Crock Pot(Slow Cooker) Chicken Biryani

You know the best item to purchase for kitchen during thanks giving is Crock pot, I got it just for $10 and now it is $29. Though I did not have any idea how to use it, I just got it to experiment. When I told about this slow cooker to my mom, she immediately told me to make this biryani. She also said that in good olden days they used to prepare this way. The process of cooking slow makes the masala flavors in the curry to slowly diffuse in to the rice and gives a very unique and delicious flavor.
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Ingredeints
For marination:1 Kg or 2.2lb chicken(boneless or with bones)

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil ( I prefer soybean oil)
• 2 large onions, chopped longitudinally and fried to golden brown with little oil.
• 2 tablespoon of gingergarlic paste
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablepoon chili powder(Depending on the heat you require, this gives mild heat)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves/pudina
• 1/2 cup coriander/ cilantro chopped
• 1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken pieces cut into chunks
• 4 pods cardamom
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 (1 inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 1 mace/Javithri
2 large bay leaves 1 table spoon salt 1/4 table spoon black cumin seeds( optional)

Lemon juice-1 tbsp

Vegetable oil-4tbsp

• For Rice:
• 3 cups(260ml) of Basmati rice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt to taste
• water for cooking

Method:

Cut the chicken in to medium size pieces, remove extra fat and wash it. Squeeze out all water in the chicken and take it in a bowl. Now add all the marinating ingredients mentioned above into the chicken and mix well. Keep this mixture in a refrigerator for about 30min to 24hrs. During marination all the juices and spices will enter into the inner portions of the meat and gives it a nice flavor. The longer you keep for the best the biryani tastes. So, you can marinate the day before you cook for better taste or else you can just marinate for 30min if you need to cook fast.

Wash and cook the rice till they are 70% done, by adding salt to taste vegetable oil. When the rice is ready, filter water and keep rice aside. Turn on the crock pot and set it to high, and arrange marinated chicken as a layer in the bottom and add rice on the top. On top of it, add fried onions, little pudina and coriander/cilantro and add some oil, and little color on top. Close witha lid and Cook under high flame for 3hrs and slow flame for 1hr. Check in between to see whether chicken is cooked properly. Also check before you serve and cook for few more minutes if it is not done. Serve hot with raita or sprinke little lemon juice.

Hope you like my recipe, please feel free to post your comments. They are very valuable for me, you can even subscribe by e-mail to my blog, the recipes will reach your inbox. ThanX for visiting my space. Please bookmark it to visit/ remember again.

Cauliflower masala curry- Introducing the Non vegetarian flavors to the vegetarians

Cauliflower is my all time favorite vegetable. When ever I'm tired or not in a mood to cook, I'll put cauliflower in my refrigerator to work. It is because it cooks fast and tastes wonderful. I personally like cauliflower manchuria very much, since it is a deep fried food I prepare it occasionally. My hubby who is not a big fan of manchuria also began to like this recipe. Now coming to the cauliflower masala recipe, this is for those people who started practising vegetarianism and carve for non vegetarian flavors. It is a rich flavorful and spicy curry prepared almost in a similar way you prepare chicken curry in Indian style.
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Ingredients:
Cauliflower separated to medium size florets-2cups
Green peas-1/4cup
Grind 1tbsp of dry roasted Corianded seeds+ 1/2tbsp of cumin seeds dry roasted + 2 tbsp of dry coconut dry roasted+ 2pods of Garlic
Garam Masla-1/4tbsp
Ginger garlic paste-1 and 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric-1/4tbsp
Red chili powder-1tbsp or to taste
Yogurt/curd-2tbsp
Tomatoes finely chopped-1 cup
oil-4tbsp
Green chili - finely chopped
Onion-1/2cup Finley chopped
Coriander/cilantro leaves Finley chopped

Method:
Heat 4tbsp of oil in pot/thick bottom non stick pan. Add onion and green chili and saute them till they are nice and transparent. Then add turmeric, ginger garlic paste, coriander seeds grind mixture, garam masala, red chili powder and mix well. Cook till the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes away. Now add the cauliflower and green peas and mix well. Add 1cup of water and mix well. Cook this mixture under high flame for 10min and medium flame for 10 min while stirring in between. Then add tomatoes, yogurt and salt. Mix well and cook under medium flame till all chicken is well cooked. Check for taste and adjust it. If it is too spicy then add 2tbsp of lemon jucie. Finally garnish with cilantro and serve hot with bagara/pulav/rice/roti. Hope you like my recipe.

Featured on TheForeignDomestic.com

Kirstein of theforeigndomestic.com featured me in one of her 100recipe Marathon. In this regard she tried one of the recipe in my blog "Healthy Phyllo rolls Recipe" I Thank her for trying and reviewing it. I am glad that she liked it.

These real comments and real reviews are the one we bloggers crave for. I really appreciate the idea of Kristein to take 100 recipes from different blogs and reviewing  them and I wish her all the best.
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Yours,

DD

Natu kodi koora-Chicken curry in Village style

My grand mother used to prepare this curry specially for my dad. Natu kodi means " Village Chicken" in English. Compared to the broiler this chicken has the unique and strong flavor. When you make this curry smell of it will reach all the houses at your street. She used to prepare this curry in mud pots and they are known as "Matti Kundalu" in our regional language Telugu. The curry cooked in these pots makes this curry even more flavorful. This curry is specially prepared in the villages for "Sankrathi". Sankrathi is the Harvest festival celebrated in some parts of India. During this festival, women in the house will make a very colorful rangoli in front of their house, men will fly kites and in villages "Kodi pandam" means "Chicken Fights" and "Edla Pandalu" means " Bullock Races". And lots and lots of food varities.

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Though I cannot find the Natu Kodi here, I made the curry in the same style of my grand mother with the chicken available in my near by market.

Method:
Chicken Drum sticks or Chicken with bones- 2.5lb or 1.13KG
Grind 1tbsp of dry roasted Corianded seeds+ 1/2tbsp of cumin seeds dry roasted + 2 tbsp of dry coconut dry roasted+ 2pods of Garlic
Garam Masla-1/4tbsp
Ginger garlic paste-1 and 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric-1/4tbsp
Red chili powder-1tbsp or to taste
Yogurt/curd-2tbsp
Tomatoes finely chopped-1 cup
oil-4tbsp
Green chili - finely chopped
Onion-1/2cup Finley chopped
Coriander/cilantro leaves Finley chopped

Method:
Clean the chicken by trimming extra fat and removing skin. Make deep cuts on all sides of the chicken drum sticks if you are using them. If you are using whole chicken cut it in to medium size pieces, wash it and keep it aside. Heat 4tbsp of oil in pot/thick bottom non stick pan. Add onion and green chili and saute them till they are nice and transparent. Then add turmeric, ginger garlic paste, coriander seeds grind mixture, garam masala, red chili powder and mix well. Cook till the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes away. Now add in al the chicken and mix well. Add 1cup of water and mix well. Cook this mixture under high flame for 10min and medium flame for 10 min while stirring in between. Then add tomatoes, yogurt and salt. Mix well and cook under medium flame till all chicken is well cooked. Check for taste and adjust it. If it is too spicy then add 2tbsp of lemon jucie. Finally garnish with cilantro and serve hot with bagara/pulav/rice/roti. Hope you like my recipe. If you are making this curry in a mud pot after turning off the flame the curry will still cook for about 5min because of the heat inside the pot, so you better take out the curry immediately in to serving bowl.

Enjoy natu kodi koora. I got my compliments from my hubby, now its your turn this curry and receive compliments from your loved ones and please do come back to my blog and leave a comment.

Sweet Potato curry Puffs

Sweet potatoes are the excellent source of vitamins and nutrients. These sweet potatoes come in several different varieties viz yellow, Orange & purple etc., Orange sweet potato is some times called as Yam in North America. While browsing in the Internet I found out that it serves as a great food for the type-2 diabetes patients. It will induce the production of insulin to certain extent. Apart from this it contains fiber which is a major health beneficiary.
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In India sweet potatoes are had during the long fasting hours for instant energy. In villages I remember my grand mother used to grill them on a direct flame, and later serve by removing the skin and seasoned with salt. These are cooked in many different varieties all over the world. I am presenting you the little Indianised version of a puff pastry.

Ingredients
Sweet potato-1big
Onion finely chopped-1cup
Green chili finely chopped-1/2tbsp
Curry leafs-finely chopped-10 leaves
Salt to taste
Pepper powder to taste
chat masala-1/4tbsp(optional) or Amchur powder/dry mango powder-pinch(optional)
Lemon juice-2tbsp
oil-2tbsp
mustard seeds-1/4tbsp
cumin seeds-1/4tbsp
Puff pastry sheet-1 (makes 6 puffs)

Method
Cook sweet potato with little salt. Peal skin and mash it. Now heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they splatter add onion,curry leaf, salt, pepper powder, chat masala and green chili. When they are cooked finely add mashed sweet potato and mix well. Then add lemon juice and mix well. Turn off the stove and let the mixture come to room temperature.

Take the pastry sheet out of the pack and wait till it comes to room temperature. Unroll the pastry sheet and cut it into six equal pieces. Place the curry in every sheet and close it. Pre heat the oven to 400F. Mean while place the puffs in the refrigerator for 5min and bake for 20-25min. Till puffs are golden brown. Enjoy these puffs with tomato sauce.

Hope you like it and please do not forget to leave a comment.

Surprise Curry- Ripe Mango Curry

Please do not make faces after reading the title!!! What you are reading is exactly the one that I made. You have to believe me this is the real wonderful curry that I never know before, and I regret for not knowing it before. Once you taste this curry, you are not going to leave it. You will make it again and again. :):):):)All curries are tested on my hubby & myself and they are presented to you all through this blog. They are 100% safe :):):):). now jokes apart and here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Ripe mango or partially ripe mango-1
Onion-chopped 1 cup divided
Grated coconut-1/4cup
Fenu greek seeds-1/4tbsp
Cumin seeds-1 tbsp divided
green chili-1
red chili-1
salt to taste
yogurt-1tbsp
Garlic-1 pod
For tempering:
2tbsp of oil
mustard seeds-1/4tbsp
cumin seeds-1/4tbsp
red chili 2
curry leaves few

Method
Peal and deseed mango. Cut into pieces and add 1cup of water and cook for about 10min under medium to high flame by adding 1/4tbsp of salt. Mean while dry roast the cumin and fenugreek(methi) seeds together and add to mixie jar. To the jar also add grated coconut, green chili, red chili, garlic and 1/4cup onion and grind it to a smooth paste by adding little water if required. When the mango is ready mash it if you do not wish to have them as it is. After mashing cook this on slow flame and add grinded mixture to it and cook it till the raw flavor of onion vanishes. Then take yogurt in a bowl and bet it well, then add 2tbsp of water to it and mix well. add this to the mango curry. Check for salt add if required. Now prepare the tempering for the curry, Heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and red chili.when they are done pour this on to the mango curry and mix well. Here is your ripe mango kadai ready. You can have this with kichidi, roti or rice.

Hope you like my recipe

Mysore bonda-- instant version

OMG!! Was it really me who made this wonderful bonda. I was just browsing through the Internet for some special kind of instant and filling recipes,this time deep fry food are an excuse since we did not have any deep fried food from few weeks. I never thought making of Mysore bonda was this much easier, until I find this recipe. Here is the wonderful recipe of instant Mysore bonda.

Ingredient
Makes 20 Mysore bonda
Maida/all purpose flour- 2 cups
Rice flour 1/2 cup
Green chili Finley chopped-1/2 tbsp
Finely chopped ginger 1/4 tbsp
Salt to taste
Baking soda 1/2 tbsp
Butter milk for mixing
Freshly grated coconut 1 tbsp optional
Oil for deep fry

Method
Mix all the ingredients mentioned above in a large bowl except butter milk. When all are throughly combined, then add butter milk and mix well. The consistency of the batter should be little thick. Heat oil in a pan. Take small bowl full of water, dip your hand into water every time you take a dough in to your hand. This way your dough will not stick to your hand and we can obtain the bonda with smooth finishing. Take one lemon size batter in your hand and with the help of thumb push it to the edge of your fingers and drop it into oil. Fry them till they are golden brown on all sides under medium flame. If you keep flame on high only outer part gets cooked and inner remains raw. Take them out of the pan when they are done and serve hot with sambar and coconut chutney. Hope you like my recipe.

Bread pakoda chat

Bread is obviously every ones favorite base for making many different kind of recipes. Bread pakoda is a very crunchy appetizer, you can add more magic to this recipe by adding little freshly made salad to this and enjoy your evenings with a cup of tea.

Ingredients
Bread- 2slices
besin/ gram flour-3tbsp
oil for deep fry
Ajwain-pinch of seeds
Salt to taste
red chili powder to taste

For salad
Onion finely chopped-4tbsp
finely chopped coriander/cilantro leaves-1tbsp
lemon juice-1tbsp
salt to taste
chat masala-pinch
pepper/red chilli powder-pinch

Method
Take the besin flour in a bowl and add ajwain, salt and red chili powder and mix with water. The consistency should be very little thick. Now take the bread slices and cut them diagonally, forming 2 triangles from each slice and dip the slice in the batter and deep fry them under medium flame in oil. Take them out when both sides are golden brown.

 Now mix all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Take 1tbsp of this salad/chat and garnish on the top of each bread pakoda and enjoy with s cup of tea. The lemon and chat masala in the salad gives a different taste with the crispy bite of pakoda. we loved it and we wish that you love it too!!!

Soya chunks Vegetable Biryani

Soya chunks works wonderful when you like to have something different kind of vegetable biryani. Just throw in few cooked soya chunks in the curry you make for vegetable biryani and there you go!!! yummy biryani is ready, which is healthy too!!!

Ingredients:
Soya chunks cooked in 1/2tbsp of salt-1 cup
Vegetables of your choice-3cups
I used 10 beans chopped, 1 small potato chopped, 1 big carrot chopped
Green peas-1/4cup, Cauliflower-1/2cup, capsicum chopped-1/4cup
Onion-1/2cup chopped
Tomato-1cup chopped
Yogurt/curd-1cup
Oil-2tbsp
Butter-1tbsp(Please do not skip this, this butter gives a special flavor to this recipe)
Salt to taste
Cloves-4
Elachi/Cardamom-2
Cinnamon stick-1 inch
Bay leaf-2
Pudina/mint fresh leaves-20 springs
Cilantro 10 springs chopped
Garam masala-1/4tbsp(Mild spicy)
Coriander powder-1tbsp
Cumin powder-1/2tbsp
Green chili-3
Basmathi Rice-3cups(1cup=200ml)
Cumin seeds/Black Cumin-1/2tbsp
Turmeric-1/8th tbsp
Ginger garlic paste-1tbsp

Method:
Wash and soak basmati rice in 5cups of water. Add 1tbsp of salt and cook until 80% done. Take a large skillet and heat 2tbsp of oil and 1tbsp of butter. Then add cumin seeds and when they start splattering add Clove, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf. Add onion, soy chunks and green chili cook till they become transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and turmeric. When they are well cooked, add all the vegetables and saute them. Cover the skillet and cook till all vegetables are 70% cooked. Then add yogurt/curd, cumin powder, coriander powder & garam masala. Mix them all and cook well. Add salt to taste and cook till all vegetables are cooked well. Finally add cilantro and mint leaves and cook till raw flavor goes away.
Arrange rice and curry layers alternatively in a large thick pan and cook under medium flame till the rice is well cooked.

When the rice is done, Serve hot with raita/ mirchi ka salan. you can find these recipes in my blog. trust me it will taste awesome, I just sqeezed little tomato juice on top and had it hot hot!!!!!!!
hope you like it too!!!


 

Stuffed bread fritter (stuffed Bread pakoda)

Bread is the best base to try any kind of recipe with it! I already made bread omlet, sandwich and bread curry. Now it is time to make a crispy and yummy snack with it, this is fabulous appetizer for kids. We loved it, hope you love it too!!!

Ingredients
Bread(any preferably sandwich bread)-2
Potato 1 big grated
Carrots 1 big grated
Cabbage 1/2 cup finely chopped
Onion 1 big finely chopped
Salt to taste
Green chili 2 finely chipped
oil for deep fry
If you like to make little spicy add ajinamoto or chat masala

Method
Add thrice volume of water to potato, cabbage and carrot grated mixture. Boil it and strain it. If possible add this mixture to the kitchen towel and wait till all the water is drained out. Later add green chili and salt. Mix well. Then take a small lemon size mixture in your hand and roll it like a ball. Put this mixture at the center of bread( make sure you remove the brown edges) along the length wise then roll it cut it to the center and fry it till it turns golden brown under medium flame. Drain it in a paper towel and enjoy with sauce. Hope you like my recipe, please leave your comments while you leave.

New year wishes

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 2012!!!!
yours,
DD