Chicken Biryani Photo Guide

My obsession with Biryani may be justified by saying this- the perfect home-made Biryani is like the ever elusive Moby Dick. Sometimes, you wonder if it really exists. But that doesn't mean we should quit searching.  Today, I came quite close to perfection, and between the two of us, we finished the contents of the Dutch oven for our Sunday lunch. So, I can safely say it was good.

Here's a step-by-step photo guide to ease your efforts or keep track of your operation flow in the kitchen.

Step 1: Use (premium) long-grained Basmati rice and cook it with a few bay leaves, star anise ,  javitri ( mace),  and a cinnamon stick. Only parboil it. If you use a rice cooker, switch it off just before it is done to prevent it from overcooking later. I use a steamer.

Step 2: In the meantime, soak saffron strands in a little milk. Fry thinly sliced onions (2, big) in a pan with 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp ghee. Continue doing so on low heat until they brown. Then, drain them and let the excess oil/ghee soak in paper towels.

Step 3: (Most essential) Cook the meat (1 lbs, marinated only with turmeric, salt, and lime juice overnight to an hour). You may borrow some of the fried onions; add minced garlic and ginger (about 3 tsp). Fry well in 1 tsp ghee. Use a food processor to make a paste of the fried mixture. Add to the chicken, Cover and cook well with home made Biryani powder [Ingredients (Dry roasted and ground): Cloves, Cinnamon, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Black cumin,  Mace,  Star Anise ] or store-bought alternative. The meat should be almost done. Sprinkle some water if needed, don't let the spices burn. Stir often towards the end when the water has dried up to prevent burning. Taste for salt.

Step 4: Add the parboiled rice on top of the meat. Discard the bay leaves and mace. You may use the star anise and cardamom stick. Cover on very low heat in a Dutch oven or use a baking tray to cook in a conventional oven. (I use a copper bottom stew pot now. I put weights on the lid to keep the steam from escaping).

Step 5: Warm the saffron milk in a microwave for 20 secs.  Pour over the rice. For garnishing, use the fried onions and boiled eggs sliced in half. You may also lightly fry the boiled eggs for a richer taste.

I boiled eggs and then forgot to add them since we were in a hurry to gobble it up. :D

Drink lime and mint sprigs enthused water to aid digestion. You may also eat yogurt or raita and ajwain (caraway seeds).

You may also like Crockpot (slow-cooker) Biryani

Eggplant with tomatoes, Italian breadcrumbs, and Parmesan

.. Inspired by Parmigiana Di Melanzane. (Eggplant Parmesan)

Eggplants, sliced, 1 medium

Tomatoes, diced 1 medium

Italian bread crumbs

Olive oil for baking

Salt to taste

Grated cheese (Parmesan preferred)

1. Wash and wipe eggplants, trim both ends and cut them into fans or slices. Try to make them evenly thick for uniform cooking. 
2. Dice tomatoes and stuff them into the eggplant. (Remove seeds if you want. I do)
3. Add salt, Italian bread crumbs. Bake for 10 mins at 350 F or microwave for 3 mins (Essential, to reduce oil intake later). 
4. Then, pan-fry at very low heat until brown. Sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan.
5. Serve warm. You can also use it to stuff wraps.

You may use other soft vegetables like zucchini and string beans to make a similar dish.

Tuna Pasta

I used Farfalle (bowtie) pasta for this recipe. You may use any short pasta.

 Canned tuna , drained
Diced celery
Diced onions
Crushed garlic
Cracked pepper
Salt to taste
Pasta sauce (home-made or store bought)
Italian Herbs of choice  (like oregano, parsley)

1. Boil pasta according to instructions. I like them al dente. Pour into a colander and run cold running water through the pasta, so that the pieces don't stick later.
2. In a non-stick pan, drizzle a little olive oil, saute the celery and onions. Add the garlic and then the tuna.
3. Add the pasta sauce, and a little water to prevent it from drying. Add herbs. 
4. Serve warm or eat it cold.

Blueberry crepes

You may use strawberries , raspberries or a mix of your favorite berries.

For the crepe:

1. Make a batter with 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk and sugar to taste.(You can store the batter for 48 hrs in the fridge)
2. Add butter to thinly coat a non-stick pan. Pour the batter and swirl the pan to make it evenly thick. Flip. (You can store the crepes in the freezer for later use)

For the filling:

1. Stew the berries with lemon zest and cinnamon powder on low heat. Add sugar to taste. Let them sit in the syrup.
2. Spoon out the berry filling onto the crepe and roll the crepes. Place a spoonful on the top if you wish.

Vegetables with squash greens

I have been meaning to make this for a while, but something else in the pantry runs into my arms to get cooked first. You can add lentil fritters (daler bora) or vadi. I wanted to make the vadi first, and hence the delay. You can also use store-bought substitutes.

Vadi preparation: 

1. Wash Urad dal, soak overnight. Remove excess water and grind in a food processor with salt.(I use Magic Bullet). Add Nigella seeds when the paste is done.
2. Pat oil on a plate and make desired shapes out of the dal paste. Smaller sized ones dry faster but bigger ones are easier to break on drying, if you prefer crumbled vadis.
3. Dry it in the sun for a day or two, then store in an airtight container

Ingredients:

Squash greens (Got it from Mountain View Farmers' Market)

Potatoes

Radish/Daikon

Pumpkin or Acorn squash

Nigella seeds

Mustard oil

Method:

1. Clean and cut the vegetables into small sizes. 
2. Dry roast the vadis. Keep aside.
3. Heat mustard oil in a kadhai/wok, add Nigella seeds. Add the potatoes, squash greens and radish first, the softer vegetables like pumpkin later. (You may use eggplant too)
4. Warm a bowl of water in microwave, add it to the vegetables. Simmer till done.
5. When they are about done, you may add mustard powder (I use a coffee grinder to grind mustard seeds), slit green chilies.
   
   My mom uses the squash stalk (kumro'r data), potatoes and vadis  to make fish broth in winter. You just have to add fried fish steaks/fillets
   
   You may also use Bok Choy for this recipe [Bong Mom's Cookbook].

Baked rainbow trout with lemon and dill

Ingredients:
2 whole rainbow trout, dressed and cleaned
Olive oil/Butter 1 tsp for each fish
Garlic powder/salt
Chili flakes/pepper
Lemons cut in round shapes and some wedges for squeezing
Spice rub of your choice (optional)
Al foil
Dill or Herbs of your choice

Method

1. Wipe the fish thoroughly with paper towels. Score the fish on the outside so that the spices get through to the bone.
2. Season the insides and outsides well with garlic salt, chili flakes/pepper, spice rub, dill, lemon juice and lemon rounds. Drizzle olive oil or  use cooking spray. You may also add melted butter.
3. Wrap in foil and seal any openings to keep the fish juicy.
4. Preheat oven to 450 F, bake for 20 mins (or 25 mins at 375 F ) or until fish turns flaky when scraped with a fork.
5. You may also add herbs of your choice and  a wine sauce.
   

Tip:  Use fragnant lemons for a delightful smell, and fresh trout. Lemon caper in butter is also a good option for baking fish and chicken.

Home made Hummus

1. Wash and soak chickpeas in water overnight, then boil them until tender with a little salt (you will need very little time in a pressure cooker). Drain them. 
2. Add the flavor of the hummus: (i) cilantro, (ii) roasted red pepper cut into chunks, (iii) pureed sun-dried tomatoes, or (iv) garlic; stir in lemon juice and salt to taste. 
3. Pour the chickpeas into a food processor. 
4. You may add  tahini in 1:4 ratio with the chickpeas, and olive oil.

Serve with pita, use in sandwiches or as a dip for celery and carrots.