Hyderabadi Chicken biryani

If you ask any Non-veg lover, I bet they will unanimously agree that Hyderabadi chicken biriyani is the best of all biriyanis. I don't know why, but there are a lot of Andra recipes that are a big hit in Tamil Nadu. I love their Parupu Podi(Lentil Powder). When you eat it with ghee and rice...YUM!


To prepare Hyderabadi chicken Biriyani you need, (for 4 people)

2 lbs of chicken,
2 cups basmati rice
1 cup finely sliced onions(fried),
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp turmeric,
2 green chillies finely chopped,
few fried cashew nuts,
2 bay leaves,
3 cloves,
1 inch long cinnamon stick,
3 or 4 cardamom,
1 tsp kala jeera(black cumin), if not available you can also use normal cumin seeds
2 cups mint leaves,
1 cup coriander leaves (cilantro),
Salt to taste
1/2 cup yogurt,
1 tbspn oil,
2 tsp saffron colour



Method:

Clean the chicken and cut them into small cubes.

Marinate the chicken :

In a bowl add chicken, green chillies,mint,coriander leaves, peppercorns,cumin seeds,chilli powder,turmeric,salt,cumin powder,coriander powder,bay leaf,cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,1/2 cup fried onions,1 tbspn oil and yogurt and mix well.

Rest it for 15 mts.

Meanwhile soak the rice in water for 30mts.

In a wide mouth pan, add enough water. Add 2 tsp of oil and add salt.

Drain the soaked rice and add it to the water in the pan and cook.

Make sure that you Half cook your rice. Switch it off.

In another pan, add the marinated chicken in one layer. Add the half cooked rice above the chicken and add the leftover fried onions.

Add the saffron colour.

Cover it tight and cook it for 30mts - 5 min in high flame, 15 mts in medium flame and 10 min in the sim flame.

Serve hot with raita or any other side dish of your choice.

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Roast Turkey Breast Recipe with Fruited stuffing for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival for Americans like Pongal for Indians. OK. We all know that. Whats new? Thanksgiving is colloquially called Turkey Day or poultry day. The USDA estimated that 269 million turkeys were raised in the country in 2003, about one-sixth of which were destined for a Thanksgiving dinner plate. Wow! That is huge!

Mostly a Thanksgiving Dinner will have a large meal with the centerpiece as Turkey. Now a days, Turkey is replaced with Duck and Goose too. Let it be, it doesn't matter to me as I do not eat any of the above stated birds! But I am sharing a Roasted Turkey recipe here to help one of my bachelor friend, who wants to try turkey this year for Thanksgiving.

The Similarity between Christmas and Thanksgiving is the 'Turkey' meal. The difference is, you are not expected to give gifts to your friends and family for Thanksgiving as you do for Christmas. But what the heck! Surprise them this year with your gifts and make this Thanksgiving a memorable one. C'mon who will say a 'NO' to Thanksgiving Gifts?




Photo by: Zeetz Jones

I did not make this recipe! This recipe is from '100 Great Healthy Main Dishes' by Ladies Home Journal, an amazing cookbook. Please do let me know how it tasted if you prepare this Turkey recipe.

Ingredients: (Makes 8 servings)

4 pounds turkey breast
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper
5 slices of whole wheat bread,cubed
1/2 cup diced celery
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup pitted dates,chopped
1/4 cup water
2 garlic cloves,minced
1 pear,cored and chopped
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp rosemary
1 tbspn all purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken broth,defatted

How to defat beef or chicken broth?

Freeze the broth for 30 min or refrigerate 4 hours or overnight until the fat solidifies on the surface.

Remove the fat from surface with a slotted spoon.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 degree F. Season the turkey breast with salt and pepper.

Place the turkey breast skin side up on a rack set in a roasting pan and tent with foil.

Roast 2 hours until oven thermometer inserted in thickest part reaches 180 F. Remove foil during the last hour.

Meanwhile, stir together the bread,celery, onion,dates,water,garlic,pear,thyme and rosemary in large bowl.

Spoon the stuffing into a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Bake 30 min.

Transfer the turkey breast to a platter. Place the roasting pan in the freezer for 10 min. Skim off fat.

Transfer the drippings into the small saucer pan and heat over low heat.

Blend the flour with the chicken broth in a small bowl.

Whisk into drippings and simmer 5 min, until thickened.

Season the gravy with salt and pepper.

Crave the turkey into thin slices and serve with stuffing and gravy.

For the Vegans and the vegetarian's out there I found an interesting Tofuerky recipe for your Thanksgiving. Yes Tofu Turkey Recipe. Amazing that Tofu was able to substitute Eggs and now Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving 2008!

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Lamb Biryani Recipe

Whenever we go to a hotel, my non-veg friends never hesitate to order Lamb biryani. I have asked them what is so special in it. They said, it depends on the chef. In few hotels they love this food and in other hotels this food is prepared differently which is not very tasty. So I asked one of my friend to share this lamb biryani recipe with us, so that we can make this food taste the way in the hotels. This food was prepared in her house just to help me take photo, so that I can share it with you all.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pound boneless lamb, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons butter /Ghee
1 medium onion, cut into thin slices

1 tomato cut in small pieces

4 cloves

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

2 whole cardamom

1 large bay leave

1 1/2 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30mts

2 3/4 cups water

1/3 cup chopped cashews or any other nuts of your choice

3 green chillies cut lengthwise

Safron colour (optional)
A few dashes of vinegar (optional)

Spices:

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder and coriander powder each

2tsp of chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tsp of Garam masala

Method:

In a bowl, add the yogurt , Ginger garlic paste and all the above mentioned spices and vinegar. Mix well.

Now add the Lamb pieces and make sure that each piece is coated finely with this mixture.

Refrigerate this mixture for 20mts. This process is called marinating.

In a Pan, Add some butter/ghee and then add bay leaf, cloves, Cinnamon, cardamom.

Add Cumin seeds and after few seconds add onion and fry them until they become light brown.

Add the green chillies and fry. Now add the tomatoes. Mix well.

Now add the mixture we prepared in a bowl and cook it in a low flame for 15 to 20 mts so that the raw smell disappear.

Cook this mixture till have to ensure that the lamb is tender - and that the spice mixture tastes right.

From here on we have 2 different ways of cooking biryani. The first is by adding the soaked basmati rice to this cooked mixture. Add enough water and close the lid. Cook this for 30mts in a Sim flame and after 30mts the Lamb Biryani is ready. Do not open the lid until the rice is cooked; which will be in 30mts.

The second method is the traditional one. It takes some time but tastes good when we do this way.

In a big pan, add the rice and water. The water should cover the entire rice. Cook this in a medium flame till the rice is half done. Switch off the stove and stain the water from the rice.

Take a wide vessel (Wider than the Pan in which you are going to cook lamb biryani). Add some water in the vessel. Now place the Pan on this vessel and add some of the cooked mixture in the bottom. Now add the half cooked rice on top of it. Add some safron colour. Again add the cooked mixture and then place the rest of the rice on top. Add some safron colour. Close the lid and allow it to cook for 20mts in low flame.

We are using water in wider vessel so that the biryani is not burned at the bottom.

After the Lamb biryani is done, add some fried cashews or any nuts and coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Raita. See my recipe on how to prepare raita.

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