Day 1 ladoo

This is the first time I am doing NaBloPoMo. Have to post for 30 days. Please wish me good luck. Anything before we start we prayer to Ganesh and offer him Ladoo. I am posting a ladoo recipe as my first post to start the challenge.

Dates and nuts ladoo.

Dates 2 cups shredded

walnuts 1/2 cup

cashews 1/2 cup

Almonds 1/2 cup

Pista unsalted 1/2 cup

Dry coconut powder 3 tbsp

Ghee 3 tbsp

How to make them ?

Take all the nut in a grinder and crush them. Here we are not making fine powder but coarsley grinding them.

Take a pan. Add ghee.

when ghee melts add dates.

Saute for a while, dates starts sticking to each other.

Turn off the flame. Add nuts.

Take little ghee on palms and make round balls.

In a plate take dry coconut powder and roll the ladoos in it.

Isn’t it very simple. The time taken to eat is less than time taken to make them.😜😜😜

Grilled Vegetable Tikki

Last thursday myself and kids went to weekly vegetable market near my house to buy veggies of kids choice.Varu hardly eats any veggies but was happy to make a list of veggies she wants.The list goes like this 1.Carrot 2.Cauliflower 3.Potato 4.Pop corn 5.Samosa (pop corn and samosa are veggies for her) 😛 😛 😛

After coming back i told them i will make vegetable tikkis for them for which they readily agreed.When they were busy with the pop corn i made the vegatable tikkis/cutlets.Usually they are shallow fried but i made a more healthy version of it by grilling them.Ever since i saw this post at Bikram’s blog,wanted to use my grill which i didn’t use after coming back to india.

The recipe is for smitha and this post is dedicated to my Dear Husband who loves everything which is not veg 👿 .He is forced to eat veg for a month now and he is just hating it 😆 😆 :lol:.In kabab and tikkas his list goes like this Shammi kabab,Sheek kabab,Shikampuri kabab,Gauloti kabab,Kheem cutlets,Chicken tikka,Fish cutlets so on and so forth.So dear husband it is good to be a vegetarian atleast for a month.Enjoy what you eat……..

Here goes the recipe

What are required

Cauliflower 4-5 florets

Potatoes 4 medium-sized

Carrot 3

Green peas 1/2 cup

French beans 5-6

Any other veggies of your choice

Green chutney 2 tbsp

Oats 1/2 cup

Salt as per taste

Oil 3 tbsp

For green chutney

Mint leaves 2 cups

Coriander leaves 1 cup

Amchur powder 2 tbsp

Green chillies 3-4

Cumin seeds roasted 1 tbsp

Grind all the above ingredients for green chutney.Green chutney can be stored for long in fridge

Now how to do the tikkis/cutlets

Boil all the veggies and drain water.

Dry roast oats and cool it.

Mix all the veggies,oats,green chutney and salt.

Heat the grill and brush it with oil.Make small patties and place them on the grill.

My grill is powered by electricity so the tikkis were done quite quickly.So the grilling time depends on the type of grill used.Once they are browned on both sides,sprinkle chat masala and serve hot.

This can be served with green chutney mixed with curd.

Hyderabadi Kacchi Gosh Ki Biryani

 

Warning:- Post is very lengthy but worth reading and making it.

When we think of biryani the first thing we get in our mind is the famous dum biryani of hyderabad.Apart from pearls hyderabad is famous for its dum biryani.Biryani is of two types pakki and kacchi gosh biryani.Pakki biryani is where mutton/chicken is cooked and layered with half-cooked rice and kacchi gosh is where raw mutton/chicken is layered with half-cooked rice.

Both of these types are cooked in dum i.e. A bowl is taken in which the mutton/chicken and rice are layered and sealed with chapathi dough and hot charcoal is placed above that and the flame is kept at low so that the mutton and the rice is cooked in  slow process. We must ensure that vapours do not escape. Sealing with the dough is a cumbersome process, so I use aluminium foil to seal it and don’t use charcoal. I have been cooking this biryani every Friday since last 7 years, one can only close to the art of mastering biryani by preparing it regularly.

Learnt this biryani from a aunty in Muscat (oman) who is from Hyderabad. Had many disaster with this like once forgot to add oil,didn’t add salt, didn’t add lemon. Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:-

 

For the rice

Basmathi rice 1/2 kg soaked for 2 hrs

Cinnamon 3 pcs

Cloves 4

Shahi zeera 1 tbsp

Green chillies 4

Big elachi 1

Small elachi 2

Pudina 1/2-1 cup

Soak rice with all the above ingredients for 2-3 hours.

For mutton/chicken/lamb

Chicken 1/2 kg

Onions 4

Ginger garlic paste 1tbsp

Curd 2 cups

Cinnamon 2

Cloves 3

Shahi zeera 1/2 tbsp

Japatri little

Lemon 1 big

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Elachi small 1

Pudina 1/2 cup

Green chillies 2 slited

Salt as per taste

For layers:-

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Garam masala 1 tsp

Saffron a pinch Milk 1/2 cup Oil 1/2 cup

coriander 1 cup

Fried onions

 

 

Method:-

 

Step 1

*Chop onions and deep fry onions.Keep half of the onions aside.

*Mix all the  ingredients for mutton and half of the onions and marinate for 2-3 hours preferably over night. (I usually soak it at night and next day i prepare biryani)

*Soak saffron in the milk for 2-3 hours.

 

Step 2*Soak rice and all the masala for the rice.Once the water starts boiling add the salt.Cook till rice is half-cooked.

*Drain all the water in a strainer

Step 3*In a thick bottom vessel spread 2 tbsp of oil.Spread half of the marinated chicken.

*Spread half of the rice.Sprinkle 1 tbsp of lemon juice,sprinkle garam masala,2tbsp of oil.

*Then spread rest of the chicken followed by rest of the rice.Sprinkle 1 tbsp of lemon juice,rest of the garam masala and 2 tbsp of oil.

*Now spread fried onions over the rice and sprinkle saffron soaked milk.

*Then spread coriander leaves.

Step 4

*Cover the vessel with aluminium foil and put it on the stove.

*Firstly put it on a high flame for 30 sec and reduce to low flame and cook exactly for 30 minutes.

*Once switch off the flame,don’t open.Let it stand for another 10-12 minutes.

This is best served with mirchi salan and raita.

Note: Oil which is used to deep frying onions can be used in the layers.

Vapours should not escape, the foil should be very tight and if possible place a container with water above the foil so that vapours doesn’t escape.

enjoy biryani……………………………