Onion Bhaji and Hariyali Chicken Biryani

Onion Bhaji 

I prepare these kind of bhaji very few times as I always loved those Crab style bhajis more than these. But when I felt like eating these last weekend, I prepared them and turned out quite well.

Ingredients

2 Onions

1/2 Cup Bason

1/4 Cup Corriander Leaves

1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder

1/2 Spoon Corriander Powder

1/4 Spoon Jeera Powder

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Finely chop onions and add the salt to it. Keep aside for 5-10 minutes
• Add Bason, corriander leaves- finely chopped, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, corriander powder, jeera powder and mix to form the paste. Add water if needed.
• Heat the oil in a pan, and add a spoonful of it into the paste.
• Mix the paste well and fry the Bhaji's of small size to crispy brown colour.

Notes

I normally apply salt to onion and keep aside as that helps in seperating water and then the paste doesnt loosen after some time.

Since I add the heated oil I dont use eating soda, heated oil is good enough for giving crispiness

Hariyali Chicken Biryani

I wanted to eat something chatpata and hence had prepared Pani Puri. So i had plenty of pudina remaining. So was frozen chicken waiting for being cooked in freezer. Ajoy wanted to eat biryani and I wanted to get over the freeze items... Thats when this recipe was born :) and became super hit for its different taste and fragnance :)

Ingredients

6 Leg Pieces of Chicken

2 Cup Basamati Rice

1/2 Bunch of Pudina

1/2 Bunch of Corriander Leaves

2 Green Chillies

2 Cinnamon Sticks

1/4 Spoon Black Pepper

4 Cloves

4 Cardamoms

1/2 Cup Ghee

3 Onions

1 Tomato

1/2 Spoon Garlic Paste

4 Spoon Curd

1 Spoon Red chilli powder

A Pinch of Turmeric Powder

Salt to taste

Method

• Marinate chicken with red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garlic paste and curd and keep aside for couple of hours.
• Warm around 6 cups of water and soak the rice in it and keep aside for half an hour.
• In a mixie grind pudina leaves, corriander leaves, tomato and green chilli to fine paste.
• Keep aside 2 spoon of ghee and heat remaining ghee in a pan.
• Chop one of the onion into thin slices and fry it to light brown colour into the ghee. Keep aside.
• In remaining ghee from frying, add cinnamon, black pepper and remaining onions - grated and cook them till light brown in colour.
• Add this mixture to mixie along with green paste and grind again to smooth paste
• In same pan add this ground paste, 1.5 cup of water and marinated chicken and cook till completely dry with stirring in between. Add salt to taste and keep aside.
• While chicken is cooking, drain the water from the rice, cook it with another 2 cups of water and salt to taste till almost done. Drain the water and keep aside for cooling down.
• Heat 1/2 spoon of ghee and add cloves and cardamom to it. Fry them for a minute on low flame and then add this ghee to the rice and mix well.
• Grease a thick bottom pan or cooker and layer the rice and chicken mixture alternating. Also add fried onions in between while adding chicken.
• Cook on low flame for 15 minutes and serve hot

Notes

I had leg pieces of chicken so used them all but you can substitute it with equal grams plus little more of normal chicken pieces too.

Here the electric stove has variations of 8 degrees so I used 2 for cooking the layered biryani instead of my usual cooker on top of tawa and a layer of potato down the biryani. So if you are using regular stove you would need to follow same procedure so that biryani doesnt burn.

Lauki Kofta And Paneerbhara Kabab

Lauki Kofta

Ajoy just loves lauki kofta so much so that he asks ma to make it every time we go to pune. Till last year, that did work out especially since we visited pune atleast each month. But after coming to Redmond, one thing I am sure Ajoy and me too missed was Ma's special Kofta. So this time when we were in india we did ask her to make it quite frequently but the recipe is so good that eating it once in a year doesn't satisfy the taste buds. So after I got the recipe from her, today I made it on valentine's day. Guess my gift to Ajoy :)

Ingredients

3 Cup Bottle Gourd

1 Cup Carrot

1.5 Cup Besan

3 Spoon Corn Flour

2 Onion

2 Tomato

2 Cup Curd

4 Spoon Sugar

1/2 Spoon Chaat Masala

1/2 Spoon Jeera

1.5 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/2 Spoon Turmeric Powder

1 Spoon Corriander Powder

1 Spoon Jeera Powder

1 Green Chilli

1/4 Cup Cashews

1/4 Cup Raisins

Oil

Salt to taste

Method

• Grate bottle gourd and carrot and mix well
• Heat oil and add in jeera. Let it sputter
• Add in grated bottle gourd and carrot and mix well.
• Cook well stirring occasionally till the mixture dries up completely. Keep aside to cool down.
• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion. Fry till translucent and keep aside.
• In a mixie add tomatoes, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, corriander powder and salt. Grind well.
• Add in cooked onion and grind to smooth paste. Keep aside
• In the bottle gourd and carrot mixture, add besan, corn flour make soft dough
• Prepare small balls with cashews, raisins and green chilli pieces in the center of them.
• Fry the koftas in oil to brown color and keep aside.
• In a pan add the grinded paste, 3 cups of water and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes till gravy attains consistency.
• Add in koftas and simmer for another few minutes. Take of the heat
• In a bowl, mix in curd, sugar and chaat masala.
• While serving koftas, add in the kofta with the gravy, add curd and then garnish with grated carrot and some cashew pieces and raisins

Notes

Instead of carrot you can use raw banana as well.

Paneerbhara Kabab

Today when I opened fridge, found that I have around 2 liters of milk and it is getting expired tomorrow. Gave a lot of thought on what I should be using it before I loose it. Last few times I had been making sweets but this time I wanted to make something spicy and that is when I came up this.

Ingredients

2 Liter Milk

5 Spoon Vinegar

1 Cup Corriander Leaves

2 Spoon Pudina Leaves

5-6 Green Chillies

2 Bread Slices

1/2 Spoon Chaat Masala

Salt

Oil

Method

• Boil Milk in a thick pan
• Mix a cup of water with vinegar and add it to the milk to separate whey from it.
• Strain it and wash it with cold water.
• Hang it in a dry cloth for around half an hour to remove as much as water as possible
• Preheat oven to 350F/180C
• Bake bread slices for 5 minutes at 350F/180C, Flip the sides and bake for another 5 minutes
• In a mixie, grind the bread to breadcrums. Save aside
• Grind corriander leaves, pudina leaves and green chillies to fine paste without using water.
• In a plate mix the paneer that was hanging, the above green paste and salt
• Make small lemon sized balls and roll them in bread crums
• Heat oil and fry the balls in it over medium-high heat.
• Sprinkle chaat masala and serve with ketchup

Notes

If you want you can make it with grated paneer instead, but it tasted awesome with this fresh made paneer and the softness inside the crispy covering was delicious.

For the corriander-pudina-green chillies paste I didnt use any water. The water that was on leaves after washing them was good enough.

Hariyali Mango Paneer

Today we were to meet Kapil and Shrinkhla for dinner but by the time we reached home everybody was almost full. So we decided to eat something at home instead. Thats when my mind started working on what I should make. I had a mango (raw) from mayuri that i had got last week. I cut it and saw that it was too sour so thought of making salad from it and started making hariyali paneer side by side. But as time progressed on the spot i changed my mind and made hariyali mango paneer instead. Turned out very nice.


Ingredients
3 Cup Coriander Leaves
1/2 Cup Pudina Leaves
1 Raw Mango
1 Onion
2 Cup Paneer Pieces
1 Green Chili
1 Spoon Garlic Cloves
1/2 Spoon Garam Masala
1 Spoon Red Chili Powder
1 Spoon Coriander Powder
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 Spoon Jeera Powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Add a cup of water to coriander leaves, pudina leaves and green chili and grind in mixie.
• In hot oil, fry paneer pieces to light brown edges and keep aside
• In same oil, add chopped onion pieces, garlic and fry till light brown
• Add in mango pieces and ground coriander-pudina-green chillies mixture and cook till the water evaporates and gravy thickens.
• Add in turmeric powder, garam masala, red chili powder, jeera powder and coriander powder and stir.
• Add in fried paneer pieces and salt to taste and cook for couple of more minutes.

Notes
The mango that I used wasn't too raw not too ripe. So it worked perfectly giving the light sourness. If using raw sour mango make sure to reduce the quantity of mango pieces accordingly.

Veg Biryaani

I had been making this for a while now, but its only yesterday that I actually managed to click the photos. So here I am posting this recipe, esp for all my vegetarian friends who are craving for Biryaani.


Ingredients
3 Cup Rice
350g Bhendi
250g Small Eggplants
250g Carrots
2 Raw Bananas
4 Potatoes
4 Onion
3 Tomato
2 Spoon Pudina Leaves
10 Garlic Cloves
2 Spoon Grated Ginger
1/2 Cup Cashews
1/4 Cup Almonds
1 Spoon Dry Coconut
1/2 Spoon Poppy Seeds
2 Dried Red Chillies
1/4 Spoon Saunf
1/4 Spoon Black Pepper
1 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Corriander Seeds
3/4 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1 Spoon Garam Masala
2 Cardamom
2 Cloves
3 Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Milk
A Pinch Of Saffron
Salt to taste
Ghee
Oil

Method

• Pressure cook 2 potatoes
• Soak rice in warm water for half an hour.
• Soak poppy seeds and keep aside
• Fry the whole egg plants, bhendi, peeled and diced bananas, 2 potatoes, and carrots and keep aside.
• Boil a pot full of water and add in the soaked rice. Cook till almost done Let the extra water drain completely through sieve.
• Heat a spoon of ghee and add in cardamoms, a cinnamon stick, cloves and salt. Add it to the rice and keep it aside.
• Heat oil and add in finely chopped 2 onions. Fry till translucent and keep aside.
• In same pan heat another spoon of oil and add in jeera, red chillies, coriander seeds, black pepper, saunf, dried coconut, cinnamon, 1/4 cup cashews and almonds.
• Add in garam masala, red chili powder, poppy seeds, pudina leaves and earlier fried onions. Cook till spices start spreading aroma.
• Let the mixture cool down and then adding the chopped tomatoes grind it to fine paste.
• Heat the ghee and add in the ground mixture. Fry till oil separates
• Add in all fried vegetables and salt to taste and cook for couple of minutes. Keep aside.
• Warm the milk with safron and keep aside.
• Deep fry the thin sliced onions and cashews till they are crisp and light brown in color. Keep aside
• In a greased cooker layer the sliced boiled potatoes, then 1/3rd of rice, 1/2 of vegetable, again 1/3rd portion of rice, remaining half of the vegetable and remaining portion of the rice.
• With big spatula make through and through wholes in the layer and sprinkle the safron milk.
• Let the cooker sit on low heat till the pressure builds up. Garnish with the earlier fried crisp onions and cashews. Serve hot with raita.

Notes
Instead of cooking vegetables in gravy i added fried vegetables to the gravy. The taste was awesome and i could make sure that none of the vegetables are underdone or overdone.
I also wished I had those baby potatoes instead and could use them whole deep fried instead of diced ones.

Watermelon Splash

Today after dinner I wanted to try out something new with watermelon and here is the chatpata juice i came up with.

Ingredients

1/2 Watermelon

2 Big Lemons

4 Spoon Sugar

6-7 Pudina Leaves

1/4 Spoon Chaat Masala

1/4 Spoon Jeera Powder

Pinch of Black Pepper Powder

Salt to taste

Method

• Dice the watermelon and add it to the mixer bowl.
• Add in lemon juice, sugar, pudina leaves, salt, chaat masala, jeera powder.
• Using the crushing blade let the mixture blend together in a mixie
• Pour it in glasses and sprinkle black pepper powder on top. Chill
• Garnish with small pudina leaves and small scoops of watermelon.

Notes

Since I was so waiting to drink this, to chill it faster, i kept it in fridger for 10 minutes :) Alternatively you can also use already chilled watermelon so that you dont need to wait even 10 minutes :)

Cabbage Broccoli Kabab

You may notice that the last recipe I posted used Cabbage too.. Its because, this is left over from the last week's Cabbage :) I had lot of left over Broccoli too.. So last evening I decided to make a mix vegetable out of it but it was only when I actually started making it I thought this would make great Kababs. They are really tasty and very easy and quick to make. I made them in half an hour.

Ingredients

2 Cups Cabbage

3 Cups Broccoli

1 Tomato

1 Spoon Oregano

1 Spoon Jeera

1 Spoon Mustard

1 Spoon Chaat Masala

1/2 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/2 Lemon

1 Spoon Coriander Leaves

1 Spoon Pudina Leaves

2 Spoon Maida

1 Spoon Rice Powder

A Pinch of Asafoetida

1/4 Cup Cashews

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Heat half spoon of oil and add in tomato puree.
• Add in oregano and red chilli powder and cook till completely done. Keep aside.
• In a pan, heat another spoon of oil and let mustard, jeera splutter. Add in Asafoetida.
• Add in Broccoli chopped into small pieces and cook with constant stirring till broccoli is almost done
• Add in finely chopped cabbage, pudina leaves, coriander leaves and cook till cabbage turns light brown.
• Add in earlier cooked tomato paste, lemon juice and salt to taste and cook for another minute. Take off heat and let it cool down.
• Add in maida, rice powder and chaat masala. Mix well. Make balls with these mixture and press them between palms with a cashew.
• Heat pan and add 2 spoons of oil and cook on both sides till they are brown.

Notes

I even had tomato paste ready for I had made it for Rice Bowl last week. I had made double quantity and had used half of it. Its a great item to store in fridge for quick flavoring

Harbara Daal Vada and Dosa

Today I wanted to try something new for breakfast, and an recipe I had read somewhere few weeks back came to my mind. So these vadas I made for breakfast using the fresh mint from my patio garden. In the evening with remaining batter I made Dosas and they turned out equally good so here is recipe for both.

Harbara Daal Vada

Harbara Daal Dosa

Ingredients

2.5 Cup Harbara Daal

4 Spoon Green Chillies

4 Spoon Coriander Leaves

4 Spoon Pudina

4 Garlic Cloves

Salt

Oil

Method

• Soak harbara daal overnight.
• In the morning, in the mixer grind the daal, green chillies, garlic cloves, coriander leaves, pudina and salt together into fine paste.
• For Vada: Fry them by dropping spoonful of batter into the hot oil, brown on both sides over medium heat
• For Dosa: Mix in water to thin it out, drop it on greased pan and spread it. Cook till both of sides till brown.

Notes

If you are going to make vadas, its better to make them immediately after making the batter otherwise they might get oily. That was another reason I made dosas in the evening when i had batter left from the morning.