fried rice and chicken munchurian

You know what nutritionists say, they say that in the bowl or plate that you eat you should have at least 5 colors, to make the food apeal to the eye....fried rice is one of those foods, instantly apealing to the eyes!

Fried rice coupled with chicken munchurian is an ideal indo chinese food, though I miss the chinese restaurant I used to go , when I was in hyderabad..and especially the Basket noodles, I plan to make it someday,alas one day will come when I will try out that recipe, but seriously I love the crispy noodles, .nearly 8-9 mnths back when I was pregnant, I had cravings for chinese chopsouey,every now and then I used to bug my husband to take me to all the chinese restaurants, one day we were grocery shopping in Carrefour, my husband found a frozen chopsouey vegetables, he`also took the noodles, next day it was my day off in the kitchen, my husband cooked the chopsouey, but so much that I had to eat that the following night,next day for lunch and then for dinner, now nomore I crave for that:-D.

Lets get back to fried rice,.It is a comon recipe, but every person has their own version of it, so lets try it out!!
Fried rice::


Rice 3 cups, cooked(long grain rice would be good)
beans:250gm chopped
carrot : 1.5 chopped
springonions : 1/2 bunch chopped
eggs :2
chicken : 100 gms cut in cubes
soyasouce
ajinomoto
oil
salt
ginger garlic paste: 1/8th ts(I know we dont use in actual recipe,but i love the flavor of ginger garlic)

proceedure:



-->After cooking the rice, spread it on a tray so that the rice grains dont stick
-->mix the chopped vegetables (beans,carrot spring onion) in a saucepan, and boil in water for about 3 mins.
-->boil the boneless chicken cubes in about 1 cup water with salt, pepper and a pimch of ginger garlic paste.
-->in a bowl break the eggs, put a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper and beat it well
-->In a wok heat oil put the,beaten egg,fry till it is scrambled,then put the boiled chicken, fry for 2 mins then, put the chopped vegetables,fry for 2 mins, put the ginger garlic paste,soya sauce,ajinomoto,salt, pepper, fry for around 2 mins then put the rice and fry till the vegetables and rice are properly mixed.

-->Ta Da your fried rice is ready

Chicken munchurian::

250 gms chicken breast pieces cut in strips
2 capsicum also cut in strips

1 onion sliced

5 flakes garlic chopped

4 green chillies slitted

3 tbsp tomato sauce

2tbsp hot sauce

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp ginger garlic paste'

2 tbsp corn flour

1 egg

ajinomoto

soyasauce

oil

proceedure:

-->Mix `the chicken strips,soyasauce,ginger garlic paste,ajinomoto,salt, 1 tbsp hot sauce,vinegar....mix well and let ot marinate for about 1-2 hour.

-->make batter of 1 egg and corn flour,heat oil in sautepan, dip each chicken strip in the egg batter and soft fry each strip drain i on a paper towel and keep aside

-->now in a wok heat oil, put the sliced onion,fry till the onion is transparent, the put the chopped garlic and slitted green chillies, fry for 30 secs, then put the capsicum fry till it gets soft,then put salt, remaining 1 tbsp hot sauce, tomato sauce,,mix well .

-->Then put the soft fried chicken in the wok and mix till the masala is nicely coated on all the chicken pieces

--> Serve Hot with fried rice

-->

Can you tell me whichplace is this

Hey guys can any one of you tell me which place is it?
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well no its not Ooty, but a just llike Ooty this is a beautiful hill station...
which one ?




well this is a beautiful Hill station called Yercaud...in the state Tamil Nadu...its a beautiful one with breathtaking views ..





Can any man made concrete jungle beat God's natural beauty

NEVER!!!

Mirchi ka Saalan

Have you ever been to a hyderabadi muslim wedding that did not have biryani... I dont think so... and have you ever been to a party that served biryani..without the accompaniment of Mirchi ka saalan....well I don't think that either!

Its an accompaniment with Biryani... and it is as good... without biryani..thats what I feel!!
because as a kid when we had leftovers from the dinner party the previous day..I used to just relish this with roti, white rice,just anything...but people who dont like sour stuff(khatta)...this is just not for them.. but I just love it.....

People who have not had this earlier might be takem aback by its name MIRCHI KA SAALAN=== :-) well.. it doesn't mean that its made of green chillies and its HOT....thing is this is made from big mirchi that is deseeded

So here are the ingredients and it is easy too....you know I am lazy cooker I prefer fast and easy recipes...with 2 babies around me one a toddler and the other an infant I gotta get stuff done before they wake up.... so for me shortcuts are most welcome, so people like me can read on... and people unlike me also can read on coz good thing with less effort is welcome by everybody I am sure.

ingredients:

Sesame(Til) : 50 gms
peanuts : 50 gms
coconut :50 gms
big mirchi: 1/4 kg
onion: 2-3 big
ginger garlic paste:2 tsp
chilli powder: 1 tsp
haldi:1/4 tsp
salt: as u like it
dhanya powder: 1 tsp
zeera powder: 1 tsp
oil 1 cup
cumin 1 tsp
mustard 1/2 tsp
methi seeds 1/8 tsp
tamarind: depending upon the amount of sourness u can withstand,I take arounf 1/2 cup pulp..u can increase or decrease accd to your taste
curry leaves 2 sprigs
cilantro 1/2 cup chopped
nigella seeds(kalonji) 1 tsp

procedure:
-->heat oil in a wok
--> Slit and take out the seeds of the Mirchi and fry kacha-pakka(half fry),take it out and keep aside
-->Cut the onion into thin slices and fry in oil till it gets slight golden brown in color, take it out and keep aside
-->on tawa roast sesame, peanuts,coconut..separately
--> grind sesame,coconut, peanuts in a mixer, also grind the fried onions.
-->Now in a pot heat oil,you can use up the oil that you used to fry onion and chillies, when the oil is hot enough, put cumin,mustard, methi seeds, nigella seeds...when cumin is golden...out the grounded masala(coconut,peanut,sesame,onion paste), ginger garlic paste,haldi, chilly powder, salt, and fry....you need quite lotta oil coz this masala will be sticky ...you fry the masala well... you can see the difference the gravy will become goldenish color and and oil begins too ooze from the sides of the gravy...you have to bhoono-fy well.. coz if this bhoono-fying is not done properly you well get raw flavor of coconut and peanut.. and u know thats not good... so fry well :-)
-->squeeze the tamarind pulp and put the juice in the fried mixture, then put the curry leaves and chopped cilantro
when it starts boiling put dhanya powder, zeera powder, and the fried chillies..
---> cover the pot and cook on low flame stirring frequently till the gravy thickens and the oil separates...

You know the oil layer that stands on the gravy will make u feel guilty ,but gluttony is not a sin:-)


Enjoy this... well i suggest put the curry leaves with sprigs.. after it gets cooked you can take out the sprigs and serve coz most people dont like the curry leaves when it comes while eating:)

Enjoy:-)

P.S. This is my mom's recipe.. she used the dried coconut..and I use the dry dessicated , so i dont know how it tastes with the naaryal type of coconut.

Dubai

This is the picture of Sheik Zayed road during the visit of American president George.W.Bush to dubai..this road mostly jammed with traffic..is clear because a holiday was declared because of the traffic congestion...due to security road blocks...this is a picture that my husband downloaded from gulf news site



Now the worlds tallest building BURJ DUBAI standing tallest building in world...with arounf 186 floors when I last heard.. maybe a couple more floors has been added from then.... it seems here the construction is done 24x7 throughout the week.....nobody knows how tall its gonna be.....
History rising..they say.





It was raining throughout last week... my husband took this picture on his way to office on Sheik Zayed road....it was beautiful...

Mutton Rogan Gosht

Wow...the weather here is so good .In Dubai its really hot during most of the months, but come november,its the most beautiful part of the year,,, and you wont believe how cold it is in december and january...just a couple of days back it was around 10 degrees C.

But you know what..when its hot we wish that its cold but when its cold I am wishing that it should be a little warm.. because I have to bundle my kids in 2-3 layers of clothing before going out.. and that also is not enough....but its great.. coz in this cold.. drinking HOT tea is outta the world.
When the winter started.. we went for barbeque in khorfaqan...we drove from dubai to north of UAE... enjoying the beautiful scenic view of the mountains....that was a great day,.

Today is a Pot luck party at a friend's house in karama ...I was not able to decide what am gonna make..then thought of muttan rogan gosht.

I took a shortcut, actually for it..a list of spices had to be ground... but my grinder gave way..it had to be repaired.. so i had to pick on some readymade spices, of shan.

So if u are going to make from scratch,unlike me
use
1-whole dried red chilli
2 cardamom
2 flakes garlic
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp shah zeera
mace
cinnamon
1 tsp kasoori methi
1/2 tsp zeera
grind all the ingredients,

I used
2 tsp shan karahi gosht
1 tsp shan kheema masala
I was fearing it might not b good but it turned out to be good:)

so here are the ingredients
3 large tomatoes...finely chopped
2 medium onions finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 kg mutton
2 tsp shan karahi masala '
1 tsp shan kheema curry masala
oil about 4 tbsp
1/2 cup yogurt...beaten with a fork
salt very little

proceedure..


Heat oil in a pot put the chopped onions and fry till the onions turn transparent,then add ginger garlic paste and fry till slight golden.. the put the chopped tomatoes and the tomato paste
stir once and cover the pot for about3-4 mins...on low flame...then remove the lid and see that the tomatoes are and onions are soft.. then increase the flame a little and fry the tomatoes and onion mixture..till it becomes a paste...then add the meat... and the shan masalas..or the grounded masala...and fry.. then add the beaten yogurt and fry for about 5 mins.. then put water 2-3 cups...lower the flame... and allow to cook till the meat is tender and the gravy is thick enough.

garnish with cilantro.
serve hot with parathas...naan would b ideal.
NOTE: I made this rogan gosht with another recipe from book, and that turned out better than this,so give that a try
mutton rogan gosht-2

I made out nice fluffy parathas......

Hyderabadi Biryani

Hyderabadi Biryani......mmmmmmmmm doesnt it sound yum..
Well...thats my favourite....and my husband's too....

When I got married I did not know much of cooking .. only the basic stuff...
since I was from Hyderabad.. there were lots of expectations with my first biryani...
but Oh my God...it turned out to be a disaster.....but...You know that was the thing that my husband loved.... and the saying goes that " practice makes man perfect".it came true to me... only me being a woman not a man;-)

You know what! I also got to learn the different versions of biryani...tamil nadu style being the spicier version.. with tomatoes an dlots and lots of ginger garlic..
then there is the keralite version of it that has alittle sweet taste with all these dry fruits like cashew.. and kishmish .

Some time back my husband gifted me a very interesting cookery book....that had the recipe of "Luknawi dumpuqt Biryani".
I tried that out... Man was that awesome?

actually I made that only once.. that was on my daughter's first birthday...I made that with all my love.. and I think thats why it turned out good..you know LOVE is an essential ingredient in every recipe :)

ok lets not b philosophical.. and move on...but seriously my husband says that..that biryani was my best biryani ever....Inshallah will post it recipe...whenever I make it.. and I know that will be soon.

So ok...lets now get down to business

ingredients:
1 Kg basmati rice
1 Kg mutton
200gms yogurt
3-4 Tbsp ginger garlic paste
1.5 Tsp chilly powder
1/2 Tsp turmeric
salt accd to ur taste
4-5 onion finely sliced
1.5 cup oil
2-3 Tbsp pure ghee
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 bunch cilantro
7-9 mint leaves
3-4 green chillies
5 cardamom
small stick cinamon
5 peppercorns
2-3 cloves
1 tsp black cumin(shahzeera)

Heat the oil..in a wok..when it is hot lower the flame and fry the sliced onions till..it turns golden brown in color.. be careful..you be around and be constantly be stirring otherwise the onions near the corners will get dark and onions inside wont be golden at all...so stir occasionally..after frying spread it on a paper towel..or a paper so that the oil is drained and spread it well.. so that it gets crisp..then crush the fried onions with hand.. and keep aside.

now...after cleaning the mutton...in a huge bowl..put the meat ,ginger garlic paste,chilly powder, turmeric, salt, yogurt, garam masala, .Allow it to marianate for at least an hour..2-3hours would b good..but 1 hr will be just fine...you know yogurt is a natural tenderizer... and also the meat will have the flavor infused of all the spices.

In a thick bottom pot..heat oil..the one in which u fried the onions..when its hot...slowly put the marinated meat first and fry for about 10 mins..then but the remaining marinade..the crushed fried onion...and half a bunch of cilantro...u can as well put a couple of slitted green chillies....lower the flame and cover the pot.. stir occasionally..now after some time..taste the gravy..you know it should taste little.. hot(MORE CHILLI) coz when it mixes with the rice..it will get neutralized.by little I mean little...:)

cook till the gravy thickens and till the oil separates and the meat is tender ....meanwhile you wash the rice and soak it for about half an hour...
Fill another big pot with water...in the water but cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorn, cloves, black cumin rest of the cilantro, mint leaves.. and the slitted green chilies..cover the pot and put it on stove...when the water in it starts boiling.. drain the soaked rice.. and put it in the boiling water in the pot..be careful with this too..the taste of biryani depends on how good the rice is cooked..it should not be hard, uncooked or cooked till its squishy.. just see that when the rice is boiling take one grain and press it between finger and thunb.. to see that its 75% cooked.. not 100%..then strain the rice....

You know when the gravy is made a layer of oil stands on the gravy that has rich flavor of the meat...what u do...u take out the rice in another plate.. put that flavored oil on the bottom so that i covers the bottom of the pot..u have 2 benefits from it,,...one being that the rice will not easily stick to the bottom of pot.. then another is.. the essence will go in the below layer as well
so after u spread the oil put a layer of rice then..the mutton gravy.. then again a layer of rice..then on top.. spread ghee...if u like colorful biryani...u can add either food color.. or saffron with half a cup warm milk and sprinkle all over the top layer.. i like the not colorful version.... cover the pot with aluminum foil.. so that it is sealed properly so that no vapor escape cover the pot... put on stove on hih for 1 min then lower flame and let it cook for 10 mins.. so that when U move the foil a little bit a lot of vapor appears....turn off the stove and let it stand for at leats 15 mins..unopened...then mix the layers well.. and serve hot with raitha.

I hope u like it!!!!
Do let me know

my first post

Hello,

this is my first post to the bloggers.......Google has been my savior in the matters of cooking.. as i did not know much of cooking....every time i have to cook... i search on net the recipe then get started,,,,,,recently i discovered the concept of the food logs..when i was searching for the recipe of marag.....its a stew kinda dish that is usually served in the marriages in Hyderabad.....so i found its recipe by nabeela...in trial and error blog....wow that was great...i loved what turned out...thank u nabeela....anyways then i found another blog IFR by manisha...which had very good recipes as well....thank u too manisha.......

anyways here is my all time fav French toast...and very easy too

4 bread slices cut diagonally
3 eggs
ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder 1/4 tsp
turmeric 1/8 tsp
salt...well accd to ur taste
coriander leaves finely chopped
oil about 1/2 cup to deep fry

In a bowl mix all ingredients except the bread...and mix using a fork...after it is mixed well
heat oil in a saucepan when it is hot enough lower the flame, and dip the bread in the egg mixture and deep fry, till it is golden brown in colour ..drain it on a paper.. and serve hot with tomato sauce.

If u have a sweet tooth then u can use sugar instead of salt,chilly powder,turmeric g/g paste and coriander leaves,
same procedure
beat the eggs with the sugar,,,,after the sugar is dissolved dip the bread in the egg mixture and deep fry.
the toast will be caramelized toast... and its yummy even when is not hot.
hope u like it