Kashmiri pulav (II)

This is the pulav I prepared for the International festival celebrated in 'Our Lady of Fatima' Church. I prepared this Kashmiri pulav and chicken kabob along with other participants. It was a delightful experience to see the guests liking the Indian food. Here is the recipe for my friends!

Kashmiri pulav.

Cooking the rice: (for 2 or more people)
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Water - 3 cups
butter - 1 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
lemon - 1/4 of a fruit
turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp

Wash the rice thrice in cold water.
Soak the rice for 30 minutes.
Drain the rice and keep ready.
Bring the water to a good boil along with turmeric, salt, butter. Add the soaked rice, lemon juice and reduce flame. Cook for 5 minutes and drain the water. The rice should not be raw, but cooked and stiff. Run under cold water to make it extra fluffy.
For more details click to read how I cooked rice for pulav.

Ingredients:

Onion - 1
butter / ghee - 2 tbsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
plain Indian yogurt - 1/2 cup
salt - 1 tsp
cilantro - 2 tbsp (chopped)
mint leaf - 1 tbsp (chopped)
green chilly - 2
green peas - 1/2 cup
carrot - 1 small
saffron - few strands
rose essence - 2 drops

Spices:

bay leaf - 1
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 3 (crushed)
cloves - 3 (crushed)
star aniseed - 1
fennel - 1/2 tsp
nutmeg - a tiny bit
mace - 1 inch

fruits and nuts: (chopped)
apple - 1/2 cup
pineapple - 1 cup
pomegranate - 1/2 cup
orange - 1
raisin - 1/4 cup
tooti fruity - 1 tbsp
cashew nut - 10 (full)
almond - 4 (slivered)

Method:

Fry the cashews, almonds, raisins and keep them aside.

Heat oil / butter in a wok. Add the spices and stir till the fennel turns red.
Cut the onions in thin long pieces. Immediately add the onions and fry till it get golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir till the raw smell vanishes. Add more ghee if needed.
Toss in the split chillies, cubed carrot, peas and cook covered. Then add the required salt, yogurt. Cook in low heat till the masala gives a nice flavor and oil oozes out. Check the taste. If needed add some salt or lemon juice or red chilly powder to alter the taste to need.
Switch off and add rose essence.

Add the cooked rice and mix well. Add another tbsp of ghee over it.
Mix the fried nuts and raisin.

Peel and core the apple. Cube it into small pieces. Cut the pineapple into small cubes.

Place prepared rice in a serving tray and let it cool little. Add the chopped fruits, chopped mint, cilantro and saffron strands. Mix well.

Kashmiri pulav is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as main course with any spicy curry like butter chicken or Chicken tikka masala.

Note:

To make the pulav more flavorful and rich, cook the rice with a few strands of saffron.
If prepared with a dominant red and green colored fruits, we can prepare it as a special Christmas pulav.

Spinach scrambled egg

Both of us love home made foods. So whenever we had to go for a grocery shopping or any other thing on a weekend, I finish my cooking duty before we start, so that we can have our meal as soon as we reach home. That particular Saturday we had to go out for a few hours and I wanted to make some rasam, rice and a side dish. When I checked the vegetable tray there was some spinach leaves which won't be enough to make a stir fry but  I didn't want to waste them. So I made a spinach poriyal with some eggs and it tasted richer than the plain spinach fry.

Stir fried spinach and egg.

Ingredients:

Spinach (any greens) - 30 leaves
egg - 2
Shallot / red onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup
garlic - 5 cloves
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
coconut oil - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
green chilly / dry red chilly - 2

Method:

Wash and clean the greens in large amounts of water multiple times to remove all the dirt / sand. Drain water and chop it finely.

Heat oil / ghee in a wok. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
Chop the onion, garlic, chillies, curry leaf (optional) finely and add to the wok.
Stir till onion turns soft.

Add the finely chopped greens and stir fry for 2 minutes. Cook covered for 1 more minute. Open the lid. Let all the moisture dries up.

Add salt, cumin and fry a bit. After the poriyal looks very loose without any moisture. Keep aside.
Before serving, heat the poriyal and break two eggs and pour over the stir fry. Scramble well to get tiny pieces. Then put the freshly shredded coconut.

Spinach scrambled egg is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Spinach scrambled egg can be served as a simple breakfast with sweet oatmeal.
It goes well with sambar rice , curd rice or rasam rice.

Repost for event

Priya of Priya's Easy N tasty recipes is hosting an event themed peas. I am sending my below entries for her fabulous events.

1.Green peas masala


2.Green peas pulav



3.Beach sundal

4.Urulaikilangu pattani curry


5.Pattani Kuruma



6.Paneer mattar masala


7.Moovarna poriyal


8. Masal vadai


Happy hosting Priya!

Onion bonda

Onion bonda / vengaya bonda is a spicy snack that can be seen in almost all the crowded tea shops in Southern Tamilnadu. I used to think if it is that strong flavored  fried big onion balls were attracting all the passersby:) Whenever I eat some onion rings after coming here,that flavor brings me back those memories and  I comfort myself saying that I will make my favorite onion bonda one day:) In India this is not commonly prepared in households because of the need for more frying oil and  so I too hesitate to use and reuse that much quantity of oil:) Recently I made this for us along with ginger tea on a cold winter evening and it came out just like that tea shop's:) 

Vengaya bonda.

Ingredients:

Red onion - 4 (big)
maida / All purpose flour - 4 tbsp
besan flour - 2 tbsp
green chillies - 6
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
hing / asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
salt - to taste
baking soda - 1/2 tsp
corn oil - 2 tbsp
corn oil - 250 ml (to deep fry)

Method:

Slice the onion in lengthwise to get medium thick pieces.
Finely chop the green chillies.
Place the chopped onion, curry leaf, chilly in a mixing bowl.
Add required salt and mix well without adding water.
Now add the measured flours, baking soda,hing, red chilly powder and mix well.
The water in the onion will be enough to moisten the flour.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan.
When the oil becomes hot take out 2 tbsp hot oil from it and pour over the bonda batter. Mix well and make small orange size balls. Reduce flame. Put the balls in hot oil and fry them in medium flame. Do it in small batches (2 or 3 at a time) without crowding the oil.
The oil should be enough to cover the balls, otherwise the center will be uncooked.
The bonda will take more time to get fried completely. Frying in medium heat will ensure complete cooking till the core. After the bubbles subdue, take the bondas and drain excess oil in paper towels.
Before frying every batch of bonda heat the oil to maximum, then reduce it to medium and fry them.

Onion bonda is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as tea time snack with hot tea or coffee.
It won't need any dipping.
But tomato ketchup or coconut chutney also suits well.
Makes a nice side dish with sambar rice or curd rice.

Note:

The frying process requires more oil than vadai and bajji because of the shape and size of the bonda balls. The bonda should be well immersed in hot oil to fry it completely. Water should not be added to make this bonda batter.

Fruit salad ice cream

I don't remember me craving for any kind of ice cream since my childhood except for this 'ice cream with fruit salad'. There is a bakery cum ice cream shop in my home town named Arasan ice cream parlor, which serves this fruit salad ice cream in tall glasses. They have their own versions like honey ice cream, fried nuts ice cream, ice cream cakes etc. It would be always crowded by people who want to enjoy their fabulous cakes, bakes and ice creams along with the ambiance. At that time it was the best meeting place for youngsters and We also used to enjoy this ice cream in a tall glass while dating.

It is very easy to make and we will get a grand looking dessert in minutes. Just a scoop of ice cream over finely chopped fruits will do the magic.I used homemade pomegranate ice cream in this recipe. Many a times I have felt this ice cream fruit salad to be very filling. So if we are planning to serve this as a dessert, make sure to plan a very light meal before that.

Pomegranate Ice cream with fruit salad.

Ingredients:(use any available fruit)

(for 2 servings)

Apple - 1/2 small
pear - small piece
orange - 2 pieces
green and red grapes - 6 each
pineapple - 1 round slice
pomegranate - a handful
strawberry - 2
cherry - 2
apple sauce /dates syrup / honey - 2 tbsp
Ice cream - 2 large scoops
(vanilla or any fruit flavored ice creams only)

Method:

Choose a very tall glass. Traditionally they are served in taller and leaner glasses. I have used these shorter glasses according to my need:)

Choose any seasonal fruit. But keep in mind, one should be crispy like apple the other with tangy taste like pine apple and the grapes are a must.

Finely chop all the fruits. Put them zip-lock cover and keep refrigerated.
Keep the apple and pear separately in lemon juice water to prevent discoloration.
(Put the chopped apple and pear in a bowl and pour enough water to cover. Squeeze few drops of lemon and mix well). The chopped fruits can be preserved for a few hours inside fridge. (If we want to get the benefits of fruits, start eating them immediately after chopping).

Mix all the fruits. Fill the glass half way with the mixed chopped fruits. Pour a generous tbsp of apple sauce or date syrup or honey over the fruit.
Place a big scoop of ice cream over it and top it with a cherry.
If needed insert a wafer biscuit on top along with cherry.

Fruit salad ice cream is ready!

Serving suggestion:

A tall glass and a long spoon will make the dish more attractive.
Serve as dessert or snack .
I like to have it as a breakfast itself:)

Desserts for Thanks giving

Before we enter into the next month, let me post the photos of the simple dessert table I kept for Thanks giving. It was not extremely formal but met my satisfaction to some level.

Here is how I planned the lunch....

*I started planning 5 days ahead and kept a check list as usual. It included some main points like preparing home made yogurt with whole milk, buying the ingredients, preparing desserts,grinding the masalas, preparing base masala, ghee making , marination time calculation.

*Buying some desserts instead of preparing is a good idea to reduce the stress. I bought an apple pie and some pomegranates to give it a real Thanksgiving look.

*On Monday I prepared the pistachio ice cream.

*I prepared a carrot cake and did icing to honor Jesus, saying 'Thank You'. I baked it by Tuesday and kept it refrigerated to get a even surface. Did the icing with store bought cream cheese frosting and home made colored icing, while the chicken was in the oven on Thursday morning.

I finished setting this dessert table, arranging all the dinnerware, serve ware on Wednesday, that made my job easy on Thanksgiving Thursday.

Keeping a side table solely for desserts and  dinnerware would make it easy.

*Keep all the coke / drinks in refrigerator for better taste, but leave a few in the table to give some idea to the guests.

Thanks giving cake.

Whole roasted chicken for Thanks giving

Last week we celebrated Thanks giving day and we had a good time with our friends. I was not planning a whole roasted chicken until that Sunday. Because, few years back I baked a cornish hen for a Christmas, (but not in a formal way) and Hubby dear didn't like that version as it lacked the juicy finish, but anyhow I finished it off and didn't say a word to anyone about it:) After that I didn't dare to make any whole chicken till the food network TV kindled my passion again. Inspired by Paula Deen's whole roasted turkey, I wanted to bake a whole turkey or chicken. I was a bit skeptical on trying the big bird , so chose a miniature version:) I like the way she narrates a recipe along with her memories. So I wanted to try hers. I followed each and every step from Paula Deen's, but used my own marination. I prepared Indian tandoori masala and kept the bird marinated overnight. I kept the masala in lower note to enjoy the chicken flavor. The roasted chicken came out perfectly and I was extremely satisfied by the meat quality. Believe me, I have never tasted such a juicy white meat in my life and I got addicted to it:) I think the secret lies in baking temperature and the procedure. I am noting down every step I followed for my future use. May be next year I may get the courage to invite more people to share my oven roasted turkey:) I was totally glad to see my friends and hubby enjoying the chicken. Thank you Paula !

The Thanks giving spread included Turkey biriyani, whole roasted chicken, kheema gravy, chicken 65 , raitha , rasam rice and for dessert I made carrot cake, pistachio ice cream and bought an apple pie.
After that meal we couldn't go for the Thanks giving sale that night. So slept a little and got up early and got some of the deals:)

This post reminds me of my mom's whole fried chicken too (which I haven't tried by myself till now) ....:)

Hope you all like my roasted / baked chicken!

Baked whole chicken I made for Thanks Giving day.

Important points before roasting turkey or chicken:

Calculate the number of guests, servings and buy meat accordingly (generally 1 lb or little lesser per person).
Plan ahead and calculate the cooking time of the bird.
Click to see thawing time.
Calculate the time required for baking the chicken or turkey.
Be strictly hygienic, as this recipe involves overnight marination inside fridge.

Ingredients: (I used)

Whole chicken - 7 lb
(Calculate 1 lb for 1 person)
Butter - 8 tbsp
turmeric - 1 tbsp
salt - 2 tbsp
lemon - 2
onion - 1/2 kg
garlic - 6 pearls
herbs - cilantro, mint (handful)
chat masala - 1 tbsp

To make Tandoori masala:

Thick curd - 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
(Instead we can grind 3 cloves, 2 inch cinnamon, 2 cardamom, 1/2 tsp cumin , 1/2 tsp fennel)
white vinegar - 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red food color - 4 drops (no need)
butter / oil - 4 tbsp

Mix all the items above in a broad vessel. This is the freshly prepared tandoori masala.

Processing the whole chicken:

Buy a whole chicken with skin. Let us assume that we are buying the chicken a few days before Thanks giving:)
Carefully remove the organs kept inside chicken in the pouch. I save the giblets and liver in freezer for later use.
Now keep it in freezer till we need it.
The day before cooking, remove the bird from freezer and put it in a big bowl of water or leave in refrigerator till it thaws.
It should finish thawing before we go to bed:)

Marination:

The chicken was marinated overnight in Indian Tandoori masala in refrigerator.

12 hours before baking, take the thawed chicken, wash and clean it.
Pat dry in kitchen paper towels.
Take a handful of tandoori masala (or any marination) and rub all over the skin. Then carefully put your hand inside the breast skin (without tearing the skin)
and rub more marination inside too. Likewise do for the back side too.
Pull the skin evenly and cover again. (Never do the raw stuffing overnight, as it will contaminate the bird). Place the bird along with excess marination in a big bowl and cover the lid tightly using aluminum foil. Using vinegar is a must for keeping the bird safe.
Keep the chicken marinated a whole night or 10-12 hours in refrigerator.
The next day morning take out the chicken and place it in a plate to drain excess marinade. Now stuff the prepared stuffing.

Stuffing:

I stuffed 2 onions thinly sliced, garlic 6 pearls, cilantro, mint.
Take a handful of stuffing and fill the bird loosely.

Tie:

Drain the excess masala in a plate , do the stuffing and tie before baking.

Buy a thick cotton thread and cut it into required lengths.
Place the chicken with breast side up.
Tie the legs as shown in photo.
With another long thread tie the whole bird , so that the wings also stay intact.
Tying is a must to get a beautiful shaped baked chicken. Otherwise the limb will go in every direction and we won't get a presentable version.

Baking the whole chicken:

First 30 minutes should be baked with an aluminum foil wrap to prevent darkening.

After 1 hour. Onions and remaining marinade are poured around to increase moisture.

After 3 hours of baking the chicken was almost done. Check now.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg C.
Now place the chicken in a sturdy baking pan with handles.
Cover the breast portion of chicken with a small piece of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After that remove the foil.
Now pour the remaining marinade to the pan.
I added few sliced onions to increase the moisture in chicken.

Basting:

Keep a basting brush ready.
Bring 1 stick butter to room temperature and 1 tsp salt to it.
Every 20 minutes pull out the rack and apply some butter to the chicken.
After that scoop the juice collecting in the bottom and drizzle over the chicken.
This makes it very very juicy.
Then continue baking.
Don't turn it over.
I prepared a 7 lb chicken and so I needed 3 hours.
Allow 20-25 minutes for 1 lb chicken at 350 deg C.
Higher or lower temperatures will yield brown or dry meat.
After 1 hour the chicken will start roasting and it will get a beautiful red color all over.
After the prescribed time, the chicken will get a gorgeous golden brown color.
Now again apply a coat of butter all over the chicken.

Checking:

Pierce a knife to the breast (close to tied limb) and we will see a clear juice running out of it. (Baking thermometer can also be inserted near thighs, without touching bones. But I didn't use it).
That's it ....... the chicken is roasted!
If not done, the cover and bake the chicken for another 20 minutes. It will not be necessary....I assure you:) .
Switch off and take out the roasted chicken with pan.
Remove the threads using a pair of scissors.

Setting time:

After 3 hours and 20 minutes the whole baked chicken was ready to serve.

Prepare a serving plate with some lettuce or any leaves as base.
Take out the roasted chicken using two spatulas and place on the plate.
The remaining liquid can be used in making gravy and onion over briyani.
Again cover the chicken with a new piece of aluminum foil and let the juices settle for 20 minutes. This will make carving easy.

Whole roasted chicken is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Thanks giving day is always a turkey day too! Turkey briyani with whole baked chicken.

Before carving squeeze juice of one or two lemons over the roasted chicken and sprinkle chat masala over it.
Serve with any kind of rice or bread.
I served Turkey biriyani along with roasted chicken.
Roasted chicken tastes great with hot sauce as a dipping and some lemon wedges.

Note:

The white meat will be very moist,tender and juicy just like the red meat, if prepared with the above said procedure and butter.
Marination / stuffing can be varied according to taste without altering butter quantity and procedure.

Left over:

The left over chicken can be sliced and wrapped in individual servings and kept frozen for future use.
I like using left over chicken in wraps and curries.