Quick (Beef) Biriyani

The biriyani goes out for my sis and lybucha who're one of the most spontaneous biriyani-lovers i've come across. and GC, you too, for embracing Islam. i too love it; one of the few food that you want to go on eating but cannot coz you sadly recognise you're full...way too full for a morsel more. the only problem i've encountered with my biriyani is that it's too heavy and then i start burping...and burp my way to the following day. well, the only solution i've found is to use oil and not ghee. it does wonders...just like the salted-and-dried-fish-stink-(or-fragrance)-is-neutralised-by-brewing-coffee wonder. and let me tell you this is the easiest and the best biriyani recipe i've come across. on second thoughts it's my friend priya who makes the best biriyani and i still haven't been able to pinch her recipe!!

beef or chicken or mutton-1/2 kg
basmati rice-2 cups
tomato-1-11/2 cup finely chopped
onion (sliced lengthwise)-2 cups
water-4 cups(including the stock)
green chillies-3-4 (slit lengthwise)
garlic-2 pods (don't make it any less)
ginger-2 1" pieces
cinnamon-6 pieces or bits
cardamom-10
cloves-10
all-spice leaves (dried)-1-2 (absolutely optional; taste doesn't suffer by its absence)
coriander leaves-1 bunch
mint leaves-1/2 bunch
oil or ghee-1/4-1/3 cup
vinegar-11/4 tbsp
chicken masala (any brand)-1 tsp
pepper powder-1/2 tsp
garam masala-1 tsp
cinnamon powder-1/4-1/2 tsp
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
biriyani essence (optional)-1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Soak rice in water for 30 min. then strain it and keep. boil meat with salt and vinegar (20 min on sim after the first whistle on full flame for beef; 15 min on sim after the first whistle on full flame for mutton; 1 whistle on full flame for chicken). add the ghee or oil in the pressure cooker and splutter the spices in the oil. then add the onions, green chillies and turmeric powder. fry it well. add the ground garlic and ginger paste. fry again for sometime and then add the tomato. fry it well. add the masala powders and the all-spice leaves if you're using them. fry for some time. drop the meat pieces in it. fry again for a while. pour 2-3 cups (max 31/4 cups) water including the meat stock and when the water boils add the coriander and mint leaves and rice. add the essence and the required salt. close the cooker and keep on full flame. turn it off after the first whistle and let it release the pressure naturally. garnish with fried onions, cashew nuts, raisins and dribble some ghee on it. serve with onion-tomato raita, pickle and papad. follow the steps exactly; don't be complacent and do it your way. it makes a difference.

When you add salt make sure you add the adequate final amount into the cooker before closing it. taste the water to make sure. it's OK if you feel the water is a little too salty. it'll be fine when it is absorbed by the rice.

I noticed something funny which can be the contribution of the rice. when i used four cups of rice i used including the meat stock 71/2 cups of water. i made chicken biriyani today with five cups of rice and found 9 perfect. i guess the various types of basmati rice has an effect in this.

Making a biriyani may sound cumbersome. so do it in steps. fry the masala and the meat and keep. and an hour or two before the meal time do the rice part. beef needs an extra bit of vinegar and tomato. for chicken and mutton the tomato can be one cup and the vinegar 1 tbsp. this biriyani doesn't have the boiled eggs that some people relish. that goes for dum biriyani recipe. but you can always boils two eggs and after you tranfer the pressure cooker content to a dish, bury the eggs and pile the matter, keep it closed with a lid that the eggs remain in the steam and go in for the garnish finally. i love those eggs. oh i love everything about biriyani and tomorrow i'm making chicken biriyani (thomas loves it too). the one made with ghee is defo tastier but heavier too.

Lamington

(Image revamp by Anoop Negi)

Don't they look divine!! and they absolutely are. i wouldn't say it's easy nor too difficult. and it's going to be sure-shot successful the first time you try it. who ever has baked them has been convincingly delighted by it. there you go.

maida-2 cups
eggs-2 (room temp)
butter (softened)-125 gm
baking powder-2 heaped tsp
soda bicarb-1/2 tsp
powdered sugar-7 heaped tbsp
milk-1-1 1/4 cup
vanilla essence-1 tsp
salt-one pinch

Sieve the maida, baking powder and soda bicarb twice and keep aside. beat the butter and powdered sugar till frothy. add the eggs one by one and beat again. add half the maida mix gradually to this and mix well without lumps. add the milk gradually and the remaining flour along with the vanilla essence. mix well and bake it. once the cake is ready and a little cooled and off the cake tin cut them into reasonably big and fat square pieces.

Chocolate icing

cocoa-3 heaped tbsp
icing sugar-2 1/2 cups
vanilla essence-1/2 tsp
cherry-15 nos
dessicated coconut-2 cups
water-1/2 cup
butter-1 1/2 tbsp

Mix the cocoa and icing sugar. boil the half cup water. as it boils add the 1 1/2 tbsp butter to it. once the butter melts add the cocoa-icing sugar mix to it along with the 1/2 tsp essence and the resulting mix will be viscous. if it is too thick you can add some more hot water.

Butter icing

butter-50 gm
icing sugar-1/2 cup
(mix both well)

Using a fork dip each sliced piece of cake in the chocolate icing and hold it up to drop the excess icing from each slice. roll the pieces in the dessicated coconut spread on a plate and be done with the cake slices this way.

Cut each piece in the middle lengthwise (but not completely; just quarter way through) and fill the gap with the butter icing and spread some butter icing atop the slice. finally top it with a cherry.

Dessicated coconut: if you don't want to invest in ready made dessicated coconut (considering the inflation, boy!!) grate some coconut; run it in the grinder once and remove the moisture in the microwave.

I did it along with my mum the first time i made them. i didn't use the fork but my hands. use one hand for dipping and the other for rolling or else the white of the coconut gets coloured by the chocolate icing. i made them recently by myself and used the fork. it was a breeze.

Believe me it's not difficult and do not be deterred by the long steps of direction in the entry. bake the cake one day and do the rest the following day. it cannot be simpler then and you feel so proud to have baked something that looks so professional without being one!!

Aside: i didn't do the butter icing but my fren did and it turned out well. you can actually let go of it if lazy...it will still remain lamington :)

Signature BBQ chicken

You should be familiar with times when you DON'T want to follow a recipe meticulously...you feel vaguely confident that it may turn out well and you're not risking your time, effort and money. for our BBQ night i did exactly this. i had the solace: well, it's finally going to be bbqed. our major chunk of it was chicken coz we're familiar with it and not expensive as fish and beef is a no-no in most Indian communities except among Christians. ah i have to note down here that Hindu women don't like their men biting into this meat though most of the men concerned here can die for it. so the whole thing is a little delicate (you know the way women bring in the delicateness) and we completely abstain from beef preparations in a mixed crowd. and the chicken here (3/4 kg; can't remember why 3/4 now) was marinated with

coriander powder and chicken masala-1 tbsp each
brown sugar-1 tbsp
ground ginger-1 tsp
sunflower oil-1 tbsp plus extra for cooking
honey, BBQ sauce, 8 to 8 sauce, pepper, fish fry masala and lemon (all of which was an antaaza; so don't ask me now how much of it)



mix all together in a bowl and lovingly (anyone reminded of the Chicken Soup Series, boy) smear the chicken pieces with it. men...duty calls....relish it when it's still hot.

Herb and Garlic Prawns

I CANNOT get enough of this high-cholesterol beauty!! i can binge on it. i still remember with nostalgia the delicious baked prawns cooked by an elderly lady from Korea. they were so good and it's only the fear of falling sick (coz they're actually dicey) that made me stop myself. i love the prawns biryani my mom makes and the Kerala preparation my mum in law does. my mouth waters coz i've been restricted from prawns intake in this my confinement period.

So when thomas' frens came over to stay in goa with us in the pleasant month of January we decided to have a BBQ night. and let me tell you i don't know what got into me but in my third month of pregnancy i invaded my kitchen in a frenzy. i cooked and cooked and cooked. and i offered to do the major chunk of marination. i was doing prawns for the first time and i followed a recipe with some moderation from a book called Practical Barbecue. it was a huge success and Rana (thomas fren) refused to share it with anyone! i got a bite or two :)

Here goes the recipe.

prawns-350 gm
fresh parsley-1 tbsp
fresh coriander-2 tbsp
lemon juice-4 tbsp
olive oil-2 tbsp
butter-5 tbsp
garlic cloves-2 chopped
any fish fry masala-1-2 tbsp (depending on how spicy you want it)
salt and pepper



Place the prepared prawns in a non-metallic dish with the parsley, coriander, lemon juice, fish fry masala, salt and pepper. leave the prawns to marinate in the herb mixture for at least 30 mins.
Heat the oil and butter with the garlic until the butter melts. stir to mix thoroughly.
With a slotted spoon remove the prawns from the marinade and add them to the pan with butter/garlic. stir the prawns into the garlic butter until well coated and thread them onto the skewers and barbecue (my job was only marination; BBQing was a stag affair :)



Once the kebabs are served onto the plates drizzle over any remaining garlic butter. (Obviously i used a larger quantity as indicated in the photo.) it was out-of-the-world.

Caramel Cake

Yet another cake. this one goes into my best cake list. easy to make and cost effective. (i'm actually tired. i forgot to announce the birth of our second daughter alicia sara george. she's a month and a half old and really adorable. and i could afford to delay passing on the news. oh yeah that's how bad i can be.) back to the cake. it's almost over the day i baked it. an excellent tea time cake choice.

maida-1 cup
eggs-5
butter-100 gm (room temp)
powdered sugar-1/2 cup
granulated sugar-1/2 cup
baking powder-1 heaped tsp
soda bicarb-1 tsp
really hot water-1/2 cup
milkmaid (condense milk)-1/4 cup
butterscotch essence-1/2-1 tsp (absolutely optional)

Sift the maida, baking powder and soda bicarb together and keep aside. caramelise sugar first. melt the half cup granulated sugar in a tough pan. when it browns (dark brown in fact) add the half cup of hot water to it. turn off the burner and cool thoroughly. lightly beat the butter in a bowl and add the powdered sugar and beat well. add the milkmaid and beat again. using a blender beat the five eggs thoroughly till it's soft and lathery (is there a word like this; hope you get what i mean). add half of this egg mix to the butter-sugar-milkmaid mix. add maida. beat moderately. add the final half of the egg very slowly to the batter and mix with a wooden spoon. add the caramel syrup slowly into the mix and beat finally to get a good consistency (the recipe doesn't ask you to beat; but i like to beat everything beatable in a cake recipe.). pour the batter (which is surprisingly thin; don't worry it turns out just fine.) into a cake tin and bake at 170 C for 30-45 min.


I baked for 40 min and it browned gorgeously. i tasted the batter before i put the essence and i found it better than with the essence. but the cake did not have the strong taste of the essence. i added only half a tsp. sheba, this is going to be quite a find for you.

Courtesy: Lakshmi Nair

Cream of Onion Soup

In case you don't have chicken at home and you quickly want to fix an equally tasty soup, follow the recipe below.

onion-1 cup chopped fine
spring onion-1 stalk chopped fine (optional)
garlic-3-4 flakes chopped fine
butter-3 tbsp (don't try and reduce this!!)
maida-2 tbsp
milk-2 cups
water-3 cups
maggie instant chicken taste maker-1/2-1 packet
maggie instant soup powder (any flavour)-1 tbsp
grated cheese or cheese slice or cheese spread-2 tbsp
pepper and salt-as per requirement

Melt butter in a pan. add onion and garlic and leave it to brown. add maida and fry for two minutes. add the milk-water mix. on low flame add the taste maker and soup powder, pepper and salt. add the spring onion. of course the onion goes into the frying and at this stage you add only the chopped shoot. stir on high flame till it thickens. turn off the flame and add the cheese. serve hot.

The quantity serves 5-6 people. i used paneer ka pani or whey instead of water. the taste is not at all affected and you have added nutrition too.

When you add salt in both the soups consider the fact that the taste maker, the instant soup powder and the cheese are salty.

Chicken-Cheese soup

Don't you love the sight of those slivers of butter melting in your pan and isn't the fragrance divine when you add some onions and garlic to it. i'm reminded of the scene in the movie Julie & Julia where meryl streep orders a baked fish off the menu and delights in the waft of butter that seeps into her butter-craving system. i felt so happy too making this soup; the heavenly smell kicking my hormones (i don't know, endorphins come to my mind though it's hardly endorphins in action here!!). the subsequent built-up in the soup looked promising as and when the ingredients were added. and the final product was an excellent monsoon a la carte soup. we enjoyed it with plain buns topped with a petite slice of cheese warmed in the oven. i loved those moments. let me share the recipe with you.

butter-3 tbsp
garlic-4-5 flakes chopped fine
boiled chicken-3-4 good meat pieces
onion-one big chopped fine
spring onion-one small stalk chopped fine (optional)
celery-one small stalk chopped fine (optional)
maida-2-3 tbsp
milk-700 ml
water-500 ml
grated cheese-1/4 cup
maggie extra taste chicken powder-11/2 packets
maggie instant soup powder (any flavour)-2 tbsp
pepper powder and salt-as per requirement

Boil the chicken pieces with pepper and salt and reserve the stock. i didn't follow any particular measurement for this. reserve the stock that you end up making. heat the butter in a pan and add the onion and garlic to it and brown. add the celery and saute. add the maida and fry it for two minutes. add the water (which includes the chicken stock too), milk, taste maker, soup powder, chicken pieces, pepper and salt and stir on high flame till it boils. it thickens only as it boils. so if you keep stirring you can put it on high flame which avoids curdling. switch off once the soup thickens or once it boils and then add the cheese. sprinkle some pepper and celery as garnish.

I used amul cheese slices and another time i used cheese spread. they were both yum.

This fills ten average sized soup bowls. so i suggest you don't go for a smaller quantity because you sure can't stop with one bowl!