Search This Blog

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Dry Fruits & Strawberry Basundi



Dry Fruits & Strawberry Basundi




Serves Five 6 oz custard bowls

Ingredients 

1. Whole Milk 1 gallon
2. Condensed Milk 11/2 cup
3. Toppings of your choice(I added chopped pistacchios, slivered almonds & thinly sliced strawberries)

Method Of Preparation 

1. Take a heavy bottomed pan & add milk to it.

2. Put it on a very low flame on the gas.

3. Let the milk come to a boil gently. 

4. Keep stirring in regular intervals to prevent the milk from getting burnt or sticking to the bottom of the pan.

5. As the milk keeps boiling, it thickens. 

6. As the milk thicken, there will be milk solids forming on the sides of the pan & cream on the top.

7. Using a ladle, scrape the solids & cream off & add it back to the milk & continue stirring.

8. You need to condense the milk to 1/3 rd of its original quantity. It needs to thicken till it gets a very very light brown shade(see the 3rd picture below)

9. Add some condensed milk & stir the mixture for 30 seconds till it forms a uniform mixture & then turn off the gas.

10. Add all kinds of nuts & dry fruits & let the mixture cool & then refrigerate it for 2 hours.

11. Serve the basundhi chilled/hot/warm.

12. If your going to serve it hot/warm, then you needn't refrigerate it...









Notes

1. Use a heavy bottomed pan to condense the milk.

2. Never put the flame on high when boiling the milk. Always boil on a very low flame from the start till the end. 

3. Adding cardamom powder is completely optional. I did not add anything as I wanted to keep it plain & simple.

4. Saffron gives the sweet a nice yellow color but I haven't added it as I just wanted it to have the natural color without adding anything.

5. If your adding fresh fruits to the basundhi, then add it only at the time of serving. Do not add it before refrigerating. Add it just before serving.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Authentic Ambur Mutton Biryani



The Authentic Ambur Mutton Biryani



Ingredients 

A. Ingredients for the mutton gravy

1. Mutton 500 grams
2. Onions 2 large
3. Tomatoes 2 Medium
4. Red chilli paste of 30 dried red chillies
5. Cinnamon 2(1" sticks)
6. Cloves 3
7. Cardamoms 3
8. Oil 1/2 cup
9. Yogurt 1/4 cup
10. Ginger paste 21/2 tbsp 
11. Garlic paste 21/2 tbsp
12. Mint leaves 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup
13. Coriander leaves 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup
14. Hot water 1 cup
15. Rock salt 

B. Ingredients for cooking the rice

1. Jeeraga sambha rice 2 cups
2. Water
3. Rock salt
4. Oil 2 tsp 

Method Of Preparation

1. Wash the rice well & keep it aside.

2. Boil some water in a saucepan & soak the dried red chillies in the hot water for 15 minutes & then grind these chillies with a tsp or two of water.

3. Keeping aside, 1 cup of water(the water that was used to soak dried red chillies)discard the rest of the water.

4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan.

5. When the oil gets hot, add a tsp of yogurt(remove a tsp from the 1/4 cup of yogurt & add it) to the oil.

6. Then add the whole garam masala(cloves, cinnamon & cardamom)

7. Add the garlic paste. Sauté for two minutes or till the raw smell is gone. 

8. Then add the ginger paste & sauté on medium flame till it starts to become brown.

9. Add the red chilli paste & mix everything together. You don't need to sauté it.

10. Add the 1/4 cup mint & coriander leaves & sauté well.

11. Add few slices of onion & sauté till they become translucent. 

12. Now add the mutton pieces & mix & sauté well & let it cook for two to three minutes.

13. Now add the remaining 1/4 cup mint & coriander leaves. Sauté till the leaves shrink in size.

14. Then add the onions & tomatoes together & mix everything together & let them cook till they become soft.

15. Add the rest of the yogurt & mix well. 

16. Boil the 1 cup of water(kept aside after boiling the red chillies) & when it is hot, add it to the mutton along with salt & cook covered on low flame for 45 minutes to an hour or till you see oil floating on top. The mutton should be cooked well but it shouldn't be cooked too much & become too soft. You will be putting it on dum for sometime so if you cook it too soft now, the mutton will get mushy while on dum.

17. In the mean time, prepare the rice. Take a pot full of water. Add salt to it.

18. When the water starts boiling, add the washed rice to this & then add two tsps of oil.

19. Do not stir the rice as u may tend to break it.

20. Once the rice is half cooked, drain the rice to a colander & rinse it just once in cold running water to stop the cooking process & set it aside. You can also drain the rice onto a muslin cloth.

21. After 45 minutes, check to see if the curry is done.

22. Now you need to put the biryani on dum.

23. Spread the half cooked rice on the mutton curry & mix the rice & the curry together just once gently.

24. Heat a dosa tawa or an iron skillet on high flame. When it becomes hot, turn the flame to low & place the heavy bottomed pan with the rice & the mutton on the tawa & cover it with a tight fitting lid.

24. Cook the rice on low flame for 20 minutes. When you open the lid, you will see steam coming out of the biryani, that is when you know your rice is cooked well.

25. Turn off the flame & keep it covered for another 20 minutes.

26. Serve hot with raita, lemon pickle & pappad.


                                        Wash the mutton well & keep it aside

                             When the oil is hot, add yogurt & then the whole spices

                                                        Add garlic paste

                                                           Add ginger paste

                                                            Add red chilli paste

                                          Add 1/4 cup of mint & coriander leaves

                                                   Add a few slices of onions

                                                           Add the mutton

                            Add the remaining mint & coriander leaves & then onions

& tomatoes


                                               Then add the remaining yogurt

                                                     Add 1 cup of hot water

                      After 45 minutes, mutton is done & you can see oil floating on top.

                                            Fill a pot with water & add salt to it.

                                        When the water boils, add the washed rice.

                                     Rice is half cooked & strained onto a colander

                                           Now layer the rice on the mutton curry

                                        The rice is layered on the mutton gravy

Placed a hot iron skillet on the gas & Covered the pot with a tight fitting lid & put it on dum for 20 minutes on low flame

                                                           The rice is cooked 

                                                             The biryani is ready


Notes

1. Prepare this biryani a few hours before serving so that the flavor & the masala gets infused into the biryani & tastes the best.

2. Do not add any other masalas or powders to the biryani. 

3. The authentic Ambur biryani uses only red chilli paste so do not add red chilli powder as it may alter the taste of the biryani.

4. Do not add bay leaves to the biryani(I have added it but please skip it)

5. Ambur biryani tastes best with Jeeraga sambha rice so try to use that & remember not to over cook the rice. If you overcook it, the entire biryani will go waste. You know it is 50% cooked when you take a grain of rice & try to break it, it needs to be brittle & break but it shouldn't mash. The center of the grain needs to be dry. & not mushy. When you try to mash the grain, u shouldn't be able to mash it. If it gets mashed easily, then you have overcooked it.

6. The mutton takes anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour to get cooked. The mutton still needs to get cooked on the dum so do not cook it till it becomes too soft. When it's on the dum for 20 minutes, it becomes soft & tender.

7. If you do not have a tight fitting lid, then place the lid that you have, on the pot & then keep a heavy pot filled with water on it.

8. It took 20 minutes for my rice to get cooked on the dum. Yours could take 20 or it could get cooked in 15 minutes or might take a couple of more minutes. So, if your doing it for the first time, keep an eye on it.

9. My dried red chillies were not a bit spicy so I used 30 & still my biryani was only medium spicy. You can use around 12-15 chillies if your red chillies are spicy.

10. Do not add the ginger & garlic paste together. Add the garlic paste first followed by ginger paste.


A few mistakes that I did which I don't want you to do.


1. I have added a bay leaf to the oil. You should not add it.

2. While putting the biryani on dum, I have not mixed the rice & the gravy. I just layered the rice on the gravy & closed the pot with the lid, but you have to mix the rice & the gravy together before putting it on the dum. Do not stir & mix too much & break the rice. Just give it a gentle mix. If you feel you will break the rice upon stirring, then don't do it. Just layer the rice on the gravy & put it on dum.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Eggless Gulab Jamun Cup Cakes



Eggless Gulab Jamun Cup Cakes





Look at the soft, fluffy & spongy cup cakes without any cracks fresh out of the oven



Yields 12 cup cakes


Ingredients 

1. Gulab Jamuns 3
2. All Purpose Flour 11/2 cups
3. Hung Yogurt at room temperature 1 cup
4. Condensed Milk 11/4 cups (or 1 cup of sugar)
5. Vinegar 1 tsp
6. Milk at room temperature 2 tbsp
7. Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
8. Oil 1/2 cup
9. Baking Powder 1 tsp & a pinch extra
10. Baking Soda 1 tsp


Method Of Preparation 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F

2. In a large bowl, mix together oil & condensed milk until well combined.

3. Then to this add the vanilla extract, vinegar, milk & mix everything together.

4. Then add yogurt, little by little & beat till it becomes a uniform mixture. 



5. In another bowl sift together flour followed by baking powder & baking soda.


6. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture & beat well for less than 30 seconds
.



7. Line your cup cake molds with silicone or paper cup cake liners. 

8. Cut each gulab jamun into 2 halves.

9. Add 2 tablespoons of batter into the moulds & then place the gulab jamun in the center & then fill in the moulds with batter upto 3/4th.





10. Bake these cupcakes in the pre heated oven for about 15-20 minutes.

11. Once done, take them out of the oven & transfer them to a cooling rack.

12. You will know your cupcakes are done, when a skewer inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. 

13. You may eat it plain or you may decorate it with the toppings of your choice.



Look at the texture, see how spongy it is.






Notes:

1. Do not over-bake the cupcakes as they may lose all the moisture in them & become dry.

2. If you plan to store the cupcakes, then you may need to keep them covered in an air tight container.

3. You may skip adding the gulab jamun so if you want to & just keep it plain & simple.

4. If your adding the jamuns, make sure you place them right in the middle & not towards the sides.

5. You can replace oil with butter & condensed milk with 1 cup of sugar. I added condensed milk for an even more soft & fluffy texture.

6. Reducing the quantity of oil/butter will not yield you good results. If at all you don't want to use 1/2 cup oil, then you may add 1/4 cup oil & 11/4 cup yogurt(reduce the quantity of oil by 1/4 & increase the quantity of yogurt by 1/4). This will fetch you the same result as with 1/2 cup oil.

6. The yogurt needs to be thick & not watery.

7. The batter needs to be thick & not flowy.

8. Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture then make sure you do not beat the mixture too much. Just beat enough to combine all the ingredients together. 

9. You can use the same batter to make the basic vanilla sponge cake. It will take around 35 minutes for the cake to be done.

10. My cupcakes were done in 18 minutes. Depending on ur oven it may take anywhere between 15-18 minutes. If your making mini cup cakes, then it may take about 12 minutes. Do not open the door of the oven atleast for the first 12 minutes. Frequent opening & closing the door will make your cupcakes crack on the top. After 15 minutes, keep an eye on the oven. 

11. Do not let the batter sit on ur countertop for a long time once it is ready as the the baking soda in it starts to react & ur cake will become hard. Pour the batter into the moulds as soon as it is ready.

12. Adjust the quantity of condensed milk as per your preference.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Prawns/Shrimp/Chemmeen Biryani



Prawns/Shrimp/Chemmeen Biryani





Ingredients 

A. Ingredients For Marinating & Frying The Prawns/Shrimp

1. Shrimp/prawns 1/2 kg
2. Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
3. Red chilli powder 1 tsp
4. Coriander powder 1 tsp
5. White pepper powder 1/2 tsp
6. Juice of lemon 1/2 tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil for shallow frying the prawns/shrimp

B. Ingredients For The Caramelised Onions

1. Onions 3 
2. Oil 2 cups
3. Sugar 2 pinches

C. Ingredients For Making The Rice

1. Rice 2 cups
2. Cardamom 3
3. Cloves 4
4. Bay leaves 2
5. Cinnamon 1" stick 2
6. Ginger paste 1 tbsp
7. Garlic paste 11/2 tbsp 
8. Green chilli paste 1 tbsp
9. Mint leaves 1/2 cup
10. Coriander leaves 1/2 cup
11. Salt
12. Water 3 cups
13. Ghee 3 tbsps

D. Ingredients For The Shrimp/prawns Masala

1. Ginger crushed 2 tbsp
2. Garlic crushed 3 tbsp 
3. Green chilli crushed 6
4. Onions 21/2 cups thinly sliced
5. Tomatoes 11/4 cup chopped
6. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
7. Red chilli powder 1 tsp
8. Coriander powder 21/2 tsp 
9. Biryani masala 2 tsp
10. Mint leaves 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup
11. Coriander leaves 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup
12. Juice of 1/2 lemon 
13. Salt to taste 
14. Oil 5 tbsps

E. Ingredients For The Biryani Masala

1. Fennel seeds 1 tsp
2. Cumin seeds 1 tsp
3. Shah Jeera 1 tsp
4. Mace 6
5. Nutmeg 1/2 tsp
6. Star anise 1
7. Cloves 8
8. Cinnamon 2(1" sticks)
9. Cardamom 4
10. Bay leaves 1

F. Ingredients For The Aromatic Ghee

1. Ghee 4 tbsps
2. Biryani Masala 1/4 tsp

G. Other Ingredients For The Garnish

1. Coriander leaves a handful 
2. Mint leaves a handful 
3. Saffron infused milk 
4. Cashews & raisins 

Method Of Preparation 

A. Marinating & Frying The Shrimp

1. Remove the shell & wash the shrimp nicely under cold running water.

2. Marinate the shrimps with the ingredients mentioned under "A" & leave it aside for an hour. Do not pat dry the prawns after washing them because you want the marinade to stick on them.

3. After an hour, grease a non stick skillet with some oil & fry these shrimps(a few at a time) with two tsps of oil. 

4. Do not deep fry the shrimps. 

5. Fry on both sides till the shrimps get cooked. The shrimps cook very fast so it shouldn't take a lot of time to fry these. Cook the shrimps to 95%(it means the shrimps/prawns need to be cooked, at the same time they shouldn't go too soft & tender)





B. For The Caramelised Onions

1. In a pan add oil. When the oil becomes hot, add the thinly sliced onions & fry them on a medium low flame till they become light brown in color.

2. Drain the onions on paper towels.

3. You can add two pinches of sugar on the onions while they are being fried.

4. Do not overcrowd the pan, so divide the onions into batches & fry them.

5. You can remove the onions from the oil when they turn light brown as they tend to darken a while after they are cooked.




C. Preparation Of Rice

1. Wash the rice in cold running water & keep it aside.

2. In a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee, then add the whole garam masala. 

3. When you get a nice smell from the masala, add the onions.

4. When the onions turn translucent, add ginger garlic green chilli paste & sauté for 2 minutes or till the raw smell is gone.

5. Then add the mint & coriander leaves & sauté till the leaves shrink in size.

6. Now add the rice & fry it for a minute till the rice becomes dry & the grains separate from each other.

7. Add water & salt & cook the rice till it is 90% done.

(I have forgotten to add the onions but you need to add them)







D. Preparation Of The Masala

1. In a skillet & add some oil that was left after frying the onions or if there's oil left after frying the shrimps, you may add that too.

2. When the oil gets hot, add the thinly sliced onions & sauté till they turn translucent. 

3. Now add the ginger garlic green chilli paste & sauté till it turns brown & then add 1/4 cup mint & coriander leaves & mix well.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes & cook till it becomes soft & mushy. 

5. Add the chilli powder,coriander powder, biryani masala & salt & sauté well to combine everything together & till the raw smell is gone. Add about 4 tbsps of water to the mixture. You can add more water if you think its needed.

6. Now add the fried shrimp & mix well. Also add the remaining mint & coriander leaves, lemon juice & mix well & cook uncovered on low flame for a minute & turn off the gas.










E. For The Biryani Masala

1. Dry roast all the ingredients & grind to a fine powder.

F. For The Aromatic Masala

1. Take some ghee in a bowl & add the biryani masala to it & mix well & keep it aside for the final garnish.

G. For The Garnish

1. Add saffron strands in milk in a bowl & let it rest on ur countertop for a while before you sprinkle it on the biryani.

2. Finely chop mint & coriander leaves & keep it aside.

3. In 2 tbsps of ghee, fry the cashews till they turn golden brown in color & then fry the raisins till they puff up.



E. Layering & Final Cooking 

1. Take a heavy bottomed pan & grease it with 2 tbsp of ghee.

2. Spread half of the shrimp masala, then spread half of the cooked rice.

3. Sprinkle the aromatic ghee, followed by the fried cashews & raisins, mint & coriander leaves, brown onions & saffron infused milk.

4. Repeat this process again till all the masala & the rice is transferred to the pan for layering & cooking.

5. Cover with a tight lid & cook the biryani on low flame for 10-12 minutes.

6. Do not cook for more than 10-12 minutes because you just need the prawns to become tender & the rice to cook 5% more. If you cook longer then you rice will become mushy.

7. Turn off the flame but do not open the lid for the next 20 minutes.

8. After 20 minutes, open it & serve the biryani hot with the raita of your choice, pappad & lemon pickle. 









Notes:

1. There are two ways in which you can cook the rice.

A. This is how I cooked the rice.

I generally add 11/2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. Here you want the rice to be 90% cooked.(I.e, the rice needs to be cooked well it at the same time it shouldn't be too soft, it should be a bit grainy. The rice shouldn't be mushy. When you put a grain in between your fingers, u should be able to press it but at the same time you should not be able to mash it in a single press. You will understand this when you cook the rice.) So I added 1 tbsp less of 11/2 cups water & cooked the rice right. You can also add 11/2 cups of water & cook the rice right but I didn't want to take a risk so I reduced 1 tbsp of water. If you feel the 1 tbsp of water is not going to make a difference then add 11/2 cups of water.

B. The second method is the draining method 

You need to fill a pot full of water. Add the whole garam masala to the water. When the water starts boiling, add a tbsp of ghee & then add salt & basmati rice to the boiling water & as said above cook the rice upto 90%. When the rice has cooked to the texture that you want, immediately turn off the gas & add the rice to the colander & put it under cold running water for a few seconds to stop the cooking process.

2. The shrimp mixture should not be too dry or liquidy, There should be some moisture content in it. It should be thick.

3. I have not added ginger garlic paste to the marinade. You may add it if you wish to.

4. If you do not have a right fitting lid then you may cover it with a flat lid & then place a heavy bottomed pan with water in it on top of the lid.

5. The final layering & cooking should be done in a heavy bottomed pan otherwise there is a very high chance that your biryani will get burnt at the bottom.

6. You may also keep an iron skillet/dosa tawa on the gas on high flame, when the skillet becomes hot, reduce the flame to low & keep the biryani pot on it & cook for 10 minutes.

7. Adjust the quantity of spices as per your spice level tolerance.

8. You can add 1/4 cup of yogurt to the prawn masala(after you add the prawns) if you wish to. I have never done it that way but you may try it if you want to.