Mushroom Biryani

It's hot here in M'lore but somehow the weather doesn't seem to bother me. Probably because I have a lot of others things occupying my mind. Like missing Sunnyvale for instance. I love India, but a place that contributed to my growth immensely, cannot be forgotten easily. Glimpses of my kitchen come flashing into my mind, be it my oven, my cooking range, or for that matter my kitchen sink!! Right now I'm eagerly awaiting the shipment which will bring along with it a lot of my kitchen stuff that were so much a part of my life there.

Coming back to Mangalore, I'm at my Amma's place right now. My brother visited last weekend and I made Mushroom Biryani for him.
For the rice part I followed my egg biryani recipe. For step-by-step pictures go here.

Instead of eggs, ofcourse, I used mushrooms. I must have used about 400g mushrooms.
Chop mushrooms into quarters, wash and place them in a colander to drain off all the excess water. Mushrooms release a lot of water when being cooked so it's better to wash them well in advance and give enough time for the water to drain off.

Transfer mushrooms into a large vessel. Sprinkle garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt [I just eye-balled the measurements]. I also added 1 tbsp thick curd. Mix well and marinate for 15 minutes.

Roast the mushrooms on both sides. Since mushrooms release water, it is better to roast them in 3 or 4 batches, a few mushrooms at a time. If you see them releasing water, increase the flame and roast uncovered for a few minutes (keep stirring) till all the water is absorbed.

Once the rice is cooked, add the roasted mushrooms and mix gently. Or just spread rice on a plate and top it with roasted mushrooms.

The next couple of dishes that will feature here are among my favourite. Keep guessing!

Egg Biryani

Biryani is one of my most favourite meals. I absolutely drool over chicken biryani and love eating it while watching any favourite show on tv! Today I made egg biryani for my husband's potluck party in his office.
A few years back a friend had given me a basic recipe for biryani. Over the years I tweaked it and tried to bring in new flavours. Star anise, for example, lends a great flavour to your rice, so try to get your hand on it.  Also, fried onions add a distinct taste to the biryani, so if you can forget about counting calories for a meal, go for it. However, the ingredient that lends the most flavour is ghee. Go a little liberal on ghee and your biryani will smell and taste great!
This recipe is almost a one-pot meal - the rice is not cooked separately. I actually prefer this method since I feel it captures the flavours better and brings all the elements together. The eggs are, ofcourse, boiled separately.
Before you start making biryani, or any other flavoured rice for that matter, soak the rice completely in water for 20 to 30 mts. This way the rice will not break when you mix it and the grains will look longer.

Ingredients :
5 boiled eggs, shelled and halved
2 cups basmati rice (uncooked)
2 bay leaves
1" piece cinnamon
4 cardamom
4 cloves
1 small star anise
2 large onions
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
3/4 cup corainder leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves (pudina)
3 to 4 green chillies, roughly chopped
1/4 cup yogurt
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp garam masala powder
Salt
Oil
Ghee

Method :
Soak basmati rice in water for atleast 30 minutes. [At this point you can start chopping your onions etc and start cooking so by the time you get to the point where you have to add rice, it will be atleast 30 mts].
In a large deep-bottomed pan, heat oil + ghee. Add bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and star anise. Add chopped onions and ginger garlic paste and sauté until onion turns brownish.
Meanwhile grind corainder leaves, mint leaves, green chillies and yogurt into a paste (without water). Add this paste to the onions and roast for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till tomatoes are completely cooked.
Sprinkle turmeric powder, garam masala powder and chilli powder (adjust according your spice level) and mix well.
Drain the water out of the rice completely and add. Roast the rice for half a minute. Now add 3 1/4 cup hot water. [If you did not pre-soak the rice, add 4 cups water].
Add salt and mix [it has to be slighlty salty to accommodate the rice].
Cover, turn the flame to medium and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. The rice should be about 95% cooked. [Check after 9 to 10 minutes, if you feel the bottom is likely to burn, add a few tablespoons of water. If you are not comfortable cooking this way, you can use a rice cooker or pressure cooker].
Turn the gas off, mix gently, cover and leave untouched for another 10 minutes till the rice is completely cooked.

At this point you can add the boiled eggs and serve. Or you can spice up the eggs a little bit.

To do that, in a bowl mix 1 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder and 1 pinch turmeric powder. Add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 2 tbsp yogurt and salt to taste and mix well.
Heat oil in a wide skillet. Dip eggs in the above mixture and roast for few minutes on both sides.

Serving suggestion :
Take a large microwave-safe bowl. Spread some rice at the bottom. Layer with a few egg halves. Layer with rest of the rice. Place the remaining eggs on top. Garnish with 1/2 cup of fried onions and 2 tbsp coriander leaves. You can also drizzle some saffron water on top.

This goes to Bookmarked Recipes.

Carrot Pepper Rice (Microwaved)

Sometimes I wish there were 25 hours in a day so that I could devote a whole hour to my blog. But if I were granted even 30 hours a day, I'm sure I'd need just one more!

I'm typing out this post at 1 in the morning, after putting my son to bed a couple of hours ago and folding a truck load of clothes while watching my favourite show - Food Network Challenge. I find folding clothes one of the most boring things you could ever do and keep myself happy by watching something fun on TV.

Coming back to my post, this recipe is from Nita Mehta's Vegetarian Microwave Cookbook. The book was gifted to me by a friend (whose first name incidently happens to be Neeta. Not Mehta, Pai.) The dish is a quick solution to those busy days when you have neither time nor energy to cook anything elaborate.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice (uncooked)
3 tbsp oil
1 onion
1 capsicum
1 carrot
1 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Method:
Soak rice for 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile chop onions, carrots and capsicum.

In a large microwave safe bowl (take the largest you have) mix oil, capsicum and carrot and microwave for 3 minutes. (I found the rice slightly oily so next time I will reduce the oil by a tablespoon)

Drain out all the water from the rice. Add this rice to the vegetables. Pour two cups water, salt, pepper and soy sauce.

Mix a bit and microwave covered for 13 minutes. Stir once in between.
This is what your rice will look like -

Leave untouched for 5 minutes. Mix well and serve hot.

Methi Pulao

My earlier experiences with making pulao haven't been too pleasant. Not that they were a disaster each time. But several times, either the rice would turn out too soft and mushy and break when I'd stir it or, one thin layer of rice at the bottom would er, burn. I used to make the pulao in the pressure cooker (I did not have a rice cooker) and had no clue what was happening inside until the cooker would cool down, and I would remove the whistle and open the lid. There were times when I'd secretly hope that they would come up with see-through cookers and I'd know if I needed to add more water and could easily do it.

And then I saw my mother-in-law cook pulao in a regular deep bottomed pan on the stove stop. No pressure cooker, no rice cooker, just your regular pan you use to make curry in. The best part was, after a few minutes, you could open the lid and check if you need more water. 

So I adapted this method of cooking. Luckily I have a deep bottomed pan with a sturdy glass lid. I make my pulao in that.

I also came across this wonderful tip on the internet of soaking the basmati rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes. This makes the grains longer and also reduces the breakage of rice when you mix it. I found that tip very useful and I make it a point to soak the rice each time I cook pulao or any flavoured rice.

Ingredients :
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup tightly packed methi (fenugreek) leaves
2 tbsp oil
1 1" cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 large onion
2 green chillies, slit
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tomato
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt
1 tsp ghee (optional)

Method:
Wash and soak the basmati rice in water. What I do is, I first soak the rice and then start with chopping of the onions etc, so that by the time I reach the part where the rice has to be added, it will be about 20 to 30 minutes.
Pluck out the methi leaves from the bunch. I used 1 cup of packed methi leaves, which is about 1 1/4 cup of loosely packed leaves. Don't chop the leaves as this can increase the bitterness.

In a deep bottomed pan, heat oil. Add bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and roast for a couple of minutes. Add onion and sauté till it turns brownish. Add green chillies and ginger garlic paste and fry for some more time. Now add methi leaves and roast them well. To this add turmeric powder and garam masala and sauté for sometime. Add finely chopped tomato and roast till the tomatoes are compeltely cooked.

Drain the rice completely. Add it to the above and roast for a minute. Add ghee for more flavour [I skipped this].

[If you use a rice cooker, at this point, just tranfer the above into the rice cooker, add 1 3/4 cups water and allow to cook].

Back to the pan. Add 1 3/4 cups of water [ I add 2 cups as I like softer rice]. Add salt [ I used apprx 1 1/4 tsp]. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 to 11 minutes. Check to see if the water has been absorbed. [You can mix it with a couple of gentle strokes]. The rice has to be atleast 90% cooked. If not, leave it to cook for another 2 minutes, sprinkle more water if necessary. Switch the gas off and leave untouched for 10 minutes or till the rice is completely cooked.

Enjoy this one-pot meal with yogurt or raita. I usually prefer it without any accompaniment as I love the flavours in the pulao.