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.