Aloo Bhendi Fry / Potato Okra Fry

Ingredients :-

Potato : 1 big

Bhendi / okra : 50-60

Onion : 1 small

Oil: 2tbspn

Ginger garlic paste : 1/4 tspn

Salt : 1tspn

Chilly powder : 1/2tspn

Turmeric : 1/8tspn

Garam masala powder : 1/8 tspn

Coriander powder : 1/2tspn

Preparation :-

• Chop onion , potato and bhendi.
• Heat a pan add 2 tbspn oil and fry onions till golden brown. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.
• Add chopped potato and fry covered for 5 mins .
• Add bhendi and fry uncovered till both the veggies are perfectly cooked . (pierce spoon into potato and if it cuts easily it indicates it is cooked)
• Add salt , chilly powder , turmeric , garam masala and coriander powder. If u like tabgy taste u can add 1/4 tspn amchur powder (dry mango powder).
• Fry for 5 mins and switchoff stove.
• Serve hot with rice or rotis

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Butter Naan & Garlic Naan

Produces : 8 Naans

Ingredients :-

Maida/All purpose flour : 2 cups

Salt : 1tspn

water : 1/2cup

Yeast : 1tspn

Sugar :1tspn

Curd / plain yogurt : 2Tbspns

Egg :1

Garlic : 3 pods (to make garlic naan)

Butter : For basting

Preparation :-

• Take 2 cups of flour in a big bowl. To this add salt and mix together.
• Take 1/2 cup of water and warm it in microwave for 30 sec. To this warm water add 1tspn dry yeast and 1tspn sugar. Mix them and put lid . Put it aside for 10 mins till it froths.
• In that frothed water add 2tbspns of curd and break 1 egg and whisk it nicely till u see full bubbles.
• In flour add 4tspns oil and mix it nicely till oil is incorporated into flour uniformly.
• To this flour slowly add yeast mixture and mix till it forms a sticky dough.
• Cover this bowl with a wet cloth and put in a warm place like oven for 2hrs . It will double the quantity . Takeout the bowl , mix everything again by litely adding oil to ur palm , cover again with wet cloth and put it back in warm place for 2 hrs. Again it will raise the flour quantity in this 2 hrs.
• Take the bowl out and again mix it with oily hand and divide the dough into 8 equal parts.
• Take a flouring board and add liitle dry maida on it . Take 1 portion of the dough and litely roll it on the dry maida . With a rolling pin roll the naan into oval shape , u can dust it litely with the dry flour . Dont roll it too thin it will get crisp.
• Put them on a baking sheet (baking tray) .
• Preheat oven to the maximum temperature available . My oven's max temp is 500 degree F . Once it is preheated Put this tray near to the filament if yours is electric oven , ours is gas oven and flame comes at the bottom. So if yours is gas oven put the trays in bottom rack. First batch of naan takes 10 mins to bake but after that oven will be in high heat so next batches take less than 4 mins. In hotels naans are baked in tandoors @ 800 degree F but our residential ovens has maximum temerature of 500 or 550 degree F . So in tandoor they take 1 minute to fry and in our ovens it takes 3 mins . Dont bake it for more time they will turn hard . Just bake till u see bubbles and lite golden colour .
• Once they are done take them out and brush them with melted butter. (Dont use butter stick directly, it gives some kind of smell . Better melt it and then brush it)
• Serve hot hot home made yummy yummy butter naans with your choice of gravy.

Garlic Naan :-

• Chop garlic pods finely . After rolling the naan , sprinkle garlic all over and pat it with palm so they sit in the naan . Bake them like before and apply melted butter and serve hot .
• In same way u can sprinkle kalonji (nigella ) , sesemam seeds , cumin seeds .

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Chicken Biryani (pakki syle)

If u want to make a flawless biryani then pakki style is the best way to go. Try this u will definetley love it.

Serves : 2

Ingredients :-

Ingredients for marination :-

Chicken : 1 lb ( cut chicken / drumsticks /boneless)

Salt : 1 /2 tspn

Chilly powder : 1/4tspn

Turmeric : 1/4 tspn

Coriander powder : 1/4tspn

Garam masala powder : 1/8 tspn

Curd : 1 laddle full

Lemon juice : juice of a 1/2 lemon

Ingredients to grind to a fine paste :-

Poppy seeds : 1 tbspn (dry roast)

Cashews : 5

Fennel seeds /saunf : 1/2tspn

coconut : 2tbspns

green chillies : 3

curd : 2tbspns

Ingredients for cooking rice :-

Basmathi rice : 2 rice cooker cups

Oil : 1tbspn

Whole garam masalas : ( cloves :4 , cardamoms :4 , cinnamon stick : 1" - 2pieces , star anise :1 , mace : 2 , Bay leaves :2)

Green chillies : 3

Onions :1

Ginger garlic paste : 1/4 tspn

Mint leaves : leaves of 10 sprigs

Coriander : 10 sprigs

Water : 3 cups

salt : 1& 1/4 tspn

Kesar Colour mixed in water : 2tspn

Ingredients for making curry :-

Oil : 2tbspns

cloves :2 , cardamoms : 2 , cinnamon : 1"

Onions : 1 big

Cashews : 10

Ginger garlic paste : 1 tspn

Salt : 1 tspn

Turmeric : 1/4tspn

Chilly powder : 1/4tspn

Marinated chicken

Grinded paste

Garam masala powder : 1/4 tspn

Lemon Juice : juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation :-

• Marinate chicken with salt , turmeric , chilly powder , garam masala , coriander powder , lemon juice and curd . Try to marinate overnight putting in fridge .
• Grind ingredients under the title 'ingredients to grind' to a fine paste.
  
  
• Chop onions , green chillies , mint , coriander leaves , put ready whole garam masalas .
• Clean and soak basmathi rice in sufficient water for 30 mins.
• Cooking Rice For Biryani :-
• Heat a pan add oil , add whole garam masalas and fry them for a minute.
• Add green chillies and fry till done and then add onions . Fry till golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and after a minute then add mint and coriander leaves .
• Add 3 cups of water and salt . Put lid and boil it fully .
• Add strained rice and cook till done .
• Add kesar colour water at different points. Put lid and switch off stove.
• After 5 mins take out the lid and spread rice in a baking casserole or u can use aluminium tray.
• Cooking Curry For Biryani :-
• Heat a pan add oil , add onions , whole garam masalas and cashews . Fry onions till golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add salt , turmeric & chilly powder . Fry for a minute.
• Add only chicken pieces discarding the curd from marination.
• Cook chicken covered till done and then add grinded paste and garam masala powder and fry till gravy thickens . Dont add water at all because it makes biryani more gooey and chicken releases lot of moisture. Switch off stove and add lemon juice.
• Baking Biryani :-
• Mix curry with the rice , put boiled egg halves .
• Cover the tray with aluminium foil or with a tight lid .
• Preheat oven @ 400 degree F and then put this tray in and bake for 20 mins and switch off oven . If u are cooking in large quantities increase the baking time accordingly.
• After a standby of 10 mins take the tray from oven and hot hot biryani is ready to serve.
• Serve yummy yummy biryani with ur favourite accompliement.

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Chinthapandu Pulihora / Tamarind rice

Ingredients :-

Ingredients for cooking rice:-

Raw rice : 2 rice cooker cups (sona masoori)

Water : 4 cups

Turmeric : 1/4tspn

oil : 1tspn

Ingredients for making pulusu:-

Tamarind : 2 lemon size balls

oil : 1tbspn

cumin seeds : 1/4 tspn

Dry red chilly :1

Green chillies :2 (slit vertically)

Asafoetida : 1/8tspn

Curry leaves : 1 sprig

Fenugreek powder (menthi podi) : 1/4tspn

Cumin powder (jeelakarra podi) :1/4tspn

Salt :2tspns

Turmeric : 1/8tspn

Mustard powder : 1/2 tspn

Ingredients for Talimpu / Tadka :-

Oil : 1&1/2 tbspn

Urad dal : 1tbspn

Dry red chillies :2

Peanuts : 3tbspns

Bengal gram /chana dal : 2tbspns

Cumin seeds : 1/4tspn

Mustard seeds : 1/4tspn

Green chillies : 4 (slit vertically)

Asafoetida : 1/8tspn

Curry leaves : 2 sprigs

Preparation :-

• Cooking Rice :-
• Wash 2 cups of rice , add double the water and soak it for atleast 15 mins . Then add 1/4tspn turmeric and 1tspn oil and cook the rice . Once rice is cooked cool it on a wide plate .
  
  
  
  
• Extracting tamarind juice :-
• Take 2 lemon size tamarind balls in a microwave bowl , add some water till they immerse and microwave for 2 mins. Let this cool. Once it is cooled extract the thick juice from it.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Making Pulusu :-
• Heat a shallow frying pan , add 1tbspn oil and when hot add 1/4tspn cumin seeds and 1 broken dry red chilliy , 2 green chillies , add asafoetida and curry leaves .
  
  
• Next add tamarind extract.
  
  
• Add 2tspns salt , 1/8tspn turmeric , Fenugreek powder , cumin powder .
  
  
• let this boil for 15- 20 mins till it thickens. Then switchoff stove and add freshly grounded mustard powder. Let this cool.
• Making Talimpu /Tadka :- Take another pan and heat it . Add 1&1/2 tbspns oil and when hot add urad dal , dry red chillies , peanuts and chana dal . When urad dal turns lite golden colour add cumin seeds , mustard seeds and green chillies . When green chillies are nicely fried then add curry leaves and asafoetida . Switch off stove.
  
  
  
• Mixing :- In cooled rice add talimpu/tadka and pulusu ( thick tamarind juice) . Mix them all well . Put it aside for atleast 2 hrs and then it is ready to serve.
• Serving :-Yummy yummy pulihora is ready to serve . U can serve it with onion or with curd and appadam. But usually it is eaten plain.

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