Tangdi Masala Curry

Cooking Time: 15 mins                  Servings: 3
Preparation Time: 30 mins            Category: Non-Veg


Tangdi means leg of a chicken. They are mostly famous for tandoori Tangdi Kebabs and are also served in regular chicken biryani. So, I thought why not use only chicken legs and prepare a yummy curry that can be served during the main course.

Here goes the recipe:-

Ingredients
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Tangdi Masala Curry

Chicken legs/Tangdi - 6 pieces
Onions - 2 (chopped)
Green Chillies - 3
Garlic cloves - about 5
Ginger - 50 gms chopped
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Coriander - 100 gms
Pudina/Mint leaves - 50 gms
Lime juice - 3 tsp
Salt - to taste
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Shahi jeera - 1 tsp
Refined Oil - 2 table spoons
Ghee - 1 table spoon
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Marination
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• Wash the chicken legs cleanly and keep it in a bowl. Slightly slit the flesh parts as this helps to absorb the marination.
• Add 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp chilli powder and lime juice. Mix everything properly and keep the marinated chicken legs aside for about 10 mins.

Preparation

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• Heat a pan and then add onions and char them a little on medium flame for about 5 mins. Then add green chillies and char them as well. Once done, keep them aside.
• Now add garlic cloves, ginger, shahi jeera and char them for 2 mins on high flame.
• Take all the chared ingredients along with coriander and mint leaves in a blender and blend them to a paste.
• Heat refined oil in a kadai and then add marinated chicken legs. Cook them for about 15 mins on high flame. Keep mixing them well at regular intervals.
• Add the masala paste to it and stir well. Cover the kadai and cook it for another 10 mins on medium flame.
• Open the lid and add 2 medium cups of water, salt to taste (rem we already added 1 tsp of salt for marination), 1 tsp of lime juice and cook it for 10 more minutes on medium flame. Later, add garam masala and mix it well.Turn off the stove.
• Now add 1 table spoon of ghee to the curry.
• Garnish with sliced onions and coriander.
• Serve hot with plain rice/jeera rice/ghee rice/fried rice, roti/phulka/chapati/dosa.

Tawa Paneer Sticks

Cooking Time: 20 mins                            Servings: 3
Preparation Time: 10 mins                      Category: Veg

Paneer is a fresh cheese common in South Asian cuisine. It is of Indian origin. In eastern parts of India, it is generally called Chhena. It is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese or curd cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice, vinegar, or any other food acids. Unlike most cheeses in the world, the making of paneer does not involve rennet as the coagulation agent, thus making it completely lacto-vegetarian and providing one of the sources of protein for vegetarians in India. It is generally unsalted.

To prepare paneer, food acid (usually lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid or yogurt) is added to hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are drained in muslin or cheesecloth and the excess water is pressed out. The resulting paneer is dipped in chilled water for 2–3 hours to give it a good texture and appearance.

Now lets see how Paneer can be used in preparing a starter called Tawa Paneer Sticks.

Tawa Paneer sticks

Ingredients:
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Paneer - 250 gms
Onions - 2 (cut in cubes)
Green Chillies - 5
Garlic cloves - 4
Ginger - cut into small pieces not more than a tea spoon
Turmeric - 1/2 tea spoon
Salt - to taste.
Coriander/Cilentro - 1
Pudina/Mint leaves - 8 to 10
Olive oil/Refined oil - 1 table spoon

Preparation:

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• Cut paneer into small rectangular pieces.
• Char onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger separately on a pan for 5 mins on low flame.
• Take all these into the blender and add turmeric, salt, coriander and mint leaves and blend them to a fine paste.
• Marinate paneer pieces with this paste for about 15 mins.
• Heat a pan/tawa and 1 tea spn of olive oil. Once it is heated, add 4 to 5 paneer sticks and roast them until they are cooked.
• Repeat the process for remaining paneer pieces.
• Serve it hot with chopped onions, lime and curd chutney.

PS:- Paneer can be replaced with potatoes or soft chicken breast or fish. The prepartion time may vary when they are used.

Shrimp(Prawn) Biriyani - Hyderabadi Style

Cooking Time:        1 Hrs                             Servings:  6
Preparation Time:  2-3 Hrs                          Category: Non-Veg

Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word berya which means "fried" or "roasted". For a non-vegetarian biryani, the main ingredient that accompanies the spices is the meat—beef, chicken, goat, lamb, fish or shrimp. The dish may be served with dahi chutney or Raita, korma, curry, or boiled egg and salad.

One of the most famous varieties of Biryani in India is Hyderabadi biryani. It is savored in all parts of India and forms an integral part of Indian cuisine.The Nizam's kitchen boasted of 49 kinds, which included biryani made from fish, quail, shrimp, deer and hare. The most famous of all, Hyderabadi Biryani is called the "Kacchi Yeqni" Biryani as both the marinated meat and the rice are cooked together. Biryani had not been a widespread dish in the North India until recently. North India has been making variants of Pullao as traditional main course dish. I have been to many restaurants in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kerala and other parts of Tamil Nadu. People often mistake pullao as biryani in these places and I feel they are being cheated by some restaurants as they serve pullao instead of original biryani.
The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao may be made by cooking the items together, biryani is used to denote a dish where the rice (plain or fried) is cooked separately from the thick sauce (curry of meat or vegetables). The curry and the rice are then brought together and layered, resulting in a dish of the contrasting flavors of flavored rice (which is cooked separate with spices) and intensely flavored sauce and meat or vegetables.

Btw, during Ramzan season in 2006, Green Park hotel (at Begumpet, Hyderabad) served 92 kinds of biryani over a 30 day biryani festival. 

Now lets see the ingredients and method of preparation for Shrimp Biryani - Hyderabadi style.

Ingredients
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Shrimps - 750 gms medium sized

Prawn Biriyani

Basmati Rice - 750 gms (wash & soak it for 1 hr)
Cloves, dalchini, elalchi, shahi jeera, biryani flower, biryani pattha
Yogurt - 150 gms
Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1-2 table spoons
Red Chilly powder - 2 tea spoons
Salt to taste
Fried Onions Big - 2 (chop onions vertically and fry thems in ghee it they turn golden brown)
Green Chillies
Coriander (cilentro)
Mint leaves (Pudina)
Ghee - 2 table spoons
Lime juice - 2 tea spoons
Garam masala powder 

Marination
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Wash shrimps in salt water and keep them aside in a vessel. Add 1 table spoon ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, lime juice, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt (only for the marination). Mix it well and keep it in refrigirator for 3-4 hours so that shrimps will absorb all the spices very well.

Preparation
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1) Take out the marination. Add 2-3 tea spoon besan, beat 2 eggs and mix it well.Adding these are optional.
2) Now fry these marinated shrimps in oil till they are properly cooked.
3) Take a vessel and add 1 ltr of water. To it add biryani flower, 3-4 cloves, 3-4 small dalchini sticks, biryani pattha and salt (this time for the rice). Add the soaked rice to this when the water starts to boil. Don't cook the rice completly. It should be 80% cooked. This is because we cook it again later with shrimp (DUM/steam). Filter out the rice and keep it aside.
4) Take a big vessel and add the oil in which shrimps were fried earlier. 1 table spoon of this oil is sufficient. Add few cloves, dalchini, elaichi (cardamom) and fry this masala. Now add the fried shrimps to it and cook it for 5 mins. Now add fried onions, 3-4 chopped green chillies, chopped coriander & mint leaves and 100 grms yogurt(dilute is with some water) and cook the shrimps for 5 more mins. Turn off the stove.
5) Now add the rice to it. Remember we need to make layers of rice, onions, mint & coriander leaves. So dont add all the rice at a time. We shall make a min of 3 layers. So one portion of rice at a time.
6) Add garam masala powder. This depends on taste. If you want the biryani to be spicy then add according to your taste. Ideally 1/2 tea spoon of the powder per layer is sufficient. Then add the chopped chilles (2-3), few fried onions, little chopped mint & coriander leaves. Similarly make another 2 layers with the remaining rices.
7) Once all the layers are done pour the remaining ghee over the top and sides.
8) Mix some saffron in 1/2cup milk and pour it over the top of the biryani mixture. This will give nice & rich color. This step is again optional.
9) Close the vessel and cook it for 10 mins on high flame and for another 15 mins on low flame and turn off the stove.
10) Make sure the steam doesnt come out from the vessel. Once the stove it turned off, do not open the vessel for another 30 mins. The entire biryani will be properly cooked in the steam within and the spices will be absorbed thoroughly.
11) Serve the biryani with curd raitha, chopped onions and lime :)

Biryani is not complete unless you have a dessert at the end of the meal. My personal favourite is Gulab Jamun. You can have any other also but I feel no other sweet will satisfy your taste buds as Gulab Jamun does with Biryani. Try it yourself :)

Desi Anda Curry

Cooking Time: 20 mins                                       Servings: 3-6

Preparation Time: 10 mins                 Category: Veg (I consider Egg as veg :) )

There are several methods to prepare egg curry. The one am sharing is one of the simplest and easy methods to cook. This dish is found mainly on Highway Dhabas and not in major city restaurants. Egg is a very  popular and versatile cooking ingredient and is supposed to be bachelor's best friend in kitchen :-) 

Ingredients:

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Desi Anda Curry

Eggs - 6 to 8

Onions - 250 gms

Tomatoes - 150 gms

Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1 tea spoon

Refined oil - 2 Table spoons

Salt  - 2-3 tea spoons

Turmeric - 1/2 tea spoon

Ginger & garlic paste - 2 tea spoons

Chilly powder - 1 table spoon

Coriander - 1 finely chopped

Finely chopped green chillies - 5

Garam Masala - 1 tea spoon.

Preparation:
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• Boil eggs and once they are done, remove their shell and keep them aside.
• Finely chop onions and tomatoes.
• Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard & jeera. After a minute add finely chopped onions & cook them untill they turn golden brown.
• Now add tomotoes and cook them for 10 mins.
• Add turmeric, chilly powder, ginger garlic paste & salt to taste and cook for another 2 mins
• Add 3 small cups of some water, mix and close the kadai and cook for another 10 mins.
• Now add the boiled eggs to this gravy and cook for 10 mins
• Add garam masala, mix it well and turn off the stove.
• Garnish with coriander and serve hot with chapati, plain or ghee rice. 

Instead of adding boiled eggs, you can beat them and add directly to the gravy. Wait for couple of minutes and then mix it well. Cook for about 5-10 mins on low flame before adding garam masala.

VANGI BATH

Cooking Time: 30 mins                  Servings: 5
Preparation Time: 20 mins            Category: Veg

Vangi Bath is a famous South Indian dish. It is usually famous among the Brahmin community. Literal translation could be thought of as Fried Brinjal(egg plant) rice. This dish is mostly homemade and is hard to find in restaurants. Typically found in Karnataka, spicier variety is often found in neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Now let me tell you how this dish can be prepared at home.

Ingredients:
---------------

Vangi Bath

Rice - 1 KG (Basmati)

Mustard seeds - 1 table spoon

Ghee - 150 gms
Red Chillies - 10
Green Chillies - 4 (vertically chopped)

Curry leaves

Kaju - 100 gms

Salt to taste

Brinjal - 250 gms (vertically chopped medium pieces)

Alu - Optional

Tamarind paste - 4 table spoons (Sour butter milk or lemon juice can be added as an alternative)

Vangi bath powder - 7-8 tsp

Preparation:

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• Cook basmati rice separately and keep it aside.
• Heat ghee in a pan... add mustard, red chillies, curry leaves, green chillies and fry them for 5 mins.
• Add cashewnut and fry them for couple of minutes.
• Now add the brinjal/eggplant (then alu)..and fry it.
• When they are half cooked...add the tamarind paste.
• Cook that for another 10 mins and add the vangi bath powder.
• Add some salt to taste..and mix it well.. 
• Once it is cooked..mix this paste with the rice and serve hot with curd raitha or coconut chutney

Everest or MTR readymade Vangi bath powder can be used or if you want to prepare it at home, here is the procedure.

Ingredients for Vangi bath powder. Makes 250 gms (approx)

Urad dal (split black lentils) - 1/2 cup/50 gms

Chana dal - 1/2 cup/50 gms
Grated dry coconut - 100 gms

Red chillies - 5

Turmeric powder (haldi) - 1/2 tsp

Coriander (dhania) seeds - 1 Table sp

Fenugreek (methi) seeds - 1 tsp

Cinnamon (dalchini) - 10 sticks

Cloves (laung) - 5

Preparation

• Dry roast all the ingredients separately. Then combine all and add turmeric.
• Now blend these to a smooth powder.
• Store in an airtight container. If stored in freezr, it can stay for an year.