Madras Chicken Biryani

Who wouldn’t love this plate of goodness for a meal?

There are many different methods of biryani preparations in various parts of India. At my place (Chennai), mostly all the families make biryani in pressure cooker. I think this is the fastest method of doing biryani.

This is the way we do it back at our home town in Chennai. After marriage and coming here I have tried doing some other types of biryanies, such as dum biryani, biryani in rice cooker etc… among all these biryanies this pressure cooker method is pulled together very fast….


Taking a Break:
I am going on a vacation to India for 2 months.... A lot of things are going around... packing and stuff....So will not be able to post and comment regularly. Till then enjoy blogging.... Bye....

I am sending this recipe to Ayeesha of  "Taste of pearl city" for the event  Iftar Moments Hijri 1431

Ingredients : 

Chicken - 1 lb (cut into small pieces)
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1 big size (cut lengthwise)
Tomato - 1 medium size (cut into cubes)
Green chills - 2 (cut lengthwise)
Fresh ginger garlic paste - 2 tablespoon
Fresh mint leaves - ½ cup packed
Red chili powder - ¼ teaspoon (my chili powder in very hot)
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Salt
Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon or yogurt - 1 tablespoon
Saffron - 1 pinch - (Soak saffron in 2 teaspoon of hot milk)

For Tadka:
Oil - 2 tablespoon
Cardamom - 4
Clove - 2 to 3
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Star anise - 1
Mace - 1
Bay leaves - 2 big

Procedure : 

Wash the basmati rice and soak for not more than 10 minutes.

In a pressure cooker heat the oil in medium heat. Then add all the Tadka ingredients except the bay leaves. After they splutter add the bay leaves.

Then add the onions, tomato and green chilies and saute them. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute it for some time. Through in the mint leaves.

Now put the chicken with red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt and fry for some time. All the masala should be mixed on the chicken peaces.

In the mean while heat ghee on a frying pan and add the soaked rice.(strain the water, It should not have any water while frying). Fry the rice for 2 minutes or until all the rice is heated up. (Do not over fry the rice)

The chicken in the pressure cooker should be cooked almost 75%. Now measure exactly 2 cups of water and pour it to the cooker and let it boil. To the boiling water add the fried rice and squeeze the lemon juice. Taste the water for seasoning.

Now close the pressure cooker and increase the heat to high. Allow the cooker to give one whistle sound. Then turn off the stove. If it is a electric burner stove, after u get one whistle from the pressure cooker immediately move the cooker to another cooler burner.(this is because that we all know that the electric burner will be burning hot after we switch it off also).

Now wait until the presser is fully shut off from the cooker.(This will take some time) Then open the cooker and pour the saffron milk in different places on top the biryani (so that when u toss the rice, some rice will be orange in color and the rest will be yellow because of the turmeric powder).

Carefully toss the biryani without the breaking the rice too much and serve it hot with raita….


You may also like my:

                                


         

Tex Mex Sundae

Sundae!..... Sundae!..... Sundae!.....Yes!….... Its time to celebrate

I am happy to inform that I won the CSN 60$ give away from Jayashree’s. bog…. Thank u Jayashree for giving me this opportunity…….

This is a cool recipe with a Mexican hint in it. I got this recipe from Food network…. Yes!… This is Paula Deen’s recipe. Hope many of you’ll have seen this show in TV. I have made some changes to the original recipe. This is so quick to put together. Tasted good and fun to make it…

I am sending this recipe to DK's event A.W.E.D. Priya of "Mharo Rajasthan Recipes" is hosting this month's A.W.E.D for the theme Spain. All the best Priya....

Ingredients :

Flour Tortilla - 1
Sugar - ¼ cup
Cinnamon - 2 teaspoon
Vanilla ice cream - 3 scoop
Chocolate chips - ¼ cup
Maraschino Cherries for decoration
Oil for frying

Procedure : 

Cut 3 inch circles from the flour tortilla. (I got 3 circles in a 10 inch tortilla).

Deep fry the tortillas until golden brown.

In the mean while toss sugar and cinnamon together and set it aside. Now dip the fried tortillas into the cinnamon sugar while the tortillas are still hot.

Now melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. While the chocolate is completely melted add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and mix it well, Oil gives nice shine to the chocolate.

Now it is assembly time…… Place the sugar dipped tortilla round on a plate. Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Next drizzle the melted chocolate over the ice cream. And finally top it with a maraschino cherry.

You may also like my:

            

Chicken Empanadas with Chimichurri

Hola!!!!… Going Mexican today…..

These are one of the best horderves for any kind of party. Many time I have had these spicy empanadas at my local Mexican grocery stores and wanted to make it at home. One great thing making at home is the spices and flavors can be adjusted according to my wish.

Another good news about these empanadas is they have been baked. Mostly the store bought ones will be deep fried, which I find is a bit greasy for me. I have made it bold in flavors and spices. They taste even better with the Chimichurri.

Chimichurri is a sauce served at room temperature with empanadas. They are tangy and packed with the flavors of parsley and cilantro. I think Chimichurri is a good combination for empanada as they are light and clean.

Ingredients :

Mexican grilled chicken - 1 cup finely diced (recipe follows)
Pie crust - 2 sheets
Red bell peppers - ½ cup finely chopped
Grilled corn or frozen corn - ¼ cup
Mexican cheese blend - 1 cup
Cream cheese - 4 ounce Soften
Southwest chipotle seasoning - ½ teaspoon
Jalapenos - 1 seeds removed or 3 Thai green chilies
Cilantro leaves - ¼ cup finely chopped
1 Egg for egg wash
Salt


Procedure : 

In a large bowl mix the diced chicken, red bell pepper, corn, cheeses jalapenos, seasoning and cilantro. Mix them well until the cream cheese mixes well with the whole mixture.

Defrost the pie crust overnight in the refrigerator or according to the packet instructions.
Flour the surface generously with flour and unroll the pie crust and cut 3 inch circles. Re-roll the pie crust and cut more circles as needed. Make sure all the circles are in even thickness. In the meanwhile wisk 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water for egg wash.

Now place around 1 teaspoon of chicken filling on the pie crust circle. Lightly brush the edges with little water.

Now fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal and form fluted edge. Repeat the same with all other circles.

Place these empanadas in a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush them with the egg wash. and bake it for 20 mins or until the tops are golden brown in color.

Mexican grilled chicken:

Boneless and skinless chicken thighs - 2 lbs
Lime juice - 2 tablespoon,mm
Southwest chipotle seasoning - 1 tablespoon
Salt and pepper

Marinade the chicken with the above ingredients for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Grill the chicken either in a grill pan or in the 350 degree oven. (I did it in my grill pan) Let it cool and dice them finely.

Chimichurri:

Parsley - 1 handful
Cilantro - 1 handful
Oregano - 1 teaspoon (I used ½ teaspoon dried one)
Red pepper flakes - ¼ teaspoon
Lime juice - 2 tablespoon
Garlic - 1 clove
Olive oil - 2 tablespoon
Salt and pepper

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse it. Little water can be added if needed. So not make it as a fine paste, little specks of cilantro and parsley is fine.


You may also like my:

           

Carrot Orange Juice

Looking something healthy!!!!!!

Whenever I make this drink, I used to think it’s really worth investing on the fruit and vegetable juicer. The makes vegetable juices in a breeze… Don’t have a juicer!!!…. No worries…… the regular blender will do the job for u with the same taste and freshness of the vegetable. (Read the recipe procedure)

This is a cool and refreshing drink suitable for a hot summer day with all the goodness of the vegetable but in the sweet taste of the fruit. Kids love this too.

I am sending this recipe to this months Healing food event. Suma Gandlur of Veggie Platter is hosting this months event for the theme "Carrots". All the best Suma....

Ingredients :

Carrots - 2 large pealed and cubed
Oranges - 2 peeled

Procedure : 

In Juicers: Add the carrots and oranges and extract the juice and enjoy.

In Blender: Add the carrots (dice it finely for blender) and oranges with some water and process the blender until the carrots are almost pureed. Now strain the juice through a fine strainer and enjoy.

You may also like my:

                      

Coffee Mousse In Chocolate Cups

This is a cool and light dessert perfect to have after a lovely meal....

Coffee ice cream is my all time favorite one. So when ever we go to my favorite creamery near my house I used to order the coffee sundae. They mix-up salted almonds, toffee and caramel sauce to coffee ice cream. YUM! YUM!

So the whole idea of this dessert came from this ice cream flavors. We loved this a lot. It was not heavy to the tummy but yet very satisfying.

I have used candy melts to make the chocolate cups. Regular chocolate chips can also be used to make these cups. Candy melts are really very good for making some cute candies and dessert out of it. They hold the shape very well.

Ingredients :

Milk Chocolate Candy Melts - ½ cup
Heavy whipping cream - ½ cup
Instant coffee powder - ½ to 1 teaspoon according to our taste
Salted almonds - few
Toffee bits - 2 tablespoon
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Vanilla - ½ teaspoon

Procedure : 

Melt the candy melts according to the packet instruction. Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners. Using a small brush, coat the cupcake liners with melted candy melts. Make a thick coating. Refrigerate this for few hours. I kept it for overnight.

Now remove the cupcake liners slowly with out breaking the Candy Melts coating.

In the meanwhile start whipping up the cream. Add coffee powder, sugar and vanilla and whip the cream until stiff peaks are formed.

Next gently fold the chopped salted almonds and toffee bits to the coffee mousse. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (airtight) and refrigerate until served.

For assembling this dessert, Place the chocolate cup on a plate and pipe the coffee mousse into the cup.

You may also like my:

                                

            

Watermelon Granita

My watermelon granita is a sweet and fluffy ice crystals that melts in our mouth giving a cool and refreshing feel.

This is one my favorite low fat dessert to enjoy any time of the day. Love to have granita ready in my freezer, so that I can gulp a spoonful when ever I need something cool and sweet.

Once the watermelon is cut and the left over are stored in the refrigerator for few days, the fruit will loose some of its sweetness. Or some times the fresh watermelon by itself will be little bland in taste, granita and watermelon juic are the best way to use up these watermelons.

Ingredients :

Watermelon chunks (seedless) - 5 cups
Sugar - 2 tablespoons or less depends upon the sweetness of the fruit.
Lemon juice - 2 teaspoon

Procedure : 

Puree the watermelon chunks and strain the pulp. Mix sugar and lemon juice to the watermelon juice. Taste the juice for sugar.

Now pour the juice into a wide bottom pan and freezer for an hour. Now remove the pan from the freezer and with the fork scrape the ice crystals. It will be like a shush at this stage. Return the bowl to the freezer and again in one hour scrape it again. Scrape totally for 3 times for every 1 hour. At the end of 3 to 4 hours the slush will look like flavored shaved ice. Now scoop the ice in serving cups.

You may also like my:

                                

   

Chilli Cheese Toast

Who wouldn’t like a hot, bubbly and gooey chilli cheese toast for the snack time??

This is one my favorite snack right from my collage days. We used to have this toast as a sandwich in our college canteen. It was baked in the sandwich maker. Almost everyday day evening me with my dear friends used to have a lot of chit chat with this toast.

Nowadays I started doing it as a open faced sandwich. It is so fast and easy to make with the broiler oven. Love to have this toast hot with ketchup any time of the day. They are great as party snackers also. For parties I make it in a small bite size toast…..............

This is going to Mansi of Fun And Food Cafe. For the event "Magic Bullet Giveaway".

Ingredients :

Thick Bread Slices - 5 (I used ciabatta but baguette would also work good)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese - 1 cup
Green Bell Pepper - 1 small (De-seeded and diced)
Thai hot green chilli - 2 (Finely minced)
Salt and Pepper

Procedure : 

Preheat the oven to broil mode. Low setting is fine…

In a bowl mix together all the above ingredients except the bread slices. The cheese should be a little mashed.

Now spread the cheese mixture generously on the bread slices. Line them on a cookie sheet and place it on the top rack of the oven.

Let the cheese melt and become bubbly. Remove and serve with ketchup.

You may also like my:

                   

Plum Swirled Pops

This is a low fat ice pop recipe for this hot summer.

Last Sunday, while shopping I found some fresh plums at my local grocery store. So I immediately garbed some and that have transformed into these pops. We loved it so much for both its taste as well as its healthy too.

This is going to Yasmeen of Health Nut.For the event "I scream for Ice cream challenge".

Ingredients :

Plums - 5 (I used both Black and red plums)
Sugar - 2 tablespoon (Depends upon the tartness of the fruit)
Low Fat Sweetened Vanilla yogurt- 1 cup

Procedure : 

Place plums in a blender. Make a puree. Add sugar and blend it well. Pass the mixture through a sieve and strain. Collect the plum juice.

Now layer each ice pop mold with yogurt and plum puree. Start with plum pure and end with plum puree. Next with a skewer make swirl and mix yogurt and plum together.(Don’t mix completely, the white and red color should be seen)

Insert the popsicle stick and freeze it for more than 5 hours. So when needed, run the mould under some warm water and slowly release the pops from mould and enjoy….

You may also like my:

                                

 

Tropical Smoothie

This is a cool, refreshing and power packed smoothie not only for breakfast but good for any time of the day.

There are many combination flavors in tropical smoothies. This is one of my favorite. Most of the days in summer this my breakfast. This is so energetic and good for health. BTW they are good for skin nourishment.

I am sending this recipe to Show Me Your Smoothie event. Divya of "Dil se" is hosting this event. All the best Divya......

Ingredients :

Pineapple - ½ cup
Mango - ½ cup
Papaya - ½ cup
Low fat yogurt - 1 cup or more
Ice cubes - ½ cup
Sugar - 1 to 2 tablespoon

Procedure : 

Add all the above ingredients into a blender and blend until every thing smooth and silky. Taste it and adjust the sweetness.

You may also like my: