Veg Dum Biryani ( 4 people)

Ingredients:                                                    
- few beans, cut into 2 inch
- 2 potatoes, cut into big cubes
- 3 carrots, cut into 2 inches
- 2 half tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 3 big onions slit length wise
- 250 g tomato puree
- 300 g yoghurt
- 2 lemon
- whole garam masala (4 cardamom, 4-6 cloves, cinamon stick, 2-3 bay leaves1/2 tbsp sajeera)
- 200 g fried onions
- 4 cups Basmati rice ( pre soaked for 30 mins)
- 2 half tbsp gram masala
- a handful of cashewcashew
- 1/2 tbp chili powder
- 1/2 turmeric powder
- few drops of color (optional)

To grind biryani masala:
3 red chillies
2 table spoons coriander seeds( grind chilli and coriander seeds first)
1/2 spoons ginger garlic paste
1 onion
3 green chilies
Coriander
Mint
Dil
Salt Coriander

Method:

Cooking and marinating vegetable layer:
1. add 3 tbps oil in a pressure cooker.
2. Add whole garam masal to the oil in the cooker
3. Add all the vegetables and cook for 1 mins.
4. Add 1/4 tbps gg paste and toss for another 1 min.
5. Add ground biryani masala papast 1/4 tbp of turmeric powder, salt to taste and cook for around 3 mins.
6. Now add 150 g yoghurt, juice from 1 whole lemon and presure cook for 2 whistles.
7. Once the pressure is released stir until most of the water evaporates and let it to cool down.

Rice preparation:
1. In an another pressure cooker add 3 tbps oil, 1/2 tbsp sajeera and add the soaked rice along with some salt to taste, 1/2 tbsp garam masala powder and 5-6 cups of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle.

Second layer:

1. In a pan add 2-3 tbps of oil, nuts, onions,1/2 tbsp gg paste and salt toss for 2-3 mins
2. Add tomato paste, turmeric, red chilli pwd, 1/4 tbsp garam masala pwd and cook for 6-8 mins.
3. Add 150 g yoghurt, juice from one big lemon and stir until most of the water evaporates and let it cool down.

Assembling the layers:
1. In a baking tray, spread the marinated vegetables into a layer (1st layer from botttom
2. Spread half of the rice ( 2nd layer )
3. Spread the tomato-onion paste and sprinkle some fried onions (3rd layer)
4. spread rest of the rice, sprinkle fried onions and a few drops of color
5. Cover the tray with alu-foil, make some holes in the foil and bake for 20-30 mins.

Enjoy it with some raitha.

Note: adjust the salt at every stage

Tomato Pickle

Ingredients:

500gms Tomatoes

1 cup Oil

1 (lemon size) Tamarind

1 tbp Methi seeds

2 tbp Mustard seeds

½  cup red chilly pwd

1 tbp Sugar

¼ th tbp Turmeric Pwd

1 tbp Salt

7-10 pods of garlic

Method:

• In a small pan dry roast Methi seeds first and then add Mustard seeds. Turn off the heat when they start to splatter. Cool it and make powder of it.
• Chop tomatoes and coarsely grind them.
• Add oil in a pan and start cooking the tomatoes. Add tamarind juice and cook till almost all the water evaporates.  
• Add salt, sugar, chilly pwd, turmeric pwd and mustard-methi pwd. Mix it well.
• In a small pan add 2 tbp of oil and fry the garlic pods. Add it to the above Pickle.

Tip:

• Fry garlic until it turns brown in a very low flame.
• If you don’t like to use Garlic, you can replace it with Asafetida.

Microwave Cake!

50 gms butter
2 eggs
1 pkt baking pwd
1 1/4 th cup all purpose flour
1 cup of sugar
2 tbp of coco pwd
1 tbp of Rum essence (Optional)
1/4 th cup of hot milk

Method:

•  Add butter n sugar and mix it properly. Now add 2 eggs and beat in high speed.
• Add all purpose flour, baking pwd n coco pwd using a net (put it in a net n stir it. This is done to avoid lumps.)
• Add rum essence and beat it in high speed for 1 min.
• Now add hot milk and beat it once again.
• Grease a microwave safe bowl and put this batter and microwave it for 5mts in High.

Remove it and check it in the middle if the knife comes out clean its done. Run a knife along the sides n transfer it to a greased plate by inverting it. Do it in less than 5 mts after u remove it form the microwave.

Buttercream icing!

1 cup (250gms) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
6 cups confectioners sugar (Pwd)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Food coloring (optional)


Method:

• In the bowl add butter, 4 cups of sugar, milk, and vanilla.
• Set timer to 5 minutes. Using electric mixer, whip it on medium speed beat until smooth and creamy.
• Add remaining sugar 1 cup at a time and beat well after adding each cup. Set timer to 2 minutes before each addition. Add more sugar for thicker consistency.
• Add a few drops of food coloring to get desired color and beat until color is mixed in. With rubber spatula, fold icing over a few times to make sure the color is mixed in thoroughly.

Tip:

• Place in an airtight container at room temperature or in a refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Fresh cream icing!

250 ml of Whipping cream refrigerated

50 gms of Pwd sugar (optional)

Whisk

Some ice cubes

Method:

• Pour the Cream into the smaller bowl and add sugar. Place it into the bigger bowl and fill it with ice cubes.
• Whisk whisk whisk... to incorporate air into it.
• Whisk till you see soft peaks on the cream and your whipped cream is ready to be used.

Tips:

• It is easier to whip cream at cold temperatures.
• I don't add pwd sugar generally.You can also add few drops of color if you wish to it in the beginning.
• If you have an hand-held electric whisk it is always better. Else you will have a very good exercise for your arms ;-)

Chocolate icing!

250gms Cooking chocolate bar

50-100ml Milk

Using Microwave:

• Cut the bar in cubes and microwave it in low heat for 30 secs. Remove it and mix it and again heat it for 30 secs. Continue doing it till the chocolate melts.
• After all the chocolate melts keep adding 1 tbp of milk at a time and mix it. Check the consistency how you want it to be. Don't make it too thin.

Tips:

• If you heat the chocolate continuously for more than 1 min it will burn. So be patient when you are doing it.
• If you add the whole milk at once it will break or separate.
• Once you start to add the milk please don't over mix it. The more you mix after adding milk the more it tends to separate.

Using regular stove:

• Take a large cooking pot and fill it half with water. Take another small vessel which fits into this. Here you are creating a double boil method.
• Add the chocolate cubes to this small vessel and keep string it continuously till the choco melts.
• Now add milk 1 tbp at a time and mix it gently. Once the desired consistency is reached stop adding milk.

Tips:

• If you add the whole milk at once it will break or separate. 
• Once you start to add the milk please don't over mix it. The more you mix after adding milk the more it tends to separate.

I prefer to use regular stove rather than microwave.

Mango Jam!

1 kg of Mangoes

2 cups Water                                         

500 gms Sugar                                         

1/4 Tbp Citric Acid(Nimma uppu)    
1 Tsp of Mango essence        

1 Cup Pectin                                         

Method:

• Cut the mangoes in to pieces. You can use both cut mangoes or the juice mangoes. 

• Grind the above mixture and using a soft cloth ( I used cotton cloth) squeeze out the juice into another cooking pot.
• Now add the sugar, citric acid, mango essence, pectin (Details below) and bring it to boil. This should take about 5-10 mts.

• Now pore it into glass jars once you turn off the stove. Let it cool down n set.

Tips:

• Stir now and then after adding the sugar. When it starts to boil remove the froth and throw it.

• Transfer it immediately into the glass jars. Coz then it looks like the one which we buy from the shop ;-)

• Close the lid immediately so that it creates vacuum. 

• For 1Kg of fruit we add 500gms of Jam sugar.

• Don't forget to sterilize the glass jars. To sterilize them boil them in water for about 10-15 mts. 
• For people living out of India you can find jam sugar separately. I used Gelier Zucker 2plus1. This contains the gelling agent pectin, the citric acid and the preservative sorbic acid. If you are using this jam sugar please don't add citric acid, pectin and sugar from the above list.

Homemade Fruit Pectin: 
Pectin is a natural carbohydrate found in fruits, causes jam or jelly to set.

• Combine 1 kg (2 lbs) sliced unpeeled apples and 750 mL (3 cups) water. 

• Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, adding water as needed. 
• Drain through moistened cheesecloth. To clear, heat the fruit juice to a boil and can or freeze the pectin for later use. 

Pectin Test:
To determine if a fruit juice has enough pectin for jelly, do a pectin test.

• Stir together 5 mL (1 tsp) fruit juice with 15 mL (1 tbsp) of non-methyl alcohol. (This is a poisonous mixture, so do not taste it and destroy it immediately after the test.)

• If the juice forms one big clot, which can be picked up with a fork without breaking, it has sufficient pectin. If the juice is low in pectin, several small clots will form.

•  If a clot doesn’t form, simmer gently to reduce the water content of the juice.