Achari mutton

I blogged before about achari veg and achari paneer. Husband and elder daughter are fan of mutton, i prefer chicken to mutton. We have been trying hard to reduce eating mutton and to an extent we are successful in our attempt. We eat mutton twice or thrice a month now and we just buy a pound. Now coming to mutton achari i tasted this curry in a hotel in Dubai by name karachi durbar and i heard they put mixed pickle in this curry. I tried once and liked the taste. This time i  thought of using achari masala instead of mixed pickle.

The ingredients for masala are as follows :

Rai 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek 1/4 tsp
Saunf 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds 1/2tsp
Coriander seeds 1/2 tsp

Dry roast all the above and make fine powder.

Other ingredients needed are

Mutton 1 pound
Ginger garlic paste 2tbsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt as per taste
Onions 1 sliced
Green chillies 2
Ginger julienne

For seasoning:-

Oil 1 tsp
Rai 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek few 5-6

First pressure cook mutton,ginger garlic paste,turmeric powder and salt. The mutton has to be soft.Drain the water and don't throw the water,that water will be used to make gravy.

In another pan take oil 2 tbsp and add onions and green chillies 2. Fry for a while. Add the achari powder and saute until oil oozes out. Add the mutton stock and let it boil for 5-6 minutes.Then add the mutton pieces and cook till the gravy thickens. Lastly season the curry with rai and fenugreek. Just before serving add ginger julienne.

Green masala chicken biryani

We love Biryani except my younger daughter, we are so used to eat non-veg but my little girl is vegetarian. Our favourite most biryani is the one and only Hyderabadi Dum biryani. We eat biryani atleast once in a week mostly its on Sundays. If we didn't eat biryani on Sunday we make it a point of eating a restaurant brought biryani. Here in Canada i didn't find any good restaurants which serves good hyderabadi biryani similar to Paradise, Bawarchi, Pista house or any biryani joints of Hyderabad.

 Having said this we get pakistani biryani. The taste of biryani is quite different and it is not as spicy as hyderabadi biryani. There is one joint which serves awesome biryani. Most of the times we grab two packs and warm it at home and eat it.
The biryani i ate here had lemon pieces and i was desperate to know why they have used the lemon pieces than the juice. I always used to say to husband what would be the ingredients used to make this biryani. Once i came across a website by name Pukka Paki by Sumayya Jamil and when i was browsing the menu i found this Green Masala Chicken  Biryani. I was impressed by the ingredients used and the procedure. I felt the procedure is lengthy but worth giving a try. I made this biryani few days back and it was awesome. The best part i liked is the chef used the lemon pieces rather than the juice of the lemon. I reduced the quantity of ingredients to match our taste. I adopted the same recipe and the procedure and omitted few ingredients. Here is the recipe and please check the original recipe here

Ingredients:-
Chicken 1 kg
Tomato chopped 1
Basmati Rice 1 kg
Oil 1 cup
Ghee 3 Tbsp
Lemon slices 4 (thin)
Clove 6
Cinnamon 2 2'' long sticks
Green cardamom 10
Pepper 15
Star anise 2
Salt to taste
                                                                    ****

Step 1

Yoghurt mixture

Onions 2
Curd 1 cup

Slice onions and deep fry. Mix the deep fried onions with curd and keep aside until use.

****

Step 2

Green masala paste

Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp

Mint leaves 1 cup

Coriander leaves 2.5 cups

Green chillies 4

Turmeric 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder 1 tbsp

Make a smooth paste of the above ingredients

****

Step 3

Saffron few strands

Warm milk 1/2 cup

Soak saffron in the warm milk for 1 hour.

****

Step 4:-

Soak rice with cinnamon1, cloves 3, Cardamom 2 and star anise 1 for 1 hour.

****

Procedure:-

Take a deep pan with oil and ghee. Once hot add the chicken pieces and fry until they are brown in colour or until you see a brown layer on the chicken. Take them from the oil and keep aside until use.

Now in the same oil add the remaining masala (cloves,cinnamon,pepper,cardamom and star anise).

Then add chopped tomatoes and sauté until tomatoes leave oil.

Now add green masala paste. Cook until oil oozes out from the gravy.

Add chicken and yoghurt mixture along with salt. Mix thoroughly and let it cook for a while.

The gravy becomes little thick. Be careful to check that the gravy is not dry.

In the mean while add salt to the rice and cook until the rice is half cooked. Use a strainer to drain out the water from the rice.

In a thick bottom deep pan and pour the curry in it. Then add the rice on top of the curry and sprinkle saffron water and dig the lemon slices into the rice. More coriander leaves can be added here.

Close the pan with a foil and see that the vapours doesn't escape. Let it cook on medium for 30 minutes.

Serve hot with mirchi ka salan and raita. Mirch ka salan recipe is here

au revoir

Besan Dahi Phulki

When i was in dubai i regularly used to eat at pakistani restaurant.I love pakistani food and the best are their kababs and parathas.I used to watch pakistani cookery shows too in Ary channel which i miss here.Few days back i was browsing a pakistani website zaiqa.com.They have the cooking videos telecasted on tv.I came across Besan Dahi Phulki.This recipe is quite similar to Pakore Wali Kadhi in my blog.I searched the web for a written recipe which i didnt get,so i watched the entire show,wrote the ingredients and the recipe.

I made this as a side dish to go with Capsicum rice.I loved the combo but it depends on once taste.This can be eaten as evening snack,that's what my kids did.They ate the left over in the evening.

Ingredients:-

Besan/Senagapindi 1 cup
Salt as per taste
Cooking soda a pinch
Pepper 1 tbsp
Oil for deep frying
A bowl with warm water (to soak the pokaras in it)

How to make pakoras 

Mix besan with 1/2 cup of water and let it rest for 1-2 hours.If you think batter is too thick then  little water can be added.

After 1-2 hours add salt,cooking soda and pepper.Mix well.

Heat oil.Drop besan into small rounds into the hot oil and fry until golden brown colour.

Take a bowl with warm water and leave the pakoras in the water.

Now make dahi.

Dahi/yogurt/perugu 2 cups
Salt very little
Red chilly powder 1/2tsp
Roasted cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Amchur powder 1/2 tsp

Oil for tadka/talimpu

Cumin seeds/zeera 1/4 tsp
Red chillies 3nos
Curry leaves few

Whisk dahi until smooth and add very little salt.

Then add amchur powder,red chilly powder and cumin powder.

Squeeze water from pakoras and leave them in the curd.

Take a small pan add oil.Once hot add zeera,red chillies and curry leaves.Once they are fried  pour the takda on the curd.

Sprinkle chaat masala and coriander leaves.

Let it rest for 2-3 hours before being served.

Aloo Kheema (Minced meat with Potato)

Ingredients:-

Kheema (minced lamb) 250 gms
Potatoes 2 (chopped)
Tomatoes 2 (pureed)
Onion 1 (chopped)
Green chillies 2 slited
Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
Big elachi 2
Bay leaf 2
Cinnamon 1 pc
Clove 2
Coriander leaves few
Oil 3 tbsp


Method:-

In a pan take oil,once hot add elachi,cinnamon,cloves and bay leaves.Once they are fried add onions and green chillies.

Saute till onions are pink in colour.Add Ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes.

Then add potatoes.Sprinkly salt.Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft.

Then add tomato puree.Mix thoroughly and cook until the oil leaves the sides of pan.

Add kheema and green chillies.Mix thoroughly.Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Sprinkle little water,cover and cook till kheema is well cooked.Just before serving add lemon juice 1 tbsp

Serve hot with rice or paratha.

Alu Tahari

Tahari or Tahri is the name given to the vegetarian version of the Biryani and is very popular in Pakistani and Indian homes. In Bangladesh, Tehri refers to Biryani prepared by adding the meat to the rice, as opposed to traditional Biryani where the rice is added to the meat.---info from Wikipedia.

I got this recipe from a pakistani tv show.This biryani calls for very less ingredients.When you don't have veggies at home or when you are lazy to cook a elaborate meal this is the ideal choice,just serve this biryani with raita of your choice.Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:-

Basmati rice 2 cups (soaked for 1 hour)
Potatoes 4 (medium size) chopped into big pcs
Onions 2 chopped
Peas 1/4 cup (i used frozen peas,fresh peas can also be used)
Coriander powder 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Oil 4 tbsp

Method:-

In a thick bottom vessel take oil.When hot add onions and fry till brown in colour.
Add chopped potatoes,coriander powder,red chilly powder,ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder.Mix throughly,cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add peas and rice.
Now add enough water for the rice to cook.I used 1 1/2 cup of water for 1 cup of rice.The amount of water depends on the rice used.
Serve hot with raita of your choice.

Shimla Mirchi Kheema / Capsicum Kheema

Pakistan is very famous for its spicy cusine in particular its kababs.Here we have a pakistani restaurant called Karachi Darbar.The kababs he servers are excellent and sometimes it beats indian kababs.And there are many dishes of pakistan which are famous like Mutton Achari,Chicken Achari,Paya,Shimla mirchi kheema and many more.When ever we visit this restaurent mutton achari and shimla mirchi kheema are must in our menu along with kababs.

I googled for the recipe and got one from Jeena's kitchen.Made few changes and the taste was excellent.The recipe is below:-

Ingredients:-

Minced Meat 250gm

Onion 1 (paste)

Onion 1 (chopped)

Tomatoes 2 (paste)

Capsicum (chopped) 2

Green Chili 2

Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp

Turmeric 1 tsp

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Garam Masala 1/2 tsp (can be adjusted according to taste)

Cumin Seeds 1/2 tsp

Coriander Seeds 1/2 tsp

Fennel Seeds 1/2 tsp

Dried Mint 1 tbsp

Kasori menthi 1 tbsp

Bay leaf 1

Salt

Black Pepper 1/2 tsp

Oil 4 tbsp



Method:-



Take oil in a pan,add onions and fry until brown in colour.

Add blended onion paste and saute till brown in colour.

Now add tomato paste and ginger garlic paste.Saute till the oil leaves the pan.

Add fennel seeds,cummin seeds,coriander seeds,red chilly powder and turmeric powder.

Saute for 2-3 minutes.

Now add green chillies.Saute for another 1 minute.

Add chopped capsicum and salt.Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Now add kheema (minced meat),cumin powder,pepper powder,bay leaf,garam masala powder,Kasuri menthi and dried mint leaves.Saute for 2-3 mintues.

Add little water and cover and cook till kheema is well cooked.

Serve with parathas or hot rice.

Recipe source :- Jeena's kitchen