Mushroom Biryani

Diposting oleh adiba
Rabu, 29 Februari 2012
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Mushroom, this is one veggie(?) which cooks so fast and yet you can make super yummy dishes with it. My cook makes this mushroom biryani. mostly on weekends, i ask her to make this mushroom biryani, which she makes super fast and perfect!


Mushrooms should be cooked the day you buy. fresh mushrooms are good to cook. cleaning mushroom is very important. i normally wash each and every mushroom by scratching the dirt. then i wipe the mushrooms with a clean cloth before chopping it.


If you are seeing the basmati rice grains distinct and apart, the credit goes to Rak's kitchen. she was so kind to help me with suggesting good basmati rice and the water level for it. Thanks Raks!



                                                            Mushroom Biryani
serves - 3
preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time: 20 minutes

 Ingredients:


  • Basmati Rice - 300gms / 3 cup's
  • Water - 4 and half cups
  • Mushrooms - 200 grams
  • Green peas - 1/4 cup
  • Big Onion - 3
  • Tomato - 1 big in size
  • Green chilli - 3
  • Ginger-Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
  • Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
  • Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
  • Lemon juice - 1 tsp
  • Chilli powder - 1 tsp
  • Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
  • Oil - 2 tbsp
  • Ghee - 1 tbsp
  • Cinnamon - 1' inch
  • Cloves - 3
  • Sombu / fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Star anise - 1/2
  • Marati mokku - 1 small
  • Bay leaf - 1

Method:

Measure Basmati rice. Rinse the rice and soak in water for about 20 minutes. use the same measuring cup to measure water. the ratio for rice and water is 1 : 1 & 1/2. so measure 4 and half cups of water and keep aside.

Wash the Mushrooms thoroughly and wipe them with a clean cloth. chop the mushroom into thin strips and set aside.

Chop the onions into thin slices. slit the green chillies. chop the tomatoes into 4 parts and grind into a smooth tomato puree.

Wash the mint and coriander leaves thoroughly and keep aside.

Heat a wide bottomed pressure cooker. add oil and ghee to it. add fennel, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, star anise and maratti mokku.

Add finely sliced onions and saute it well for at least 2 minutes in medium flame. then add sliced green chillies and the mint and corriander leaves.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell leaves. now add the Mushrooms and saute till they shrink and leave little bit of water. mushroom takes 2-3 minutes to cook.

Then add Tomato puree and green peas and give a good mix. let the mix stand in medium flame for about 2 minutes. Now add chilli powder, garam masala, salt to taste and mix well.

Add measured 4 and half cup's of water, let it boil and then add the soaked and drained basmati rice. add lemon juice and mix.

Close the pressure cooker with its lid and do not put weight on it. let the steam escape. let the flame be in medium for exactly 12 minutes. after 12 minutes switch off the flame and let the cooker rest for 5 minutes before opening it.

Serve the biryani with onion or cucumber raita.



My hubby liked the biryani most, its not easy to impress or get a word from him, but when he told its nice, i have to believe, because i tasted it too:)

* if you are a food blogger, put the hot biryani on a fancy bowl, click pictures of the hot biryani on different angles with different props till you are satisfied and by the time you click, family leaves you and finishes off the hot biryani! finally you got to eat the cooled biryani with a high level of satisfaction indeed!!



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Vangi bath masala

Diposting oleh adiba
Rabu, 22 Februari 2012
komentar (0)


Someday's i would not like to make two or three dishes for lunch and want to come out of kitchen soon with less work. tamarind rice, chitranna, vangi bath, arisi paruppu sadham are all the one's that i make to free me.
well the next day i cant do the same, literally i cant survive without sambhar and poriyal. may be genetically my tummy is trained like that:)


I remember seeing this karnataka recipe on my great grand mother's recipe collection. wonder how she managed to get the traditional karnataka recipes without any cookbooks, visits to the state and all.
My grandmother is a pro in making bisi bele bath. whenever we want to pack food to have in mid of travel, she wakes up as early at 3'o' clock and makes fresh masala and prepares bisi-bele bath. OMG, i am craving for it right now!!-):

Vangi Bath Masala powder


Home made vangi bath masala is full of flavors, i just loved the addition of dry coconut. this is the first time i used. the aroma and taste of kopparai thengaai contributing to the dish is too good.


Vangi bath masala powder recipe


Prep Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 10 mins  
Serves: 8
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Type: Masalapowder

Ingredients:

1/2 cup channa dal
1/2 cup dry red chillies
1/4 cup urad dal
1/4 cup dhania / corriander seeds
1/4 cup dessicated dry coconut / kopparai thengaai
1 tbsp cumin
1/4 tsp fenugreek
1 inch cinnamon
2 cloves
1 tbsp khasa-khasa / poppy seeds
2 sprigs of curry leaves
1/2 tsp hing

Method:


Dry roast the ingredients in medium flame one by one. start with chana dal, urad dal, dhania. then dry roast cumin, fenugreek, cinnamon and cloves, khasa-khasa. following roast the dry coconut in slow flame. then roast the dry red chillies, curry leaves and hing separately.
Cool the roasted ingredients and using your mixie, make them into a fine powder.

Store the vangi bath masala in an air tight jar. use it within a month, as it has dry coconut or store in your fridge.

If you have masala. preparing vangi bath is easy and can be done in 10 minutes.

    Note: 

    This masala powder can also be used to make carrot rice and capsicum rice.


    Vangi Bath

    Vangi bhath, i tasted it first at Mavalli Tiffin Rooms(MTR), from then i used to cook this vangi bhath once in a week. 


    Vangi bath is truly addictive for brinjal lovers. so going ahead with a warning...I used to cook vangi bath atleast once in a week, when we were in bangalore using MTR vangi bath masala. 


    Vangi Bath


    Ingredients:

    • Purple Brinjal - 1/2 kg
    • Basmati / Long Grain Rice - 1 cup / 100grams
    • Onion - 1(optional)
    • Dessicated dry coconut - 1 tbsp
    • Turmeric powder - a pinch
    • Vangi bath masala powder - 3 tsp

    For tempering:

    • 3 tbsp of sesame oil
    • 1/4 tsp of mustard
    • 1/2 tsp of chana dal
    • 1/2 tsp of urad dal
    • 2 dry red chillies
    • 1 tbsp of roasted peanuts (without skin)
    • 3 cahesws
    • 1 sprig curry leaves

    Method:

    1. Soak the basmati rice for about 20 minutes in sufficient water, drain the water and cook basmati rice with 1 and half cup's of water. i used my microwave and cooked in 1 and half cup's of water for about 12 minutes at 900w. rice and water ratio is 1: 1 and 1/2. you can cook the rice on stove top with the same ratio. cool the cooked basmati rice in a wide bowl. mix 1 tsp of sesame oil to the rice and give a soft stir with the spoon, so that the grains are separate.
    2. Chop Brinjal's into big chunks and let them be in a cup of water, to avoid darkening.
    3. In a pan, start for tempering, heat 3 tbsp's of oil, add mustard and let it splutter, add chana dal, urad dal, cashews, peanuts, dry red chillies one by one and roast them all till they turn into light golden in color. add curry leaves.
    4. Add finely chopped onions and saute till they turn translucent. then add chopped brinjal and fry it in medium flame. add salt and turmeric powder and roast the brinjal. add little oil, if they start sticking to the pan.
    5. Now add vangi bath masala powder to the brinjal's and give a good mix. turn the flame to slow and close the pan with a lid, and let the brinjal's get cooked along with the masala.
    6. Brinjal gets cooked within 10 minutes. remove from the flame and transfer to the bowl of cooled basmati rice. slowly mix the masal's  with the rice.
    7. Garnish with chopped corriander leaves and 1 tsp of dessicated dry coconut.

    Serve warm with onion raita.

    Notes:

    Using onions is optional. this tastes good even without onions.

    You can add tamarind while adding vangi bath masala powder, only if you love little tangy flavoured vangi bath.


    If you tell any kannadiga, that you made vangi bath with MTR vangi bath masala mix, they will give you a weird look. iam telling you this from my experience.  they always trust their home made masala.  iam happy, finally i made my own masala!



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    Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

    Diposting oleh adiba
    Senin, 20 Februari 2012
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    Carrot cake, i love this cake, as each piece is full with goodness of carrot. i tried this cake with wheat flour long back and loved it. this time i tried it with all purpose flour(maida). this time the cake was soft and turned out moist and good. but i recommend you to try with wheat flour, which makes the cake super healthy cake.



    and i have to ramble about cream cheese frosting. finding cream cheese in India is so difficult. 


    when i searched on net, i just happened to find tarla dalal's low fat cream cheese. actually her Cream cheese should be called as cottage cream cheese frosting according to me. last time when i tried her recipe and made the frosting, the frosting was runny and it did not impress me. this time i made few changes and got the frosting perfect. 

    carrot cake made long back with runny cream cheese frosting and wheat flour

    My son and hubby loved this carrot cake, i was serving this cake to them without any guilt, as its full of goodness with carrot, wheat flour and olive oil.  so go ahead and try for your family.




    Carrot Cake

    Yields - 16 pieces
    shelf life : 1 week refrigerated
    Recipe source: cakes and bakes book
    preparation time: 20 minutes
    Baking time: 45 - 50 minutes
    Tried and tested:  twice

    Ingredients:

    • 2 eggs
    • 3/4 brown sugar
    • 1 cup sunflower oil / olive oil
    • 2 cups of whole wheat flour / all purpose flour
    • 1 and 1/2 cups of grated carrot
    • 1 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder
    • 1 tsp of baking soda
    • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1 tsp of grated nutmeg

    Topping / Cream cheese frosting:

    • 1/2 cup cream cheese
    • 3 tbsp butter
    • 1/4 cup icing sugar
    • 1 tsp grated orange rind

    Method:
    1. Pre-heat the oven to 190c/375F.  I greased my 6*4 inch rectangular cake pan with little butter and lined with parchment paper.

    2. Now coming to dry ingredients, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder and nutmeg.  sift them all at least twice.

    3. For wet ingredients, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until well blended. then add brown sugar and sunflower oil. beat them all together. now add the grated carrot and mix with a spatula.

    4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together until well incorporated.

    5. Spread the mixed mixture into the greased cake pan and place in the center wrack of the pre-heated oven.

    6. Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes until the cake is nicely risen, firm to touch and has begun to shrink away slightly from the edge of the pan. or insert a toothpick to the center of the cake and check whether it comes out clean.

    7. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 15-20 mins, then turn to a wire wrack.

    8. Slice the top bulged part of the cake, if you are planning to frost the cake.

    9. To make the frosting, put all the ingredients mentioned under topping in a mixing bowl and beat together for about 2 minutes until they become super smooth.

    10. When the cake is completely cold, spread the the cream cheese frosting. smooth over with a knife. sprinkle some orange rind over the top and leave up the cake to firm for few minutes till the frosting is set before you cut into pieces.

    11. Store the cake in an air tight container in fridge. it will make up to a week.




    Home made Cream cheese frosting / Cottage cream cheese:

    So no more hunting for cream cheese. though even i spotted philadelphia cream cheese, it was so costly for me. now with easy home made cream cheese i can try out cheese cake soon.


                                     Home made Cream cheese / Cottage cream cheese




    yields - little less than 1/2 cup 
    preparation time: less than 15 minutes
    refrigeration : overnight

    Ingredients:

    • Milk - 1/2 litre / 500 ml
    • Vinegar - 3 tbsp  (or)  lemon juice - 2 tsp
    • Curd - 2 tbsp

    Method:

    1. Boil the milk and remove from flame. add vinegar or lemon juice to the hot milk and give a stir. you would see the the whey separating from the milk.

    2. In a muslin cloth, drain the cottage cheese and squeeze away the whey.

    3. Now in a mixer-grinder, add the cottage cheese, curd and grind into a smooth one.

    4. Take a muslin cloth and pass the smoothly grounded cottage cheese and bring all the corners of the muslin cloth together and tie with a rubber band.

    5. Put the tied muslin cloth in fridge for overnight, till it firms up.

    6. Next day, bring the cottage cream cheese to room temperature before you start to prepare for frosting.
     Do try out this cake with frosting. this is one different cake out of just plain cakes. no one could guess the frosting, which has a hint of orange rind. i loved the frosting much! even the cake tasted so good with frosting.





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    Nan khatai ~ easy eggless cookie

    Diposting oleh adiba
    Senin, 13 Februari 2012
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    Nankhatai is a cookie, famous in pakistan and in india. Nankhatai is a basic eggless cookie made with clarified butter(ghee). When Bina posted her nankhatai recipe on daily tiffin, i tried it immediately and fell in love with these cookies, but it took too long (2 years) to post here.



    whenever we crave for crispier biscuits, i would make nankhatai in minutes. its so easy to make. moreover, you can make it quick.

                                                                   
     Nankhatai



    Yields - 30 cookies approx.

    Preparation time: 15 mins
    Baking time - 10-15 mins.
    Recipe from : Daily tiffin  - Bina




    Ingredients:


    • Maida / All purpose flour – 2 cup’s (200gms)
    • Sugar – 1 cup
    • Cardamom – 8
    • Ghee – ¾ cup
    • Baking powder – ½ tsp
    • Nuts to garnish(pista, cashew and badam)


    Method:

          1. Pre-heat the oven at 150C for 10 minutes.

          2. Line your baking tray with butter paper and set aside.

          3. Powder the sugar along with cardamom pods.

          4. Sieve the maida flour along with baking powder. Also sieve the powdered sugar upon maida.

          5. Mix the flour well with your hands.

         6. Add Ghee to the flour and keep mixing, first the flour becomes like crumbles. keep on adding the    ghee till flour comes together as a smooth pilable dough. Do this process patiently, this process takes 10 minutes. (it consumes really lots of ghee, so go ahead and forget the calories.)

          7. Once you get the smooth pilable dough, pinch a small ball of dough and roll it with your palms. Slightly press it with your palms, so that the ball flattens a bit. Place the flattened ball over the butter paper. Likewise fill the butter paper. Press nuts of your choice over each nankhatai.


       8. Bake the Nankhatai in pre-heated oven at 150c for 10-12 minutes. Till the bottom of the nankhatai turns light brown in colour. Change the sides of tray in between, to ensure even baking.

       9. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling wrack and let it cool for another 5 minutes.


        10. Transfer the cooled nankhatai’s to an air tight container.

    Serve with Hot tea, tell you what, thats the perfect way to eat these cookies.


    Do try these delicious easy to make cookies. these cookies were crispy. these cookies were hit at home and kids loved it a lot.

    I also made in heart shape, which turned out good too. so you can try different shapes.

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    Pottukadalai podi

    Diposting oleh adiba
    Jumat, 10 Februari 2012
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    I always stock up this podi, while i was in boarding school, which will help to swallow the hard idli's. even at home, our typical breakfast would be two idli's with pottukadalai paruppu podi. We used to have two different podi's at home, one is this mildly spiced pottukadalai podi for the kid and the other is spicy idli milagaai podi for adults. Pottukadalai podi  is me and my son's favourite podi. we have it with hot idli's  or with hot rice and ghee.


    Lunch with carrot beans poriyal, cabbage poriyal, rasam and 2 portions of pottukadalai podi sadham



    Pottukadalai Paruppu Podi




    Recipe adapted from Shobana's My Cookbook
    Preparation time : less than 15 minutes
    Yields: approx 150 grams




    Required Ingredients:

    Kadala paruppu / chana dal - 1/2 cup
    Pottukadalai / dalia(roasted chana dal) - 1 cup
    Dry red chilli - 6
    Black pepper - 6 (or) 1 tsp
    Asafoetida / hing - 1/4 tsp
    Garlic - 1 clove(optional)
    Rock salt - 1/2 tsp

    Method:

    Dry roast the dals one by one in medium flame. it may take 3-4 minutes to roast the dal.

    Next roast the dry red chilli, pepper and garlic.

    If you are using rock salt(kal uppu) dry roast it. cool down the roasted ingredients.

    Grind all the roasted ingredients along with hing into a fine powder.

    Store the podi in an air tight container.

    This podi can be mixed with sesame oil and had with idli's and podi can be mixed with hot rice and ghee.



    Happy Weekend!!

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    Maravalli kizhangu dosai / Tapioca dosai

    Diposting oleh adiba
    Senin, 06 Februari 2012
    komentar (0)

    Maravalli kizhangu / Tapioca is a seasonal root. My Dad used to tell that, maida is obtained from this root. even i learned from web that sago(javvarisi) and arrowroot are obtained from this veggie. anyway i am not sure about all this. At home mom used to steam this kizhangu and give for us with sugar.

    maravalli kizhangu dosai served with varamilagaai chutney(recipe below) and grand sweets chettinad poondu kuzhambu.



    I have been craving to try vadai with maravalli, finally i tried it today. it was so different and crispy vadai i have ever ate. before i go with vadai, i wanted to share dosai and idli made with this maravalli kizhangu.




    Maravalli kizhangu dosai


     serves : 4 
     soaking time : 4 hrs.
    fermentation time : overnight   
    preparation time: 10 mins.
    this batter can be used to make idli and dosai.
    recipe given is to grind using wet grinder, you can reduce the quantity into half, if you want to grind using mixie


    Ingredients: 
    • Par boiled rice - 1 cup
    • Raw rice - 1 cup
    • Urad dal - 1/2 cup
    • Maravalli kizhangu - 1 big one(peeled and grated) / 2 cup's

    Method:

    1. Soak the par boiled rice and raw rice together in water for about 3-4 hrs. soak the urad dal in water for about one hour.

    2. Peel the outer skin of maravalli / tapioca and wash it thoroughly. then grate with the help of grater or chop them into small pieces.

    3. Now first grind the urad dal with 1/2 cup of water sprinkled in between while grinding, just as we grind for idli/dosa's. after 30 minutes, add the soaked rice and grind finely. sprinkle water in between. finally add the grated maravalli kizhangu and let it grind into a smooth paste. together it will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour for grinding in your wet grinder.

    4. Let the batter ferment for about 6 hrs. dilute the batter with salt required for making dosa, add salt to the batter and mix well.

    5. Now make thin dosa's  and serve with varamilagai chutney.



    Maravalli kizhangu Idli:

    I also made idli's which turned out so soft and fluffy.




                                               Varamilagaai chutney / Kaara chutney
                    


    serves : 2 
    preparation & 
    cooking time : less than 15 minutes

    Ingredients:

    • Onion - 1
    • Tomato - 1
    • urad dal - 1 tsp
    • channa dal - 1 tsp
    • mustard - 1 tsp
    • grated coconut - 2 tbsp
    • Dry red chillies - 3
    • Oil - 1 tsp

    Method:

    1. Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add  mustard and let it splutter, add urad dal, channa dal and roast till it turns golden in colour.

    2. Then add onions and saute till it turns translucent. then add tomatoes and saute till it turns mashy. add salt to taste and finally mix the grated coconut and remove from flame.

    3. Cool them all and grind into smooth chutney with little water.



    Idli's were so soft and fluffy. Try out this root veggie, which is very good for health too. Maravalli kizhangu can just be steamed and eaten with sugar or salt. you can make vadai, dosai, idli, adai with this kizhangu. i guess puttu can also be made. such a versatile healthy root vegetable..

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