Baby Potatoes and Egg Biryani

I got this biryani recipe from the blog The Chef and her Kitchen. This was my first attempt to make a vegetable biryani and I should say I have never tasted such a delicious veg based biryani before. The taste is at par with any non vegetarian biryani. The first time I made it only with potatoes. Second time I made it for Milo’s birthday and I thought of putting eggs into it.

I also modified the recipe slightly and have used mint leaves and garlic. This is going to be a regular dish for guests at my place now.

The original recipe can be forum her –  http://thechefandherkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/baby-potato-biriyaniideal-for-parties.html

Thanks to Prathibha of  The Chef and her Kitchen.

Ingredients-

3.5 cup Basmati rice,

30 baby potatoes,

4 boiled eggs,

4 big onions, thinly sliced,

1 cup fresh curds,

4 cups tomato juice,

3 cup water,

1 tsp garam masala powder,

1 cup freshly cut coriander leaves,

15 to 20 mint leaves,

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnish,

 4 cloves,

1″ cinnamon,

2 to 3 cardamoms,

1 bay leaf,

Salt to taste ,

Oil to deep fry

To roast and grind-

 3 tsp coriander seeds,

 16 dry red chilies,

 6 tbsp grated dry coconut,

 5 green chilies,

 2″ ginger chopped,

 12 cloves of garlic ,

1/2 tsp oil

Method-

 Wash basmati rice and soak in water for 30 minutes.

In a vessel boil 3 cups water and 4 cups tomato juice.

Add salt and whole garam masalas (cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms and bay leaf). Add drained rice. Cover and cook till water is drained.

Fluff up the rice with fork and spread on a plate and cool the rice completely.

Grind washed coriander leaves and mint leaves to a fine paste.

Beat the curds properly and add the ground paste to it and mix well.

Heat 1/2 tsp oil and add coriander seeds, red chilies and fry until they change their color and add grated coconut and fry slightly.

Cool these ingredients and grind along with green chilies, garlic and chopped ginger to a fine paste.

Pressure cook baby potatoes for 2 whistle. After the pressure goes down remove them and let them cool. Peel off the skins.

Heat oil in a deep heavy pan and deep fry them over medium flame until they are golden brown in color.

Drain them on a kitchen towel and keep them aside.

Peel eggs and make 4 deep vertical cuts.

Fry them in oil and keep side.

Also deep fry thinly sliced onions until they are crisp and golden brown in color.

Remove them and drain off excess oil in a kitchen towel and keep them aside.

Take 2 tbsp of oil from the pan and pour into another wide pan and add ground masala paste and fry well until the raw smell goes away.

Add baby potatoes, eggs and half of the fried onions to it and mix well until the masala coats all the potatoes.

Mix in the garam masala powder.

Reduce the flame and add curds (mixed with coriander and mint leaves paste) and also add cooled cooked rice and salt.

Mix everything well and cover it and cook over low flame for 5-6 minutes.

Remove the lid and mix everything properly.

Add remaining fried onions and switch off the flame.

Serve hot.

Tomato Chutney

 

This is a good accompaniment for people like Milo who do not like much of coconut in their food. Use ripe red tomatoes and a little more of green chilies to make it spicy. It can be served with anything – rice, chapattis, dosa, idly, snacks…

Ingredients-

4 large ripe tomatoes,

1 small onion,

4 garlic pods,

2 green chilies,

½ tsp cumin seeds,

½ tsp mustard seeds,

5 curry leaves,

1 red chili,

Salt to taste,

2 tsp oil

Method-

Heat 1 tsp oil, splutter cumin seeds and fry green chilies, garlic for half a minute.

Fry roughly chopped onion for half a minute and add roughly chopped tomatoes.

Add salt, cover and cook till tomatoes are soft and mushy.

Once cooled grind it to a smooth paste. Add 1 to 2 tsp water if required.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds, add curry laves and dry red chilly.

Mix in the tomato paste and adjust salt.

Serve with dosa/idli or chapattis.

Oats Dosa

Oats are supposed to be good for health. If you are fed up of eating oats kanji then try out this dosa. Add lots of green chilies to it to overcome the blend taste of oats. These dosas keep you full for a longer time. It’s simple to make but takes a little more time to cook as compared to urad dal dosa. Serve it with some spicy tangy tomato chutney.

Ingredients-

2 cups powdered oats,

3/4^th cup rice flour,

½ cup fine semolina (Rava),

1 small onion finely chopped,

2 green chilies finely chopped,

1/4^th  cup freshly cut coriander leaves,

8 to 10 finely cut curry leaves,

Salt to taste,

Water,

Oil

 Method- 

Mix all the ingredients except oil, Adjust water and make the batter like dosa batter consistency. Allow it to stand for half and hour.

Heat a griddle, drizzle little oil and pour a ladle full of the batter and spread gently. Cover with a lid for 2 to 3 minutes.

Flip the dosa on the other side and let it cook without the lid for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with tomato chutney.

Jeera Biscuits

As much as I love to bake cakes, Milo loves to bake cookies and biscuits. One day we were returning home from office a little early. The thought of baking some healthy biscuits came to his mind. He didn’t want to use all purpose flour and sugar in them. So he asked me to search the net for cumin (jeera) biscuits from his cell. I got the Bong Mom’s Cookbook link as the first link and I noted down the ingredients. I didn’t want to search more as I am not very comfortable to surf the net on a cell phone that too in a moving car.

He made these biscuits as per the recipe given here. There were delicious I should say.

With the increasing demand from my MIL and me he made it again but with 3 more different flavors –Ajwain, cinnamon-honey and Kasoori Methi. The Kasoori Methi ones tasted very nice just like mattri’s. They were just too good.

Thanks Bong Mom for the recipe.

Mushroom Masala

I get to learn many recipes from Supriya – my colleague and friend. Many a times she gets tasty food in her lunch box which we all relish. We both often discuss about food and what new dishes to prepare on the weekends. This recipe was given to me by her and I have prepared it N number of times.

It tastes very nice just like any restaurant dish. Thanks Supriya for your recipe.

 Ingredients- 

1 pkt button mushrooms (12 to 15 pieces) cut into pieces,

2 medium sized onion cut lengthwise,

1 small tomato,

1 tsp sahi jeera,

1 bay leaf,

½ tsp garam masala powder,

Salt to taste,

3 to 4 tsp cream (optional)

3 tsp oil

Grind to a fine paste the following –

5 cloves of garlic,

1” ginger,

2 green chilies,

1 tsp chopped coriander leaves,

1 tsp roasted poppy seeds,

½ tsp roasted badishep,

1 tsp roasted coriander seeds,

2 cloves,

2 pepper,

1 small piece of cinnamon,

8 cashew nuts,

½ tsp fresh/frozen grated coconut

 Method-

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, crackle sahi jeera and fry bay leaf.

Now fry onion till golden brown. (Approx 5 minutes).

Put the ground paste in the fried onions and fry for another 4 to 5 minutes.

Now put the mushrooms, tomato and garam masala. Season with salt.

Cover the pan and let it cook till mushrooms are done.

Now mix in the cream and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot with roti/naan.

Soya Paneer Masala

I had an opened pack of fresh cream that I had to use in 3 days. Luckily I also had paneer in the fridge which I had brought to use in mushroom masala (recipe to follow soon) but forgot to use it. So to use and finish both the items, I made this Soya Paneer Masala with a flavor of kasoori methi in it. It tasted good.

 

Ingredients- 

200 gms paneer cut into cubes,

12 to 15 soaked and boiled soya nuggets cut into fine pieces,

2 tsp kasoori methi,

3 big onions chopped length wise,

3 big tomatoes boiled and pureed,

8 to 9 garlic flakes,

A piece of ginger,

3 to 4tsp fresh cream (I used Amul cream),

1 tsp sahi jeera,

2 tsp red chili powder,

2 tsp garam masala powder,

¼ tsp turmeric powder,

Salt to taste,

Coriander leaves for garnishing,

Oil

Method- 

Heat oil in a wok and splutter sahi jeera. Add onions, ginger and garlic and fry till onions are golden brown.

Grind this to a fine paste with chili powder, garam masala powder, haldi powder and little water. 

Heat a little oil and fry this ground masala till oil separates. Add tomato puree and continue stirring.

Add salt and a little water and bring it to a gravy like consistency.

Add soya nuggets and paneer. Cover the lid and let it cook.

Now add milk cream and crushed kasoori methi (lightly roast kasoori methi in a small pan).

Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with naans.

Khichadi

I try to give my daughter a taste of everything. She eats plain dal rice with little ghee for dinner. For a change I prepare this khichadi for her. I add a pinch of garam masala powder to this just for her to develop the taste. You can gradually increase the quantity of garam masala depending on how much your child can handle. Once it is cooked I mash it up well with a spoon and feed her. If your child can chew food well then no need to mash it up and also you can reduce the water and make it little grainy. I started giving this to her when she was 8 months old. You can add all different types of vegetables to it to make it more nutritious.

Ingredients –

3 tsp rice,

1.5 tsp moong dal,

1 tsp finely chopped onion,

1.5 tsp finely chopped tomato,

1 french bean finely chopped,

 1 very small piece of carrot finely chopped,

3 to 4 fresh or frozen green peas,

5 to 6 seeds of cumin,

Small pinch of hing,

Small pinch of turmeric,

Small pinch of garam masala powder,

½ tsp ghee,

Salt to taste,

½ cup water (4 times the quantity of rice).

Method –

Wash and drain rice and dal.

Heat ghee and fry cumin seeds.

Add onion, tomato and all the vegetables, hing, turmeric, garam masala powder.

Stir for a few seconds and mix the washed rice and dal with these vegetables. Add water and salt. Stir well.

Keep this utensil in the cooker and let it cook for 2 whistles.

Vegetable khichadi (Vegetable Pongal)

A very mild comfort food is this simple khichadi. Very simple and quick to cook. I picked up this recipe from Aayis Recipe and did some minor changes – I added onion, tomatoes and moong to it. Serve with papad and yogurt. Again, thanks to Shilpa of Aayis Recipe.

Jackfruit Seeds and Drumsticks Sambar

A delicious sambar tried from spicytasty site. I followed the recipe as it is and only added brinjal to it. It goes well with rice, dosas and idlis. Thanks to spicytasty for this recipe.

Moist Chocolate Cake (Eggless)

It was my FIL’s 60^th birthday on 10^th June. I baked 2 of these cakes of which one was iced (See picture below). This is a very moist, soft, chocolaty cake from Aayis Recipe. It exactly tastes like the chocolate cake from Café Central of Panaji – Goa. It’s very easy to make and does not take much time. Just follow the recipe to the T. The only modification I did to this was I increased the coco powder to get extra chocolate taste. I used 6 tbsp for 1.5 cups all purpose flour. This cake was baked at 175 degree centigrade for 20 minutes. A must try cake recipe if you like chocolates. Thanks a lot to Shilpa of Aayis Recipe.

This icing was done by Milo and my MIL. We used Blue Bird ready whipping cream for the white icing and Pillsbury chocolate icing.