The Real Chicken Shorba

Chicken Soup Pieces
1-2 onions - roughly chopped
1-2 tomatoes - roughly chopped
Some ginger - garlic pieces
Few cloves, peppers, bay leaf, cinnamon
Turmeric -  a pinch
Salt

Put all in a cooker with water for 3-5 whistles
Once cooled, strain the soup
Shred and add the chicken pieces (cooked while making the soup)
Garnish with lemon juice and coriander, and serve.. see how it vanishes!!

Bombay duck fry

Fried bombay duck to make a simple meal of dal rice delightful

Butter Garlic Pepper prawns

Butter Garlic Prawns
So today we cooked some butter garlic prawns!!

Batter: 
Butter+ ground pepper+ cornflour + garlic paste and very little water and salt
I optionally added some fresh celery and thyme


Procedure :
Marinate de-veined cleaned prawns for 1-2 hours
Then just cook it on medium flame and smoke them on flame
Serve with roasted peppers, onion n ketchup 😍

Sauted Exotic Vegies & Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 cup each of chopped:
Mushrooms (already sauted in butter, till all the water is dried)
Brocoli (steamed)
Zucinni

1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp olive oil

ready to eat chicken (like nuggets/kebabs etc) - shallow fried and chopped

Heat oil in a pan, and add the ginger garlic paste. Add the zuccini & cook for 2 mins. Then add rest of the ingredients, and cover and cook for 3-4 mins. Finally add salt, pepper & a dash of lemon juice.
Very simple, and tasty. Of course, you can add any seasoning as per your liking!

Prawns in Butter Garlic pepper

Ingredients: Prawns Cleaned and Deveined Garlic Paste Pepper Powder Salt Corn Flour/Maida for binding Rawa Lemon grass Sticks Mint Procedure Make a batter of Garlic paste Pepper Powder n salt. Add the Prawns and let it marinate for about 20 mins.Just before Frying apply the Cornflour/Maida and Rawa on the Marinated Prawns. In a heated frying pan add some butter.Add Mint leaves and lemon grass. Switch off the Flame and Cover the Pan for about 4-5 mins for getting the aroma. After 5 mins again switch on the flame and now place the prawns.Fry till golden. Serve on Toothpicks. Decorate with Mint leaves

Egg Bites

Make the same base you make for burji & instead of adding eggs into the onion-tomato-spices masala----
---boil eggs, cut into halves, mix the yolk into the onion-tomato-spices masala & fill the masala into the egg white.
Top each piece with coriander & Serve! Yummy Egg-bites!!!

Butter Chicken with Kasoori Methi

My Favorite Recipe from Childhood Days.Once Mum's Kitty Party Friend had made it around 15-20 years ago and since then is a famous one in my household

Ingredients:
Boiled Boneless Chicken
Oil
Chopped Onions
Tomatoe Puree
Milk
Cream
Chicken Stock
Chicken curry Masala
Red Chilly Powder
Kasoori Methi
Salt

Procedure:
Fry Onions in Oil in a Kadhai.Add the Ginger Garlic Paste.Now add Chicken Masala.Normally these Everest/Badshah have good Chicken Gravy Masalas.Pick anyone of your choice.Mix well.Red Chilly Powder.Once the Onions are brown, mix all very well in a blender.Add little water if you want.

Next add Tomato Puree.Let it cook well.Add the Boiled Boneless Chicken.Add Milk and Cream.Finally Add the Chicken Stock and Kasoori Methi.Add Salt as per taste.
Serve Hot with Parathas:)
Enjoyyyy

Chef's Tip:Additionally you can Add Cashew paste to make gravy thicker and tastier

Prawns in Okhra Gravy South Indian Style(Courtsey:Masterchef Australia)

I have off late been addicted to Masterchef Australia on StarWorld big time.I love the way they make those dishes and also the way they give small tips.
Last week when famous chef Kumar Mahadevan gave this recipe,I really found it interesting.I have not yet tried,but it looks so intesting ,that I thought I should record it somewhere before I forget and share with all of you.

Ingredients:
Oil
Okhra
Prawns
Grated Coconut
Chopped Onion
Chopped Tomato
Mustard,Cumin,Fenugreek and Dhaniya Seeds
Red Chilly powder
Turmeric Powder
Chana Dal Roasted
Curry Leaves

Heat oil in a Pan.Add Mustard,Cumin and Fenugreek.Now add Chopped Onions.Add Dhaniya Powder ,Red Chilly Powder Turmeric and the Okhras (Ladyfingers) with its top chopped.Let tehm Fry well.Once fried ,remove the Okhras.
Now add Tomatoes,Green chilly and Water.Add the Prawns now.Add Curry Leaves and let it Simmer a while.
Separately mix grated coconut and roasted chana dal in a mixer,add water and make a paste and add it to the above.Re add Okhras and Serve hot

(Courtsey:Masterchef Australia)

Dum Murg ki Kacchi Biriyani

Saw this Lucknowi style Biryani recipe on NDTV Good Times & immediately thought of trying my hand at it. Firstly my sincere apologies that i could not click any pics as i wasn't sure how it would turn out.... But amazingly it came out really yum!!!!! So, thought of sharing this with you darlings!!!
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Ingredients:
½ kg basmati rice
1 kg chicken
2 onions - sliced long
½ tsp saffron
1 cup milk
juice of 1 lemon
fresh green coriander - chopped
2 green chillies - chopped (optional)
1 tbsp oil

Ingredients for the marinade:
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 ½ cup curd
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste

Spices for chicken:
4 cloves
1” cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
½ tsp cumin seeds

Whole spices for rice:
2 cloves
½ “cinnamon
2 green cardamoms
salt - to taste

For the Dum:
Dough made of wheat atta & water

METHOD:

Marinate the chicken with curd, turmeric, salt, chilly powder and ginger-garlic paste. Coarsely grind all the spices for the chicken & add to the marinade. Leave the chicken to marinate for an hour minimum or overnight.

Heat two tbsp of oil in a pan. Sauté the onions, till they turn golden brown. Keep aside.
Put the rice into the cooking vessel & add the requisite amount of water. Add the whole spices and the salt. Cover and let it cook till the water is absorbed.

Add the saffron to warm/tepid milk & stir till the milk takes on the colour of saffron. Keep aside.

Crumple half the burnt onions & add it to the marinated chicken. Put back in fridge for half an hour.

TO LAYER THE BIRYANI:

In a handi put 1 tbsp oil & heat. Add the chicken & cook on high heat till chicken takes on a light brown colour & is half cooked & add the lemon juice.

Lower the flame; flatten the chicken to form a layer. Put chopped coriander & green chillies (optional) on top.

Put all the rice on top of this layer, add the remaining fried onions & smoothen out. Pour in the saffron milk over the rice.

Cover the vessel & make long snake off the dough by rolling in on the counter & use it to seal the top of the cooking vessel. (Note: if you don't want to use atta you can tie the vessel tightly with a cloth instead)

Let the biryani cook on a very slow fire till the seal is hard & the rice looks fully cooked.

Serve hot.



Love Akki!

Quick Chicken Curry

Posting after really long! Cooked after a long time too! Churned up a quick, simple Chicken Curry yesterday for dinner. It was good, since there was not even a speck on gravy remaining..

You need
2 small cups boneless chicken
1 tsp curd
1 pouch chicken masala (I used some Everest chicken masala)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 medium onions (ground to paste)
A pinch of turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Clean and marinate the chicken in curd, chicken masala and giner garlic paste for a few hours. I kept it in the fridge.
Heat some oil in a kadhai, add any spice (like a clove or 2), add the onion paste and cook till oil seperates. Then add the marinated chicken, turmeric, salt and mix well. Add water, and cover and cook until done. Very easy and yummy.
Alternativerly, you can make a dry preparation (i.e. dont add water), and have it as a snack, or as a filling in yr sandwiches.

Tip: to make Ginger Garlic paste at home, use equal quantities of ginger and garlic, and grind to a fine paste using oil. Don't add water, use just the required quantity of oil to make a fine paste. Store in refridgerator. This way, its stays fresh longer

-Naina

Some cookbooks and fish curry - Crossed a century too

This blog has finished 100 posts.. without me realising it !! :) Yippee

...Back to my post..
There's this book exhibition going around near my place in my Mumbai suburb.. I surely enjoy so many books... Read '2 States' by Chetan Bhagat in 1/2 a day.. (rather night) pre Diwali.. now, Monica's got for me 'The Secret'.. and I purchased 3 cook books today!!!




I'm quite used to reading Nita Mehta's recipes, cos I had (mom still has) plenty of the small cook books of hers before my marriage, and have experimented a lots of paneer and other stuff on my brother.. Bottom line.. I like the way she explains in the books. One is on microwave recipes (everyone at home wanted this one..), and the other on cakes.. I wanted something Indian to refer to..
The 3rd book is 'Cakes & Bakes 500' by Martha Day.. seems like a lovely bible on baking.. :) Makes me really happy..

So, got back home a bit late, and mom in law was preparing for fish.. our usual one.. Just the fish breed changes, the gravy's the same, and the tastes of different breeds differ like east and west..



(sorry.. pic's not too presentable.. but the fish was mostly head pieces.. not attractive to take pics of! Will post a pic of the next make sometime later)
You need..

1/4 of a whole dry coconut (sukha khopra) - roasted to black, chopped and ground.. u can refer here..
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece ginger
1 small onion
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 tsp sunday masala - this is prepared by my mil, and a similar thing is available in some local masala shops.. but no hygiene there...else you can take a mixture of garam masala powder and red chilli powder

Grind all these ingredients with enough water to get a fine paste.. like this


Heat lots of oil (say 3 tbsp) in a kadhai. Add methi (fenugreek) seeds, and when they are brown, add the masala and cook till oil seperates.. Add some water and cook if needed. Then add the cleaned fish pieces,let the masala coat it, add enough water to make a nice gravy.. we make it a thin gravy type. Add salt and cook for 5-10 mins. Finally add some kokam pieces and garnish with chopped coriander.. Yummy..
-Naina

Hyderabadi Egg Curry

Here's some lovely egg curry I made.. took this recipe from PrasuKitchen



Ingredients:

1 Onion Sliced (I took 2 onions)
1 Tsp red Chilly Powder
1/2 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 Tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder
Cilantro Leaves For Garnishing
1 Tsp Yogurt (I took 2-3 tsps)
1 Tsp Kasoori Methi .
Salt-To Taste
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Turmeric-Pinch
Paste:
1 small Onion
1 Inch ginger
Garlic Few pods
1 Tsp Yogurt
1 stick Cinnamon
3 Cardamoms
3 Cloves
1 Tomato
2 Tbsp Cashewnuts

Directions To Prepare:

1) Boil 6 eggs , make slits on each Egg (I took 8 eggs)
2) Add oil in a Pan Add Onions Fry until brown Add Paste and fry until Oil seperates
3) Add Red Chilly Powder,Turmeric,Coriander Powder,cumin Powder
4) Add eggs So that its coated well with the Masala Stuff
5) Add salt ,Garam Masala at the end and Garnish with Cilantro And add Kasoori Methi Which adds great taste to the Curry .

Enjoy
-Naina

Shahi Murg Pakora

This is a recipie that i got from a cookery website. Tried it and trust me guys it was yum! A little fattening though...just keep it for the grand functions (where you can eat oily stuff..once in a while)
Ingredients:
Chicken breasts 500gm
Saffron (kesar) few strands
1tbls Milk
2-3 cloves garlic
2tbls lemon juice
1tspn chilly powder
2 tspn cumin powder (jeera)
salt
Batter:
6tbls Besan
1tbls Rice flour
1tspn Shahi jeera
salt
1/2tspn Garam masala powder
1/2tspn turmeric powder
1/4 tspn soda bicarb
oil
Procedure:
Clean and cut the chicken breasts into two inch sized pieces. Heat milk, and soak saffron in it. crush garlic and mix it with lemon juice. Place chicken pieces in a bowl and add milk with saffron, chilli powder, jeera powder and salt. Marinate it for half an hour and turn the pieces after 15 mins. Add the lemon juice mixed with garlic and marinate it for an hour.

Sieve besan and rice flour in a bowl and shahi jeera, salt, garam masala powder, turmeric, and soda bicarb. Add water slowly and make a thick paste (like the besan paste for pakoda). Allow the batter to stand for around 20-30 mins mix before you use it.
Take a pan add oil and shallow fry it (you can even deep fry them) cover the pan and let it cook.Turn it one or twice in between. Fry untill golden brown.

Guten Appetit,
Monica

Prawns Biryani!!! (Long awaited)

Posting a recipe after reallyy long time. This one is my family and friends all time favorite. My friends say that the biryani tastes better than Lucky's..( a huge compliment).
I first make the gravy and rice separately and then layer it.

Ingredients for the Gravy:
4-5 medium finely chopped onions
2 medium potatoes chopped
Prawns (1-2 portions approx 200gms)(if the prawns are little less but cant resist making the biryani just increase the onion quantity)
1-2teasp Chilly powder
½ teasp Turmeric powder
2 teasp Garam masala powder(meat masala also would taste good)
2-3 tomatoes
Coriander leaves
1 green chilly (less spicy)
2-3 teasp dhana jeera powder
1tabls oil
4-5 Trifala
5-6 kokam
4-5 pods of garlic

Procedure:

Heat the oil in a vessel, add Trifala (if you don’t have..dont panic..you can skip this, but its good for digestion and it aids removal of undesirable fat in the body) let it crackle and add chopped onion and potatoes. Sauté them till golden. Add turmeric and chilly powder and kokam. Grind tomatoes with garlic, coriander leaves, and green chilly. Add this mixture in the vessel and let it cook till oil appears on the surface. Add prawns ( we put the prawns towards the end so that they remain soft and tender or otherwise they turn really hard as they get cooked really fast) and gram masala powder as well as dhana jeera powder. After all the ingredients have been properly mixed add water (depending on the consistency that you want) cover and cook till done.

Ingredients for the rice:

5-6 cups of basmati rice
Coriander leaves
4-5 pods of garlic
½ inch ginger
1 green chilly
Kada masala like bay leaves, cloves, full pepper, full cardimum, kaaju (optional)
2 medium onions sliced
1 lemon juice

Procedure:

Wash the rice and drain all the water add lemon juice and keep it aside.Heat the oil in a big vessel ( the layering of the biryani has to be done in this)
Add all the khada masala excluding kaaju. After it starts cracling add onion and fry till golden brown. Grind coriander, ginger garlic and green chilly together and add it, fry it a little add kaaju. Add rice and hot water according to the quantity.

Layering

After the rice is cooked, remove almost ¾ rice in a plate. Place a layer of the prawns gravy . Put a layer of rice so on till all the rice and gravy is done with.
For seasoning you can also fry the onions golden brown and add it after the last layer is placed.

For veggies:
You can make a very delicious mix veg gravy and layer it with the masala rice.

Guten Appetit!
Monica

Egg cup

Mom in law saw it on a cookery show a while ago.. Made it quite sometime back.. but I haven't posted it!

The pic's not too great... (I always click with my cell phone)


Basically, just take 2 eggs, beat them and add salt.
Then, for the sutffing… make a mixture of your choice, like onions, tomatoes, chillies, cheese. Add seasonings of your choice and keep this aside.
We took a bagharia (the round cup type vessel we use to temper the dals)..
Put half of the beaten egg into it, once it is semi cooked, remove it.
Put the remaining half of the beaten egg in the bagharia, and once this one sets, put in the stuffing, and semi cooked 1st egg on top of it.
Let it set, and your 'egg cup' is ready to eat..
Made it just once, so welcome to suggestions!
Also, may turn out better in the microwave.. will try next time

-Naina

The World's Best Prawns

My mom-in-law is an awesome cook!! All of us know that by now!
Here are here trademark prawns, made in our typical North Indian style
Suzie loves these! And I'm sure, anyone who likes sea food will love these!

Ingredients:
Prawns (may be 2 lots from the local fish market) - Cleaned and de-veined
1 medium potato (medium chopped)
2 big onions - finely sliced
2 medium tomatoes - chopped
1/4 piece of a dry coconut (sukha khopra)
1 pod of garlic
2" ginger
2 tsp: My mom-in-laws sp. red masala (its a mixture of red chillis and garam masala), similar to something called 'Sunday masala' at the masala wala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Tempering: 6-8 methi/fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste
Lots of chopped coriander leaves

Preparation:
Roast the coconut on the gas. Scrape of the excess black, and slice it into long pieces. (Be careful.. my mom broke her knife, while I was teaching her this.) Grind in a dry mixie.
Then add to it the ginger, garlic, all the masalas and water. Grind to a fine paste.
In a kadai, heat oil (more oil makes tastier non-veg.. sadly). Add to it the tempering. When it changes to dark brown, add onions. Cook till almost brown. Then add the paste. Cook till oil seperates. (Tip: The more you stir.. the tastier it gets). Then add tomatoes. Cook till they dissappear! (Squish them with the spoon you are using). Then add the potatoes and prawns. Once the prawns curl up, add water, and cover and cook untill done. Add lots of coriander and serve.

Writing this mouth watering.. so eating it is .. yummmmmm
-Naina