Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients:

For Chicken marinate

1. 8 medium pieces (about 500 grams) of chicken
2. 1 cup curd and salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons) to taste

and

Masala (to be ground)
3. 1" cinnamon stick broken
4. 2 cloves and 1 green cardamom
5. 1 teaspoon shajeera (cumin)
6. 1 large onion chopped
7. 2 tablespoon(s) ginger-garlic paste
8. 2 green chilli(es) chopped
9. 2 tablespoon(s) of chopped coriander leaves
10. 2 tablespoons chopped Pudina leaves

For Rice
11. 1 cup basmati rice
12. 3 cups water
13. Whole garam masala ( 1 cinnamon+2 cloves+2 cardomom seeds)
14. salt (about 1 teaspoon) to taste
15. 4 tablespoons desi ghee
16. 2 medium sized onions sliced
17. ½ teaspoon saffron soaked ½ cup boiled milk
18. ½ tablespoon(s) lime juice
19. a sheet of aluminum foil for sealing
20. slices of boiled eggs to garnish

Grind the ingredients 3 to 10 to a fine paste. Mix this paste with curd and salt. Make cuts on the chicken pieces and rub this marinade into them well. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least four hours.

In a large vessel take the rice, water, salt and whole garam masala and cook till the rice is half-done (for about 10 minutes). Drain the excess liquid and spread the rice on a plate to cool.
Heat 2 tablespoons desi ghee in a pan till hot and fry the sliced onions till they are crisp and golden brown. Add the marinated chicken pieces, mix well and cook on low flame for about 20 minute(s) or till the chicken is almost done.
In a large vessel add some melted desi ghee, a layer of chicken with gravy, a layer of rice topped with a portion of the saffron milk. In this way arrange alternate layers of melted desi ghee, chicken, rice and saffron milk till they are all used up. Make sure the topmost layer is of rice topped with melted desi ghee and saffron milk. Spread the aluminum foil on the top of the vessel and cover it with a tight fitting lid. Cook on very low flame (a griddle can be kept under the pan to cook on indirect flame) for another 20 minutes. Alternatively cook for the same amount of time in a pre-heated oven. Your Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani is now ready.

Served with Mirchi ka saalan or Raaitha

Chepala Pulusu (Fish Curry)

Ingredients:

For Marination:

1.Fish - ½ Kg (cut in cross sections, preferably fresh-water fish)
2.Ginger Garlic Paste- 2 tablespoons
3.Tamarind Juice- ½ cup (5 grams of tamarind soaked in water for 10 minutes and juice extracted)
4.Chilli Powder- 4 teaspoons
5.Garam Masala- 1 teaspoon
6.Jeera Powder- 1 teaspoon
7.Coriander Powder- 2 teaspoons
8.Methi Powder- one pinch (optional)
9.Salt- 3 teaspoons

For Curry:

10.Oil- 5 tablespoons ( refined cooking oil)
11.Onions – 2 chopped
12.Fresh Coriander- ½ cup chopped

Procedure:

Take fish in a large bowl and add ingredients 2 to 9 and mix well. Marinate for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a kadai or vessel on medium flame , add chopped onions and let cook while mixing for 3 minutes. Add the marinated fish and mix the contents gently. Cover the kadai with a lid and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Then open the lid and add one cup of water. Close the lid again and let cook for 15 minutes more. Mix the contents a couple of times in between. Open the lid and add the fresh coriander and switch off the stove after 2 minutes. Your Chepala Pulusu is ready.

Served with cooked rice.

Prawn Biriyani

Ingredients:

For Biriyani Rice-

1. Basmathi Rice- 1 cup (washed well )
2. Desi Ghee- 2 tablespoons
3. Oil ( refined)- 2 tablespoons
4. Onion- 1 chopped vertically
5. Ginger garlic paste- 2 teaspoon
6. Cloves- 5
7. Cinnamon sticks – 3 to 4
8. Elaichi- 3 (optional)
9. Bay leaves- 3
10. Shaajeera- 1 teaspoon
11. Pudina (mint leaves) - 1 tablespoon (chopped)
12. Milk- ¼ th cup
13. Water- 1 ¾ th cup
14. Salt- 2 teaspoons

For Biriyani Masala-

15. Prawn- ¼ th kg ( you can use shrimp in places where prawns are not available)
16. Oil – 2 tablespoons
17. Onion- ½ chopped
18. Ginger garlic paste- 1 tablespoon
19. Tomato – 1 (pureed)
20. Turmeric- ½ teaspoon
21. Chilli powder- 1 ½ teaspoon
22. Coriander powder- 1 ½ teaspoon
23. Jeera Powder- 1 teaspoon
24. Salt- 1 teaspoon
25. Fresh Coriander- 1 tablespoon (chopped)
26. Water- ¼ th cup

Procedure:
Biriyani rice and biriyani masala are prepared separately and then mixed in the end to make the final biriyani. To make the biriyani rice, first soak the rice in two cups of water for about 5 minutes and drain the water completely. Now take a kadai or vessel and add 1 tablespoon of desi ghee and fry the rice on low flame till light brown and set aside. Take a pressure cooker and heat on low flame. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of ghee. Now add ingredients 6 to 10 and fry for about half a minute. Then add onion, ginger garlic paste and pudina, continue to fry while stirring, till onions turn golden brown. Now add the 1 3/4 cup of water, 1/4th cup of milk and salt, let boil on medium flame. Add the fried rice and close the lid of the cooker. Allow to cook till one whistle. Now switch off the stove and let the cooker remain closed and on the stove for 10 minutes ( if a pressure-cooker is not available you can use a rice cooker till the rice is cooked) .

To prepare the biriyani masala, heat a kadai or vessel on low flame and add 2 tablespoons of oil. To the heated oil add chopped onions and ginger garlic paste and fry for about 2 minutes. Add ingredients 20 to 24 and fry for a minute. And then add tomato puree and continue to cook for another minute and now add the prawns, water and fresh coriander, close the lid of the vessel and allow to cook for 15 minutes on low flame. Open the lid and allow to cook on medium flame for 5 minutes or till you get thick gravy.

Now open the lid of the cooker with the biriyani rice and put the stove on low flame and add the prepared masala to the rice and mix well while the cooker is heating for about 2 minutes. Switch-off the stove and transfer the contents to a bowl. Your Prawn biriyani is now ready. You can add a little lemon juice for taste.

Served with plain tomato gravy and raitha

Semiya Upma ( Shaavige Baath )

Make sure you have all the following ingredients:

1. One cup Vermicelli (semiya)
2. Carrot ½ (chopped vertically)
3. Potato ½ (chopped vertically)
4. Beans ( about 4-5, vertically chopped)
5. Cabbage ( chopped ¼ cup )
6. Tomato ½ (chopped)
7. Green Chilli –1 ( cut )
8. Salt 1 ½ teaspoons
9. Sugar 1 teaspoon
10. Oil -- 3 tablespoons
11. Curry leaves (about 7-8)
12. Mustard seeds ( half teaspoon)
13. Chanaga pappu ( chana daal or gram dal ) 1 teaspoon
14. Minapa pappu ( urad dal or white lentil) 1 teaspoon
15. Cashew or Groundnut 1 teaspoon (optional )
16. Turmeric powder (half teaspoon)
17. Onion ( ½ chopped )

( List of Vegetables are just indicative, vegetables of your choice can be used)

Procedure:

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a kadaai or vessel on low flame and add the vermicelli. Fry till it turns light brown. Add two cups of water to the fried vermicelli and cook it for about 10 minutes on medium flame ( till most of the water is absorbed ).

Take another kadaai or vessel and heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil. Now add ingredients 11 to 15 and fry on low flame for about one minute. Now add onions and turmeric and continue to fry for another minute. Now add ingredients 2 to 9 and continue to fry mixing the ingredients till the vegetables are cooked ( about 5 minutes). Now add the cooked vermicelli to the cooked vegetables and mix well. Your semiya Upma is now ready.

Served with Tomato sauce or Chutney