Mushroom Biryani (With Homemade Briyani Masala)

Category:  Lunch / Rice
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings:  3 to 4 Servings

Mushroom Briyani!!!

Mushroom Biryani: I used to prepare this version whenever I get fresh white mushrooms and here I used home made Briyani Masala powder, you can find the recipe here. I had prepared this recipe lot of times but now only posting it, even a beginner can try this and the result would be awesome:)

Mushroom Briyani served with Beetroot Raita!

 Ingredients:

• White Mushrooms, peeled & sliced - Around 1 1/2 cups
• Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups
• Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp  (I just grind 4 big garlic cloves and 1 inch ginger)
• Onion - 1 no, thinly sliced
• Green chillies - 1 to 2 nos, slitted
• Ripe Tomato -1 no, roughly chopped
• Coriander leaves - handful, chopped
• Mint leaves - handful, chopped
• Biryani Masala Powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Butter Chicken Masala (Slow cooker recipe included)

Category: Chicken recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins  + marination time
Cooking Time: 20 - 25 mins stove top or around 4 hrs of slow cooking
Servings: About 2 to 4 Servings

Butter Chicken Gravy

Since I wont eat Chicken, the Chicken recipes make a rare appearance in my blog:) This butter chicken masala is a creamy mildly spiced gravy perfect with rotis, tortillas or basmati rice. In this recipe I didnt used any cream but only the cashews. If we want, we can reduce the cashews and add cream at the end after switching off the gravy.

I have prepared this recipe many times both in pan as well as in slow cooker. Its not a completely slow cooker recipe since we need to do sautening and tempering in the pan before transfering it into the slow cooker. But slow cooked version yields a very soft chicken in a creamy gravy.  Regarding marination, I had tried marinating for just 30 mins and upto 24 hours. The longer the marination, the chicken becomes soft and absorbs the spices well:)

The ingredient list may look long but its an easy recipe:) Once we have the marinated chicken and the ground masala, we can whip up this butter chicken in less than 30 mins. (The colour of the gravy depends on the type of chilly powder we used so it may differ)

Ingredients:

For Marination:

• Boneless Chicken pieces - Around 1 lb, cut into bite sized pieces 
• Red chilly powder or paprika - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Yogurt - 3 tbsp
• Salt - little

Garam Masala Powder

Category: Home made Powder
Preparation Time: 10 to 15 mins  
Cooking Time: 5 to 8 mins
Servings: yields around 1 cup

Home made Garam Masala

Garam masala: (garam ("hot") and masala (a mixture of spices)) is a blend of ground spices common in India and other South Asian cuisines. It is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to "heating the body" in the Ayurvedic sense of the word, as these spices are believed to elevate body temperature in Ayurvedic medicine. (Source: Wikipedia)

The ingredients of garam masala differs regionally and also as per personal taste. I used to prepare garam masala at home since the store bought ones are on spicier side. So this one is a mild garam masala with just the basic ingredients.

Ingredients: 

• Coriander seeds- 1 cup
• Shahi Jeera - 1 tbsp
• Pepper -1 tbsp
• Cloves -1 tbsp
• Fennel seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Bay leaf - 1 medum sized
• Cardamom seeds - 1 tsp or 5 to 6 pods
• Cinnamon, 1 inch sticks - 4 nos

Method:

1. Dry Roast the coriander seeds in low heat for 5 mins
2. Then add the remaining ingredients and roast for 2 mins in very low heat
   
3. Switch off and allow to cool down
   
4. Grind to a fine powder (Sieve and powder it again). We can use the coarse grits for making masala tea:)
   
5. Store it in an airtight container to retain the freshness
   

Home made Badam/Almond Milk Powder (with Turmeric)

Category: Home made Drink Mix
Preparation Time: 15 to 30 mins 
Cooking Time: About 15 mins
Servings: yields around 4 cups of prepared powder

Home made Badam/Almond Milk Powder

Almond or Badam Milk is a healthy drink especially for growing kids. In the commercially available mixes, the quantity of almonds is very less and they are loaded with sugar and other preservatives. We can easily prepare the mix at home and can be stored in refrigerator for about 2 to 3 months. While preparing ourselves, we have the control over the quality & quantity of the ingredients and also really healthy. Here I blanched the almonds and removed the skin, since its hard to digest especially by the kids. 

Usually people will add saffron in the mix to make the Badam Kesar milk. I usually add little organic turmeric powder since its very good to have it with milk and also it gives a gorgeous colour:)

Ready to be stored:)

For preparing Badam / Almond milk, we just need to mix a tbsp of the mix in a warm or cold milk. We can also mix it with milk and bring them to a single boil and serve hot!
We can use this mix to prepare payasam / kheer, sprinkle this over our oatmeal, add them in cookies, pancakes, waffles, muffins, etc., 

Ingredients:

• Raw Almonds - 2 cups
• Rock sugar (kalkandu)  / Palm candy (panang kalkandu)  - 3/4 cup (adjust as per requirement)
• Organic turmeric powder - 1 tsp (adjust as per taste)
• Cardamom seeds - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Measure out the Almonds and keep it ready, here I used unsalted and unroasted raw almonds

Kothamalli Chutney (Coriander leaves Chutney / Dip)

Category: Lunch / Chutney
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Servings: 3 to 4 servings

Coriander Chutney

This kothamalli chutney goes well with Idly, Dosa, Paniyaram and Rice. This is the way we prepare at our home and we can adjust the amount of coriander leaves and coconut as per our liking.

 Ingredients:

• Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
• Fresh coconut - 1/2 to 3/4 cup
• Small Onions - 10 to 12 nos
• Curry leaves - few
• Channa Dhal - 1/2 tbsp
• Urad Dhal - 1 tbsp
• Red Chillies - 1-2 nos (adjust per required spice level)
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Pepper - 1/4 tsp
• Tamarind - a small piece
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp 

Method:

1. Wash the coriander leaves and roughly chop them (We can remove the thick stems)
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add Channa & Urad Dhals fry till they turn golden brown
   
3. Add small onions, curry leaves and fry for 1-2 mins
   
4. Then add the red chilly, followed by cumin seeds and pepper; fry for 30 secs
5. Switch off the stove and add the tamarind, coriander leaves and saute till it shrinks in volume
   
6. Add required salt and coconut gratings  
   
   
   
7. Mix well and allow to cool down
   
8. Grind the mixture with required water to a chutney like consistency and transfer to serving bowl
   
9. Serve with hot Rice or even with Idly / Dosa