyanis as an accomplishment .

Dulce de leche cream cheese brownies

Preparation Time : 1 hour 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 – 35 minutes

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

This was what I posted in the foodie group home bakers guild for the master chef Mondays post in face book .

Hello talented bakers . This is Hazeena Seyad , a next door , day to day home maker (BAKER – A CLUELESS BAKER ) from Nellai ( Tamilnadu ) who is passionate about cooking and food . But baking and me are far apart from each other as Baking is too precise for me . I cook with a pinch of this and that . Being a ravuthar Muslim ( Tamil speaking Muslim ) where we don’t have a single authentic dish that demands us to bake . Guess that’s where the baking got far apart from me. As a kid at home with a working mom , who seldom cooked for us during holidays and the only things she baked were chilli cheese toast and cauliflower bake in a tiny imported oven that is in working condition till date . Having done my schooling in a boarding school where our daily breads , puffs , tea cakes , cookies to our birthday cakes were baked every day fresh in the school bakery . I grew up with the aroma of baking through out my childhood days . Still all this was not enough to motivate me to try my hands in baking . I started to bake as a newly wedded bride , with all my attempts failing royally , followed with great embarrassment . Baking became a lost story in my mind and system until few years back when I saw Rachel Allen bake a quiche de Lorraine on the telly . Got the recipe from my friend Pallavi who just gave me approximate measurements which worked pitch perfect . Took me nearly 2 years after that to try my hands on cakes and cookies and I realised that Baking makes me focus on weighing the sugar , on sieving the flour That I found calming and rewarding because in fairness , it is sort of magic . You start of with all this desperate stuff such as butter and eggs and what you end up with is totally different and delicious :-)) .

I strongly believe that the little baking i do now a days is because of my best buddy gazeena sulu kunahmed as when we were kids together in boarding school , god infused the baking spark into her , a tiny bit just splashed and got into me as I was near here :-)) . The minute I got to see my name in this season of master chef monday posts , I got dead nervous as I am paired with the most sophisticated bunch of bakers . I just wished dec 16 th would be skipped in the calendar . Broke my head over what to post and finally stuck to this simple dulce de lycée , cream cheese brownies .

Oh, the joy of brownies , The black ones with the oozing fudge, The brown ones with powdered sugar, The white ones with chocolate chips but this one is the ultimate with the goodness of dulce de lycée , cream cheese and brownie . All in one bite Brownie .

Hope this post gets viral as all the other previous master chef Monday posts . Happy baking to all and here’s the recipe .

Brownie ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Unsweetened chocolate	4-5 ounces , coarsely chopped
Butter	8 Tablespoons (1/2 cup) - chopped into pieces
vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
1 1/4 cups of sugar	1 1/4 cups
slightly beaten eggs	2
All purpose flour	1/2 cup
kosher salt	1/2 teaspoon

Dulce de leche/Cream Cheese ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
sweetened condensed milk	1 (14oz) can
cream cheese at room temp	8 ounces
sugar	1/4 cup
vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
kosher salt	1/4 teaspoon
egg at room temperature	1

Method for Dulche de Leche

Find a heat proof bowl that fits snugly into a heavy pot. Fill the pot about an inch high with water.
*Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water* Bring the water to a simmer. Empty the can of sweet milk into the bowl and place it over the simmering water.
Cover with foil and cook for about 2-3 hours depending on how dark you want the dulce de leche to be.
Stir the milk about every 20 minutes or so. Once you have the desired colour, remove the bowl from the heat. Stir until the mixture is smooth and set it aside to cool.
You can use the simmering pot of water again for the brownies. Add more water if necessary.

Just pressure cook the condensed milk tin with water just above the condensed milk tin for one whistle and then on a very low flame for another 40 minutes .
Remove from heat , wait for the cooker to cool down completely and then remove the condensed milk tin . Cool completely and use . ( this is what I do one day in advance or I have 2 tins of dulce de leche stored in my refrigerator all ready always , makes things more easy )

Method for Brownies

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with foil and lightly spray or butter.
Set aside.double boil the chopped chocolate and butter into a heat proof bowl. Stir just until everything is melted as smooth. Remove from heat.
Using a large spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the vanilla extract and sugar. One at a time, add the eggs, beating well (using spoon) after each addition.
Stir in the flour and salt. Mix vigorously until it becomes shiny and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Set the batter aside.

Method for Cream Cheese

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until it becomes creamy (about 30 seconds.) Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat to combine.
Add the egg and beat for about 20 more seconds. Slowly add the dulce de leche. If it’s still warm, add a small amount to the cream cheese, wait a few seconds and beat it in.
Gradually add the remaining dulce de leche and beat until completely combined with the cream cheese. Scoop out 1/2 cup of the brownie batter and set it aside.
Pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan and spread it around into an even layer. Pour the dulce de leche/cream cheese mixture over the brownie layer.
Drop in the remaining brownie batter using a spoon or spatula. With a butter knife, carefully swirl the brownie batter into the dulce de leche.
It’s alright if the batter is too thick in some spots. Try not the mix the ingredients too much, just enough to make things interesting. Bake for 35-45 minutes.
Or until the center is just slightly film. Don’t worry if it jiggles around, it will harden as it cools off. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting.
Store in an air right containers at room temperature and can be had for four days .

Fish biriyani

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

At home , any thing made with fish has to be high in spice .thats how it’s liked by all as well . So trying a new recipe with fish is always a high risk factor . This fish biriyani was sent over home by my elder mother – in – law mrs mahmudha Rabbani . My hubby did start tasting the biriyani very hesitantly but liked it a lot , surprising me . The fish biriyani did taste quite different from the standard biriyani’s but just as comforting . Some traditional dishes never ever go out of style . I did get the recipe from her and gave a try the following week end . The results were an aromatic , beautifully spiced fish biriyani with the caramelised onions to add a delightful sweet contrasting punch and the ghee plus olive oil lending a lustrous sheen , Thats ideal for family feasts with the emphasis on sharing . I did share this recipe in the monthly Tamil magazine pothigai Saaral . Periyamma ( mrs . Mahmudha Rabbani ) was like you get recipes from us and publish it in your name . Very smart you are . Well the entire world revolves in sharing and getting ideas from easy every day cooking that provides the maximum value for important preoccupation for busy urban families around us isn’t it ??

Ingredients for main

Ingredients	Quantity
Sheer fish	1/4 kg ( boneless )
Basmati rice	3 1/2 cups
Water	6 cups
Cinnamon	1/2 inch stick
Cloves	4
Cardamom	3
Onions	150 grams + 6 sliced
Olive oil	3 tablespoons
Tomato	100 grams
Ginger garlic paste	2 teaspoon
Mint leaves	1/4 bunch
Coriander leaves	1/4 bunch chopped
Chilli powder	1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Curd	1 cup
Salt	to taste
Ghee + olive oil	3/4 cup
Green chillies	6 slit
Saffron	a pinch soaked in 1/4 cup warm milk

Ingredients for marinating fish

Ingredients	Quantity
Chilli powder	1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Lime juice	of one lime
Olive oil	1 teaspoon
Oil	to shallow fry

Method

Marinate cleaned fish with the marination ingredients except for oil to shallow fry for half an hour . Heat oil to shallow fry and fry the fish . Drain and set aside .
Fry six sliced onions in 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a light golden brown colour and set aside . Wash the basmati rice and soak it in water .
Heat ghee and olive oil in a large vessel or in a pressure cooker , add cinnamon , cloves and cardamom. Once they crackle top with 150 grams of sliced onions .
Sauté for ten minutes until golden brown . Add ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp . Add tomato , green chillies , mint leaves , coriander leaves one after the other and sauté until the tomatoes lets out its juices .
Add curd , chilli powder , turmeric powder and salt . Sauté until oil floats on top . Pour water , mix well . Bring to boil . Add lime juice . Taste and adjust .
The gravy must have more than the required amount of salt , sourness and hotness as when rice cooked in this gravy will taste right only then . Drain and add soaked rice .
Top the saffron with the milk . Mix and cook the rice . If using a pressure cooker , one whistle .
Remove from flame , set aside for ten minutes and open the lid .

How to proceed

First lay 1/4 of the fried fish pieces , top with 3 teaspoons of sautéed onion slices and cover with 2 cups of cooked biriyani rice .
Keep layering until all the fish , sautéed onions and biriyani rice are over . Keep over a stove top in very low flame and leave it for 5 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together .
Fish biriyani is ready . Serve hot with onion raitha .

Mutton biriyani

Preparation Time : 45 minutes

Cooking Time : 45 minutes

Serving : 4 to 6 members

Description

Mutton Biriyani . The most requested recipe in demand of SautefryNBake. I have been wanting to post this recipe for a long time but thinking about the lenghthy procedure required in making a good biriyani with loads of patience which counts in writing a lengthy recipe as well. The lazy bug in me just didn’t let me do it all these days. Well today being a Sunday thought i should work on the mighty biriyani and post finally.It’s taken me this long to prepare from early morning till now to work on the recipe write up.Every district and house hold has its own recipe for a biriyani and the accomplishments through out India.Well here in Tamilnadu also it’s the same. At moms place they use jeera sala (jeeraga samba) rice with lesser meat proportion and mix oil and ghee together with the whole spices ground which gives it dark brown color and accomplished with an onion raitha (thayir chutney) dalcha (sambar with mutton fat and bones) , chicken 65 or a chicken gravy ,boiled egg , a white pumpkin sweet (pusanikka meta)and a payasam as a dessert . At my in-laws place biriyani is supposed to be made only with basmati rice (any other rice used is considered cheap and a sin)with lot of meat and ghee alone Accomplished with onion raitha,dalcha,chicken 65 , tomato or beetroot jam,boiled egg and a phimi as a dessert. Well the results of course the more calorie counted in -laws biriyani tastes better (no offense Palghat people).I learnt to make biriyani from my mother – in – law who is an expert but the problem is she doesn’t know how to cook anything in small quantities . So the flaw (of cooking in huge quantities)continues with me to as i was living together with them in a joint family for 18 years.Well now i am just their neighbour that’s the only difference. Happy cooking to all with loads and loads of patience and a lot of love put in.

Ingredients for Biriyani

Ingredients	Quantity
Cleaned Mutton	700 grams , ( cut into big pieces )
Basmati rice	2 1/4 cup ( I use India gate classic brand )
Onion	3 big sliced
Tomato	3 small chopped
Green chillies	8 to 10 slit
Coriander leaves	3 tablespoons chopped
Mint leaves	3 tablespoons whole
Cardamom	2
Cloves	2
Cinnamon	2 one inch pieces
Ginger and garlic paste	1 tablespoon each
Ghee	3/4 cup
Curd	3/4 cup
Salt	to taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder	1/2 teaspoon
Cashew nuts	10
Coconut	2 tablespoons
Rose water	1 tablespoon
Saffron	2 pinches soaked in 1 tablespoon of hot milk
Lime	1/2 juice

Ingredients for spice stock

Ingredients	Quantity
Water	4 cups
Cinnamon	4
Cloves	4
Cardamom	4
Bay leaf	2

Preparation to be done before you start

Wet the whole spices in 1/4 cup of water , so that they don’t burn when put into hot ghee .
Dilute ginger and garlic paste with 1/4 cup of water and add to the biriyani as recipe demands so that the colour of the biriyani stays mild with out a burnt dark colour .
Marinate cleaned meat with curd , turmeric powder , chilli powder and salt .
Grind coconut and cashew nuts together to a smooth paste and dilute it to a semi thick flowing consistency so when you add it to the mutton gravy it mixes well with our lumps .
Boil together all the ingredients mentioned for the spice stock for 10 minutes , covered . Allowing all the flavours to infuse into the water . Drain and measure 2 1/2 cups of stock and add to the meat as recipe demands . * keep the stock covered until required for the recipe * .
Wash and soak basmati rice in water .

Important tips

Keep stirring the ingredients every one minute once making sure you don’t burn anything at the bottom until you add spice stock .
The same applies after you add cashew nut , coconut paste .
Once the soaked rice is added toss gently once . Results you get whole grains of cooked flaky rice not broken .

Method

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker . Add whole spices ( cinnamon , cardamom and cloves ) which are wet .
Once they crackle add onions and fry to golden brown in colour for about 5 minutes . Add half of mint leaves and fry for 1/2 a minute .
Top with diluted ginger and garlic paste . Fry till oil floats on top , stirring occasionally every 30 seconds once . Add tomatoes and green chillies .
Sauté till the tomatoes break down and let’s its juices out . Top with marinated meat , coriander leaves and mint leaves . Toss well , sauté for 5 to 8 minutes till the meat changes its colour and all the flavours infuse together and ghee floats on top .
Stir ever one minute once making sure the bottom dose not get burnt . Pour the spice stock ( 2 1/ 2 cups ) and mix well .
Pressure cook for 3 whistles or until meat is cooked through . Add the diluted cashew nut coconut paste , rose water and lime juice . Mix well and bring to boil . Taste and adjust .
The salt , sourness and hotness should be more than required , only then when cooked with rice will the biriyani taste perfect .
Drain and add the soaked basmati rice . Pour the soaked saffron milk mixture over the rice and toss well once gently .
Pressure cook for one whistle . Simmer for 5 minutes . Switch of flame and wait for the whistle to settle down . Open the pressure cooker , toss gently .
Serve immediately piping hot with onion raitha and other accomplishments .

Potato cheese palak roti

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

Potato cheese palak roti. A very tasty roti which can be had as it is without any thing to accompany it. The green colour with white spots here and there is liked by children a lot.A good trick to make kids eat their spinach. This roti is apt for the lunch box to school or office as it stays soft for a long time and tastes good at room temperature too. I remember when i was in boarding school as a kid , our entire table (10 girls with us) used to take the vegetables served to us on our plate as a heaped spoon full. Put it into our mouth in one shot and drink water and swallow the vegetables . I guess most of us should have gone through such experiences as kids for sure.(If not for vegetables,something else at least) there are so many ways to cheat our children to eat their veggies in a good happy healthy way. It’s just that we have to take that extra bit of effort to do so.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Potatoes	1 cup boiled , peeled and mashed
Spinach - boiled and ground to a paste	1 cup
Wheat flour	3 cups + for dusting
Cheese	grated 1/4 cup
Salt	to taste
Curd	3 tablespoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Cumin powder	1/4 teaspoon
Green chillies	1 chopped
Coriander leaves	1/2 teaspoon chopped ,
Oil	1 tablespoon + for greasing and cooking

Method

Mix wheat flour , palak paste , salt to taste , turmeric powder , cumin powder , curd and 1 tablespoon oil together . Knead well to get a smooth dough .
Divide into 10 -12 equal balls . Roll out each portion of the dough into a circle , dusting with wheat flour over .
Season mashed potatoes with salt , green chillies and coriander leaves . Place some grated cheese over the circle roti , top with a heaped tablespoon of potato mixture and top with more grated cheese .
Bring the edges of the circle roti together and pinch of the excess dough . Roll into a ball . Do the same with all of dough and potato mixture and cheese .
Dust a flat surface with wheat flour . Flatten the stuffed balls with your palms gently and roll into a circle gently making sure the stuffing does not come out .
Heat a non – stick griddle ( tava ) and cook the roti on both sides , using a little oil , till golden brown spots appear . Repeat with the remaining stuffed dough .
Serve hot with curd , pickle or any vegetarian gravy of your choice . I like it best with curd or any raitha .