Mouti Matter Pulao

Last Friday some unexpected guests knocked at our door ( yes .. it still happens) and since it was about to be the dinner time my mother told me to cook something for dinner.This was the perfect time and situation to PANIC but a quick peek into the freezer made me not to.So with the help of the pressure cooker,pre - made koftas, pre - made curry sauce and a chicken I was able to cook a nice dinner in one and a half hour flat.Our guests enjoyed Mouti Matter Pulao,Namkeen Gosht,Chicken Curry and Sabot Mash ki daal along with Shammi Tikya , salad and raita .. Mission Accomplished :)

I am sharing Mouti Matter Pulao with you using the  Koftay I made earlier.Its Kind of a kofta Pulao but since the size of the koftas are smaller than the usual like beads or pearls hence the name Mouti Matter Pulao.( I love how the name turns a simple dish so exotic and interesting that you just want to eat it , don’t you ?)



What you Need:

• Rice : 3 cups ( wash and soak for half hour) 
• Onions: 2 medium ( finely chopped) 
• Sabot Garam Masala: 1 tsp ( use 5 cloves, 7 pepper corns,3 green cardamom,1 inch piece of cinnamon and 1 black cardamom)
• GG paste : 1 tbsp
• Green chilies: 2 - 3 ( up to taste)
• Yogurt : 1/2 cup
• Peas: 1 cup
• Pre - made Koftas balls : 1.5 cups
• Salt : 1.5 tsp ( up to taste )
• Oil : 1 cup
• Water or stock : 6 cups

How To :

1. Heat oil in a pan add sabot garam masala, let cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add onions and GG paste and sauté to a pleasant caramel or  golden brown colour. ( pic 1a & 1b )
3. Add in yogurt,salt,peas,green chilies and koftas,sauté till the oil floats on top.( Pic 2a & 2b)
4. Add water or stock and let boil. ( pic - 3 )
5. After a boil ,throw in the soaked rice (after draining ),Mix in once and let cook on medium flame. ( pic - 4 )
6. When the water starts to dry up ( pic - 5 ), and you can see water holes in the rice ( pic - 6),turn down the flame to the lowest possible ,cover the pan and let cook till the water completely dries out.( it might take around 5 to 10 minutes depending on the heat and amount of water left to dry out on dam)
7. Mouti Matter Pulao is ready to be served. ( pic - 7)

Continue Reading >>

No Fuss Biryani

I have yet to meet someone who dislikes biryani .It is by far the most famous and  loved one pot wonder of layered meat,spices and rice.I usually hesitate making biryani because to me its seems too big of a project that needs patience , time and off course expertise. Me being Hyderabadi from maternal side , have no idea to make biryani that takes less then 2 days from start to finish ( this includes marinating the meat a day ahead and the next day cooking qourma , boiling rice , layering , garnishing  and finally giving the dum ). I will confess though that all this hard work seems to pay off the moment I open the dum and the house fills with the insanely delicious aroma of  biryani … not to mention the praising and applaud from the loved ones and the satisfaction that comes along the task being well done makes it worth all the efforts.
Last Friday , my friends gathered to have a one dish party and decided to make biryani . I was kind of wondering how on earth we can make biryani in one day from scratch . We all got together as planned and started making biryani. It took us almost 3 hours from start to finish and to my surprise the end result was a yumlicious biryani, though not the usual taste of a hyderabadi biryani but honestly it tasted really wicked with salad , raita , ice cold Pepsi ..and the company of good friends.
I am posting the recipe here rightly naming it no fuss biryani :)



What you need :

For the rice :

• Rice : One Kg ( washed and soaked for an hour )
• oil : 2 Tb spoon
• Salt : 3 Tb spoon ( up to taste )
• Whole Garam Masala: 1 Tb spoon
• Vinegar : 1 Tb spoon

For the meat Qourma ( gravy ):

• Chicken : 2 kg
• Onions : 5 Medium ( chopped finely)
• Tomatoes : 5 medium ( chopped Finely)
• Green chili : 3 –5 ( chopped finely )
• GG paste : 1 Tb spoon
• National Biryani Masala : 1 packet
• salt : 1 tspoon  ( up to taste)
• Red chili powder : 1 tspoon ( up to your tolerance level)
• Coriander Powder : 1 tspoon
• oil : 1 cup

How to do it :

For the rice :

1. Boil rice with all the ingredients till three fourth done. Drain and keep aside. ( pic -  6 )

For the qourma :

1. Wash chicken , keep in strainer to let the water drip. ( pic - 1 )
2. Heat oil .. add in onions and green chilies and fry till onions are light brown. ( pic - 2 )
3. Add in the GG paste. cook for a minute.
4. Throw in the chicken and cook till its no longer raw and turns white. ( pic - 3 )
5. Add in all the masalas ( National biryani masala , salt ,chili and coriander powder).Cook for almost 5 – 10 minutes . ( pic - 4 )
6. Toss in  chopped tomatoes and continue cooking till all the water dries up and you end up with thoroughly cooked chicken and a clingy gravy. ( pic – 5 )
7. Layer half of the rice at the bottom of the pan , sprinkle in the food colour ( pic - 7 )
8. Spoon in  all the chicken gravy and spread out evenly . ( pic - 8 )
9. Finish off with another layer of rice .. topping with food colour and remaining masala if any . ( pic - 9 )
10. Put the lid tightly and put on dum on the stove for about 30 – 35 minutes.
11. Gently mix in the rice and meat .. serve with salad and raita.

Notes :

• Adding vinegar while boiling rice will result in more whiter rice.
• Adding oil prevents the rice from sticking together .
• Since its a no fuss biryani , we didn’t bother about the garnish much , but for more aromatic biryani add fried onions, green coriander and mint in between the layers and in the end along with the food colour.
• Follow the same recipe for mutton biryani but keep in mind that the gravy will take longer to cook .

Continue Reading >>