Lets Prepare : Vegetable Biryani

This Saturday I was in no mood to enter the kitchen. My darling husband guessed my "no cooking"mood and surprised me with yummy vegetable biryani.
Vegetable Biryani is a rich and exotic rice dish with spicy vegetables. It's usually served at parties as main course meal.

This recipe serve 2-3

INGREDIENTS

• Basmati Rice - 3cups
• Water - double the amount of rice
• Mixed Vegetable. Potatoes, Cauliflower, Beans, Grean peas, Carrot, Baby corn, Capsicum.
• Chopped Onion- 2 to 3 medium
• Ginger-garlic paste - 2tablespoon
• Chopped tomatoes- 1big
• Oil
• Ghee/Butter
• Salt 
• Sugar
• POWDER SPICES
• Chilly Powder
• Cumin Powder
• Coriander Powder
• Curry Powder
• Garam Masala (Found in any Indian store)
• Turmeric Powder
• Biryani Masala
• DRY SPICES
• Cardamom
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Bay Leaves

PROCESS

• Wash the rice. Marinate rice with biryani masala and keep aside .
• Take a pressure cooker and heat some oil.
• Add 2pinch of sugar.
• When the sugar turn golden, add chopped onions to it.
• Cook till onion turns golden brown.
• Next add Ginger-garlic paste to it.Mix well.
• When the mixture is cooked well, add tomatoes to it and cook.
• Add all the powder spices except Biryani Masala and keep cooking. Oh and yes don't forget to add Salt to taste !!
• Add water and cook by covering it.
• When the oil starts to leave the paste, add the vegetables and keep cooking till vegetables are partially cooked. Donot over cook the vegetables cause we are going to cook it more with the rice.
• Now pour the vegetable gravy into a separate bowl and clean the cooker.
• Put the cooker in heat and add 2 tablespoon ghee to it. 
• When the ghee melts, add the rice.
• Fry the rice well till it changes its color to golden brown.
• Next add the vegetable gravy and mix both rice and the vegetable well.
• Now add water to it. Be careful of the hot vapour.
• Mix it well.
• Add salt, sugar and biryani masala to taste and put the lid.
• Give 3-4 whistles.
• Vegetable biryani is ready.

Serve it with raita and gather some compliments from your guests.

Thanks for reading !!! Happy Cooking !!!

Lets Prepare : Aloo Tikki (Potato Patties)

Its weekend and my Tummy wants some Yummy !! So let's prepare Aloo Tikkis or Potato Patties.
Aloo Tikkis are yummy Indian appetizers. These are one of the famous street food or chaat in India.
The sight of aloo tikki can make you hungry !!!

INGREDIENTS
This ingredients makes 8-10 Tikkis

• Boiled Potatoes (3 large) : Don't make it too mushy
• Suji/Semolina 1tablespoon
• Shredded Ginger 1tablespoon
• Chaat Masala 1tablespoon
• Cumin Powder 1tablespoon
• Corn Flour
• Salt to taste
• Oil to fry
• Lemon Juice

PROCESS

• Mash the potatoes.
• Mix Suji, Shredded ginger, Chaat masala, Cumin powder, Salt and lemon juice to it and make a dough.
• Dont make it too mushy. If its too moist the tikkis will break while frying.
• Adjust salt to taste.
• When the dough is ready, with oiled hands make 8-10 medium sized round pieces.
• Press each round piece between your palms to make it bit flat.Keep the tikkis about an inch 
• Pat both sides of each tikki over the corn flour.So that the flour sticks to both the sides.
• Heat oil in a flat bottom saucepan.
• When oil is ready, fry the tikkis. Fry till both sides turn golden brown.
• Add oil if required but donot deep fry the tikkis. They should be shallow fried.
• Your tikkis are ready.
• Serve them with ketchup or any chutney.

Next time when its raining and you are with your family or when you have a couple of guests or when you are alone and want to eat something yummy, boil some potatoes and prepare this easy and yummy Aloo Tikki !!! Trust me you will never regret :)

Lets Prepare : Gajar ka Halwa / Carrot Halwa

Gajar ka Halwa is a well known dessert in India. Be it any occassion or festival or just family time, Gajar ka Halwa is very famous. Its made out of gajar/carrot and milk. Its a yummy sweet and easy to make.

This recipe is for 10 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg Carrots
• 1litre Milk
• 5 tablespoon butter
• Sugar to taste
• Cashew nuts
• Cardamom

METHOD

• Grate the carrots.
• Boil the milk.
• Roast the cashew and keep aside.
• Now take a pan and melt the butter on medium heat.
• Add the shredded carrots to it and fry for 10 minutes. Stir in between.
• Carrots should be tender and change colour to brownish.
• Now add milk to it. 
• Do not add all the milk at a time. Rather keep adding little in between cooking the carrot .When the carrot is soft and cooked, stop adding the milk.
• Add sugar, cardamom and cashew and stir fry till the milk is absorbed and halwa is kind of semi liquid.
• Now switch off the flame and leave it for 30minutes. This will help the halwa to sit well.
• Now serve it warm / cool as you like.

Hope you guys found this post helpful. Do serve it to your guests and gather some compliments :)

Lets Prepare : Bread Pakoras

hi lovelies.

Its afternoon time and I am hungry !!! So lets prepare BREAD PAKORAS

Bread Pakoras are a great appetizer or a tea time snack.

INGREDIENTS:

• White Bread
• 1 cup Gram Flour (Besan)
• 1/2 cup Corn Flour
• Salt
• Cumin Powder
• Garam Masala Powder (easily available in any Indian store)
• Chaat Masala / Mango Powder (to give a flavour)
• Water to mix the ingredients
• Oil to fry
• You can also add spinach or cilantro and green chillies to the batter. But I like it this way.

NOTE : amount of ingredients can vary according to the number of bread pakoras or size of bread.

METHOD

• Take a bowl and add all the dry ingredients.
• Mix well without adding water.
• Then start adding water and mixing it to form a smooth Batter / Semi Liquid mixture.
• Keep it aside for 2-3mins.
• In the mean time remove all the four brown sides from the bread.
• Slice the bread according to your choice. Length wise or Diagonally.
• Now heat oil. 
• You can check if oil is hot or not by putting a drop of the batter in it. If the batter comes up, then oil is hot.
• Dip the bread slices in the batter one at a time and slowly drop into the frying pan.
• The pakoras will take about 4 to 5 minutes to cook. 
• Turn them occasionally. Fry the Pakoras until both sides are golden-brown. 
• Crispy, yummy Bread Pakoras are ready to serve. 
• Serve it with sauce or chutney.

The next time when you have a get together, do serve these yummy snacks to your guests and get praised !!!


Love
Appy

Prawn Biriyani : Oriya Style

hey guys,
this weekend we had loads n loads of yummy food.Prawn biriyani to mutton :)
Well I tried Prawn Biriyani for the first time and it came out pretty yummy.....So here s the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• Prawn
• Rice
• Onion
• Ginger Garlic Paste
• Tomatoes
• POWDER SPICES
• Chicken/Meat/Fish Powder
• Biriyani or Pulao Masala
• Turmeric Powder
• Cumin Powder
• Coriander Powder
• Garam Masala Powder(Available in any asian shop)
• Salt
• Sugar
• DRY SPICES
• Cinnamon
• Cardamom
• Cloves
• Bay Leaves
• Oil

METHOD

• Marinate rice with biriyani masala and keep aside
• Now clean the prawns and marinate it with salt, turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste.
• Heat oil and fry the prawns.
• Now in a pressure cooker heat oil and add the dry spices.
• When the spices starts sputtering, add sliced onion and cook till onions turn golden brown.
• Then add ginger garlic paste and cook well.
• Well it becomes paste, add tomatoes to it and cook.
• Add all the powder spices and keep cooking.
• Add water and cook by covering it.
• When the gravy is fully cooked, add the rice and mix well.
• Then add the fried Prawns and mix it very well.
• Now add water(double of rice).
• Add salt, sugar and biriyani masala to taste and put the lid.
• Give 2-3 whistles.
• Prawn biriyani is ready 

Vegetable Pulao - Indian Style

Here's the chef in me again to share with you guys a quick recipe for Vegetable Pulao....Its a heavy yet healthy meal...
So lets get started.....

INGREDIENTS: 

• Rice washed and drained properly
• Cauliflower cut in medium size
• Green peas/ Garden peas
• Beet root cut in medium size
• Carrot cut in medium size
• Green Capsicum cut in medium size
• Water twice the quantity of rice (suppose rice is 1cup, water needed is 2cup)
• Sugar 
• Salt
• Oil
• Biriyani Powder (can get from any asian shop)
• Indian Garam Masala Powder (can get from any asian shop)
• Dry Spices - Cloves, Black Peppers, Cardamoms, Cinnamons 

PROCEDURE

• Heat oil and fry all the vegetables separately and keep aside.
• Heat some more oil in the pressure cooker and add the dry spices.
• When the spices starts sputtering, add rice.
• Fry until the rice turns golden brown.
• Now add water.Be careful and add water slowly.
• Now add all the fried vegetables and stir.
• Add biriyani powder, Sugar, salt and garam masala powder and mix well.
• Now cover the lid and count the whistles to cook the rice
• Veg Pulao is ready 

Hope you guys like my small recipe

Eat healthy buh byeeee

CABBAGE FRY: INDIAN STYLE

Cabbage is a leafy vegetable of Brassica family.The health benefits of cabbage include treatment of constipation, stomach ulcers, headache, excess weight, skin disorders, eczema, jaundice, scurvy, rheumatism, arthritis, gout, eye disorders, heart diseases, ageing, and Alzheimer's disease.
Well so today I am gonna tell you guys how to prepare Cabbage Fry....


INGREDIENTS :

• Cabbage (finely chopped)
• Onion(finely sliced)
• Mixture of Cumin seeds and Mustard seeds
• Green Peas
• Oil
• Salt 
• Turmeric
• Garam Masala powder
• Curry leaf

PROCEDURE :

• Heat oil in a pan
• Add mixture of Cumin seed and Mustard seed along with curry leaves.
• When the mixture sputters, add onion.
• Fry till onion turns golden brown.
• Now add the chopped cabbage.
• Cover and cook for 2mins.
• Now add green peas to it along with Salt and turmeric.
• Cover and cook till the cabbage becomes tender and it cooked completely.
• Now add garam masala and cook for 1min.
• Cabbage fry is ready.
• Served best with hot chapatis.

Hope you guys like my quick yet healthy recipe on Cabbage Fry...

Eat healthy and stay fit !!!

CATFISH CURRY: ORIYA STYLE !!!

Well Last night, I cooked CATFISH...and trust me it turned out to be yummmmmyyyyy :P

So thought of sharing the recipe with you guys....So lets get started......

INGREDIENTS

• CATFISH 
• FRIED POTATO
• ONION finely sliced
• GINGER GARLIC PASTE
• TOMATO
• TURMERIC POWDER
• CHILLY POWDER
• CUMIN SEEDS
• FISH MASALA
• SALT 
• OIL

PROCEDURE

• Cut and clean the fish.
• Marinade it with turmeric, salt and fish masala.Keep aside.
• Take a pan and heat oil.
• When oil is heated, add cumin seeds.
• As soon as the seeds start to sputter, add the sliced onion.
• Cook till onion turn golden brown.
• Now add ginger garlic paste to it and cook well.
• Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and mix well.
• When the gravy is almost cooked, add the catfish pieces.
• Mix it well and keep cooking
• No need to add water.
• When you see the fish has become tender and cooked well, add the fried potato and mix well.
• Then add cut tomatos.
• Cover and cook.
• Add salt to taste.
• Catfish curry is ready.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Hope my recipe helped you.

Try it at home and enjoy !!!