Lamb/Goat Leg curry (Paaya)

Lamb/Mutton leg curry (Aatu kaal paaya) recipe in just 10 steps....

Ingredients

Lamb legs ( Medium sized ) -  4
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tea spoon
Pepper - 1/4 tea spoon
Ginger garlic paste - 5 tea spoon (fine ground - out of 3 inch ginger, 2 medium sized garlic)
Onions - 2 medium sized
Green chilies - 2 (longer size)
Coconut - 1 cup of grated coconut (grated from 1/4 th of full coconut)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon
Chilly powder - 1 tea spoon
Coriander powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Pepper powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Cinnamon - 2 pcs
Cloves - 4 pcs
Bay leaves - some
Garam masala - 1/4 tea spoon
Salt to taste


1. Clean the lamb legs thoroughly in water

2. Pressure cook them along with pinch of turmeric powder, cumin seeds & pepper by adding more water.
Cooking until 15-20 whistles is needed for the lamb legs to cook finely.
Keep the stove in medium flame and cook.

TIP : If needed, the clear soup out of boiled legs can also be consumed by adding some salt..

3. Out of 2 onions, ground 1 onion to a coarse paste and another as chopped finely.

4. Place kadai on stove and add 4 tea spoon of oil. Add mustard seeds, once splutters, add green chilies, fry and add the finely chopped onions. Fry until onions turn brown.

5. Add ginger garlic paste, fry them and add the onion coarse paste. Fry for 3 minutes until the raw flavor goes. Add cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves and fry them.

6. Add pinch of turmeric powder, garam masala, chilly powder, coriander powder. Fry for 1 minute.

7. Add boiled lamb legs (along with the soup) to this and mix well. Add salt as per taste.

8. Mean while finely grind the grated coconut to a very smooth paste.

Note : Fine grinding is needed here..to avoid granular appearance of coconut in the curry.

9. Add this to the boiling curry and add some water if required. Boil this for 5 minutes.

10. Garnish...Yummy Lamb leg curry is ready... Goes great with idly/dosa..

Egg Curry

Egg Masala Curry...

Ingredients

Egg - 5
Green chilies - 3
Chilly powder - 1 tea spoon
Coriander powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Cumin powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Garam Masala - 1 tea spoon
Onions - 3
Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 10 pieces
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Cloves - 3
Turmeric powder - some
Hing - some
Salt to taste
Curry leaves, coriander leaves - some

1. Boil the eggs, peel the skin and cut each into 2 pieces lengthwise.

2.  Cut 2 onions, ginger and peel the garlic pieces.

3. Grind them along with 1 piece of cinnamon and 3 pieces of cloves into a coarse paste.

4. Heat 3 tea spoon of oil, add mustard seeds, once splutters, add some hing, green chilies, 1 onion ( sliced lengthwise ) and fry till onions turn brown.

5. Add finely chopped tomatoes and fry for 3 minutes.

6. Add chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala, cumin powder, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder  and fry for 2 minutes.

7. Add water and boil for 5 minutes.

8. Once gravy boils, add sliced eggs to it and gently mix.

9. Allow it to boil till gravy thickens and garnish with coriander leaves..

Note : 1 small cup of finely ground coconut paste can be added to increase the taste..

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Briyani

The word 'Briyani' itself brings lot of joy and appetizing in many of us.. Here is the "Hyderabadi briyani" recipe which I make.. Before proceeding, please make a note,
1. All the ingredients are completely needed without any substitute.
2. Marination needs at least 2/12 hours, so start early... :)

Ingredients

Marination Ingredients

Grinding Items for Marination
Ginger - 3 inches (size depicted )
Garlic -  20 pieces ( 2 medium sized)
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Cloves - 3
Onions - 2 medium sized ( fried in oil)

Spices list for marination
Cinnamon - 3 pieces
Cloves - 10
Shah jeera - some
Marati Moggu - 3
Cardamom - 6 pieces
Cumin seeds - 1 tea spoon
Pepper - 1/2 tea spoon
Fennel seeds - 1 tea spoon

Other Items for Marination
Chicken - 1/2 kg

Green chilies - 10
Chilly powder -1 tea spoon
Coriander powder -1 tea spoon
Curd - 250 ml
Butter - 50 g
Lemon - 1

Ingredients to cook Rice


High Quality Basmati Rice - 1/2 kg (3 cups)
Marati Moggu - 1
Saffron strands - some
Turmeric power - a pinch
Bay leaf - 3-4
Cloves - 3
Pepper - some
Ghee - 3 tea spoon
Salt to taste

For Making Dum

Wheat flour / All purpose flour - 250 g or as required

For Making layers
Butter - 50 g { Worried of Calories?? use low fat and low cholesterol butter }
Ghee - 10 tea spoon
Mint leaves - 2 small bunches
Onions - 4 medium sized

Preparation

1. Wash 1/2 kg Chicken thoroughly by rubbing with turmeric powder.

2. Add pinch of turmeric powder in the chicken and keep aside.

3. Chop and fry 2 medium sized onions in oil for few minutes.

4. Grind all the items listed under "Grinding Items for Marination" into a coarse paste

5. Whip Curd thoroughly

6. Cut green chilies into longer pieces.

7. Take a pan/ wide bottomed vessel and add the ground paste, curd , green chilies, 50 g of melted butter and all the items listed under "Spices list for marination". Mix well.

8. Add Chicken, 1 spoon of chilly powder, 1 spoon of coriander powder , some salt , lemon extract and mix well.

Let this marinate for 2 1/2 hours

9. Cut 4-5 medium sized onions and fry it in oil till it is dark brown.

10. Wash and remove stems from 2 bunches of mint leaves and keep ready.

Cooking Rice
I usually start cooking process after 1 hour of completing the above preparation

1. Rinse Basmati rice thoroughly 4-5 times in water.

2. Drain the rice and fry in ghee for about a minutes. (make sure that you do not break the rice)

3. Add the items listed under "Ingredients to cook Rice" and add 1: 1.25 ratio of rice and water. Add salt by tasting the water.

4. Cook the rice 75% and remove from flame. The water should be drained at this time.Otherwise drain the excess water once the rice is 75% cooked.

5. Make dough out of wheat powder in a thick consistency - quantity as much as to cover the lid of the briyani cooking pan

Making Layers and cooking


1. Take a heavy and wide bottomed briyani cooking pan and melt 50 g of butter

2. Once melted, spread the butter all over the pan by moving the pan

3. Switch off the stove and start making layers

4. Add some marinated gravy except the chicken pieces for the bottom most layer. Add the deep fried onions and mint leaves. I do this because , there are chances of overcooking chicken pieces, if placed in the bottom most layer.

5. On top of it, add some rice and add fried onions and mint leaves, add 2 spoon of ghee

6. On top of this, add marinated chicken pieces and add mint leaves, deep fried onions

7. Add rice and repeat this by adding gravy layer and rice layer one above the other. Add mint leaves, fried onions and ghee at each layer. Fill the top most layer with marinated gravy and add some more ghee

8. Now close the pan with an appropriate lid.

9. Cover the gap between lid and pan completely around by using dough depicted as below

10. Switch on the stove and cook in high flame for 5 minutes.

11. After 5 minutes, lower the flame and cook for 20 minutes.

{ Check out often that the vapour is not coming out from the pan }


12. Yummy Hyderabadi briyani is ready.. remove from the flame and add some lemon juice, mix and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with Raita..

Here the highlight is... though we add more spices and ghee, we will not have overindulging flavor or taste....

Pepper Chicken Fry

Ingredients

Chicken skinless - 1/2 kg.
Onions - 2 medium sized.
Green Chilies - 2 (optional)
Ginger - 12 pieces
Garlic - 2 inch
Black Pepper - 2 tea spoon
Chilly powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon
Cinnamon - 2 ( 1 inch piece)
Cloves - 4

1. Wash chicken thoroughly with turmeric powder.

2. Drain and add pinch of turmeric and salt to it and keep it closed.

3. Cut 1 onion, ginger, garlic, 2 cloves and 1 cinnamon and grind it in mixer to a make a rough paste

4. Cut the other onion into medium sized pieces.If you want to add green chilies, finely chop them too..
(I did not add green chilies to this dish)

5. Heat oil in kadai and add mustard seeds,once they are cracked, add onions and remaining cinnamon and cloves. Add a pinch of salt and fry them. Tip: Adding salt to onions quickens the fry.

6. Once onions turn slightly golden in color, add some more salt , pinch of turmeric,chilly powder , coriander powder. Mix and fry them for 2 minutes.The consistency should be as below, oil starts oozing, indicates that it is fried well..

7. Now add the chicken pieces, lower the flame and close it with a lid.

8. Cook for 15-20 minutes.You will observe that the chicken leaves enough moisture for being cooked,without a drop of water.

9. In between , chop the pepper very roughly. If you are using mixer, just dry grind till 3 rounds.

10. Once the chicken is cooked, add the chopped pepper to it, mix well and close with the lid.

11. After 3 minutes, once all the gravy sticks into the chicken, remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves.
Tip: If you want some gravy, remove it a bit earlier.