Sindhi Chicken Biryani

Biryani is not something that I grew up with .and that’s because  biryani is Lahore or sindh special recipe. But when I was in college one of my friend brings biryani to our one dish party and I was amazed by the flavor and the look of this rice dish .she made it from Shan biryani masala mix. after I came home I made biryani but with twist add little bet of Shan  masala and more of my own spices.

Sindhi biryani is usually more spicy and very exotic its like marriage of perfect flavors.   

   

       Sindhi Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

1). 4 cloves

2). 6 whole black pepper

3). 2 tsp cumin seeds both black and white

4). 2 tsp coriander powder

5). 1/2 tsp red chili powder

6). 1 tsp paprika powder

7). Pinch mace

8). Pinch nutmeg

9). 2 stick cinnamon

10). 1 tsp garam masala

11). 2 bay leaves

1tsp whole paper corns

6 dry plum[Aloo bukra]

3 cups basmati rice

Half chicken cuts

1/4-cup canola oil

2 tbsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1  cup plain yogurt

1 tomato

2 large onions

1/4-cup cilantro leaves

3 drops yellow food color

Method: First soak the rice for 15 min.  Then marinate the chicken in all the 11 spices, dry plum and yogurt and keep it aside for 1 hour. Fry the thinly sliced onion until golden brown, remove and keep aside. Boil presoaked rice in 10 cups of water; let it cook for 7 minutes. Drain the rice and keep aside. In the non stick sauce pan add 1/4 cup oil and add marinated chicken, half of fried onion, ginger, garlic past and tomato, cook the chicken in it until done. Let it simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid evaporate. Then layer the biryani i.e. put rice then chicken then fried onion followed by rice and sprinkle of food color or saffron . Then bake it for 10 minutes at 375°F. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

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Lauki and dal curry

Now when summer start ,I used lauki a lot in my cooking and this curry work wonderful for me its wonderful with cold salad and raita ,even the left over  sounds great to me. Usually we add meat to lauki but dal work very well.

I am showing  lauki too in the picture because many of my friends will have the question which one is lauki ?

And many thanks to all of you who visit  Pakistani home cooking it have been pleasure to know some one visit and like it. and remember you can loss weight if you used this vegetable most often in your diet.

Nutritional value

Low in Saturated Fat, and Cholesterol High in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Zinc,  Iron, Magnesium and Manganese..

           Lauki and dal curry

        This recipe is great for lunch or dinner don’t forget to serve this with naan or roti

Ingredients.

1/3 cup split yellow peas/channa dal

1 medium size bottle gourd/lauki

1 medium size onion

1 tomato

1 green chili

1/4-cup oil

4 cloves garlic crushed

1 tsp cumin seeds

tsp fenugreek leaves[optional ]

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp curry powder

4 whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp onion seeds

Salt and pepper

Method:

Wash and soak dal for 1 hour.

Peel the lauki and cut in cubs. Remove the seeds if it not too large.

In a Pressure-Cooker, add oil and onion fry until light golden, add spices tomato chopped and stir to make masala add dal and 1/2 cup of water, and salt and pepper and fenugreek leaves .

after first boil add lauki and give it 1 pressure, remove lid when pressure is done stir and let it cook until the water dry and gravy is thick serve with rice or roti.

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Quinoa Upma - Guest post by Denny of Oh Taste N See

I have been wanting to invite my dear fellow bloggers to do guest post on my blog. I am happy that I am able to materialize the idea now. To start with the guest post series I asked my friend Denny of Oh Taste N See. As I have mentioned in (many of) my earlier posts, Denny has been one of the important inspirations for me to start a food blog. I believe that one sentence says it all. Without further blah.. blahs from my side, here I present Denny in her own words..
Thanks to Krithi for having invited me to do a guest post for her blog and a first one at that. I think it has been mentioned so many times in both of our blogs, that it is redundant to mention that we are college best friends and have been friends for 13 years now. We also share a love for food and cooking and often times find ourselves chatting about food or topics related to food. I have recently switched to a more healthy diet and this dish is a perfect way to meld a healthy meal to comforting Indian food.

A healthy dish - is always determined by the ratio of carbs to protein and the amount of fat in the recipe. Being vegetarian or vegan it is always difficult to get the right amount of protein in your diet. A great solution is 'Quinoa' - which is the only grain that has a complete protein - something that is realized easily by people who eat meat, but very difficult in the vegetarian diet. It is an ancient grain, rich in manganese and folate and due to its nutritional value, it is highly recommended for people who have migraine headaches, diabetes and even pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
Here, I have increased the flavor of the quinoa by toasting it first, which not only adds a nice nutty flavor, but also quickens the cooking process. Here is the recipe..

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 cup diced vegetables - carrots, beans and peas
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 green chillies slit
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
a sprig of curry leaves/cilantro
salt to taste
2 cups water

Method:
In a dry pan, add the quinoa and roast it over medium high heat until you get a nutty aroma and the quinoa is slightly golden brown and toasted. Remove the quinoa onto a plate and put the pan back on the stove. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal and channa dal. Let it splutter and add the green chillies and the curry leaves. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the diced vegetables and saute until partly cooked. Add 2 cups water and salt to taste. Let the water come to a boil. Slowly add the still warm quinoa and cook stirring. Let the quinoa cook until all the water is absorbed. Switch off stove. Pop a lid on the pan and let rest for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro (I didn't have any, but it makes it awesome) and fluff with a fork. Serve as is, or with any chutney as an accompaniment. 
Note: Alternately you could also cook quinoa first and then temper with the said ingredients like pulao/fried rice. It tastes fabulous either way.

I am gonna try this for dinner tonight for sure. Look how colorful and inviting yet super healthy this one is!!! Check out more of Denny's recipes here at Oh Taste N See.

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OKRA AND POTATOES

This is one dish that my husband can eat everyday. back home we cook okra in many different ways, like stuff okra, okra with minced okra with meat but potatoes was his addition he loved this recipe .because this way the okra don’t have slime  ,there are few tips that I want to share 1. wash the okra and completely dry before cutting ,I usually wash and dry one day and cut and cook the other day and off course  it stay in refrigerator .fry them before adding any thing like onion and tomato etc you don’t  have to add much oil.

So here we go folks my very special okra and potato enjoy.

OKRA AND POTATOES

INGREDIENTS

1 lb fresh okra

1/4-cup oil

2 whole green chili[cut or whole]

2 medium size potatoes cut in French fry style

3 large tomatoes chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt and pepper.

 Pinch of mango powder

Method.

Wash and clean okra cut the ends of okra and discard the ends. Cut okra into half's.

Heat non-stick frying pan, add oil cumin seeds and okra and green chili and stir-fry for 10 minutes on medium heat .

 Stir frequently  until the okra get golden, remove from oil and keep aside.

Add potatoes to the same frying and fry them for 5 minutes add tomatoes salt and pepper And let it cook for 1 minute add fry okra and simmer until done.

Note. leave the green chili whole that way the curry will not be too spicy but who ever like spicy serve the chili in their platter.

if you don,t want to add potatoes in the last pictures i even cook okra without potatoes too.just add 1 chopped onion instead .

Serves 4

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Mustard-Parsley Sauce for Corned Beef & Cabbage

I wanted to get this posted in time for you to try.

This is a great little sauce to serve with your 

St. Patrick's Day corned beef and cabbage dinner.

You just need to scoop out a cup of broth

that the corned beef has been cooking in.

It gives it great flavor.

Mustard-Parsley Sauce

2T butter

2T flour

1 C milk

1 C reserved cooking broth

from the corned beef

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2 T Dijon mustard

1 T cider vinegar

1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. 

Whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring until smooth and 

bubbly. Whisk in the milk and broth. 

Bring to a boil, stirring, reduce heat to low

and whisk until thickened (about 3 minutes). 

Remove from heat and whisk in the

 salt, pepper, mustard, vinegar and fresh parsley. 

Put into a gravy boat to pass.

Serve with the corned beef and cabbage

Enjoy!

Links: Between Naps On The Porch,
Designs By Gollum

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Spinach Balls

Sorting through my appetizer recipe file I came 

upon this old recipe I hadn't made in decades 

 many years. So, I decided to make it for our ladies 

card group last night.

It's March and I wanted something green !

Finger food, easy to nibble on, great with a glass of

 wine or tea, and can be made ahead.

That's all I needed to bring it out again.

 Ingredients include; Stove Top mix, 

frozen spinach, eggs, onion ,butter, 

Parmesan, and seasonings.

 Cook the spinach and drain.

 Chop an onion.

 Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave 

for 1 minute. Whisk the eggs in a smaller bowl.

 I used the empty egg bowl to press out all the 

extra moisture from the spinach. Works great.

 Combine everything.

 TIP: If you've emptied out the container of 

shredded cheese, toss the container in the 

recycle bin but keep the cap and 

toss it in the dishwasher. Why, later.

 Once the mixture is well combined,

 Put a lid on it!  Refrigerate 2 hours or longer. 

That makes it easier to handle.

 Measure out about 1-1/2" balls. 

Then roll in your hands to shape.

Freeze them on a cookie sheet, or you can bake

 them right away at 350 for about 25-30 minutes

 until slightly golden and it smells good in your kitchen.

This makes a lot of balls, so I always freeze some 

and then toss them into a  Ziploc bag. 

Thaw and bake for 30 minutes

 whenever you want a little snack. 

I've also baked them the last 30 minutes

 with a roast chicken to serve as a side,

 little spinach stuffing balls.

Now, for the caps; they fit on most mason jars.
These are Classico sauce jars filled with; cheese,
breadcrumbs and mini chocolate chips.
 Easy to store and shake out.

Spinach Balls

2 boxed frozen chopped spinach

1 box Stove Top stuffing mix-chicken flavor
 (stuffing and seasoning packet)

4 eggs

1 onion, finely chopped

 1-1/2 sticks butter, melted

1 C grated Parmesan cheese

1 t thyme

1 t garlic powder

1 t pepper

1 t salt

Microwave the spinach in a covered container

 for 8 minutes, stirring once.

 Drain well in mesh colander.

(Use the small bowl to press out extra moisture)

Microwave the butter in a large bowl for 1 minute.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. 

Combine all ingredients in the large bowl. 

Cover and refrigerate for two hours.

Shape into 1-/1/2" balls. Freeze some on a tray, 

then store in a plastic bag until ready to bake.

 Bake the remaining balls @375 for 20 min.

Bake frozen balls for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy!

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Barbecued Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

This dish is something everyone will like. 

It has an unusual ingredient....barbecue sauce.

Add a salad and you have a fast, tasty and 

nutritious dinner.

 This make 4 large burritos.

 Saute cut-up chicken, onion and garlic.

 Add a can of black beans, and barbecue sauce.

 Stir well and heat through.

 Sprinkle the top with cheese and let it melt.

 Scoop unto tortillas; top with sour cream.

Roll up and enjoy! Easy!

Barbecued Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

3/4 lb boneless chicken breasts, about 3

1 small onion, about 1/2 C chopped 

1 clove garlic, about 1t minced

1 T olive oil

1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 C barbecue sauce

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

4 large (10-inch) flour tortillas

1/4 C sour cream

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 

Add chicken, onion and garlic. Season with 

a little salt and pepper; cook for about 8

minutes or until chicken is done, stirring 

occasionally. Stir in  the barbecue sauce and

beans. Reduce heat and stir well to coat the 

chicken with the sauce. Sprinkle the cheese evenly

over the top and continue to cook until the cheese

 melts. Warm the tortillas in a dampened paper

towel in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Scoop about 1/2 C chicken mixture down the 

center of each tortilla; top with a dollop of

sour cream and roll up.

Enjoy!

Links: Stone Gable

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