Vegetable Biryani

Dear Readers,
Among different varieties of recipes on rice, vegetable biryani is the first on my blog. There are many different ways of cooking vegetable biryani and as a result some beginners in cooking do get confused as which is the right way to cook vegetable biryani. I have tried my level best to make it simpler but tasty for all the readers.
                                       
                                                           Serves 4 to 5
Ingredients:-

1 1/2 cup - basmati rice 
1 chopped - onion, tomato, carrot, beans, potato, chilli (each)
1/2 cup - green peas (mutter)
 2 cooking spoon - Butter/ ghee
2 tbs - chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, salt (each)
2tbs - Garam masala
1 cup - curd
A pinch - saffron
1tbs - rose essence 
4 to 5 -  Cashew nut / golden raisin(kishmish) 


For tempering:-
2tbs - cumin seeds (jeera0
1tbs - garlic and ginger paste
4 to 5 - Neem leaves/ kadhi patta
1tbs - black peeper powder
1/2 tbs - asafoetida (hing)
1tbs - Fenugreek seeds (meethi)


How to:-

1. Boil basmati rice with salt added in pressure cooker.
2. Heat in pan ghee or butter and temper with cumin seeds, when it crackles add fenugreek seeds, asafoetida (hing) , garlic and ginger paste, neem leaves/kadhi patta. 
3. Now add chopped vegetables , onion, tomato, carrot, beans,potato and green peas to it.
4. Add black pepper powder and dry fruits - cashew nut and golden raisin along with chopped vegetables.
5. Add 1 cup water and close the lid of the pan and let it cook for 15min.
6. Meanwhile add saffron and rose water/essence to the curd. Rose water/essence is optional.
7. Now add the curd to the basmati rice in a bowl.
8. Once the curry is ready after 15min, in a empty bowl put 1 layer of rice and on it spread the layer of curry, again on the layer of curry put layer of rest of rice and then on it remaining curry.
9. Put this in oven for 10min at 150 degree C
10. Now mix well the  layers of rice and curry in the bowl and garnish with coriander and serve hot.

Enjoy the vegetable biryani with curd or raita.

Coconut Halwa

Greetings to all my readers,


Among the varieties of halwa , this time its coconut halwa. A better option to serve as desert . This is my own recipe and tried at home several times.  kindly go through the recipe below.

Ingredients:-


1 - grated fresh coconut
1/2 litre - milk
5 cooking spoon - condensed milk
Ghee - 2 cooking spoon
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Almonds - 5 to 6 pieces
Cashew nut - 5 to 6 pieces
Golden raisin ( kishmish) -  5 to 6 pieces
Cardamom powder (elaichi) - 2tbs




How to:

• Heat the ghee in deep pan and add grated fresh coconut to it. Mix it well and let it cook till the coconut is light pink in colour. If required add more ghee to it. Keep stirring the mixture.
• Add milk and condensed milk and sugar. If condensed milk is sweet then add sugar according to taste.
• Cook it for 10 min and stir it
• Add cardamom powder and golden raisin to it. Stir till the mixture soaks all the milk and its thick.
• Garnish it with dry fruits and serve it hot.

Cassava Vada

Dear readers,


I  always try to cook varities of vadas. This time its cassava, a substitute to potato while cooking. It is one of the staple diet of kerala state of India. Cassava vada is easy to cook and tasty as well.

Ingredients:-


Cassava - 400gms 
Boiled potato - 3
Salt, chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder - as per taste
Lemon juice - 1 tbs
Sugar - 1/2 tbs
Green chilli chopped - 1
Cooking oil - for deep fry.


Preparation:-

• Mash boiled potatoes and add salt, chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder , lemon juice and sugar with chopped green chilli to form mixture.
• Grate the cassava and add it to the above mixture . Now make equal ball shape vadas.
• Heat the cooking oil in pan for deep fry, and fry the vadas till it turns light brown .

Serve it hot with coconut chatni or tomato ketchup. 

Pav Bhaji

Dear Readers,


Pav Bhaji is popular dish of Maharashtra state in India. Its availability and popularity is mainly in metro cities like mumbai and pune. The origin of this dish is traced to the hectic day of the textile mills in mumbai. The labourers used to have too short lunch break to have full lunch and light lunch was preferred. A vendor created this dish as a substitute to full meal, roti and other indian bread was replaced with Pav (bun) and rice and other meal item was replaced with bhaji ( curry made of mixed vegetables ). Initially it remained the meal of mill workers but with time its popularity spread among restaurants of city . Its popularity is world wide as mainly served as fast food in restaurants of Asian countries like Singapore , Hong kong and U.S.A and U.K. Now a days in most of the families Pav bhaji is common dish , its preparation is easy and mentioned below.
                          

                              Serves - 4 to 5 persons

Ingredients:


Boiled Vegetables - 500gms 
Preferably potatoes, brinjal, green peas (mutter), cauliflower, cabbage, carrot.
Butter - 2tbs
Chilli powder - 3tbs
Turmeric - 2tbs
Coriander powder - 3tbs
Salt 
Lemon juice - 1 tbs


For Gravy:-


Tomato - 2
Onion - 2
Garlic paste - 1 tbs
Ginger paste - 1tbs
Green chilli - 1


For Pav bhaji masala:-


Red chillis - 50gms
Coriander seeds - 50gms
Cumin seeds, Black pepper,cinamon,clove -25gms each
Black cardamom - 4 to 5
Dry mango powder - 25gms




How to:

1. Mash all the boiled vegetables.
2. For gravy, grind the tomato, onion green chilli, ginger and garlic paste in food processor.
3. For masala roast all the ingredients and grind in food processor.
4. Heat the butter in pan and add the gravy to it, let it cook for 5min.
5. Later on add the mashed boiled vegetables to the gravy and mix well.
6. Add the chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder , lemon juice and salt as per taste.
7. Add 4tbs of the pav bhaji masala or if required more spicy add accordingly.
8. Cook it for 15min at low flame , serve it hot by garnishing it with coriander leaves.
9. For Pav, slice pav into 2 piece from middle and  fry lightly on both the sides with ghee or butter on Tava.

Tip :-
The pav bhaji masala can be stored in air tight container and used when needed. Now a days pav bhaji masala is available ready made in the market.


At my home this dish is often cooked and preferred with salad, butter milk and pappadum.

Dal fry

Dear Readers,


Dal fry is often cooked at my home due to its nutritional value of protein and fast to cook and tasty as well. It can be substitute to main course . At home its usually with punjabi dishes and also at times in lunch with chapatti (indian bread). 
The entire taste of Dal fry is based on Tadka. Below is the recipe.


Ingredients:


Tur dal - 3 cup Boiled
Chopped onion - 1
Chopped tomato - 1
Chopped green chili - 1
Lemon juice - 1tbs
Salt 

For tempering:


Cooking oil - 4tbs
Black mustard seeds  (Rai) - 1tbs
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1tbs
Clove - 4 to 5
Fenugreek Seeds (methi) - 1/2 tbs
Garlic Paste - 1 tbs
Neem leaves - 4 to 5
Chilli powder and turmeric - 1/2 spoon each
Asafoetida (hing) - 1/4 tbs


Preparation :

1. Heat cooking oil in deep pan and add black mustard seeds (rai) and cumin seeds (Jeera) to it.
2. When it starts crackling, add clove, fenugreek seeds (methi) , Neem leaves and garlic paste. Be careful while cooking as the crackling mustard seeds, cumin seeds and clove may pop out of the pan.
3. Add chilli powder and turmeric and asafoetida (hing) to it and quickly add the chopped onion and tomato and green chilli.
4. Let it cook for 5min and then add boiled dal to it.
5. Add 2 cup water and again add salt as per taste, lemon juice, chilli powder , turmeric and coriander powder.

Let it boil for 15min and keep stirring , garnish with coriander leaves and serve it hot.
                                     Serves 4 to 5 persons.