Egg Biryani

My husband and me love biryani like anything. Usually, on a lazy weekend , biryani and cucumber raita is the menu on the table. I usually prepare vegetable biryani but this time I have tried my hands on egg biryani and trust me,this biryani was the best one I have prepared till date. I must admit that I have done a lot of R&D before I tired out this recipe.Actually,I never found a recipe for egg biryani which will satisfy me instantly…I mean which will get me up and make me do it.But this one did and so …..here’ the outcome! But I have made some changes in the basic recipe and I must admit it.

I have taken the basic recipe of http://myspicykitchen.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/egg-dum-biryani/ and my friend Suvarna Joshi’ recipe.Thank you so much darlings!

Ingredients:

Rice

 3 cups uncooked rice
 1 inch stick of cinnamon
 2 black cardamom (badi elachi)
 3-4 cloves

Vegetables

 ½ cup peas(frozen/fresh)
 ½ cup cut beans
 ½ cup roughly cubed carrot
 2 large onions (chopped/sliced)
 3-4 tbspn chopped coriander
 2-3 tspn of ginger –garlic paste

Others
 Eggs – 5 (boiled and cut into four slices, length –wise)
 Biryani masala (ready made-I have used (3/4 tspn) Shaan Sindhi Biryani
masala and added 1/4 tspn of Everest biryani masala too)
 A pinch of food colour (usually yellow or orange is used. Since,I had orange
at home,have used it.)
 1-1/2 tbpn oil
 Fried onions(These are available in the market or you can deep fry some
sliced onions till they are caramalised and keep them aside)
 Dry fruits like raisins and cashewnut.


Steps:

Rice :
In a vessel, add 6 cups of water (2 cups for every one cup rice) and add rice and other ingredients stated along with rice. Once done , spread it on a plate for cooling down.

Take a pinch of food colour and mix with 1 tspn of water. Add this to ¼ of the cooked rice.


Vegetables and Egg:

 Heat oil in a kadai/wok.
 Add the onions and ginger-garlic paste.
 When onions are nearly done, add the veggies. Add some water ,say 3/4 cup .
 Add biryani masala and mix well. Let the veggies get crunchy cooked.
 Now add 1 tbspn of yoghurt and mix well.
 Add the sliced boiled egg.
 Cook for 1-2 mins till the eggs are well coated with the masala.
(The whole mixture needn’t be dry. In case very little water is there,then that’s fine.)

Final Step:

 In a oven proof vessel ,spread a layer of veggies and egg mix.
 Above this, spread the white rice layer.
 Sprinkle some fried onion and dry fruits.
 Put a layer of veggies and egg .
 Spread some coloured rice and then some white rice.
 Again fried onion and dry fruits.

Keep on repeating till veggie mix is over. Let the white rice layer be the top one.

Sprinkle onion and dry fruits.

Cover the vessel with the lid or cover it firmly with a aluminium foil.

Bake at 180c (or in a moderate oven) for 12-15 mins.

Serve hot. Sprinkle some freshly chopped coriander just before serving.

Enjoy with some cool cucumber raita or yoghurt.

Beetroot Raita

Beetroot is generally liked by all since it has a sweet taste. People use it’ juice as a food colour .My mom used to prepare beetroot raita/koshimber when I was a kid. I used to gorge on it completely. Now my little one does that …

Here are the ingredients:

• 2 medium size beetroot (cooked/boiled)
• one green chilly
• 2 tspn chopped coriander
• 2/3 tbspn yoghurt
• salt to taste

Steps:

• Chop the beetroot into cubes or grate it .
• Add chopped green chilly .
• Add salt and yoghurt and mix well.
• Mix the chopped coriander.
• Serve chilled.

Methi Malai Matar (without Malai!)

Hi & Hello to one and all!

My today’ recipe is Methi –Malai-Matar ; sweet and bitter .

Now this recipe nowhere contains malai .Surprised huh? Well I have used cornflour paste instead of malai ,which gives it a creamy texture. So now all weight watchers can have it without a second thought!

Here comes my recipe:

METHI MALAI MATAR (Serves 2-3 )





Ingredients :

Methi (fenugreek leaves) (fresh/frozen) – 2cups
Peas (fresh/frozen)- 1- 1.5 cup
Cornflour – 1 tbsp
Milk- ¾ cup
Onion – 1 large (finely chopped)
Garlic – Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1-1.5 tsp
Green chilli – 2-3 / green chilli paste – 1 tsp
Salt – as per
taste
Oil – 2 tbsp (I have used extra virgin olive oil but any will do)

Procedure:

Heat oil in a kadhai/wok.
Add the chopped onions, ginger – garlic paste, chillies /chilli paste and sauté the mix till onions are slighty done.
Now add chopped methi (fenugreek leaves) and peas. Mix well. Saute for 1-2 mins.
Add the salt and sugar and again mix well.
Cook covered till almost the methi(fenugreek leaves are done).
Till the time methi(fenugreek leaves) is done ,mix cornflour and milk in a bowl.
Once methi(fenugreek leaves) is done, add the cornflour paste and mix well.
Cook covered for 1-2 mins till the cornflour paste is done.
Serve hot with roti / naan.

Mango Muffins

Mangoes….just the mention brings water to our mouth! This heavenly taste fruit, rightly known as King of Fruits, can be eaten raw or mixed into many things or cooked by itself and eaten. Be in any form it is liked by one and all.

Today I have used mango pulp in my muffins. Trust me …it does taste great!

Here’ the recipe:

Makes 15 muffins (I have a tray of 12;used the balance for second batch)

Ingredients:

1 cup self raising flour
¾ cup caster sugar
100 gms butter (I have used Lurpak(unsalted)butter)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 large eggs
1 ripe (medium size) mango pulp

Steps:

In a large mixing bowl, put in the butter. The butter should be at room temperature.
Add in the sugar and mix well with a wooden spoon/whisk till the mixture is light and fluffy.
Break open the eggs, one by one and mix well in the butter –sugar mixture.
(I have used a hand blender to mix it and make the butter-sugar- egg mix frothy.)
Add the essence and baking powder and mix well with a wooden spoon/whisk.
Now slowly add the flour and fold it in the mixture with a spatula.
Add the mango pulp to this unbaked cake and mix it slowly with the spatula.
Pour the mix gently into the muffin cases.
Bake in the pre-heated oven at 180’c for 30 mins.(I have a fan oven).
As the muffins are baked ,the aroma will fill up the house.

Once done, unmould them and enjoy!

This recipe goes to Food-n-More ' event Mango Mood!

This is my first entry to any event ....hope everyone likes it!(just keeping my fingers crossed).

Seviyan/Vermicelli Upma

Hello to all out there! Seviyan/Vermicelli Upma

Ingredients: 1.5 cups of broken vermicelli

1 onion (medium one ) finely chopped

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup corn

1 carrot(small) finely sliced into halves

1 small tomato finely chopped

2 tbsp coriander chopped finely

3 cups of water

1-2 tbsp of oil(I have used olive oil;any other can also be used)

a pinch of sugar

salt to taste

Steps:

1. Dry roast the vermicelli in a kadhai/wok till the vermicelli changes colour to light brown.Remove from fire and keep aside in a plate.
2. Heat up the oil and then add onion,peas,corn and carrot and saute till half done.
3. Then add the chopped tomato.Saute 1-2 mins.
4. Add water to this mixture.(Be very careful when you do this,since you will be pouring water in hot oil and veggie mixture.)
5. Add salt and sugar .
6. Once the water starts boiling lighty,slowly add the vermicelli.While adding them stir in-between otherwise,it will become lumpy.
7. Cover and cook for 2-3 mins.Stir after every min.
8. Before getting the kadai/wok off the flame,just check if the vermicelli is done(just like checking if rice is done).If not done,then just put off the flame and let the utensil be on the gas for some time, ofcourse covered.
9. Once done,then add the chopped coriander and sprinkle some lemon juice.
10. Mix well and serve hot.Enjoy!!!

I havent added any chillies to this since I have prepared this keeping in mind my little one.Chillies can be added(along with onion ,peas and corn) to give it a spicy touch.

Banana Cake

This is my first recipe on my blog.Let me tell you that it feels just 'GREAT' to have a blog where you can share your joy of cooking with millions of people around the globe ,whom you haven't met or seen too.

Banana is usually liked by one and all so rarely it goes waste. But a million pound question is what to do with the overripe ones? now here is a simple solution.The credit for this recipe goes to the book which I found in the local library - Usborne' Cakes and Cookies for beginners.

Now here comes my recipe:

Ingredients:

100g butter (I have used Lurpark unsalted)

100g soft,light brown sugar(I have used regular brown sugar...since that was at home!and so

the quantity of sugar used by me was 60-65 gms)

2 eggs (I have used XL ones for a simple reason they were in the fridge. But usually I use large ones)

2 bananas (in case of big ones, use just one)

100 g self raising flour

1 tspn baking powder

1 tspn vanilla essence

Steps:

1. In a large bowl, mix in soft butter and sugar.I have used an electric hand blender here to mix them well till the mixture become slighty light.

2. Add the essence and mix lighty.

3. Add the eggs one by one and blend it well with the blender till the whole mixture becomes slighty frothy(you can say slighty bubbly).

4. Now cut the banana into chunks and mash them well with a fork. Add the mashed bananas to the mixture.
5. Add the baking powder and mix well with a wooden spoon or a hand whisk.

6. Then add the flour slowly and fold it in the egg -sugar- butter mix.

7. Pre-heat the oven to 180'c (I have a fan oven).

8. Grease a cake tin ( I have used a 20 cm one) with butter and sprinkle some flour.

9. Now pour the mixture into the tin with a spatula.

10. Bake in the pre-heated oven at 180'c for 30 mins.

When the cake is done, it will leave the sides of tin and when pressed, will feel firm and bounce back.

Let it cool down and then cut it into slices and enjoy!

and let the kids enjoy too ..............