Biriyani Nizami

Ingredients:

500 gms good quality rice ( Jasmine, Kohinoor or Royal Basmati )
I kg boneless mutton, the flesh part of leg or shoulder
1 cup curd
2 big onions minced
1” piece of ginger grated
4 green and red chillies
6 cloves
1” long piece cinnamon stick
1 small pinch of nutmeg and mace
2 tbsps saffron strands
6 tbsps hot milk
50 gms blanched and fried sliced almonds
50 gms each of cashewnuts, pistachios, and raisins cut into small bits
1 small bunch of seedless grapes variegated
3 canned pineapple slices cut into small pieces
silver foil
A few drops of food colouringliquid as per requirement
4 tbsps garam masala, salt to taste
A few cardamom seeds

Directions:

Soak saffron in milk for a few minutes then crush the saffron bits and make a paste of them. Then wash and wipe mutton with cold water and cut it into small pieces. Now wash and soak the rice into sufficient quantity of water for about an hour. Grind ginger and chillies to a smooth paste.

Now heat a cup full of ghee, and fry onion till tender. Apply garam masala liberally on the mutton and fry it with the ginger- chilli
paste till it is golden brown from all sides. Now put in curd and cover it with a light weight till mutton is tender and dry. Now remove it from fire and set aside.

Heat 3 tbsps of ghee and fry the remaining of the spices. Add to it the rice and fill it up with the water the rice was soaked in. Adding salt bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat to simmering and continue cooking till the rice is soft and tender. A few drops of lime will keep rice grains separated from each other.

Now remove the rice from fire and mix it liberally with the saffron solution.Now divide the whole quantity of rice into as many portions as you wish to color it by. Place the whole variegated slabs of rice in a fireproof bowl, cover and cook it again on a very low fire. Take precaution of placing a layer of uncooked rice beneath and above the colored lot. When the rice turns soft, remove it from fire, garnish with nuts and decorate colorfully with silver foil. Place the pieces of fruit over it in the pattern as you wish. Garnish with mint leaves and lemon pieces. Serve it hot with vegetable salad or vegetable raita.

Masala Vada

Ingredients:

200 gms urad dal
1 tsp of cummin seeds
3 green chillies minced
1 inch long piece of ginger,finely minced
A few curry leaves
1 small onion minced
About 100 gms of boiled vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, shelled peas, french beans, and tomatoes if desired
A pinch of asafetida
Salt and chilli powder to taste

Directions:

Wash and soak dal in a lukewarm water for 2 hours. Then drain and grind the dal to a smooth paste. Slice all the boiled vegetables and mix in the paste along with other ingredients. Form vadas out of the paste mixture on a wet cloth and deep fry to a golden brown color. Serve hot with green chutney or coconut chutney.

Ground Beef (Kheema) Stuffed in Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

250 grams ground beef (kheema)
6 medium sized bell peppers (capsicums)
1 medium sized onion
4 flakes garlic
½” piece ginger
4 tbsps ghee
a little milk
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp each of powdered cummin and coriander seeds
salt and chilli powder to taste
2 medium sized tomatoes (blanched and sliced)
2 green chillies (minced)
25 grams each of almonds, pistachios and raisins (sliced and fried)
2 tbsps each of powdered cashew nuts and peanuts
1 handful coriander leaves
6 mint leaves(sliced)
a few drops saffron essence
a little flour
2 eggs (beaten)
bread crumbs
oil or ghee for frying

Directions:

Grind the onions, garlic and ginger to a paste. Heat 4 tbsps of ghee and fry the onion paste, sprinkling a little milk now and then till it turns golden. Add all the spices, tomatoes and chillies and cook till dry. Now add the ground beef (kheema) and continue cooking till dry and crumbly. Cover with hot water and cook till tender and completely dry. Mix in the sliced raisins, nuts, coriander and mint leaves and remove from fire. Add the essence and mix well.

Remove the stems and seeds of the capsicums, leaving an opening large enough to stuff. Place the capsicums in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then drain the water immediately. Cool and stuff the capsicums, well with the ground beef (kheema). Sprinkle flour over the tops of the capsicums, at the open ends. Dip each capsicum into beaten egg, so that it is completely moistened. Now dip into bread-crumbs, then again into the eggs, and once again into the breadcrumbs and fry till golden brown. Drain and serve hot. Garnish with grated cheese on the top if desired.

Lamb Pulao Shahzada

Ingredients:

500 grams basmati rice
1 kg mutton (lamb)
25 grams ginger
24 flakes garlic
4 large cardamoms
8 cloves
2” piece cinnamon stock
1 tbsp peppercorns
2 bay leaves
a large pinch each of nutmeg and mace
75 grams almonds (blanched)
50 grams raisins
1 cup milk
½ tsp saffron strands
1 large cup sour curd
2 tbsps garam masala
1 tbsp each of cummin and coriander seeds (ground)
salt and chilli powder to taste
2 cups ghee
500 grams onions (sliced thin)
ghee for frying
6 medium- sized potatoes ( peeled, cubed and fried)
a little flour

Directions:

Grind half the ginger, garlic, and whole spices to a paste and tie the paste in a piece of cloth . Remove the bones and scraps from the mutton (lamb) and place in a large vessel, along with spice bag. Fill the vessel about ¾ full with hot water, and surface. Then remove from fire, squeeze out the liquid from the spice bag, and strain the stock through a cloth.

Now grind half the almonds and the raisins to a paste and dissolve the paste in ½ cup of milk. Dissolve the saffron in the remaining milk. Grind the remaining garlic and ginger to a paste and mix into the mutton (lamb), along with the curd, ground spices and salt. Set aside for 1 hour.

Heat 1 cup of ghee and fry the onions till crisp and brown. Set half the onions aside in a plate. Add the mutton to the rest, then cover and cook over a medium fire till the mutton is almost done. Now add the almonds and raisin, milk and cook till the ghee floats to the top. Remove from fire. Heat another cup of ghee in a separate vessel and add the remaining whole spices, then the rice and fry for 5 minutes. Now add the stock, along with enough water to stand an inch above the level of the rice.

Bring the stock to a boil, reduce heat and cook till the rice is almost done. Fry the remaining almonds and raisins. Now grease a large vessel and in it arrange the rice, mutton, potatoes, fried onions and nuts in layers. Start and finish with a layer of rice. Sprinkle the whole with saffron milk. Cover with a tight- fitting lid and seal with flour dough. Place the vessel over high fire , and reduce the heat when the steam starts escaping. Cook for 15 minutes. Serve piping hot with any salad or raita.

Potato Halwa

Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes
½ kg sugar
½ cup water
200 gm plain mawa
200 gm ghee
Good pinch saffron
2 tbsp of water
Powdered cardamom

Directions:

Boil, peel and mash potatoes. Warm saffron and add it to 2 tbsp of water. Make a thick syrup (like a strand) of the sugar and water on a slow fire. Heat ghee and lightly fry the mashed potatoes and cook, stirring continuously. Add mawa, mixing it in well. Cook for five minutes and take off from fire. Spread out on large plate, level, and sprinkly with cardamom. Serve hot.

Almond and Pea Curry

Ingredients:

250 grams peas (shelled)
125 grams almonds
a little oil or ghee
1” piece ginger
½ coconut
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp cummin seeds (ground)
salt to taste
¼ tsp saffron strands
1 tbsp ordinary milk
a few mint leaves chopped

Directions:

Blanch 25 grams almonds then fry and slice them. Now blanch the rest and grind them to a paste along with the ginger. Grind the coconut and squeeze out the milk. This is know as thick coconut milk. Now pour 1½ cups of hot water over the coconut pulp and set aside for about half an hour. Squeeze the pulp dry. This is thin coconut milk.

Heat 4 tbsps of ghee and fry the almond paste to a light color. Add the peas, garam masala, cummin and salt. Mix well and then add the thin coconut milk. Cook till the peas are soft and the gravy is thick. Now mix in the thick coconut milk, simmer and remove from the fire. Pour into a serving dish. Dissolve saffron in ordinary milk and crush to a paste. Pour over the curry and garnish with fried almonds and fresh mint leaves.

Navratan Korma

Ingredients:

100 grams cauliflower (broken into pieces)

100 grams peas

100 grams potatoes

100 grams shredded carrots and

French beans

6 flakes garlic

2” piece ginger

2 handfuls coriander leaves

4 green chillies

oil or ghee for shallow frying

100 grams paneer or cheese

¼ tsp saffron strands

a little milk

1 tsp each of gram masala and and cummin seeds ( ground )

½ tsp turmeric powder

salt and chilli powder to taste

½ cup tomatoes (peeled and pureed)

1 cup curd

25 grams almonds and cashew nuts ( fried )

silver foil

1 small orange ( peeled and diced )

1 ring canned pineapple(diced)

2 slices sweet mango( diced )

a few cherries ( halved )

Directions:

Grind the garlic, ginger, coriander leaves and green chillies to a paste. Fry the paneer or cheese to a golden color. Drain and set aside. Dissolve the saffron in 1 tbsp of hot milk. Now heat 5 tbsps of ghee and fry the ginger and garlic paste, sprinkling a little milk now and then till it turns a rich golden color. Add all the vegetables and fry till they start changing color.

Add the garam masala, cummin, turmeric, salt, and chilli powder. Mix well, then add the tomato puree and curd. Cook till the vegetables are almost done, mix in the nuts and cheese and continue cooking till the vegetables are done. Remove into a serving dish, sprinkle saffron on top and cover with foil. Garnish with diced fruits.                                                

Custard Gajar (Carrot) Halwa

Ingredients:

½ red carrots peeled and grated
¾ grain sugar
¼ salt
¼ water
1 cup milk
3 tbsp custard powder (vanilla flavor)
2 tbsp ghee
¼ cardamom powder
2 tbsp almonds sliced

Directions:

Put carrots, sugar, salt and water in a pressure cooker. Close cooker, bring to full pressure on high heat. Remove cooker immediately from heat. Allow pressure to drop its own accordingly. After that open cooker.

In a bowl, gradually add milk to custard powder blending until smooth and then keep aside. Return cooker to heat. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until liquid dries. Add ghee and cardamom powder and fry for about 1 minute.

Add custard powder mix to carrots in cooker and cook for about 2 minutes while stirring constantly. Transfer halwa to a serving dish. Sprinkle with almonds and serve hot.

Lamb Curry

Ingredients:

1 kg cut and boiled meat
1 cup stock
1 cup coconut milk(extracted from 1 coconut)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 grated onions
10 curry leaves
1 tsp whole mixed spices (cloves , cinnamon, cardamoms, peppercorns)
2 peeled and quartered potatoes
3 – 4 tbsp ghee
Salt to taste

Directions:

Grind ½ coconut, 6 green chillies , 8 cloves garlic, ½” ginger, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp poppy seeds, 1 tbsp sesame seeds, 10 cashew nuts , 10 blanched almonds.

In hot ghee, put onions, curry leaves, and whole spices. Fry for a few minutes, then add ground spices and fry well, adding stock gradually. Then add meat, potatoes and coconut milk. Simmer till potatoes are cooked. Add lemon juice and salt at last and (chopped mint and coriander leaves may be added if desired).

Chicken and Masoor Dhal / Lentils Curry

Ingredients:

1 chicken cleaned and cut into medium pieces
¼ lb of Masoor Dhal/lentils
2 dry red chillies
1 onion sliced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1 tbsp of curry powder
2 tbsps of tomato paste or ½ lb of fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped up
2 ozs of ghee or oil
1 tbsp grated coconut
1 ½ tbsp of tamarind juice

Directions:

Wash the masoor dhal/lentils and set to boil with the dry red chillies with little water until the lentils are half cooked.

In the oil, fry lightly the onions and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the curry powder. Mix well, and cook on a slow fire for a further 3 or 4 minutes Now add the tomato and then the chicken pieces. Mix well, cover the pan, and cook on a slow fire for 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure the curry does not stick on the bottom of the pan.

Add the boiled lentils which must not be strained and continue the simmering with the pan covered until cooked. Add the grated coconut, 1 ½ tbsp of tamarind juice or vinegar and add salt to taste. Sprinkle with coriander leaves.