We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. Just over with Christmas and a new year around the corner, I decided to share my Christmas special Hyderabadi biriyani :) By the way, I had a good Christmas with family. Lots of sofa time watching movies, indoor games etc and we also ventured out to play in the snow. Eating cookies and cakes like there is no tomorrow was also a big part of the season. It was fun!
If you have been following our blog you know most of my Hyderabadi stories and how fond I am of them. However, you should be patient with me because my culinary skills took shape while there. Also, if you have had Andhra food you will agree there is so much to be inspired by their cuisine. It leaves an indelible mark in your way of cooking, eating and your stories too :D At least it has for me.
I lived in Hyderabad for 5 years and never tried to make this world famous biryani while there. Why? Well, when you get delicious biryani from "Paradise" and "Hyderabadi House," the restaurants renowned for their biryani in Hyderabad, who wants to make it at home. I still remember how when we drove past the Paradise circle in Secunderabad my hubby and daughter would suddenly have hungry pangs. It didn’t matter if it was day or night we would have to stop and indulge ourselves. I would secretly share their feelings though I kept a ‘not interested face.’ Giving into our cravings we would walk into the restaurant like magnet attracts iron. The aromatic goodness of the rice and meat cooked to perfection readily comes to my mind.
Talking about Hyderabad Biryani, the most famous is the mutton biryani. The biryani comes from the royal kitchen of the Nizams the rulers of the historic Hyderabad state for, until the Indian Independence in 1947, almost 2 centuries. Nizams' kitchen used to serve more than 50 different types of biryanis. This is a mixture of Mughal and Telugu cuisine and there are 2 ways of preparing this biryani ; katchi biryani and pakki biryani. Katchi biryani is cooked in the dum method, as the name suggests, raw meat is cooked over the steam along with rice. All the flavors of meat and exotic spices infuse into the rice giving the biryani the perfect flavor. In pakki biryani, the meat is cooked with spices and fried onions and then layered with rice. Today, I am going to tell you how to prepare katchi biryani.



Ingredients

For marination:

Chicken (with bone; I used drumsticks)- 2 lbs
Cilantro leaves - 1bunch(small)
Mint leaves - 1 bunch
Red chilli powder- 1 Tbsp
Green chillies - 2 (cut into small pieces)
Ginger paste- 1 1/2 Tbsp
Garlic Paste - 1 1/2 Tbsp
Yogurt (preferably sour) - 1 cup
Cardamom powder- 1 Tsp
Shahjeera (Royal Cumin) - 1 Tsp
Cloves - 3-4
Cinnamon sticks - 3-4 small ones
Bay leaves -2
Salt

For Rice:

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Salt
Cinnamon stick - 1 small
Shahjeera - a pinch
Onion (fried)- 2
Saffron milk- 2-3 Tbsp
Lemon juice - 2 Tbsp
Cashews and raisins fried - for garnishing
Ghee(clarified butter) -1 Tbsp
Oil- 4 Tbsp



Method:

1. Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients listed under the title for at least 2 hours/ overnight in the refrigerator.
2.Fry the onions and keep aside. Also fry the cashews and raisins.
3. Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.
4.Boil water in a pot along with salt,cinnamon stick and shahjeera in it. Add rice once it starts boiling.
5.Reduce the heat and cook till the rice is half done. I added 1: 1.5 , rice: water and cooked for about 8 minutes at medium heat.
6.Pour off any excess water and let the rice dry completely.
7.Pour 2 Tbsp of oil in a really thick bottomed vessel, in which you are planning to cook biryani and layer the marinated chicken.If you think the vessel is not thick enough you can keep it on a tawa on the stove top.
8.Level the top and layer it with half of the rice which is half done followed by fried onions and a Tbsp of saffron milk.Repeat this for the other half of the rice.
9.Sprinkle some cilantro leaves and mint leaves on the top.
10.Pour in a Tbsp of oil and the ghee over the top.
11.Cover with a tight lid. If you do not have a tight lid, use some dough to stick the lid and vessel tightly, so that the steam is not escaped.
12.Cook it on the high heat for the first 5 minutes, then on medium heat for 25 minutes and on very low heat for 10 minutes.
13. Wait for another 10-15 minutes before you open the lid.
14.Mix the chicken and rice together and serve hot with raita after garnishing with cashews and raisins.(I didn't use raisins)



Notes

1.Before you marinate chicken drain the water from chicken completely.
2.If you cook the rice well initially it will get overcooked when you layer it with chicken.
3.Originally this biryani is very hot, but I have added a bit less since I have kids who cannot take that much chilli.
4.The vegetarians can replace chicken with veggies.

Dal curry awakens fond memories from my early days of marriage. Yes, I know that I have talked about this on our site before. When I write about dal curry, it’s difficult not to mention my Telugu friend and colleague from Hyderabad who made a mean dal curry - so to speak. Though a little too spicy, it was delicious!. Being unable to eat as much as I would like with the heat, I asked her once how many chilies she put in the curry and she said “a handful.” Wow! No wonder, I would exclaim. It was a joke between us how much I would still eat in spite of the heat in the curry. I have learned a lot from her, and when I started cooking this curry myself she would caution me - you better go easy on the chilies having a kid at home!



Dal, in most Indian cuisines, is a side dish that goes both with rice and roti. As most dishes, it is cooked differently from state to state. However, it is a must have in a ‘Thali.’ My mouth waters whenever I think of a good lunch thali from my favorite vegetarian restaurant. I have tried to recreate some of that magic with this dish myself and hope you will enjoy it too.






Ingredients:

Tur Dal/Tuvar/Toor daal- ~1 cup
Tomato- 1 chopped finely
Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- to your taste
Spinach- one bunch,chopped
Tamarind pulp- from a lime sized ball or to your taste

Tempering:

Oil- 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
Chana dal- 1 tsp
Red chilies, broken into halves- 3
Garlic grated- 1 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder- 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Pressure-cook all the ingredients listed, except for tempering and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Follow it with chana dal and when it changes color to a light brown, add the grated garlic and red chilies. Saute` until the raw smell leaves.
3. Switch off the heat and add chili powder. Keep stirring until the chili powder is heated through. Be careful not to burn the chili powder. Pour the tempering over the cooked dal and mix.
4. Serve with rice.

Notes:
1. You can add green chilies when you cook the dal, and skip adding the red chili powder in the tempering.
2. For the amount of dal given in this recipe, 3-4 green chilies would make the dish medium hot (spicy).
3. Sometimes, I cook the dal with salt and turmeric and add the remaining ingredients along with the tempering - sautéing after each addition until they are all cooked and mix into the dal.

Sending this to My Legume Love affair at Ammalu's Kitchen,barinchild of Susan from The well seasoned cook
Contributor: Namitha

I got introduced to this dish during our stay in Hyderabad. This is a must have item in the marriage feasts in Telangana region. We liked the taste and got the recipe from our Telugu friends. The original recipe calls for sun drying the okra and then deep frying it in oil. My Telugu friends add a lot of chilli powder too. I don't have to point out this fact to the people who knows about the Telengana cuisine, it is quite tasty and SPICY :-) I have tweaked the original to fit our style. But you could try the original version , by sun drying followed by deep frying,if you wish.



I wanted to take a click when I was done with the dish and went to our patio deck to capture the best light. My little one who is a "curious George", also followed me. He started playing in the yard and I had to go back to get my camera.Then I heard him screaming with joy and came back running, thinking that he might be done with the fry and my bowl :-) But to my surprise I saw a wild bunny sitting next to him.The cute bunny looked very friendly and the happiness on my little guy's face was priceless. I felt close to nature and wilderness!




Getting back to the point,this fry is a hit in our family now. Though my daughter prefers to have more peanuts in it, she likes the okra too

Ingredients

Ladies finger/Okra- 1lb(450gm)
Garlic(crushed/grated)- 8-10 cloves
Red chilli powder- 1tsp
Turmeric-1/4 tsp
Peanut-2 Tbsp
Salt
Oil-3 Tbsp

Method

1.Wash the okra and dry it.(Water makes it sticky)
2.Cut the okra into small pieces
3.Heat oil in a pan and fry the peanuts.
4.Take out the peanuts when it is done.
5.Throw in the crushed garlic into the oil and saute it.
6.To this add chilli powder,turmeric, salt and chopped okra.
7.Mix well and cover with a lid.
8.Cook on medium heat till the okra is half cooked.
9.Take out the lid and let the okra get fried.
10.Add the fried peanuts and mix well.



Contribitor: Namitha

I was never a fan of brinjals/egg plant/ baingan until I landed in Hyderabad. The city of the famous Charminar. You have heard us (both Sunitha and I have lived in Hyderabad at different times) rant about this city and it's cuisine endlessly. Being from the south of India, even if we were not in Hyderabad, I think a mention for Telangana and Hyderabadi cuisine is inevitable. They top the charts with their myriad dishes. They have used every leaf and spice culminating into their fascinating cuisine.
Biriyani, Mughalai dish, in Hyderabad is the best. And the best side dish is bagara baingan ("Gutti vankaya kura")or michi ka salan. The former, our topic of conversation today, is a gravy made with sesame seeds, peanuts, dessicated coconut, cilantro, mint leaves and a host of other spices ground to a smooth paste with stuffed, fried baingan floating.

The smooth blend of ingredients is fiery, mellow and bursting with flavor. A quintessential party dish.  Pair it with rotis, nans, parathas, or any rice and you can never disappoint your guests. On your next visit to India be sure to visit Hyderabad.  If you are already in India make a trip there and look Charminar, Biriyani and bagara baingan in pretty much this order.  If you are a lady get a mehandi design there as well.



Ingredients:

For stuffing and gravy:

Peanuts(dry roasted and skinned)- 3/4 cup
Sesame seeds-white(dry roasted)- 1/4 cup
Coconut(frozen, fresh or dried)-1/4 cup
Red chilli powder- 2 Tsp
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Cloves- 2-3
Cinnamon- A small piece
Salt

For the gravy:

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Onion(finely chopped)- 1/4 cup
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp
Tamarind pulp- 1/3 cup
Small brinjals- 8-9
Oil- 2 Tbsp

Method:

1.Grind together everything listed under stuffing, without adding any water.Add a couple of tspns of tamarind pulp and mix it.
2.Wash and clean the brinjals. If it is really fresh keep the stalks intact.(What we get here is not so fresh , so I had to remove them !)
3.Keep the side of stalk intact and make 2 cuts ; one horizontally, and the second one vertically , making a + sign when you look from the top.
4.Immerse this in salted water for 10 minutes and wash and pat dry them before stuffing them.
5.Carefully stuff each brinjal with the ground paste.Do not break them into pieces.
6.Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds. Saute the onion in this.
7.once the onion is done add the ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes.
8.Meanwhile in another pan, pour some oil and saute the stuffed brinjals. Be careful and use a tong to turn them around.This should be done on low heat and it takes 10-12 mintes.
9.Once the ginger-garlic paste is cooked add the remaining stuffing and the tamarind pulp into this. Add a little water to make it bit thinner.
10.Cook it slowly on low heat. It takes almost 15 minutes for the peanut to be cooked.
11.Towards the end, add the fried brinjals into this, and cook covered for another 5-6 minutes.
12.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm with roti, naan or biryani.



We would like to send this off to Priya's event



Thanks for hosting this fun event Priya :-)

Like most of us, I didn't know much about cooking,when I got married and moved to Hyderabad. My husband (M) knew how to make the basic pappu curry, which turned out to be a life saver for us. Parippu (pappu, toor daal, sambar parippu)curry is one of the easiest and basic Andhra recipes. M knew much better than me about this recipe when I made it for the first time . I made some changes in the later years when I got more used to the experiments in the kitchen. Hope you will give it a go and see if you like it :-)