Thursday, December 21, 2017

Collection of Pressure Cooker Biryani Recipes

Biryani, the most flavorful and tasty rice recipe which is popular throughout the Indian sub continent. Authentically Biryani is prepared by dum cooking, but in our home, dum cooking is not possible for every day cooking right? So,here come the most sophisticated kitchen gadget "pressure cooker" to make our life so easy.Compare to dum cooking, the pressure cooker biryani are easy to make and also it takes very less time,that makes it ideal for our busy days. Here i have the collection of biryani recipe that you can cook easily in pressure cooker without any compromise in taste !!! Click on the individual picture for the detailed recipe.


Mutton Biryani Chicken BiryaniEgg Biryani
Nei Soru Mushroom BiryaniVegetable Biryani
Chettinad Peas Mushroom Biryani Thalassery Veg Biryani
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Egg Fried Rice | Restaurant Style Egg Fried Rice | Indo Chinese Recipe

Egg Fried Rice, a famous Indo-Chinese rice recipe made with eggs and vegetables. Among all the indo chinese recipe that are available in India, without a doubt , this egg fried rice easily top the list.
Not only this rice is delicious, it hardly takes a few minutes to put together everything when you have cooked rice in hand, that's the another reason for its popularity in fast food center throughout the country.

After knowing the knack of making  perfect  Veg fried rice ,now i'm quite confident in trying other fried rice recipes and as expected this egg fried rice also turned out so tasty. 

In addition to the eggs, i have added few more vegetables for extra crunchiness in the rice, but you can skip the vegetables and make it with eggs alone too. 

Egg Fried Rice

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indochinese
Restaurant Style Egg Fried Rice, Egg Fried Rice, Indo Chinese recipe Egg Fried Rice, a famous Indo-Chinese rice recipe made with eggs and vegetables.
Ingredients
Cooked Basmati Rice - 3 cups
Egg - 3
Mixed Veggies - 3/4 cup(capsicum,cabbage,carrot)
Garlic - 2 tsp(finely minced)
Green onions - 3
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Soy Sauce - 2 tsp
Pepper powder - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste 

Procedure
First cook the basmati rice and let it cool completely. In the mean time,chop all the veggies(capsicum,cabbage & carrot) into small pieces ,finely minced the garlic & then chop the white part of the green onions and keep it ready.Heat the kadai with oil and then add the garlic.
Saute the garlic till it becomes fragrant and then add the onions,saute it for 2 mins.Then add all the carrot and saute for 2 more mins.
Then add cabbage & capsicum and required salt for the veggie and saute till all the veggies are done. 
Keep the flame in high and then add soy sauce, pepper powder into veggies and give a good mix. Now reduce the flame into low.
In an another pan, add 1 tsp of oil and crack open the eggs, add enough salt and pepper powder and mix it vigorously till the eggs are cooked and it becomes non-sticky to the bottom of the pan. 
Now add both the cooked rice  and egg  into the veggie and gently mix it well.Finally add the finely chopped green parts of the green onions and switch off the flame.
Tasty & restaurant style Egg Fried Rice is ready.

Related : How to make Veg Spring Rolls

Notes:
  • I have already added salt while cooking the rice, so while sauteing, just added salt for the veggies alone.
  • Saute the veggies in high flame to get that smoky flavor.
  • Adjust the soy sauce as per your liking of that sauce.The amount i mentioned here gives mild flavor of soy sauce.
  • Make sure to use good quality soy sauce which is the main flavor in the rice.
  • Use Sesame oil for great flavor. 
  • The veggies should be crunchy,so don't cook till it becomes soft.
  • I personally don't like the crunchy beans, so i skip it,but if you would like,add some.
  • Don't overcook the egg, then it becomes rubbery.
  • Cook eggs and veggies side by side, that way you can put together all at the same time.
  • Serve hot, it tastes best when it's hot.

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Friday, December 15, 2017

How To Cook Perfect Basmati Rice in a Pan | Fluffy Basmati Rice

Perfectly cooked basmati rice is little bit tricky to get it right especially if you're a beginner in the cooking. For our daily cooking, we use boiled ponni rice and i cook it in pressure cooker  with 1:2 ratio of rice & water and it turned out perfectly every time. And i use basmati rice only for pulao, briyani or fried rice,but when it comes to basmati rice, i find it difficult to cook the rice in pressure cooker,either it turned out over cooked or under cooked. Even i tried it in electric cooker, still i couldn't get it right.
Finally i returned to old fashioned way of cooking the rice in a open pot. Even on my first attempt,to my surprise, the rice are perfectly cooked and the grains are so separate, just like the way i like it. Now i have been using the same method for cooking the basmati rice for more than a year and it turned so perfect every SINGLE time!!!! Those who have struggle to cook  basmati rice  perfectly, give this method a try !!!

How to cook Basmati Rice

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 07 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Basmati Rice -1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Salt - to taste
Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Procedure
Soak the rice for 1/2 hr. Heat the water in a pan and add salt.Add the oil into the boiling water and then drain the water from the soaked rice and add into the boiling water.Bring the rice to boil and then keep the flame in low and close the pan with lid.Cook until all the water is absorbed and switch off the flame.Let the pan closed for 10 more mins and then open the lid ,gently fluff the rice with fork.Tada, fluffy perfectly cooked basmati rice is ready.
Notes:
  • Adding sesame oil gives great flavor to the rice and also helps to avoid sticking the rice grains.
  • You can cook the rice without adding salt also.
  • Make sure the flame is low while cooking the rice.
  • Pot/pan with glass lid is helpful to look into the pan while cooking the rice and switch off the flame when all water is absorbed
  • It takes approximately 7 mins to absorb all the water, by that time, the rice also well cooked.
  • If you don't have pan with glass lid, then use whatever you have , while cooking, in between, open the pot and check to make sure that all the water is absorbed before switch off the flame.
  • Don't stir the rice frequently, it will make the rice mushy.
  • Gently fluff it with forks to separate the grains.
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Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu | Chicken Curry | Cornish Hen Gravy

Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu, the flavorful chicken curry made from cornish hen and indian spices. Recently i came to know from mullai blog that the cornish hen available in US, have the taste and flavor almost similar to our naatu kozhi. And i mentioned the same to ST who is fond of naatu kozhi very much. Immediately he said that on our next visit to walmart, we will buy one and try !!! 
So on our last weekend grocery shopping, we bought this chicken,compared to leghorn chicken, it's very small in size even the whole chicken weight is less than 1 lb. As this was the first time, we had bought whole chicken, i was bit hesitate to cut the chicken into pieces,but ST gladly did all the cutting & cleaning process !!!
The flavor of this curry was way beyond our expectation. The taste and texture of the chicken is so close to naatu kozhi.So if you like naatu kozhi flavor, then i highly recommend to try this cornish hen, just like me, you would be amazed by its taste and texture.

Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Naatu Kozhi/Chicken - 1 lb
Pearl onion - 15
Tomato - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 3/4 to 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Gingelly/Sesame Oil - 1& 1/2 tbsp
To Grind
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Cashew - 2
Fennel seed - 1/4 tsp

Procedure
First cut & wash the chicken thrice in running water and then finally add some turmeric powder to the chicken and wash it once & keep aside. Peel the pearl onion and chopped them roughly, cut the tomato into small pieces.Heat the cooker with oil.Add the cinnamon,cloves and cardamom.Fry it for  30 sec.
Then add the onions & curry leaves ,saute till the onions become translucent.
Add the chicken pieces,saute the chicken in oil for 1 min,then add the ginger garlic paste, saute till the raw smell leaves.
Add the tomatoes, give a quick stir, then add the spices one by one (turmeric,chili ,coriander powder) & mix the spices well with chicken.
Add enough water, cover the cooker, put on lid and cook  for 5 whistle or until the chicken is soft.
In the mean time, grind the ingredients listed under "To Grind" into smooth paste.Once the pressure is automatically released from the cooker, open the lid & keep the cooker in flame again.Add the coconut paste and add water as needed.
Add enough salt & mix well and bring into boil, keep the flame in low, until the oil floats on the top.Finally garnish with coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Tasty Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu is ready to serve.
Notes:
  • Pearl onion and gingelly oil gives great taste to the kulambu, highly recommend to use this.
  • If you want more thicker gravy, soak 1 tsp of poppy seed for 30 mins and grind it along with coconut and add it in kulambu
  • If you wish, add a tsp of garam masala at the end for extra flavor.
  • I have used cornish hen here, it gives naatu kozhi flavor.
  • Cornish hen take little longer time than the broiler/leghorn chicken.
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Thursday, November 30, 2017

Rava Maida Appam | Rava Paniyaram | Appam Recipe

Rava Maida Appam, an easy to make snack with rava and maida. As Karthigai deepam is nearby , I have seen a lot of appam recipes online that are used to prepare especially for this festival. 

In our home, normally we prepare kozhukattai on karthiga deepam. Though we don't have the habit of making any appam on karthigai deepam day, we make this appam for diwali, aadi festival and even for evening snacks.
In my school days, Amma used to make this as evening snacks and I liked it so much back then(of course now also). More than the appam, I liked the batter so much and asked Amma to keep some batter aside without frying. 
I liked to have the batter as it is with a spoon. Yeah, it's a weird habit, but i like it so much. Still, I reserve a little batter when I'm making this appam and like the batter more than appam.You can't get over certain habits right???
Ok, now back to the recipe, if you're looking for an easy appam recipe for this karthigai deepam, here it is, so easy and not just by the ingredients, even with simple ingredients, it tastes absolutely delicious.

Rava Maida Appam

Preparation Time : 40 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsMakes : 12 to 14 
Recipe Category: Sweets | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Rava Maida Appam, Rava Paniyaram,Maida Paniyaram Rava Maida Appam, an easy to make snack with rava and maida.
Ingredients
Rava/Semolina - 1/2 cup
Maida - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Grated Coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp
Cardamom - 2 
Oil - for deep frying
Water - as needed

Procedure
Measure the rava and take it in a bowl, add enough water just to immerse the rava and let it set aside for 30- 40 mins.
After 40 mins, all the water would be absorbed,at this stage, add sugar and maida.
Then add the grated coconut and mix it well. Let it set aside for 15 to 20 mins. The resting time helps to dissolve the sugar. Don't tempt to add water now,once the sugar dissolves, the batter comes to pourable consistency. 
Finally add the crushed cardamom seeds into the rava maida mixture and mix it well. The batter should be thick and pourable(if needed add water now and make it as pourable consistency) as shown in below pic.
Heat the oil for deep frying,take a spoonful of batter and pour into the hot oil slowly.
Cook on both sides until it becomes golden brown, then remove it from the hot oil and drain it on tissue paper.
That's it , Tasty Rava Maida Appam is ready.
Notes:
  • Keep the oil in medium flame while cooking the appam.
  • Adding coconut enhance the taste of appam. 
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