Grated Mango Rice

A simple and quick lunch box option.

Ingredients

Raw Mango - 1
Green chilly - 1
Red chilly - 2
channa dhal & urud dhal&Cashew nuts  - as required
Curry leaves - some
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Hing - a pinch
Methi powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - as required

Oil - 4 tablespoon


1. Grate the mango using a grater and allow it to dry for sometime

2. Prepare the things required to frying.

3. Pour oil in a wide bottomed kadai and add mustard seeds, once mustard splutters add the green chilly,red chilly, channa dhal,urud dhal, cashew nuts - fry them until golden brown

4. Add pinch of turmeric powder and add the grated mango.
 (chilly powder can be added to have more spicy)

5. Lower the flame and fry thoroughly .Add salt as required.

6. When oil oozes out, add astofodia/hing and methi powder, remove from flame and allow to cool.

7 Meanwhile cook rice and allow it to cool in a wide bottomed vessel.

8. Add the mango fry into rice and mix well.

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is a common Indian food served for breakfast , sometimes as a quick lunch too..

Ingredients
Lemon - 2
Rice - 5 cups
Dried red chilies - 4
Curry leaves - 10 pieces
Peanuts - 3 tea spoons
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Gingelly oil - 5 table spoons
Salt to taste

1. Boil the rice (make sure that the rice is not overdone, should not stick with each other) and allow it to cool in a wide bottomed pan.

2. Extract lemon juice and cut the dried red chilies into pieces.. of course with hand.

3.Heat gingelly oil in kadai and once hot, add mustard seeds & once it starts popping out, add dried red chilies , when chilies turn dark reddish color, add curry leaves and peanuts (peanuts can be fried and skinless also - optional).

4.Usually I switch off the stove at this stage to avoid over heating.. After switching off the stove, add pinch of turmeric to the oil and add the lemon juice. Now turn on the stove and boil the contents for 3 minutes, add enough salt having the content of the rice in mind.

Now add this mixture to the rice, little by little, and mix well properly.This will go well with the potato fry listed in the fry items.. :-)

Tomato Rice Bath

Ingredients ( Serves for 4 )

Tomato - 7
Rice - 3 cups
Onions - 3
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Garlic - 10 pieces
Green chilies -4
Cinnamon - 1 piece (3 inch)
Cloves - 5
Cardamom - 3 (optional)
Bay leaves - 3
Chilly powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Coriander powder - 1/4 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt to taste
Ghee - 2 tea spoon
Lemon - 1/2.
Coriander and Curry leaves - some

1. Wash tomatoes and chop into smaller pieces.

2. Rinse rice thoroughly in water and soak for 15 minutes.

3. Cut 2 onions, peeled ginger, garlic, 2 cloves, a bit of cinnamon and grind them to a coarse paste.

4. Cut remaining 1 onion  and green chilies length wise.

5. Drain the rice well. Heat 2 table spoon of ghee in cooker, fry the rice gently for 3 minutes.

6. Remove the rice from cooker and add 7 table spoon of oil , add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add green chilies, onions, remaining cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, bay leaves and fry until onions turn light brown.

7. Now add the ground coarse paste and fry until the raw flavor goes.

8. Add the tomatoes and fry them by chopping with the spatula. Fry until the tomatoes become watery and  the raw smell goes..

9. Add Chilly powder, Coriander powder, pinch of turmeric, salt and fry for another 2 minutes.

10. Add fried rice to this and mix well.

11. Now add water , half cup lesser to 1:2 of rice and water.. Meaning... for 3 cups, I added 5 1/2 cups of water and not 6 cups.. because tomatoes itself will have 1/2 cup of liquid content.. Taste and add salt.

Note : Above ratio is for Normal rice, For Basmati 1 : 1.25 of rice and water ..(reduce 1/2 cup of water)

12. Close the cooker, and cook until 3 whistles.

13. Once done, mix gently by adding some ghee and lemon extract.. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note : Adding saffron color is optional , but I did not added any color..

14. Serve with Raita or gravy..

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....