Murg Masur Pulao

Eid Mubarak to all my friends who are celebrating Eid tomorrow. Hope you are filling to your brim at the Iftar parties.

When I was a college student, one of my friends Shama used to bring Murg Masur Pulao to the class just after Eid. It would come in a huge container and in no time disappear. I have no idea where Shama is today, but I hope she is doing well and still enjoys this great dish. Thanks to the fantastic pulao I am thinking of her from another corner of the world.

Ingredients

• 500 gm. bone in chicken cut into medium pieces
• 2 and 1/2 cup long grain Basmamti rice washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 1 cup Masoor (Red lentil with skin) washed and soaked for 2 hours
• 2 medium potatoes cut into quarters
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 2 large tomatoes cut into round thin slices
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• Whole garam masala ( 2 black cardamom, 4 green cardamom, 1” cinnamon stick, 5 cloves, 1 tp. shahi jeera)
• 1 bunch fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves finely chopped
• 4 tbsp. mint leaves
• 4 tbsp. chopped cilantro or coriander leaves
• Salt to taste                 
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 1/4 cup warm milk
• Few Saffron strands 
• Few drops Kewra water

Procedure

In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add onion slices to it. Fry till golden brown. Remove half of the fried onion on a paper towel and reserve for later use.

In the rest of the onion add ginger garlic paste, and chili powder. Sauté till the raw smell subsides. Now add chopped fenugreek leaves and tomato slices to it. sprinkle coriander and cumin powder. Fry till the moisture dries up.

Add chicken pieces to it and fry well so that the meat pieces are nicely coated with spices. Add salt and cook it covered till the meat is tender.

Now add potato quarter to it and fry along with the meat for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala powder and keep it covered. Add yogurt to it and cook till chicken and potatoes are tender.

In a separate pan boil the soaked lentil with salt till cooked. Take care so that they retain their shape.

In a large pan boil enough water with salt and whole garam masala and add soaked rice to it. Boil till the rice is 90% done. Drain the water.

Soak saffron strands in warm milk and keep aside.  

For layering in a large pan take half of the rice. Lay evenly the chicken and potato mixture with the lentils on top. Add chopped cilantro, mint and slit green chilies over it. Add  half of the golden brown onions.

For the top layer spread evenly the remaining rice. sprinkle saffron milk over it. Top it up with the rest of the chopped mint, cilantro and green chilies.

Finish it up with the rest of the golden onions and kewra water. 

Place this pan covered on the lowest mark of heat for 30 minutes.

Dish out and serve it with raita.

Malabar Prawn Biryani

UPDATED: With updated photo and content

Though I used to live in Kolkata, I grew up among Keralian neighbors. Even though the states of Kerala and West Bengal are on the opposite ends of India, they share a common cooking style, thanks to the common local coastal ingredients. They use prawn commonly in their food and since it was my favorite, I made it a point to never miss out on any parties at their home.

On the day after the party I’d drop by to snack on the left overs and figured out that the food tastes better the next day. Since the Biryani involves a lot of spices it tastes better on the next day after the spices settle down.

Ingredients

1. For Marinade
   1. 1lb. medium size prawns de-shelled and deveined
   2. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
   3. 1 tsp. ginger garlic pate
   4. Salt to taste
2. For Prawn Masala
   1. 1 tsp. shah jeera (caraway seeds)
   2. 5,6 cloves
   3. 1" cinnamon stick
   4. 1 tsp. black pepper corn
   5. 2,3 green cardamom pods
   6. 2 bay leaves
   7. 1 medium onion thinly sliced
   8. 1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
   9. 2 green chilies finely chopped ( you can increase or decrease depending on your heat tollerance level )
   10. 2 tbsp. of coconut paste ( I used frozen grated coconut, but fresh is always the best )
   11. 2 tbsp of plain yogurt ( curd )
   12. 2 tbsp. of biriyani masala of any brand you like (I used Banne Nawab's biriyani masala )
   13. 1 tsp. sugar
   14. Salt to taste
3. For Rice
   1. 2 cups of basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 30 mins.
   2. 6 cups of water
   3. 1 tsp. salt
4. For layering
   1. 2 tsp. of oil or ghee
   2. 1/2 tsp. biryani masala
   3. Handful of chopped fresh cilantro (Coriander leaves )

Procedure

Wash prawns and marinate for half an hour with all the spices listed under it.

Heat oil in a pan and add pounded whole garam masala and bay leaves to it (item 2.1-2.6). Fry the marinated prawns on medium high heat till the color changes. Remove and reserve it.

Add chopped onions and green chilies to the same oil and fry till it turns light brown. Next to go in is the coconut paste. Fry on low heat. Add rest of the ginger garlic paste and fry. Once the raw smell goes away turn off the heat and add yogurt to it. Mix it well. Turn on the heat and add the fried prawn along with biriyani masala. Give a taste test and adjust the seasoning. Let everything cook together for a while ( 5 mins ).

In a heavy bottom pan take enough water and salt. Bring it to a boil. Now add pre soaked rice. Cook till its just done. Drain the water and spread rice on a flat plate.

Now its time to arrange in layers, the procedure of which differs slightly based on whether you want to use a conventional oven or a microwave.

In Conventional oven

Take a oven safe bowl and rub it’s inside with oil or ghee. Layer the bottom of the vessel with rice. Now pour prawn masala along with its oil all over it. Add chopped cilantro and sprinkle biriyani masala powder over it. Cover it up with another layer of rice. Wrap it up with aluminium foil and cook in the oven for 30 mins at 375F.

In Microwave

Take a microwave safe bowl and arrange rice and prawn masala as mentioned above. Cover it with a cling wrap or Microwave safe cover.

Cook it on high power for 5 mins. Allow it to stand for another 15 mins before you serve.

Enjoy with fresh salad or raita (beaten thick yogurt with chopped onions, coriander, salt).

Kolkata Mutton Biriyani (Biryani)

[Updated Post]

First off let me explain the qualifier “Kolkata” I used for this Biryani’s recipe. Each region in India has it’s own version of Biryani, they vary so drastically that today Biryani can be defined only as “rice and meat cooked together”. There are loop holes even in that definition.

The predominant biryani gharana (style) in India is the fiery South Indian or Andhra style, the Royal Awadhi or Lucknowi style and the North-western (Punjabi) style. Kolkata or Bengali Biryani is a sub-variant of Lucknowi style and like people in Bengal is a bit sweeter :P.

Which is better is an argument that can only be settled with arms. However, I know of a lot of Bongs who lived in Hyderabad and totally disliked the local biryani and yearned for the bong/Awadhi variant. My husband is of those guys who made it a point to carry back Biryani from a Bong store in Bangalore each time he visited there (quiet often at one point of time).

Ingredients
1 kg (2lb) goat or lamb meat 500 gm. of basmati rice washed and soaked in water for at least 30 minutes 2 tbsp. ginger paste 1 tbsp. garlic paste 4 potatoes cut into halves 1 large onion finely chopped 1 cup plain curd/ yogurt 2 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder Rose water few drops Kewra essence few drop Few strands of saffron soaked in 2-3 tbsp. of warm milk Salt Sugar Make a powder of the following spices (I’ll refer to this as Biryani Masala in the post) 2" cinnamon stick 6-7 cloves 3-4 green cardamom 1/10th of a whole nutmeg 1/2" mace 1 tsp. saahi jeera (cumin) 1tsp of saahi morich (white peppercorn)

Procedure

Cook the pre soaked rice in enough water seasoned with salt, green cardamom, cinnamon stick and few cloves. Cook till the rice is almost done. Drain the rice on a colander and spread on a flat plate. Sprinkle very little sugar on it.

Take oil in a heavy bottom pan or in a pressure cooker and heat it. Add chopped onion and fry till they are brown. Add the meat pieces and sear them on high heat. It will help the meat pieces to retain their juices. 

Add ginger, garlic paste and fry along with the meat pieces. Once the raw smell goes away add yogurt and Kashmiri chili powder. I love to add the potato halves at this stage followed by salt and sugar and fry them along with the meat and spices. Cook till the potatoes are 90% boiled. Remove the potatoes and keep them aside. Rest 10% cooking will be done in Dum.

Add water required to boil the the meat pieces and either pressure cook it or cook it covered for atleast 40 mins.

Once done remove the meat pieces from the gravy and keep it handy for further use.

Strain the gravy and keep the strained juice. This is called Tar (there’s a picture of it in a glass cup in the ingredients section).

Now comes the assembly part of the biryani. Take a heavy bottom pan which you can heat on your stove top.

 

Grease the inner walls of the vessel with 1-2 tbsp. of ghee. Now start building up the layers. The thumb rule of layering biryani is the base and top layers should be made by rice.

This is the sequence I usually follow for my biryani. Rice layer followed by a layer of by meat, potato, saffron infused milk, 2-3 tbsp. of Tar. I finish this layer by sprinkling about 1 tsp. of biryani masala and a few drops of rose and kewra water. Use all your meat and rice to complete the layering. There should be 1/3rd space left in the pan once you finished layering. Cover the biryani pot tightly.

Now we are ready to put the biryani for Dum. Dum is basically slow cooking where the vessel doesn't come in direct contact of heat.  I take water in a bigger vessel and place the biryani pot inside that as shown in the photograph on the right. Let the water boil and then lower the heat and allow it to cook for atleast 45 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let it stand for at least an hour before serving.

Kolkata mutton biryani is best enjoyed with chicken chap (oh that recipe will surely follow). 

Hyderabadi Kacchi Gosth Biryani

Biriyani is just a name for traditional Indian way of cooking meat and rice. How it is cooked and what is added varies drastically across India. In one such variation meat is cooked separately with gravy and then mixed with half-cooked rice and put on the final “dum” (slow cooking). In another, marinated raw meat is layered in rice and spices and cooked together. The meat in this case is kacchi or raw. As you can guess this is what I cover in todays post.

This recipe comes from the Hyderabad Nizams kitchen. One of our relatives (Habu Dadu) ran away from home at a young age and finally with a lot of twists of fate landed as the apprentice of the Hyderabad Nizams chief chef. He worked in the Nizam’s kitchen for many years and finally retired in Kolkata. When he used to visit our home he used to come with his own bag of spices and cook for us. It used to be a grand feast which I remember till this date. Todays recipe dedicated to his fond memories.

Ingredients

For Marinating

• 1kg mutton cut into medium pieces on bone
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 1tbsp. salt
• 1/2tsp. sugar
• 1tbsp. ginger paste
• 1tbsp. garlic paste
• 1tbsp. green chili paste
• 1tbsp. garam masala ( You can use Biryani masala of your favorite brand)
• 1tsp. red chili powder
• Juice of 1 lime
• 250gms curd (Yogurt)
• 1 bunch coriander leaves finely chopped
• 1 bunch mint leaves finely chopped

For Rice

• 500gms. basmati rice
• 2 – 3tbsp. salt
• 50gms. ghee (Clarified butter)
• 1tsp. saffron soaked in quarter cup of warm milk

 

Required Appliance

• Heavy bottom pan (I use Martha Stewart or Simply Calphalon vessels)
• Tawa or skillet

 

Procedure

Soak basmati rice for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the onion slices till they are brown. Remove and drain them on a paper towel.

Arrange mutton in layers in a heavy bottom pan. Add Half of the fried onion, ginger-garlic paste, green chili paste, chili powder, garam masala powder, salt, sugar, yoghurt, oil, lemon juice, chopped coriander and mint leaves to it. Mix everything well with mutton  and keep it marinated for 3-4 hours.

By the meantime in a pan take water along with 2- 3  tbsp. salt and bring to a rolling boil. Stir it well and add presoaked basmati rice to it. Once you have added the rice it will stop boiling. Wait till it again starts boiling. This rice is 50% done. Make an layer of rice on top of the marinated mutton. Add about a cup of water ( Preferably the water in which you boiled the rice).

Sprinkle some more fried brown onions on top of it. Drizzle few spoons of saffron soaked milk over it.

Now seal the vessel tightly with aluminum foil.

We will not be cooking this directly on heat because if we do so the meat will char by the time the biriyani is cooked. So take a tawa (skillet) and place the biryani vessel on top of it. Cook it on medium heat for about 45 minutes. By the end of this time you will see the aluminum foil has swollen up. That means it is ready. Remove the foil an serve it with raita.

Mutton Awadhi Biryani in Microwave

This mildly-spicy Biriyani is one of our favorite. Making biriyani sometimes becomes a headache because of the complex procedure of giving dum (air-sealed, low heat cooking). This easier version is almost as good in taste, but way easier to make.

Ingredients

1. 1 kg mutton( Goat Meat ) cut into medium sized pieces
2. 500gms. long grain basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes 
3. 1 medium red onion cut into thick slices
4. 1 inch ginger bruised
5. 6,7 cloves of garlic crushed
6. 1 inch cinnamon stick
7. 4,5 cloves
8. 3,4 green cardamom
9. 2,3 black cardamom
10. 10-15 black pepper corns
11. 1 small piece of mace (Javitri )
12. 5 dry whole red chili 
13. 1 tsp. sahi jeera
14. 3,4 bay leaves
15. 1 tbsp. sugar
16. Salt to taste
17. 1tsp. shahi garam masala powder
18. 1tsp. rose water 
19. 1/2 cup hung curd or thick plain yogurt
20. 2 + 2 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter

Procedure

Marinate mutton pieces with thick curd, salt and sugar. Let it rest for an hour.

Wrap all the spices (3-14) in a rectangular muslin cloth and tie up all four corners together to make a pouch.

In a heavy bottom pan add 2 tbsp. ghee and allow it to melt. Add the marinated meat morsels to it and sear them on high flame till they turn light brown.

Now pour about a litre of lukewarm water to it. Once the water starts boiling drop the muslin pouch to it. Cover and simmer till the mutton becomes tender. Check and adjust the water level if required.

Skim off any scum that rises to the surface and separate the meat pieces from the stock with a slotted spoon. Keep them aside.

Squeeze the muslin bag firmly to extract all the spicy juice from it and then discard the bag. Now strain the mutton stock to get a clear juice.

Take a deep microwave safe bowl and grease the inner walls with 2tbsp. ghee. Put the drained rice along with 850ml. of strained mutton-stock and mutton-pieces. Adjust salt and mix them well.

Cook uncovered on high power for 12 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala powder and  one spoon of rose water over it. Stir once again.

Cook it covered for another 24 minutes.

Remove the lid and fluff it with a fork. Give a 5 minutes standing time before you serve.

Yakhni Pulao (Kashmiri Meat Pilaf)

Exactly 10 years back on the 30th of January, at our wedding reception the caterer who has by father-in-laws friend and colleague affectionately served Yakhni (pronounced as Aakhni) pulao. He planned the entire dinner on his own.

As you might guess from this, it’s our 10th wedding anniversary. It’s been hell of a journey living across 4 cities and two countries. However, in all the journey we have frequently talked about that Yakhni pulao and how one of our friends had nothing but the pulao in the entire dinner (and a lot of it by the way), you know who you are…

My 7 year old foodie daughter is all excited about our anniversary and all the stories of the big fat Indian wedding she goes on hearing about. So I wanted to treat her with the same Pulao. So on the occasion of the 10th anniversary, I made the same thing.

Yakhni pulao is the Kashmiri version of Biriyani. Yakhni, means a thin cream colored sauce with aromatic spices. It’s made with yogurt as a base with spices like fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and Kashmiri red chili.

Ingredients

1. Grind the following ingredients into a smooth paste with little water (masala paste)
   1. 1 tbsp fennel seeds
   2. 1" cinnamon sticks
   3. 10 cloves
   4. 5 green cardamom
   5. 5 black cardamom
   6. 1 tbsp black cumin
   7. 1" ginger root
   8. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
   9. 1tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder (optional, I didn’t have it on me and hence didn’t use it)
2. For pulao
   1. 1 kg (around 2lb) mutton / goat meat on bone cut into 2" pieces
   2. 3 cups of basmati rice ( washed and soaked in water for 30 mins)
   3. 1 cup thick yogurt
   4. 1 medium sized onion thinly sliced
   5. 1 tsp. saffron strands soaked in warm milk
   6. Oil
   7. Ghee ( clarified butter)
   8. Salt
   9. Sugar

Procedure

Heat 2 tbsp of oil on medium heat and add ground masala paste to it. Stir until you see oil floating on the top. Add half a cup of water, salt and simmer for about 5 mins. Turn off the heat before you add whisked yogurt to avoid curdling. Add sugar. Simmer it on low heat.Once the yogurt is cooked you will get a rich cream colored fragrant sauce. Strain and reserve it.

 

Put the mutton pieces in a heavy bottom pan. Pour the strained sauce or yakhni over it. Cook it covered till the meat is done. You can also pressure cook it if you are in a hurry.

Separate the meat and measure the stock. The stock should measure 6 cups. If there is more boil it down till you get 6 cups, if less add hot water to it.

Deep fry onion slices till they are brown and crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

In a separate pan heat oil and ghee. Now add the pre soaked rice and fry on medium heat till all the rice grains are well coated with oil. Add meat pieces along with 6 cups of stock and stir gently. Give a taste test and adjust salt and sugar. This is a pulao and hence will be little bit on the sweeter side. Bring it to a boil and then cook it covered on low heat till rice is done. Allow it to rest for 5 mins then fluff it with a fork.

Sprinkle saffron milk and fried onions over it to give the pulao a nice color.

In our wedding reception it was served with chicken kurma.

Egg Biriyani

I make many different types of biriyani’s. Chicken, Mutton and even vegetarian using recipes from Hyderabad, Kolkata and Awadh. I always think that over time I’ll learn and cook even more disparate types of Biriyanis. However, I never actually thought that I’d cook Biriyani just with eggs and that it’d turn out to be so yummy.

It all started with my friend Laxmi visiting my home the day I made some chicken Biriyani. I served it to her son, and he loved it. However, Laxmi being a eggiterian had to miss out. So she insisted I make egg biryani the next time. Apprehensive that my hardcore non-veg daughter and husband would sneer and not have it, I made enough just for couple of people.

Oh how wrong these assumptions turned out to be. The biriyani came out really well and I just gave couple of spoons to my daughter and husband. They gobbled it up in minutes and started cribbing big time on how little I made.

Ingredients

1. 250 gm. basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 30 mins
2. 6 hard boiled eggs
3. 10 - 12 baby potatoes half boiled and peeled
4. 1 medium onion thinly sliced
5. 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
6. 4 - 5 tbsp. plain yogurt / curd
7. Few strands of saffron soaked in warm milk
8. Few strands of coriander leaves
9. 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder (Make your own)
10. Salt
11. Sugar
12. Turmeric powder
13. 5 - 6 tbsp. of canola / sunflower oil
14. 1 tbsp. ghee / clarified butter
15. Whole garam masala
1. 1” cinnamon stick
2. 2 green cardamom
3. 5-6 cloves

Procedure

In a pan boil water. Once water starts boiling add salt to it and stir well. Now add rice and turn off the heat. Keep it covered for 5 mins. Drain the water and spread rice on a flat dish or tray.

Heat oil in a kadai/wok and deep fry onion slices till they are brown and crispy. Don't char them. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Smear boiled eggs and potatoes with salt and turmeric powder. Deep fry the eggs and potatoes in the same oil till they turn nice golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

Temper the oil with whole garam masala. When the oil starts releasing the fragrance of the masala, add ginger+garlic paste and sauté till their raw smell goes away. You can add little water to prevent burning. 

Add half of the fried onions to it along with curd. Now gently add fried eggs and potatoes to it. Sprinkle garam masala powder. Season with salt, sugar and fry the masala till oil separates out.

Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan and add rice to it. Next add egg and potato masala you made just before this. Pour about 350 ml. of water to it and mix  well. While mixing you need to be a bit careful so the eggs don't break. Taste and adjust salt and sugar. 

Cover and cook on medium heat till rice is done. Fluff it with a fork and add saffron milk.

Garnish with crispy fried onions, coriander greens and serve hot.