Ambur Chicken Biryani | Ambur Style Chicken Biryani

To the huss weekends are never complete without a plate of chicken biryani. So if I don't make biryanis in the weekend I make it a point to make some by middle of the week. This biryani happened like that. We are not spice lovers, well we like it but we generally prefer mild spices in our food. The ambur version of biryani never fits our bill. Its super spicy and the color of the biryani screams spiciness when you even look at it. This is my version of the ambur biryani cos I have used my own strategies to reduce the spice level. But if you are in for the game then skip the cashew paste in the recipe, reduce the yogurt to 1/4 cup and add more chillies as per your spice level.

Prep time: 10 mins; Cooking time: 40 mins; Serves - 3-4 ~*What U Need*~ Chicken - 1 lb, with bone Oil - 2 tbsp Ghee - 2 tbsp Onions - 1, large, sliced Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Coriander Leaves - a handful, chopped Mint Leaves - a handful, chopped Tomatoes - 1 large, chopped Thick yogurt - 1/2 cup Biryani rice - 1 1/2 cups Water - 2 cups To grind: Cashews - 5-6, whole To grind separately: Red chillies - 2, seeds removed For biryani masala: Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp Cinnamon - 1" Cardamom - 2 Star anise - 1/2 Cloves - 2 How I Made it: Wash and soak the rice. Soak the red chillies in hot water for 5 mins. Drain and make it into a smooth puree. Set aside. Grind the cashews and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai. Add 1 bay leaf and fry for a min. Add the onions and saute well. Once golden brown, add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and fry well. Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves and saute for a min. Add the fresh biryani powder and saute well. Add the cleaned chicken pieces and mix well. Now add the chilli paste and fry till the chicken is half cooked. Add the cashew paste and fry for 2-3 mins. Add the yogurt and mix well. Add water and the drained rice. Add 2tbsp ghee, give it a stir and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Open the lid and fluff the rice.

Serve with some raitha!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Mughalai Chicken Biryani

By now, you should have known about our love for biryanis. When I say its biryani for lunch or dinner, the boys keep chanting the term till they get some on their plates... I love trying new biryani varieties when the mood sets in and it happened again last week.
It was a weekday and pappu was sound asleep taking his afternoon nap... I felt like doing something and reading a book didn't help... The kitchen seemed to be the destination and biryani the solution... I was going through my biryani booklet when I came upon this mughalai biryani.. The richness called my name and I didn't waste another minute resting on my couch...

~*What U Need*~ Chicken - 500 gm, cleaned Onion - 1, large, sliced Tomato - 1, large, sliced Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup Mint leaves - 1/4 cup Oil/ Ghee - 2 tbsp Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cup Water - 2 cups To grind to a paste: Cashew - 1/4 cup Almonds - 1/4 cup Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp Yogurt - 1 tbsp For Briyani Masala Powder: Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp Cinnamon - 1" Cardamom - 2 Star anise - 1/2 Cloves - 2 How I Made it: Dry roast the ingredients under biryani masala and grind in a coffee grinder. Soak the rice in enough water. Grind cashews, almonds, poppy seeds and yogurt to a smooth paste. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and fry the green chilli. Add the onions and saute till brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and fry till oil separates. Add the spice powders and biryani masala powder. Add the chopped coriander and mint leaves followed by the chicken. Once the chicken is half cooked and leaves water add the ground cashew paste and mix well. Add the soaked rice and water and pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Serve hot!!!

So thats it Folks...
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Chettinad Chicken Biryani | Chicken Biryani ~ Chettinadu Style

Whoever was the first to discover biryani seriously needs a standing ovation. Its a science, making that perfect biryani is a science and skill by itself and it needs experience to get that texture and flavors right. My mom makes the best dum biryani in the world and me and my brother go bongers whenever she makes it. I had never had the courage to attempt her version cos its quite lenghty and I had never had that patience. So I always stick to the pressure cooker version. It is easy but still it took me an year and lots of trials to perfect it. And now I can proudly say that I make a good biryani.

I have started trying new varieties of biryanis these days, the first bring the Dindigul chicken biryani. It was so tasty and it has become a regular in the kitchen. Last week when I was reading the booklet that my MIL had presented, this chettinad biryani had me hooked to it. The ingredients were huge and the process lengthy but I knew that it would be a stunner by taste. And so it was.

~*What U Need*~ For Marination: Chicken - 500 gms, with bone Thick Curd - 2 tbsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - a big pinch For Briyani Masala Powder: Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp Cinnamon - 1" Cardamom - 2 Star anise - 1/2 Cloves - 2 For Grinding: Pearl Onions - 8-10 Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Mint leaves - 1/2 cup Green chilli - 1 For the biryani: Onion - 2, chopped, medium Tomato - 1, chopped Green chilli - 2-3 Bay leaf - 1 Cardamom - 1 Cinnamon - 1 inch piece Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 2 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Thick curd - 1/4 cup Coriander and mint leaves - a handful each Salt Oil - 2 tbsp Ghee - 4 tbsp Biryani rice - 1 1/2 cups Coconut milk - 1 cup Water - 1 cup How I Made it: Marinate the chicken with the marination ingredients and set aside for 20 mins. Soak the basmati rice in water for 20 mins. Grind the biryani masala powder in a coffee grinder. Grind the coriander, mint leaves and green chilli and set aside. Grind the pearl onions and set aside. Heat oil and 2 tbsp ghee in the pressure cooker and fry the cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon and green chillies. Add onions and fry till golden brown. Add the ground pearl onions paste and fry till the oil separates. Add ginger garlic paste and once the raw smell goes off, add the chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes are cooked till mushy, add the ground mint-coriander paste. Add the curd and mix well followed by the freshly ground biryani masala powder, turmeric, coriander, and red chilli powder. Fry for 3-4 mins. Add the chicken pieces and cook till half done. Meanwhile drain water from the basmati rice and saute this in 1 tbsp ghee till it turns non-sticky. Add the rice to the masala, pour water and coconut milk, season with salt and cook for 2 whistles. Once the pressure is released, add the remaining 1 tbsp ghee and chopped coriander and mint leaves and fold carefully not to break the rice grains.

Serve warm with raitha!!!

So thats it Folks...
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Dindugul Chicken Biryani

By this time you should have atleast got an idea of our love for biryanis and how our Sundays are never complete without a plate of warm chicken biryani. A plate of homemade chicken biryani and a 1-hour nap is what the huss calls a perfect Sunday and a perfect start to the week. I like trying different biryani recipes and when I left to the US my MIL gave me a booklet which had recipes of different types of biryanis. Ya, I know, my MIL is sweet... so sweet that she had xeroxed a special side edition of a famous magazine on biryanis page by page, stapled it into a booklet and handed it over to me on the night of packing.

The book(let) is a treasure, it has all sorts of biryani varieties from thalapakatti to mughalai to dum. This recipe is from the book, ofcourse (duh!!!). The highlight of this biryani is that it uses no tomatoes and gets its richness from thick coconut milk. BTW, I read somewhere that an authentic biryani recipe uses no tomatoes and gets its flavor from the freshly ground spices. That's so true. You have to try this, its rich, its yummy and the freshly ground spices makes your house smell b-i-r-y-a-n-i.

Prep Time: 15 mins; Cooking time: 1 hour; Serves - 3-4 ~*What U Need*~ Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cup Onion - 1, sliced Green chilli - 2 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp Chilli powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped Mint leaves - 1/4 cup chopped Ghee - 1 tbsp Oil - 3 tbsp Thick Coconut milk - 1 cup Water - 1 cup Broken cashews - 3 tbsp Raisins - 2 tbsp Salt For Marination: Chicken - 500 gms, with bone Thick Curd - 1/2 cup Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - a big pinch For Briyani Masala Powder: Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp Cinnamon - 1" Cardamom - 2 Star anise - 1/2 Cloves - 2 How I Made it: Marinate chicken with the given ingredients for atleast 30 mins. Grind the ingredients under biryani masala to a fine powder. Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 mins. Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker and fry the cashews and raisins. Add in onions, green chilli and saute till golden. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add in turmeric, chilli powder and the ground masala and fry for 2-3 mins. Now add in the chicken mix. Mix well and cover and cook for 15 mins. In another kadai, add a tsp of ghee and fry the soaked and drained rice for 5 mins. Once it is coated well with the ghee and is free from moisture, add it into the pressure cooker. Add in coriander leaves and mint leaves, coconut milk and water. Season with salt. Cover and cook for 2 whistles. When the pressure has released open and fluff the rice with a fork.

Serve with raita and boiled egg!!!

So thats it Folks...
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Red Wine Poached Pears with Sticky Red Wine Sauce and Vanilla Whipped Cream

Its been a long time since I posted something exotic or romantic here and so am pausing the amma cooks series and diwali recipes just to post this masterchef inspired dish.
Have you ever seen the Junior masterchef series??? If not Indians Indian home chefs Indian foodies or if you are anyone who love to cook or eat and if you are from India, do not forget to switch on your TV every weekday night at 9 pm and tune over to Star World. The second season is being aired in Star world and I never miss a single episode. Oh all those boys and girls, cooking like professional chefs and cooking their hats off are a beauty to look at. And their plating skills are spot on. You can look at them forever and you would never want to take a bite from the plate. This recipe has been adapted from the Junior masterchef series. I don't remember the season nor the name of the chef-ling who made this but I still remember how the gal was confident that her poached pears recipe would be a winner. And George was simply bowled over by the outcome... U should have seen the way the spoon slid into the pears, it was like knife passing through softened butter. Since then I was hooked to the recipe. It was restaurant-y and beautiful.
The original recipe used only sugar syurp to poach the pears but I had some red wine sitting on my countertop and that inspired me to poach the pears in the wine. I spiced it up with cinnamom and star anise and the flavor was not too overpowering but gave a beautiful kick to the dish. I haven't done justice to the plating but the dish was addictive till the final bite.

Pears poached in spiced red wine, served with spiced red wine reduction and quenelles of vanilla whipped cream and vanilla ice cream... exotic indulgence...

I wanted to try this for the huss because its been a while since I made something exotic just for him. I wanted to surprise him when he was back from work and so started juggling around by 4. Taking the day off rewarded with a romantic evening and that was all we wanted. Nothing can beat a happy smile and a firm hug from ur love.
Its an easy dish to put together provided you have all the components 'mise en place'. Poach the pears first, dump them in the fridge, whip the cream and put all the elememnts in the freezer. Everything came together so beautifully and when I plated it, I just loved the way it looked.

~*What U Need*~
Firm and Ripe Pears - 2
Red wine - 1 cup
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Fresh Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Star Anise - 1
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

For Vanilla Whipped Cream
Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Vanilla ice cream - 2 scoops

How I Made it:
Peel the pears carefully with the stalk intact. Cut a straight slice off the bottom, this is to make sure that the pears can stand straight.
Next in a deep bottom pan, add red wine, cinnamon, sugar, lemon juice, star anise and vanilla extract and bring to a boil. Add the pears to the pan on their sides.
Bring the heat to low flame and cook the pears for 15 mins on each side. Remove the pears and cook till the wine has reduced and you get a nice thick syrup. Chill the pears until serving.

Lets prepare the whipped cream. Freeze the bowl in which you are gonna make the whipped cream and the blades for 2 hours. Place the bowl with the cream over an iced bath and add the cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whip the cream till you get stiff peaks.

When serving, keep the pears on a plate, drizzle with 1 tbsp of the wine sauce and serve with a dollop of the whipped cream and 2 scoops of vanilla icecream.

Verdict: It was top notch restaurant-y. The smoothness of the pears with the not so sweet wine reduction and chilled ice cream is a perfect combination.

Suggestion: Make this for your valentine on V day and find him mesmerized !!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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