Mutton biryani

Biryanis are awesome! A good biryani recipe is difficult to come by and when I find a good recipe it is like I have struck gold. Since I am very fond of rice I used to look for a lot of pulao and biryani recipes, however, these days we are cutting back on white rice, and do not indulge in pulaos and biryanis like before. But these days whenever I cook white rice on weekends, I prefer to stick to my trusted recipes.  The recipe I share with you is my own, I made this dish literally with the ingredients available at home. My cook bought this lovely mutton when she came back after her weekly holiday and I didn't want to freeze it. I actually wanted to cook the chicken hyderabadi biryani from my blog, because its our absolute favourite. But I didn't have all the ingredients available and was not sure about cooking mutton the same way as chicken. Most of the ingredients are copied from the chicken hyderabadi recipe, however the quantities and method of cooking is different. It turned out absolutely mouth watering and was a super hit.

Ingredients:

1. Mutton - 1 kg
2. Basmati Rice - 3 cups (240 ml - 1 cup)
3. Coconut milk - 400 ml
4. Oil - 2 tbsp
5. Salt - as needed

Marinade 1:

1. Thick youghurt - 1 cup
2. Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
3. Red Chilly powder - 2 tsp
4. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
6. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Marinade 2: Grind to a paste using water

1. Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
2. Garlic - 10 cloves
3. Ginger - 1 inch piece
4. Green chillies - 10 nos
5. Cumin - 1tsp
6. Peppercorns - 10 nos
7. Cloves - 8 nos
8. Cinnamon - 3 inch piece
9. Star anise - 3 nos
10. Black cardamom - 3 nos
11. Green cardamom - 4 nos
12. Fennel seeds (Saunf) - 1 tsp

Onions - 8 medium sized onions
(Sliced thinly, fried in oil till brown and set aside)

Method: 

1. Use a pan large enough to cook the biryani to marinate the mutton. In the pan, add mutton that is cut and washed. To that add marinade 1 and 2. Add the sliced and fried onions and salt. Mix well and let it rest for 3 hours. 
2. Put the pan on the stove and cook the mutton till it's almost done. Depending on the cut of the mutton and age, the cooking time will vary. Usually it takes about forty minutes to cook. 
3. Wash and soak the Basmati rice half hour before cooking time.
4. Add the basmati rice to the mutton, add the coconut milk, oil and 1 cup of hot water. Mix it gently.
5. Put the pan back on the stove, let it come to a boil. Then lower the flame for 10 minutes and let it gently simmer. After ten minutes, put the flame off. Let  it rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
6. Please note, once you lower the flame do not open the lid of the pan as the steam will escape. Open the lid only after it has rested and you are ready to serve the biryani.

White chutney for dosa

This week's recipe is an accompaniment for dosas. I started making this when I moved to Cebu and started cooking dosas regularly. I wanted a quick chutney that didn't require a lot of effort. I came up with this recipe and after a couple of adjustments the first few times, I can say it has been perfected.

Last week I posted the recipe of dosas, and after that I posted the recipe of the potato bhaji that goes so well with it and today I am posting the recipe for a chutney that accompanies the dosa and bhaji and completes it.

Ingredients:

1. Coconut - 1/2 cup
2. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
3. Green chilies - 2 nos
4. Tamarind - 2 to 3 small bits or 1/2 tbsp paste
5. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
6. Onion - 1/2 of a small one
7. Salt

Tempering:

1. Oil - 2 tbsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
3. Curry leaves - a few

Method:

1. Grind all the ingredients mentioned under ingredients to a coarse paste using very little water.
2. In a pan, heat oil and temper mustard seeds, when they stop crackling add the curry leaves.
3. Then add the ground paste and mix well. Bring the chutney to a boil and let it cook on medium flame for about two minutes. You will need to keep stirring it.
4. Serve with hot dosas.

Dosa bhaji (Potato bhaji)

Last week I had posted the recipe for dosas and this week I am posting a recipe that goes well with it. Today's recipe is credited to my mum-in-law. She used to make this lovely potato bhaji with dosas every Friday, since Fridays are no meat days in their home. Dosas, chutney and this potato vegetable are a very popular South Indian fare. It is extremely simple to make this recipe and tastes heavenly with the dosas and coconut chutney.

Recipe credit: Ms Rozita Coutinho 

Ingredients:

1. Boiled potatoes - 4 medium sized
2. Onions - 2 medium sized, sliced thinly
3. Ginger - half inch piece, grated
4. Green chilly - 3 -4 nos, finely chopped
5. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
6. Salt

Tempering:

1. Urad daal - 1/4 tsp
2. Chana daal - 1/4 tsp
3. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
4. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Curry leaves - a few 
6. Oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add all the ingredients mentioned in - Tempering, in that order.
2. Add the onions, salt and chillies. Fry till the onions turn translucent.
3. Add the grated ginger and turmeric. Mix well.
4. Roughly mash the potatoes and add them to the pan, and mixing the contents of the pan well.
5. Sprinkle water if needed so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Don't pour water, if required keep sprinkling till all the contents are well mixed.
6. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves. This is optional.
7. Serve hot with dosas, chutney and a hot cup of filter coffee.

Recipe for dosas is here. You may also find it under the label of bread and breakfast.

Dosa

I am a Mangalorean and dosas or as we call it polay (pronounced poh-lay, heavy L sound) were regularly prepared, specially for breakfast, while I was growing up. It went down very well with curries or plain tea and were so easy to make. And yet I never ever tried to make them, till I moved to Cebu. D, my son, is a fussy eater. When I say fussy, I mean, he doesn't eat any vegetables except potatoes. In my quest to get him to try new types of food I discovered dosas at my friend Sudha's house, where D not only ate them so well but asked for more. You can imagine the joy and awe that these humble dosas invoked!

That is when I started making dosas with an enthusiasm that is bordering psychotic. This episode happened in mid-December 2014 and since then, I have dosa batter in my fridge on any given day. For many days, D ate nothing but dosas for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and just like that he has decided to give dosas a break.

However, my husband and I have gotten used to eating dosas for breakfast. They are quick to make and an healthy option and go so well with chutney or sambhar or potato vegetable. The best part is you can make any quantities you want and store the extra batter in the refrigerator for future use. You can use the batter up to five days.

This is the simplest thing to cook besides rice and yet it took me so long to start making them. But better late than never I guess.

Recipe credit: Sudha J

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 3 measures
2. Urad daal - 1 measure
3. Methi seeds (fenugreek) - 10-15 seeds
4. Salt - to taste
5. Oil - for pan frying
6. Onion - half piece

Method:

1. Wash and soak rice and fenugreek seeds together in a bowl with enough water to cover the rice.
2. In another bowl, wash the urad daal, till the water appears clear. Soak both the rice and daal for 2 - 3 hours.
3. Grind the rice and urad daal separately in a blender to a smooth fine paste using little water. The consistency should be thick and creamy, like the pancake batter.
4. Empty the batter into a vessel, where the batter occupies half of the vessel, leaving room for it to rise. It will increase in quantity by at least half so use a large enough vessel. 
5. Do not add salt at this stage.
6. Leave it over-night or at least eight to nine hours to ferment.
7. When the wait time is over. Add salt and mix the batter well.
8. Put a fork half way through the half of the peeled onion, pour a little oil into a little bowl and dip the onion lightly into the oil and then use it to grease the pan.  
9. Heat a flat pan, grease it as suggested above and then ladle the batter onto the pan, just like a pancake. You may use the bottom of the spoon to flatten it out a bit more. Cook on medium flame till the edges start to loosen and leave the pan.
10. You may add oil on the top of the dosa and turn it over so it cooks on the other side too. This should take about 30 to 40 seconds.
11. Once done, serve it hot with your choice of chutney and sambhar.

Notes:

• Since soaked rice breaks easily, add water sparingly, or you will end up with a runny batter.
• If you are making a larger quantity to be used over a couple of days, do not add salt to the whole batter. Remove the quantity of batter in a separate bowl that will be used and add salt only to that batch. Keep the remaining batter in the refrigerator and use as mentioned above.
• Fenugreek seeds are optional. My mum doesn't use them in her recipes. 

East Indian Pork Vindaloo

Pork vindaloo is a common preparation in catholic homes during Christmas, Easter or any other special occasion. The Goan and the East Indian communities have different variations to this recipe. I have never tried any other vindaloo recipe except the one I share with you today. The reasons are simple, this recipe calls for few ingredients, the method I follow to cook is quick and hassle free, and most of all the pork can be marinated and frozen for a Sunday you specially feel lazy to cook. This recipe is yet another gem from my mum-in-law's kitchen, and is time tested.

I have mentioned two methods of cooking. The first method is the original one, noted in my mum-in-law's recipe book. If you are looking for the exact method followed in an east Indian kitchen, then stick to the original method.

But if you are not that fussy and are looking for a quick way to get the vindaloo going, the second method is your answer. I have followed the second method since I first started cooking this dish many years ago. I have not found the taste to be any different. However, you choose to cook, this vindaloo tastes great after a day of rest. So plan ahead and lets cook!

Recipe credit : Ms. Rozita Coutinho

Ingredients:

1. Boneless pork - 1 kg
2. Kashmiri chillies - 10 nos whole, and 5 nos de-seeded*
3. Garlic - 15 cloves
4. Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
5. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
6. Vinegar - 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup**
7. Salt - as needed

Original Method:

1. Cut the pork into big pieces (3/4 inch thick, and three to four inch pieces), apply salt generously and set aside for three hours. 
2. After three hours wash the meat well and drain in a colander and towel dry to remove excess moisture from the meat. 
3. Dry grind the red chillies and cumin seeds to a powder first, then add the garlic, turmeric and vinegar, grind to a fine paste. This will ensure you do not use too much vinegar. Do not use water to grind the masala.
4. Apply the ground masala to the pork and and marinate over-night or 8 hours, preferably in a glass bowl or earthen pot. Please refrigerate the meat as soon as your marination is done. 
5. When the meat is ready to be cooked, bring it to room temperature, put the meat and the marinade in a pan, put it on the stove, bring to a boil, lower flame and cook till the meat is tender. Usually the pork releases water and fat and hence the dish will not need any additional moisture.
6. But if you do feel the need to add moisture to the meat so it won't stick to the pan, add vinegar. Sparingly.
7. Let the meat cook for 45 minutes to an hour till its completely done. The meat is allowed to rest for a day before serving.
8. On the day you'd like to serve, you can take the fat from the cooked vindaloo and fry three finely sliced onions till they have softened. 
9. Mix with the meat and heat the meat and give it a nice boil. It's ready to be served.

Short-cut method :-)

1. Cut the pork into big pieces (3/4 inch thick, and three to four inch pieces), wash and drain.
2. Dry grind the red chillies and cumin seeds to a powder first, then add the garlic, turmeric and vinegar. and grind to a fine paste. This will ensure you do not use too much vinegar. Do not use water to grind the masala.
3. Apply the ground masala and salt to the pork and and marinate over-night or 8 hours, preferably in a glass bowl or an earthen pot. Please refrigerate the meat as soon as your marination is done. 
4. When the meat is ready to be cooked, bring it to room temperature, put the meat and the marinade in a pan, put it on the stove, bring to a boil, then lower the flame and cook till the meat is tender. Usually the pork releases water and fat and hence the dish will not need any additional moisture.
5. But if you do feel the need to add moisture to the meat so it won't stick to the pan, add vinegar. Sparingly.
6. Let the meat cook for 45 minutes to an hour till its completely done. You can let the meat rest for a few hours before serving.

* Always use chillies as per your spice tolerance. De-seed all chillies, if you 'd like it less hot. Kashmiri chillies give this dish a deep red colour and makes the sauce thick. 

** Only vinegar is used to grind the spices for this recipe. But do so with utmost caution, as you might end up adding more vinegar and making it to sour. To avoid this, I dry grind the red chillies and cumin to a powder first and then add the other ingredients. This ensures I use less vinegar while grinding and I can always use more later if required.