Dum ki Ghost! (This one is a must-try!)

• Canola Oil – 1/4 cup
• Lamb meat – 500 gms, cut into 2 cm cubes
• Onions – 1, large, finely chopped
• Ginger-Garlic paste – 2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Salt – 2 tsp
• Black Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
• Yoghurt – 1 cup, lightly beaten

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. Pour oil into a large non-stick pan on medium heat. When the oil is warmed, put the meat pieces into the pan, as many as the pan can hold, and brown them on all sides. With a slotted spoon remove the meat pieces once browned into a deep bowl. Cover and set aside.
3. In the same pan throw in the sliced onions. Once they are translucent, add the ginger garlic paste to it. Stir fry them for a few minutes. Now, put the browned meat with all its juices into the pan. Sprinkle red chilli powder, salt, black pepper powder and mix it well. Pour in the lightly beaten curd and bring it to a boil on simmer.
Then, pour this mixture into a baking dish and cover it with a lid, or aluminium foil, taking care that it has been covered properly and once formed, the steam will not escape from anywhere. Transfer this baking dish with the mixture in it into the oven for an hour.
4. After an hour, check the meat if it is tender and soft. If it is not, pour in half cup water, give it a stir, cover the dish very well again, and put it inside the oven for more 15-30 minutes till the meat has been properly cooked and is tender. Once done, garnish with chopped spring onions and serve hot with Naan or Plain White Rice.

Tangy Gobi Peas curry in 17 mins flat! :)

1 big onion - finely chopped
2 big tomatoes - finely chopped
Cauliflower - 1/2
Green peas - 1 cup
Jeera - 1 tbsp
Jeera powder - 1 tbsp
Amchur powder - 1/2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp

Step 1: Add oil in a pan and let it heat. Add Jeera and chopped onions and let it fry
Step 2: Parallely in a big pan, add excess water and add cauliflower florets and green peas
Step 2: Once onions are golden brown, add Ginger Garlic paste, Chilli and turmeric powder.
Step 3: Now add chopped tomatoes and fry them till the gravy starts leaving oil.
Step 4: Add Amchur powder, Jeera powder and salt to taste and mix it well.
Step 5: Now add the boiled cauliflower and green peas and mix it well. (ensure all water is drained out from the vegetables)
Step 6: Leave it on the stove for about 5-7 mins

Serve it with hot chapattis.

All time favorite - Kadi Pakoda

1 big onion - sliced (for gravy)
1 small onion - chopped (for pakodas)
Curry leaves - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 4
Green chillies - 2
Amchur powder - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
Besan - 2 tbsp
Yogurt - 4 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Step 1: Take a pan, add about 2 tbsp oil and once its slightly heated, add mustard seeds, red chillies, green chillied and the sliced onions
Step 2: In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp Besan and 4 tbsp Yogurt - add turmeric and Chilli powder and beat it well.
Step 3: Once the onions turn golden brown, add the above mixture and top it up with 1 cup water. Leave the stove on simmer
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Paralelly, start preparing the Pakodas
In a bowl, add 2 tbsp Besan, Salt to taste, Chilli powder, Cumin Powder, Garam Masala and 1 tbsp of hot oil.
Add enough oil in a pan for the Pakodas to fry and heat it for about 5-7 mins.
Now add chopped onions in the above mixture and fry them in the oil to nice golden brown Pakodas.
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Step 4: Once the besan starts a boil (you should see visible bubbles), add amchur powder and salt.
Step 5: Finally add the Pakodas and remove the pan from the stove.

Serve it with Hot Puao rice or Butter Naans.

Sunday fav - Puri + Chana

Preparation time: 5-10 mins
Cook time: 30-45 mins

1. Add 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and add some Bay leaves
2. Add onions and fry till golden brown - now add ginger garlic paste, turmeric and chilli powder - fry for 2 mins
3. Add chopped tomatoes (2 big) and fry till the gravy starts leaving oil
4. Now add 2 tbsp yogurt and mix it well. Add some dhaniya powder and let it fry for 30 seconds
5. Add the boiled chana (chick peas) and stir it well. 
6. Now add 1 tbsp chana masala, salt to taste and 1 tbsp sugar
7. Pressure cook for 2 whistles and garnish with cilantro, lemon

Poori:
In a large mixing bowl, add maids, 1 tbsp sugar, 5-6 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp oil and water. Make a nice thick yet soft dough. Leave it for less than 5 mins.
Ensure the dough is soft and well balanced.
Make small sizes pooris and fry well.

Really yummy & Healthy - Hara Bhara Kabab

Overall preparation time - About an hour
Actual cooking time - 30-45 mins

Soak 1/2 cup of Chana dal for about an hour

In the mean while, boil a cup of green peas and blanch about 4 cups of spinach
(to blanch spinach, bring water to a boil and let the spinach sit in it for about 5-10 mins)

Pressure cook Chana dal with 1 tbsp of ginger garlic and 4-5 slit green chillies - for about 2 whistles
Remove all excess water 

In a mixer/food processor, add Chana dal mix, green peas, spinach and grind to a fine paste

Shift it into a bowl and add salt, garam masala, chaat masala and mashed paneer

In order to make them into nice shaped kababs, add some bread crumbs
(easy way to make bread crumbs at home - cut bread into small cubes, and place it in an oven for about 15 mins at 250F. Make a powder of that in food processer/mixer/grinder)

Once the kabab shapes are ready - dip it in maida mix (3 tbsp maids and 2 tbsp water) and coat it with the bread crumbs - before frying!

Deep fry on low flame or bake it at 350F till the top layer is golden brown.

Enjoy hot Kababs with tomato/mint chutney!

Kachchi Ghost ki Biryani

Picked from Zaiqa.net

Serves: 6-8

Total Marinating time: 3 1/2 hrsTotal ‘Dum/slow cooking’ time: Around 1 hr and 10 mins

Canola oil – 6 tbsp
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Lean spring Lamb meat, with bone, preferably leg, cut into 5 cm cubes – 800 grams (my Ammi even adds mixed pieces like ribs, chops etc) excess fat trimmed, washed, drained and pat dried
for the tenderizing mix:
Raw Unripe Green Papaya skin –  grated or made into a paste , about 2 or 3 tbsp (or) Kiwi fruit – 1, about 50 gms, peel discarded and the pulp mashed into a smooth paste (optional)
Ginger garlic paste – 3 tbsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
for the marinade:
Thick Yogurt – 1/2 cup
Yellow onions – 3, medium sized, finely sliced
Fresh Mint leaves – 1 cup, loosely packed, roughly chopped
Fresh Cilantro – 1 cup, loosely packed, roughly chopped
Small green chillies – 4-6, slit lengthwise
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Garam masala powder -1 tsp
Cardamom powder – 1/8 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
for the rice:
Long Grained Fragrant Basmati Rice – 800 grams (old biryani rice)
Shah Zeera – 1/2 tbsp
Cardamom – 4
Cloves – 4
Cinnamon stick – one 2″ stick
Dagad Phool – 1 tbsp
Dried bay leaf –  2
Salt – 3-4 tsp
for the Biryani:(assembing layers)
Saffron threads – 2 big pinch
Warmed milk – 1/2 cup
Cilantro – 1/2 cup, loosely packed and roughly chopped
Mint leaves – 1/2 cup, loosely packed and roughly chopped
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
additional ingredients:
Dough made with maida/all-purpose flour (flour+water) to seal the vessel(optional)

1. In a large thick walled oven-proof vessel/saucepan (if you have a thick walled degchi, please use it) (also please choose a vessel that is large enough so that there is about 1/4 amount of free headspace left after the whole biryani is assembled for the steam to collect and aid in cooking), add the tenderizing mix and the marinade and mix well. Wear gloves, add the meat and thoroughly mix the meat well. Using a knife, gash/poke the meat in the marinade. Mix once and again gash/poke it with a knife and then mix. Cover and keep aside.
2. In a thick bottomed frying pan, pour in oil and ghee. Once the oil is hot add the sliced onions. Deep fry them until evenly golden brown in color, keep a close eye and make sure you do not burn them. Once done, remove the pan from heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove half of the fried onions into a platter and spread them out. In a while, they will crisp up as they cool. The crisped fried onions will be later used for garnish. Reserve the remaining fried onions and oil in the same pan and let cool. These will be added to the marinade.
3. In a small bowl, add the warmed milk and soak the saffron threads in it.
4. Add the cooled fried onions and about 4 tbsp of the oil from the pan to the marinating meat and thoroughly mix using a spoon. Cover and keep it back in the refrigerator for 3-4 hrs.

5. Wash the rice in 3 changes of water and soak it in surplus fresh cool water for 30 minutes.
6. In a large saucepan, pour in surplus cool water and add the shahzera, cardamom, cloves, dried bay leaf, dagad phool and salt (do not forget adding salt). Cover and bring it to a boil on high. Once the water is boiling, drain the soaking rice and add it to the boiling water and stir. Cook for just 2 minutes and drain the rice immediately.
7. Spread the drained half cooked rice over the marinating meat. Spread evenly the chopped cilantro, mint, saffron soaking in milk, remaining crisped fried onions and lemon juice. Cover the vessel properly with aluminium foil or a tight lid (with vents closed with dough if any) so that no steam can escape. You can also apply dough to seal the lid which is the traditional method.

8. Cook the Biryani on high for 5 minutes. You will notice that a good amount of steam has built up, which is called as the pehli bhaap, meaning first steam.. Then take a flat dosa tawa and keep it below the vessel (so that the bottom does not burn and it slow cooks evenly) and lower the heat to simmer and let it slow cook for 30 minutes, until done. Remove from heat, and have a quick look to see if the rice has cooked and stick a fork through to test the meat (be careful as there will a lot of steam, do not burn yourselves). If it needs to cook a little longer, cover again tightly with the lid/foil again and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. when it is done and wait for 10 mins before mixing the rice with meat, and serve on a large serving platter. For a special touch, garnish with more fried onions, cilantro and mint leaves, toasted/fried almonds or cashewnuts or pinenuts or raisins and quartered hard boiled eggs.
Oven Method:
1. Follow the above steps until step 7.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
3. Cook the assembled biryani in the vessel on stove-top on high heat for 5 minutes, until nice steam has built up, which is called as the pehli bhaap, meaning first steam. Immediately transfer this vessel in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. After that, turn the oven setting to 300°F and bake it for further 15 minutes, after which have a quick look to see if the rice has cooked and stick a fork through to test the meat (be careful as there will a lot of steam, do not burn yourselves). If it needs to cook a little longer, cover again tightly with the lid/foil again and cook for a furthur 15 minutes. Remove from oven when it is done and wait for 10 mins before mixing the rice with meat, and serve on a large serving platter. For a special touch, garnish with more fried onions, cilantro and mint leaves, toasted/fried almonds or cashewnuts or pinenuts or raisins and quartered hard boiled eggs.

Murgh Biryani

Preparation time: 30 mins
Actual cook time: 30-60 mins

I have made this dish so many times, I can almost make it in my sleep! This is so easy to make and tastes so Yumm, it will definitely make it to your favorite list! :)

I use about 1/2 pound of chicken and this serves 2 people
(Instead of Chicken, you can use Mutton, Egg or Chicken peas - for Egg or Chick peas - you obviously dont need any marination)

Cut Chicken in small pieces, wash and set aside
Take a nice deep bowl for Marination

• add about 5 - 6 table spoons of yogurt and beat it
• now add salt, chilli powder, dhaniya powder, garam masala powder, lime juice 
• cover it with a lid and put it in fridge for anytime between 30 mins - 24 hours (the longer you marinate, the tastier the chicken is!)

Chop onions (long and thin), Tomatoes (nice cubes) and slit 4-6 green chillies

In a large pan, add oil. Once it heats up add Bay leaves and leave for 30 seconds

Now add the Onions and let it fry till golden Brown

Add Ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes.

Now add Turmeric powder and 1 tbsp chilli powder, fry for 2 minutes.

Add tomato and fry it till it starts leaving oil.

Now add the marinated chicken. 

Cook it with the lid on till the chicken is well done.

Take about 4 cups of rice, wash it in cold water and soak it for about 15-30 mins.

Take a large utensil and add enough water.

Now add 4-6 cloves, Bay leaves, 1 Cardamon stick, 4-6 Elaichi pods and salt

Let the water boil

Now add the soaked rice and let it cook for 2-4 mins ONLY
Remove it from the stove and drain the excess water

Now take a large oven pan/utensil and spread the chicken gravy evenly
Spread the rice all over the gravy.
Add some cilantry and Fried onions (Optional)
Cover it with a lid / aluminium foil and ensure there are no gaps for the steam to escape

I normally leave this in the Oven at 475 F for about 15 mins and its ready to eat!
If you are using a regular cook top oven, keep it on SIM for about the same time (ensure the rice doesnt get burnt)

Paneer Kalonji

Preparation time: 5- 10 mins
Actual cooking time: 15 mins 


1. Add oil in a Kadhai, once its heated up - add 1 tbsp Jeera and 1/2 tbsp Kalonji

2. Add finely chopped onions and fry till golden brown - add Ginger garlic paste,  4 slit green chillies, Turmeric and Chilli powder

3. Add Tomato puree and 2 tbsp yogurt - fry until the gravy starts leaving oil

4. Add Dhaniya powder, 1 tbsp sugar, salt to taste

5. Finally add corn and paneer cubes and leave it on low flame for 5 mins.

Cashew chicken fry

Total preparation time - 15 mins
Actual cook time - 30 mins

Ingredients :

Chicken - 1/4 kg
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbl spoons
Red Chilli Powder - 1 to 1/2 tbl spoons
Salt - to taste
For Garam Masala: Cloves - 4, Daniya - 2 tbl spoons, Cardamoms - 2, Cinnamon Sticks - 1
Curry Leaves - 5
Onions - 2 (small)
Oil - 2 to 3 tbl spoons

Procedure :
1. Wash Chicken and add ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and salt - 1/2 tbl spoon, 1 green chilli, 1 onion. Pressure cook Chicken mix with 2 whistles ( without adding water ).
2. (Garam Masala - 1/2 spoon if you have it ready made) Take Pan and heat it normally without oil. In that add cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, daniya, and fry them well and remove from flame and make it cool.
3. Take a Pan and add oil - 2 tbl spoons oil and heat it. Now add cooked chicken ( after adding this, fry until the water finish in that ) and then add garam masala and fry it well till the chicken is about golden brown for around 15 to 20mins (simmer). Add pudina & coriander in the end.

Traditional south indian meal in 30 mins

Dondakai fry

Chopped onions - 1 big onion

Tomato puree - 2 big tomatoes

Finely chopped dondakai - 250 gm

In a pan, take some oil and put jeera fry some chopped onions

add ginger garlic paste - fry for 2 mins

add turmeric and chilli powder fry for another 2 mins

now add tomato puree

let it fry for about 5-6 mins

now add finely chopped dondakai

Add jeera powder, dhania powder salt and a little bit sugar

let it all fry together till dondakai starts to leave oil

Mango dal

In a cooker, boil dal in one container and in another container, put raw mango pieces and slit green chillies (if you cook them together, dal wont boil)

once daal i boiled

add it in a bowl with the mangoes and chillies

add some water and let it cook for a while

put salt, turmeric

in the end, add some popu - in a small pan add oil then put avaalu, red chilli and hing - finally add curry leaves

Aloo/Paneer Paratha + Carrot Raitha in 30 mins!

Carrot Raitha: (10-12 mins)

1. Scrape 1 big carrot , chop 1 big onion, slice 3 green chillies 
2. Add 2 tbspn oil in a pan, add some mustard seeds, let them pop.
3. Add the green chillies, onions, carrots, salt to taste and some turmeric powder
4. Fry till all the raw smell of carrots goes away
5. Add this in a bowl of beaten yogurt 

Aloo/Paneer Paratha

1. Knead dough with 2 cups wheat and 1 cup water - add 1tbsp salt and oil
2. Boil Aloo/Unfreeze Paneer and scrape/smash it 
3. Add jeera powder, chilli powder, salt to taste and chopped green chillies - mix it well
4. Stuff the mix into the dough and make nice big parathas
5. Fry in oil/ghee based on your taste.

Tips:

Ensure you knead the dough hard enough so that the stuffing mix doesnt come out easily.

Make the aloo/Paneer mix just before you are ready to make parathas. The salt in the mix can make the mix soggy and spoil the make.