Badam Elachie Shrikand

This month marathon begins with desserts chosen from a given list. This list has so many desserts that it was really difficult to choose exactly what I wanted to do. I have already posted a Shrikand recipe Mango Shrikand/ Amarkand. But when this was there on list I instantly first choose this as this is my hubby's favorite.

Shrikand is classic Indian desert and also a part of the Gujarati thali. It is generally served with the puri or khajli. It is one of the prime sweet delicacies from the Gujarati and Maharastrian Cuisines. It's a semi solid softy Shrikand. Shrikand is eaten as a side-dish or as a dessert.

Made using whole milk hung curd, cream and sugar. Shrikand has a sweet flavour with a rich, creamy texture.

Ingredients

500 ML Full Cream Milk
1 Tablespoon Curds
1/2 Teaspoon Cardamon powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder
3 Tablespoons Sugar powdered
2 Tablespoons Badam/Almond -  finely chopped

Method

Heat the milk till just lightly warm. Remove from heat add the curds and mix well, keep this to set. When set take a cheese cloth, pour the curds into it and strain the curds. Keep this cloth in the fridge in a sieve for all the excess water to drain or else the curds will turn sour. You can keep it for 3 - 4 hours or even overnight.

Place this in a blender with the sugar and pulse it 3 times add the elachie and nutmeg powder and again pulse it 3 times. Remove it in a serving bowl, add the badam/ almond pieces and keep to it the fridge till cold ( 3 hours). Serve chilled and enjoy !!!.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49


Labels: Sweets & Desserts, Blogging Marathon 

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Mango Shrikand/ Amarkand

Kacche Mutton Dum Biryani - Bangalore Style

This biryani does not have much spices, just chopprized green masala and rest is prepared in a breeze. My guest were surprised to know that this does not have spices which is a must for biryani. This biryani has an awesome taste and is ready in flat 30 minutes.

Ingredients

750 Grams Mutton - biryani cut
1 Tablespoon Papaya paste or Meat Tenderizer
1 Tablespoon + 2 Tablespoon Ginger-Garlic paste
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Cup Coriander leaves - chopprized
8-10 Green chilies - chopprized
Mint leaves / Podina a handful - chopprized
500 Grams Yogurt
1 Cup Milk
¼ Teaspoon Saffron
½ Cup Oil
1 Cup Fried Onions
4 Nos Potatoes - Chopped into fours
A pinch Turmeric
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg powder
1 Tablespoon Roasted Cumin powder

Juice of a lemon
500 Grams Basmati Rice - washed and soaked
Whole Spices:

6 Cloves
2 sticks Cinnamon
2 Badi Elachie / Brown Cardamon
2 Green Cardamon
8 Peppercorns

Method

Marinate mutton with a tablespoon ginger garlic, 2 tablespoons curd, salt and papaya, mix well,  leave it over night in fridge.

Soak rice for 30 minutes, then boil rice with salt, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamons and badi elachie till half (50%) done and keep aside.
Heat oil,  fry potatoes and keep aside.

Heat oil in thick bottomed vessel and add marinated mutton, chopprized  green masala and garam masala, remaining ginger garlic and yogurt with haldi and cumin powder, and bring it to a slight boil, stir lightly. Sprinkle on top, ½ fried onions and arrange the fried potatoes ( see that this point you to do stir the mixture ).  Cover with a lid and leave it on high flame for 5 minutes.  Then without stirring gently place on the top boiled rice.   Sprinkle milk with saffron, juice of lemon, nutmeg powder and the remaining fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves on top.

Seal with aluminium foil and keep it on a heated griddle / tawa.  Leave it on high flame for 10 minutes and then put it on dum / low flame for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes your biryani is ready.

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Biryani.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#48


Labels: Biryani, Blogging Marathon, Rice

Making Crispy Deep-Fried Onions / Birista

If you are familiar with Indian food, you have eaten their birista (bah-REES-tah): thinly-sliced crispy, golden, deep-fried onions. They are eaten as a snack and used as an additive to, or a topper for, delectable dishes like biryani, curries, steamed rice, mashed potato filling, soups, salads, sandwiches, grilled meats, meat patties and savory breads.
These onions are full of flavor and enhance the dish to a great extent.   So lets make it ......

Ingredients

4 Large Onions - peeled

Oil for deep frying

Method

Cut onions into thin slices, and keep them to dry spread on a sheet for an hour at least.  Then using your fingertips just separate them.

After an hour,  heat oil  deep fry pan or kadai, heat it on medium flame, place a handful of them at a time in it.

Using your fingertips, sprinkle a little, don't dump all at once the sliced onions into the hot oil.

Using a long-handled fork,  give the onions a quick stir to make sure they are separated.

After three minutes, during the cooking process, they will look like this, just beginning to show signs of browning.

Give the onions another quick stir with the fork to, once again, make sure they are staying separated.

Continue to fry, another 3 minutes.  They will look like this photo: golden brown with white centers.

Stir onions one last time and when you find this light golden brown color remove them with a slotted spoon on to a absorbent paper ( do wait till they are very dark brown or else they will have a burnt taste). Repeat the process until all onions are deep-fried. 

Cool at least 1 hour before serving.

They stay good if kept in the deep freezer for months.

Labels : Rice, Vegetarian, Onion, Fried Onions, Biryani, Birista

Nauratan Biryani

This called Nauratan Biryani because there are nine vegetables and all full of nutrition. Even though in this Biryani there are leafy veggies, it taste awesome. My hubby and daughter do not like to eat leafy veggies, so I did not tell them any thing till they finished their lunch. When I, revealed that this has more of leafy veggies they were surprised and said that this taste really awesome. We had this for our dinner too and really enjoyed it.

Ingredients
1/2 Kg  Basmati Rice 

4 Cloves

4 Peppercorns

2 Sticks Cinnamon

2 Badi Elachie
1 Cup Spinach - finely chopped
1 Cup Methi - finely chopped
1/2 Cup Lal Math / Red Chawli leves - chopped
1/2 Cup Soya / Dill Leaves - finely chopped
1/2 Cup Barik Methi - finely chopped
1 Cup Peas
2 Carrots - cubed
12 French beans - cut in big bits
4 Large Tomatoes - sliced
2 Large Onion - Finely sliced
2 Teaspoons heaped Ginger - Garlic paste
3 Teaspoons Chilly powder
1.1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon heaped Roasted Cumin powder
2 Teaspoon heaped Coriander powder
1 Teaspoon Kewra water
1/2 Cup Milk
A pinch yellow color
1/2 Cup Oil

Method

Soak rice for 30 minutes, then boil rice with salt, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon and badi elachie till 80% done and keep aside.

Mix the yellow color and kewra water in the milk, keep aside
In a vessel heat oil add the barik methi and fry for 2 minutes.  Then add the onions, fry till light brown.  Add the sliced tomatoes and when soft then add ginger-garlic paste and all powder masalas,  salt and little water and let it cook till oil leaves then add all the veggies and fry well.  Cover and cook till they are done. Switch off the flame.

Grease another thick bottom vessel add 1/2  the quantity of rice, then add the veggies,  then  the remaining rice, Sprinkle the milk, about 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee , seal this with an aluminium foil or a tight lid.  Place this on a heated girdle or tawa first 5 minutes on high flame, then reduce the flame to low and keep it for 15 minutes. The Biryani is ready, serve this Boondhi Raita.

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Biryani.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#48.

Labels: Biryani, Blogging Marathon, Rice

Veg Biryani

I prepared this Veg Biryani, for our Christmas Lunch and our guest enjoyed the biryani.  This is very easy and quick to prepare.  If you chop the veggies and keep  ready, the rest are all ingredients that at there in the kitchen. 

Ingredients

750 Grams Rice
3 Potatoes - cut into large pieces
1 Cup Yogurt
8 Nos. Alu Bukhara / Dried Apricots
1 Large Capsicum - cut in large cubes
1/2 Cup Soya / Dill Leaves - finely chopped
1/2 Cup Barik Methi - finely chopped
1 Cup Peas
2 Carrots - cubed
1 Cup French beans - cut in big bits
4 Large Tomatoes - sliced
1 Cup Onions brown - fried onions
1 Tablespoon Ginger - Garlic paste
3 Teaspoons Chilly powder
1.1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon Garam Masala powder
2 Teaspoon heaped Coriander powder
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Zaffron / Saffron
3/4 Cup Oil

For the Carrot Raita

2 Cups thick curds - slightly drained

2 Large Carrots - grated

1 Green chilly - finely chopped

1 Teaspoon Dill/ Soya 

1 Teaspoon Coriander - finely chopped

Method

Soak rice for 30 minutes,  then boil rice with salt till 80% done and keep aside.

Add chilly, turmeric,  and coriander powder in the yogurt and mix well, keep aside.

Mix saffron in milk ¾ cup.

Heat oil add barik methi and fry then add ginger- garlic paste fry well then add the tomatoes, stir fry for  a minutes, cover and cook till they are soft and mushy.  Then add the potatoes and fry,  then add masala mix yogurt and fry well.  Then add fried onions only half the quantity keep the other half for the rice. Then add the beans, carrots, peas and fry well, cover and cook till veggies are nearly done,  add alu bhukara, dill, the capsicum mix well, cover and cook till potatoes are done. Lastly add the garam masala stir and switch off the flame.

 In heavy bottom vessel add 2 tablespoons oil and ¼ cup water grease the pan well then add 1/2 the quantity of rice then all vegetable with gravy then again rice, sprinkle fried onions, the milk with saffron. Cover and keep on dum on griddle first on high flame for 10 minutes, then reduce the flame to medium low and cook for 15 minutes.  Serve hot with carrot raita.

For the Raita - Mix all the ingredients and serve chilled with the Biryani.

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Biryani.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#48

Labels: Biryani, Blogging Marathon, Rice, Vegetarian, Apricots, Dill, Barik Methi, French Beans, Carrot, Raita, Capsicum