Hyderabadi Kacchi Biryani ( chicken)

My association with  people of hyderabad is very long. One thing is common between all hyderabadis is their love for food. Their cuisine is mainly non vegetarian. I knew few families from hyderabad two decades back when I was residing in Middle East. In that part of the world you can find all our neighbours staying as one big family be it from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India or Nepal. Getting to know them and their culture makes you realise that it's just a map which has divided us. Or maybe the politics.
Coming to hyderabadi food. I was exposed to their non vegetarian menu. Some of my friends use to dish out awesome pilau, baigan ka khatta, and Biryani in a jiffy.
That too to a large gathering of people. It was so easy for them. Today I am going to share their chicken Biryani recipe which is also easy to make with minimal preparation upfront.
Enjoy!!!!

Ingredients
500 gms  chicken with bones
4 tbsp curd
1 onion sliced and fried
2 tbsp ginger garlic green chilli paste
4/5 green chillies slit
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
3 green cardamom
1 black cardamom
1/2 tsp shahjeera (black cumin)
2 cups basmati rice washed and soaked
Oil for frying onion 3 tbsp oil for rice
1 tbsp chopped coriander and mint leaves
Salt to taste for marinate and rice

Method
Step 1 clean and wash the chicken. Except the whole garam masala and rice add every thing and marinate the chicken for 4 to 5 hours
Step 2 boil the rice in double the quantity of water. Add all whole garam masala and salt. Boil till 3/4 th done. Drain the water.
Step 3 In a medium vessel assemble the biryani. Spread  masala at the bottom with 1/2 cup water. Spread the rice on top. Add the oil now. Make sure the vessel has close fitted lid. Cook it on dum for 20 minutes on medium flame.
Here the dish will give you an indication if it's cooked. Your whole house will be aromatic. That's when you can open the lid and check for steam. Steam should come out from the rice. You can go ahead and enjoy a hearty meal with your family.

Biryani can be served with baigan ka khatta or curd raita.

Fish egg

This delicate dish is my favourite delicacy. I crave for this dish. It is a seasonal catch in India as you get this only during spring.
Now that I am back again to Kuala Lumpur I chanced upon this in local hypermarket ( its one of my favourite ) and couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't know I will get it here. It was a tasty surprise 😜
Before I write more about how tasty it is or rather how addicted I am to it, here's the recipe.

Ingredients
250gms Fish eggs
1 pod garlic
5/ 6 pieces Kokum ( no English name for it)
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil 2 tbsp

Method
Wash the lovely fish eggs in water twice. It is very delicate hence needs to be handled with care.
Take 1 cup water and little salt in a pan and let it boil. After that put the eggs in it. Boil for 3 min or till it changes colour. Drain.
In a pan add crushed garlic, kokum,red chilli powder, Turmeric, salt and oil and include this eggs with 1/4 th cup water.
Put it on the flame. Let it cook for 2 minutes more.
Gorge on it right away.
You can have it with bhakri or chapatti or just like that.

Masoor Pulav/ pilaf

Masoor pulav has steps more like a biryani then pulav. So we can call it biryani too. But if you say so to your guests then they may not like to try it😊. So we keep the name intact. This recipe is convenient one pot dish when you don't want to cook the usual daal subji roti fare and still want to indulge your taste buds.

Ingredients
serves 4
1/2 cup Masoor dal ( akkhi/whole masoor)
3 medium size onions
2 potatoes cut into half
4 boiled eggs
1 tomato chopped
2 tbsp beaten curd
3 cups rice ( basmati preferred )
2 tsp ginger garlic green chilli paste
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Whole garam masala ( peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaf)
Coriander for garnish(optional )

Method
Boil the masoor dal in 1/2 cup water for 5 to 7min. The dal should be cooked 3/4th and not fully cooked.
Fry onion till golden and spread it on a plate. In same oil fry the potatoes till light golden.
Boil the eggs and remove the shell. Keep it aside.
Boil the rice till 3/ 4th done and strain the water.
Now crush the onion add tomatoes, curd, whole garam masala, green chilli ginger garlic paste, redchilli powder, turmeric salt and oil and mix all the ingredients well. Add the masoor dal and put in on the stove top to cook for few min.
Add the potatoes, boiled eggs n 1/4th cup water. Spread the layer of cooked rice on top and coriander leaves cook it on low fire for 15min or till aroma spreads.
Your one pot dish is ready to be served hot. Enjoy it with some curd raita.

Fried Chops

This is the other version of making mutton chops. This dish is  equally tasty and can be served as a side dish. I was introduced to most of the non veg dish by  my in- law's side. And needless to say this is one of them.

Ingredients

Mutton chops 6
Ginger garlic green chilli paste 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Egg 1 beaten
Breadcrumbs 1/2 cup
Oil for shallow fry and saute
Lemon wedges and coriander leaves for garnish

Method
In a pressure cooker add the chops turmeric powder, 1 cup water and salt and cook till well done. ( 2 to 3 whistle on high n 10 min on medium heat) usually by this time the chops are well cooked. It mostly depends on the size of goat too. Small goat cooks faster.

In a separate pan heat 1 tbsp oil. Add ginger garlic green chilli paste, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, and salt and sauté on low heat till fragrant. Add 1 to 2 tbsp water and let the mixture cook till it dries up.

Remove chops and add them to the paste pan. Coat the chops well with the paste.

Heat oil in shallow pan. Dip the masala chops in egg mixture. And later in breadcrumbs and shallow fry in hot oil till done on both sides.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with lemon wedges.

Chicken Momos

A street food of North East India has become a craze throughout India. Just a decade back no one knew about momos and now you can see momos stall in most fast food centre.
It's a healthy option then the fried snack we get roadside. But if you want to up the health quotient then try experimenting with ragi flour or whole wheat flour.
I have used the original recipe where white flour is used.

Ingredients
For filling:
1/2 cup boiled and shredded chicken
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped spring onions
2 tsp chopped garlic and ginger
2 tsp chopped green chilli
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ajinomoto
Pinch of salt
2 tsp oil

For dough
1/2 cup plain flour
Water to knead soft dough

Method:
In a pan heat up the oil. Add ginger garlic and green chillies. Add the veggies. Add chicken and fry it well on high heat. Add the spices and salts.
The whole process of frying should not take more than five minutes as we want the veggies to be crunchy.

Knead the dough and make berry size roundels. Put the filling mixture and close properly with or without flour and water mix. Steam it in a hot steamer for 10-15 min.
Serve hot with chilli and garlic chutney.

Masala chops

This recipe is a must after qurbani. The chops( ribs) are full of taste. The taste is enhanced more when they are slow cooked. It can accompany any kind of Indian bread and raita to make a complete meal.

Ingredients
5-6 mutton chops
2 big onions
2 tomatoes
2 tbsp ginger garlic and green chillies paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 bay leaves
1/2 inch cinnamon
3 cloves
Salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
Juice of half lemon
Corainder leaves for garnish

Method
Chop the onions and tomatoes finely. Pressure cook the cleaned chops with half cup water, pinch of turmeric and salt.
Meanwhile heat oil in a deep pan. Add the whole garam masala. After few seconds add the onions. Once they are golden add the pastes and powder. Sauté for 2 min. Add tomatoes and lemon juice.
Sauté for a minute.
Now add the cooked chops along with its water. Adjust salt . Cook for 5 min on low heat. Garnish it will coriander leaves. Serve hot with Chapati or naan.

Malaysian Laksa- indian way!!

Laksa is one of the comfort food of Malaysia. We use to gorge on this when we were in Kuala Lumpur. But what to do if you really want to, cherish your taste buds with the same in India.
Try this recipe instead 😊

Ingredients
8- 10 medium prawns
100 gms tofu
10-15 leaves of spinach( chopped )
1 tbsp tom yum paste ( available in gourmet shop)
1 stick lemon grass ( optional )
150 gms noodles boiled n strained
100 gms mixed veggies (beans, carrots,peas etc)
1/2 cup coconut milk( thick)
2-3 green chillies slit
100 gms rice noodles (optional )
1 tsp dried prawns paste
3 tsp oil
2 cups chicken stock
Salt to taste
Corainder and lemon for garnish

Method
Clean and devined the prawns. Leave the skin on. Shallow fry the tofu and cut all veggies and saute in little oil for 2 min.

In a skillet heat up oil. Add the tom yum and dried prawn paste. Sauté well. Add the chillies , coconut milk and salt to taste. Give a nice stir and let the milk come on one boil you can add the lemon grass if using. Add chicken stock to this and let it boil. Include the clean prawns and put off the flame. Let the prawn sit in for some time

Esemble
Take a soup bowl. Arrange all the ingredients like noodles,fried tofu, sautéed veggies. Pour on the hot soup on it. Sprinkle the garnish and enjoy it really hot..yummy.