Chicken Rice

Stumbled upon this recipe by accident and almost skipped it but then curiosity made me check it out. It is for those who are too lazy to make biryani and want a rice which is less spicy. It is tasty too. 

Chicken Rice

Ingredients

1. Chicken – ½ kg ( took a few thighs and breast pieces)

2. Curd – 2 tblspn

3. Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tspn

4. Turmeric – ¼ tspn

5. Chilly powder – ½ tspn

6. Salt – ½ tspn 

7. Basmati rice soaked for 15 minutes – 1 ½ cups

8. Onion – ½ cup

9. Coconut milk – 1 ½ cup

10. Bay leaves – 2 nos.

11. Garam masala – 1 tspn

12. Pepper ½ tspn(optional)

13. Grated ginger – ¼ tspn

14. Salt

15. Water – 1 cup

16. Coriander leaves – a few

Marinate the chicken with ingredients 2-6 for minimum 15 minutes and shallow fry the same until lightly brown. Remove the chicken and in the same oil, fry the onions. Add the bay leaves and then the grated ginger. Fry for a while. Now add the rice and fry until dry. Add heated coconut milk and hot water. Add enough salt. Let it come to boil. Add the fried chicken pieces. Cover and let the rice simmer for 15 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Add the garam masala and pepper and lightly stir. Finally add chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy!

Another Chicken Biriyani

 

Biriyani

Have so many biryani recipes that I have tried and succeeded and each time I swear that this would be the one. But yet again I land up on another. This time I collected tips from several and landed up with another tasty recipe. This one seemed suited for those with a lack of time to marinate the chicken. Yesterday I did not have time to do so after reaching home but it did not affect the taste.

 Ingredients

1.       Chicken – 1 kg

2.       Finely sliced onions – 3 big or 5 small ones

3.       Ginger – garlic paste – 2 tablespoon

4.       Green chilly paste – 3 number

5.       Biryani masala powder – 2 plus ½ teaspoon

6.       Chilly powder – 1 teaspoon

7.       Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon

8.       Mint and coriander leaves – a bunch

9.       Fried raisins and cashew nuts

10.   Whole spices – 8 each cardamom and cloves, 2 piece thakkola, 4 piece – cinnamon sticks

11.   Rice – 2 cup (soaked for a minimum 15 minutes)

12.   Water 2 ½ cup

13.   Curd – ½ cup

14.   Tomato - 1

Biryani masala powder

               Take a teaspoon each of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, 5 piece thakkolam, 4 big cardamom, 1 piece nutmeg, 2 ½ tablespoon of whole coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon fennel, shah jeera and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and finally 2 bay leaves. Dry fry these ingredients and when it has cooled down grind and then add 2 teaspoon of chilly powder, ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder

 Method

For the chicken

Take a heavy bottomed pan and add 3 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add 3 cardamom, 4 cloves, I thakkolam and 2 pieces of cinnamon. Add the sliced onion and fry till golden brown. Fry the onion in medium flame to get evenly fried onion. Now add the ginger-garlic paste plus green chilly paste. After sautéing for a while, add I teaspoon of chilly powder and pepper powder, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder and turmeric powder. After a few seconds add the chicken, plus one tomato and ½ cup curd plus 2 teaspoon of biryani masala powder and the chopped leaves. Add enough salt and after frying this for a while close the pan and cook the chicken in slow fire for 15 minutes. There should only be a little gravy.

For the rice

Take a vessel and add a tablespoon of ghee and add 3 number each of cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and a bay leaf. Using the oil that was used to fry the onion will enhance the taste, also add a few fried onions too.  Add 1 ½ cup of water and let it boil.  You can also add a little ginger-garlic paste plus green chilly paste to the water. Drain the rice and add it to the water. Once the water boils reduce the flame, cover the vessel and let it cook until the water dries up. 

You can also boil the rice with lots of water and the spices and drain once the rice is cooked 3/4th. 

For the dum

Add the rice to the cooked chicken. Do not press the rice down. On top of the rice sprinkle some fried onions, a few chopped leaves and ½ teaspoon of biryani masala. Add the fried cashew and raisins. You can also add turmeric or kumkum dissolved in a teaspoon of milk. Cover it with a foil and close the lid. Keep the vessel on an old pan or tava on low flame for 10 minutes. Switch of the flame and let it rest for a minimum 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

 Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients 

1. Chicken - 500gm

2. Chilly Powder - 1 tspn

3. Garlic powder - 1 tspn

4. Ginger powder - 1 tspn

5. Garam Masala - 1 tspn

6. Salt - to taste

7. Plain Curd - 4 Tbspns

8. Mustard oil - 4 tspns

Marinate chicken with the above ingredients and leave it in the fridge for 1 hour or more.

9. Sliced onion - 2 numbers

10. Pureed tomatoes - 2 numbers

11. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn

12. Cumin powder - 1 tspn

13. Chilly powder - 2 tspn

14. Garam Masala - 1 tspn

15. Coriander powder - 1 tspn

16. Garlic and Ginger paste or powder - 1 tspn each

17. Cream - 1/2 cup

Method

Take a pan and fry the chicken until dry. Remove the chicken and add the onions with a little salt. Fry until brown and then add the pureed tomato. Saute for a while and add rest of the ingredients except cream. Let it simmer until the gravy thickens. Now add the chicken and a little hot water if you think you need more gravy. Let the chicken cook for 5 minutes and then add the cream. Let it boil for a few seconds. Add coriander leaves if you desire.

Enjoy!

Vegetables in curd

Invented another easy and tasty vegetable curry for poori, chappathi etc.

Ingredients

1. Cubed mixed vegetables - 1 or more cup

2. Cumin seeds - 1 tspn

3. Sliced onion - 1

4. Chilly and coriander powder - 1 tspn each

5. Garam masala and turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn each

6. Curd - 2 tbspn

7. Gram powder - 2 tbspn

8. Coriander leaves - 2 tbspn

9. Kasoori methi - 1 tbspn

10. Sliced garlic - 3 cloves

Method

Heat one tbspn of oil and fry cumin seeds. Once fried, saute onion and garlic for a few minutes and add the powders and fry for a few seconds. Now add the vegetables and 2 cups of water. Once almost cooked, add the gram powder. Boil until the raw taste leaves. Now add the curd and cook for a while. Add more water if necessary. Finally add the coriander and methi leaves and swutch off the stove after a minute.

Enjoy!