Baida Biryani - Spicy Egg Pilaf

I am not the kind of girl who will make biryani from scratch. Why reinvent the wheel when someone has already done the work for you. There are so many different Biryani masalas available out there - just buy a packet and do rest of the work and each time you will have a different flavored biryani. I love Shaan Masalas for my biryanis. And Bombay Biryani Masala is my absolute favorite, closely followed by Sindhi Biryani Masala. I am indifferent towards Malay Biryani Masala but does work when none of the other contenders are available. Do you have a favorite Biryani masala or a brand that you would recommend?

Ingredients and method:

1.5 cup white rice, cooked in microwave
6 to 8 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and cut into half
Cilantro and Mint leaves for layering

Spices:
1 bay leaf
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
4 black peppercorns
1 badi velchi (big cardammom)
2 cardammoms, opened
1 star anise
4 cloves

1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 to 2 green chilli
3 heaping tbsp of Tomato paste (not tomatoes, not tomato pulp, not tomato puree!)
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
Shaan Bombay Biryani Masala
Orange food color (literally two grains!)

1. Heat ghee in a pan
2. Add the spices and gently roast till aromatic
3. Add the onions and green chillies and sautee till browned.
4. Add the tomato paste and a little water and mix. Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin and coriander powder and sautee until the ginger garlic are well roasted. Keep sauteeing and cooking the onions and tomato paste together until the paste leaves oil on the side.
5. Add 2 heaping tbsp of Bombay Biryani Masala and mix well. Paste should be thick and wet but not too watery. Season with salt.
6. Layering and Dum* time:  First put masala on the bottom of a small narrow pan. I used a kadai. Then layer half the eggs opened face down on the masala.  Now add half the rice. Layer chopped cilantro and mint leaves.   Add remainder of the masala followed by remainder of the rice. Reserve maybe 1/4 cup rice to side. Mix orange food color and toss. Layer on top. Put foil on the top.  Apply dum on low flame for half hour making sure its not burning at the bottom. I kept the kadai/pot on a thick tava/skillet  See pic below!!

 

Note: Dum is the process slow cooking by generating steam in the pot to cook the biryani.

BBQ Mac N Cheese

Nothing more delicious than BBQ and cheese pasta.....

Ingredients:

1.5 cups wheat or white macaroni
3 chicken tenderloins
1/4 to 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup Mozarella CHeese
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Mexican Four cheese blend
About 1 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
Store bought Fish Fry Mix (for dredging the chicken)
1 beaten egg
2 small cloves of garlic
1 medium finely chopped red onion (red onion is a MUST!)
Seasonings: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder
Panko bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs

1. Chicken:
Wash and pat dry chicken. Pound the chicken to flatten the pieces. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasonings. Dip the chicken in egg wash followed by the fish fry. Keep all chicken ready. Heat oil in a stainless steel pan.  Add the chicken and cook on low/medium heat on both sides.  Cook chicken till white in the center. Remove and set aside.

2. In the same pan, heat some butter and olive oil. Add 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic. You may have to add some milk to scrape off the pan.  When garlic turns aromatic, add finely chopped red onions. When onions turn translucent, add the milk and chicken stock and stir. Let come to a bit of a boil. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder and stir.  Add both the cheeses and blend well.  Add the bbq sauce either 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup depending on your taste.  Mix well and add the pasta to the pan.  Toss well.

3. Heat the oven to 350F.  Pour the pasta in a 8 inch circle pan.  Sprinkle some panko crumbs followed by Mexican Four Cheese blend on the pasta.  Bake until cheese melts. Serve hot.

Roasted Corn and Black Beans Salad

Aint nothing complicated about a salad - As long as you like the marriage of the ingredients that go together, you are the king of your own salad. The key ingredient of this salad, however, is the Roasted Corn and Beans part. You cannot skip this step for the ultimate smoky taste.

1 Corn on the cob, roasted on cooking range flame
1 cup black beans - use canned beans, completely rinse the beans off of the liquid in a colander, let dry partially, roast black beans for 3 to 4 minutes on high flame in a skillet in some olive oil
2 boiled eggs, chopped
Croutons
1 medium roma tomato, deseeded and chopped
1/4 cup diced red onion
Hidden Valley Southwest Chipotle dressing
Salt
Black pepper
and oh Romaine Lettuce, cut in bite size pieces - when washed lettuce should be completely dry and put it aside in the freezer for few minutes before mixing.
Mexican shredded cheese

Mix all the ingredients together. Sprinkle cheese and croutons as per your quantity.  Drizzle dressing. Serve right away.

Veg. Sweet Corn Soup

Hurricane Irene has begun to rear its ugly head in Delaware. Many parts of the East coast have already been hit.  People are on a lockdown at their homes with lots of water and non-perishable foods. But in this wet and dreary weather, I find comfort in something hot and spicy - like this Indian n Chinese fusion food - Sweet Corn Veg Soup.  You will be surely be slurping this dish till the end...

Ingredients and Method:

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 cups of water

1/2 egg, beaten

Salt/Black pepper

16oz can cream sweet corn

1 serrano pepper, very finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger, very finely chopped

1 tbsp garlic, very finely chopped

1.5 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp vinegar

1. Heat oil in a pot.  Turn the flame to low. Add the garlic, ginger, and green chilli. Sautee till aromatic without burning.

2. Add the creamed corn and stir. Let cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add water and chicken bouillon cubes. (Skip the cubes if vegetarian. Alternatively you can add veg broth)

4. Let come to a boil.

5. Add the soy sauce and vinegar. Cook for another 2 minutes.

6. Add the egg very slowly. While adding the egg in a thin stream, whisk the egg around with a fork (in the pot) with you other hand. 

7.  Take about 2 to 3 tbsp of water. Add cornstarch and whisk well. There should be no clumps. Add to the pot and mix well. The soup will thicken.

7. Let cook for another few minutes.

Serve hot. Makes about 4 medium size servings.  

Breakfast Kati Roll

Kati Roll is nothing but a Indian Burrito.  But the key is to coat the tortilla or indian bread with egg almost like you would a bread for a french toast.  Here is my twist to a traditional kati roll that is generally stuffed with BBQ meat or veggies.  Instead of using regular egg, I made an Indian omlette style egg. And stuffed it with seasoned skillet potatoes.  I would say that the mint chuntney and the tandoori bbq masala really gave it that "Kati Roll" style punch!

2 Tortillas

4 eggs

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 tomato, chopped

2 green chillies, finely chopped

Cilantro

Salt and Black Pepper

Potatoes:

4 small red potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into wedges

Dash of Salt, Black Pepper, Italian seasoning, Garlic powder, Paprika, Tandoori BBQ masala

Mint chutney

1. First make the potatotes. After washing and cutting them add to a bowl.  Drizzle olive oil followed by all the seasonings listed above (under the potatoes).  Toss well. In a skillet, heat oil, add the potatotes. Do not overcrowd. You want them cooked and crispy. So spread them out in a skillet. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes while tossing them around in a pan every so often.  Check for doneness. Towards the end, I covered the skillet with a lid just for 2 to 3 minutes.  Then uncover and let cook again.  When you cover a lid, the steam leaves water and contents get soggy. So make sure that doesnt happen to your potatoes. 

2. Break 4 eggs and beat them well with 2 tbsp of milk.  Add the onions, tomato, green chillies, salt and black pepper, and chopped cilantro. Mix well.

3. Heat oil in a skillet.  Keep your tortilla ready.  Add half of the egg mixture. Quickly add your tortilla and press down. The idea is for the egg to stick to the tortilla.  Keep the flame on medium high.  Then flip the egg/tortilla.  Turn the heat down to medium.

4. Add half the potatoes, mint chutney, and ketchup (optional). 

5. Roll it up. Serve hot.

Makes 2 wraps.

Step by Step Directions:

Tex-Mex Omlette Wrap

Method and Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 tbsp milk

Salt and Black Pepper

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/4 to 1/2 cup black beans

1 clove of garlic, chopped

Mexican blend four cheese

Garnish: Sour cream, Avocados, Salsa

1. Break the eggs in a bowl.  Add a little milk and whisk the eggs really well. Add salt and black pepper.

2. I used canned black beans. Drain the black beans in a colander. Rinse under running water and let all the water drain out.

3.  Heat oil. Add the garlic and slightly brown it. Add the onions and green pepper and jalapeno. Cook till translucent. 

4. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

5. In a skillet, heat oil.  Make an omelette. Turn the flame off.  

6. Fill the center of the omlette with the green peppers and onions mixture. Cover the mixture with cheese.  Fold the omlette like a burrito.  Turn the flame on low. Cover and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes so the cheese melts in the heat of the omlette.

7. Serve with a side of sour cream, avocado, and salsa.

Tahdeeg Rajma Chawal- "Bottom of the Pan" Kidney Beans Pilaf

I have never seen or made anything with Rajma other than Rajma Chawal/Rice.  I wanted to make something different using rajma today. So I thought of making Tahdeeg Rice and Rajma (not that this was any earth shatteringly different!!).  Tah-deeg means "bottom of the pan" in Persian. The first time I had Tahdeeg Rice was about 10 or so years ago when my friend Sanjeet's mother who lives in Persia, Iran made the dish for a dinner night.  And I have still not forgotten the taste that lingers in my mouth.  It was just perfect - the potatoes were perfectly crisped and browned, the rice had a perfect bite to it and the butter just made the whole dish come together so well. 

So, I married both the recipes ie Rajma curry and Tahdeeg Rice together, and came up with Tahdeeg Rajma Rice. Lets see how this experiment turns out!!

Method and Ingredients:

15 oz canned red kidney beans or rajma
1 medium onion, finely sliced lengthwise
1 to 2 red chillies, whole
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
Pinch of sugar
1 tbsp coriander leaves
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1/2 tbsp Tawa fry masala
1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 medium potato, sliced in circles
3 eggs, boiled

For rice:
1/2 cup Basmati rice
Olive oil
Salt
Dash of garlic powder, dried parsley, oregano, and paprika powder.
Saffron in lukewarm milk

Make the Rajma/Kidney Beans:

Empty contents of the kidney beans can in a colander. Run water through it, rinse, and set aside.  Heat oil. Add the cumin and mustard seeds when they sputter add asofoetida and fennel seeds. Add the sliced onions and let fry.  Add a pinch of sugar to get the onions to carmelize. Add the coriander leaves and continue to fry on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of water and ginger garlic paste.  Sautee a little.  Add the rinsed rajma.  Add the turmeric powder and tawa fry masala. Add tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water.  Let cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add a little more water and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.  Leave it a little watery but not too watery and not too dry. Set aside. (Note: By the time, I was done with rice and was ready to plate it, the rajma dried up. If that happens, just add a little water again and cook uncovered for about 2 minutes before serving with the rice).

Make the rice:
Wash the rice in cold running water.  Soak the rice in some water.  Set aside.  Heat 3 cups of water in a pot. Add some oil and salt and let come to a boil.  Add the rice and let cook for about 6 to 7 minutes.  Rice should be par boiled.  Drain in a colander and run cold water on it. Let sit so it loses its water. Drizzle some olive oil, dash of garlic powder, paprika, dried parsley and dried oregano.  Toss with fingers without moving the rice too much as the grains will break. 

Putting it all together:

Heat 1 tbsp of milk so its lukewarm.  Add a pinch of saffron and let sit.  In a flat bottom pan, add butter all over the pan.  Turn the flame to simmer.  Arrange the potato slices overlapping a little.  Arrange boiled egg slices on top of the potato.  Pour rice in a mound on the pan in the center.  Drizzle the saffron milk on and around the rice.  Make a hole in the middle.  Melt some butter. Pour butter in the center of the mound as well as drizzle some butter around the pan's circumference.  Knead some dough and seal the lid with the dough as shown.  Turn to low heat and let cook. About 20 minutes should do the trick. 
Keep an eye on the pan.  When you start seeing potatoes browning on the side, its about ready to be done.

Tips for next time:
Since I cooked this recipe for the first time, I think I would make the following changes: 1) Add more potatoes and cut them in a semi-thick slices (as opposed to thin) 2) Use a pot instead of a pan to let the rice to pack and cook (like a biryani). 

Roasted Cabbage n Cream Corn Soup

This was such a 'shot in the air' recipe! I had some leftover roasted cabbage from when I tried to make asparagus rolls in cabbage, which turned out to be a flop dish and never made the blog.  But, I felt so guilty in throwing out the asparagus that I had cleaned, cut, cooked, and toiled away to make patties out of, that I ended up using them as filling in parathas! Gosh they were yummy - Note to self : Recreate Asparagus Patty Paratha!! Anyhow, so I had the roasted cabbage and an open but unused can of creamed sweet corn.  So, I just let my hands guide me. And it turned out quite alright.  The recipe is quite similar to sweet corn chicken soup found in India. 

3 to 4 leaves of roasted cabbage
1 15 oz can of creamed sweet corn
1 egg, beaten
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
Few drops of sesame oil
1 to 2 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and Black pepper
1 tbsp vinegar
Pinch of sugar
2 to 3 cups of water
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Take out about 3 to 4 full leaves of cabbage, wash, and pat dry.  Heat oil in a flat pan and let the cabbage roast on low heat.  Season with salt and pepper.  It should roast, not burn.  When wilted and roasted, set aside. Give it a coarse chop so we can add it to the soup.

Heat vegetable oil. When really hot, add the ginger, garlic, and green chillies. Roast for a few minutes but do not let it burn. Now add the previously roasted cabbage cut in bite size pieces and roast a little.  Add the creamed corn and mix well.  Add the soy sauce and sesame oil.  Stir and let cook for 3 to 4 minutes.  Now add the water depending on how watery you want the soup.  Crush the bouillon cubes and mix.  Let it come to a rolling boil.  Add the beaten egg either in drops (like egg dropped soup) or stir the soup with a fork as you drop the egg to create thin lines.  Add salt, pepper, and sugar.  Before serving add some vinegar as per taste.  Serve hot!

Quinoa Corn Cake

Its Monday morning and the baby is still sleeping. This means a little more think to think creatively.  I open my fridge and see some leftover corn from the weekend's burritos dinner.  Corn always triggers corn tikkis (corn cakes) in my head but I wanted to give it a little twist.  So I thought of adding quinoa instead of potatoes.  Surprisingly enough, they turned out pretty good. Now, I cannot wait for the hubby to come home so I can experiment on him. 

Ingredients and Method:

1/2 cup corn kernels, canned
1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked
1/2 chicken bouillon cube
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp all purpose flour
Dash of garlic powder, paprika, italian seasonings, hot sauce
Few chopped cilantro
Salt and Black pepper
Panko crumbs to coat

1. Cook the quinoa in a microwave with water and chicken bouillon cube. Alternatively, one can use chicken stock instead of water or just plain water would work as well. Generally, it is one part quinoa to two parts liquid.
2. Let the cooked quinoa stand and completely cool so that there is no moisture left before adding the remaining ingredients.
3. Add all the ingredients except the panko breadcrumbs.  Mix well. Add the all purpose flour a little at a time just to bind the mixture. The consistency should be thick enough that one can pack it into small balls. You can let the mixture stand for a few minutes so any moisture gets absorbed making it easier to make the cakes.
4. Now we are ready to make the Quinoa Corn Cakes. Divide the mixture into balls of equal size. I got about 6 medium size balls. Pack them into balls and flatten them out.  Heat oil in a griddle and keep the flame on medium high. Roll the cakes into the panko breadcrumbs and put them on the griddle.  Drizzle more oil as necessary. About 3 to 4 minutes on each side should do the trick.  Cakes should be golden brownish at the end. Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Note: Panko breadcrumbs burn relatively faster so do not cook on high heat as the breadcrumbs crust will burn leaving the egg uncooked. 

Anda Methi - Fried egg in Fenugreek Leaves

Ingredients and Method:
1.5 cup finely chopped methi leaves
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 or 2 eggs
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 or 2 garlic pods, whole but crushed
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
Dash of Asofoetida
1/4 tsp each of turmeric, cumin, and coriander powder
1 tsp jaggery (or more)
1 green chilli

If you are using fresh methi leaves, break the tips ie leaves of the methi discarding the stems.  Wash, wash, and wash the fenugreek leaves. And right when you think you are done, wash them again. The best way would be to soak them in pot full of water and drain and repeat a few times until there is no dirt/grime left.  Now finely chop the methi with a knife. Rinse the methi again.

Heat oil and add the garlic pods. When slighly brown, add mustard seeds. When they sputter, add the asofoetida.  Now add the finely chopped onions and sautee till they are translucent.  Now add the tomatoes and stir.  Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, and green chilli.  Add the methi leaves and sautee. Cook covered for 3 to 5 minutes.  You may need to add just a little bit of water to prevent the methi from burning. Remember to cook on low to medium flame.  Add salt and jaggery (the jaggery takes away the bitterness of the methi leaves and can be substituted with sugar!)  The methi should  be cooked (when you take a bite it should not taste raw). 

This dish needs to be served right away. So do not break in the egg, until ready to serve.  Make a well in the middle of the pan.  Spray some cooking spray or a little oil for the egg. Break an egg or two. Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and cook for a minute or two. Gentely flip the egg and cook covered for a minute or two. The yolk should not be runny (well unless you want it but I do not recommend it!)  Voila! Anda methi is ready to eat. This particular veggie goes well with chapati or fulkas!

Mushroom n Cheese Puffs

1 frozen Pillsbury or Great Value Pizza Dough box
4 cups of mushrooms, chopped
1 cup finely julienned onions
Spices: 1/4 tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder
Salt to taste
Shredded cheese (Mexican four cheese)
One egg beaten

Filling: First lets make the filling.  Heat some oil. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them sputter. Now add the onions and stir till they are slightly browned.  Now add the mushrooms and give a stir. Add all the spices including salt.  Cook on medium heat till the mushrooms wilt all the way.  Let the filling cool down just a little bit. 

Cover: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Thaw the pizza dough.  Roll it out and run a rolling pin over to make it a little thinner. Keep the original shape intact, however, w hich will be a rectangle.  Cut the rectangle into half (now you will have two sheets).  Fill each sheet with the filling and add cheese.  Now fold it like a hot pocket or a karanji (Indian desert) or a samosa - whatever floats your boat.   

Get an ovensafe baking pan.  Line it up with foil.  Spray baking oil or brush regular oil on the pan and brush some on the puffs.  Slide the puffs onto the pan (oil side down first).  Once on the pan, brush the top side of the puffs with the egg wash (this will give the pastry a nice golden color, skip if you are not a egg eater!) 
Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the side (brushing some oil if necessary).  Bake for another 10 minutes.  Let the color of the pastry guide you!

Baida Paratha - Indian Bread stuffed with Egg

My toddler loves chapati (Indian bread) but eggs not so much.  So, I thought of this idea to make a all-in-one paratha (stuffed bread). It was very easy to make and he loved it as well.

Ingredients:
2 Boiled egs, mashed
1 cup Wheat flour
1/4 tsp each of cumin powder and turmeric powder
1/8 tsp each of chilli powder and coriander powder
1tsp of Chaat masala or Tava Fry masala
Some fresh cilantro or fresh mint, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Method:
Knead the dough with some salt, water, and oil as though you were making chapatis. I used wheat flour because it is much healthier than maida or all purpose flour. Boil the eggs and mash them really well with your fingers until they turn almost powdery. Add all the remaining ingredients and mash well.

Make small balls out of the dough as though you were rolling a chapati or tortilla. Put the egg filling in and fold in the entire chapati to the center. Roll it out gently using some flour. Cook the paratha on a skillet drizziling oil or melted butter or ghee. Flip the paratha a few times so that the flour is cooked all the way.

Happy Eating!