Behtareen Biryani

One of the fanciest and most exotic rice preparations with rice is the oh-so flavorful and aromatic Biryani. Behtareen means "Perfect" in Urdu and Hindi. I have never really attempted a Biryani in the past, but inspiration got the better of me last month and I did attempt it and it turned out fabulous - Felt a huge sense of achievement that I managed to make something which we order rather longingly in a restaurant right here in my kitchen!! I was also happy in the knowledge that i used the healthiest and best ingredients to make it.

I was going to make a dhum biryani  - the kind you get at Cream Centre for those of you familiar with that restaurant chain in India. I did not make the atta- chappati covering to cook it, but instead used my rice cooker. But I layered it the same way and the more it stayed the better it tasted. The house was filled with the warm spell of spices and the naturally aromatic basmati.

Here is my version of this exotic rice preparation

The pictures are pretty self-explanatory and the masala for biryani has been approached in different ways depending on what tastes you prefer to be more predominant. 

NOTE: The ONE ingredient I did not photograph since I added it last is coconut - 1/4 cup of grated coconut for the masala.

For the Masala

The veggies, Paneer, (Raisins & Almonds) for sauteing
Peas, Beans,Carrots, Onions, Cauliflower, & Paneer. Saute and cook with olive oil/butter and salt - I added a 2 tsp of curry powder to cook the veggies -
Saute Paneer with 1 tsp of curry powder
Next, saute rice with butter and add the masala paste to it along with salt. Cook in rice cooker

Secret Ingredient 4-5 strands crushed lightly - Saffron - Zafrani (cook with the rice)

Once the rice is cooked, layer veggies and rice finishing preferably with rice layer on top. Once you serve it can be mixed up on the plate or in the copper vessel that I have presented it in. Enjoy HOT with raita & pappad.

Ta-Dah!

Sprouted Green Gram Sundal/Salad

Back after an unannounced break with the simplest yet most healthy and as tasty dish. I am guest hosting the Sprouts event of Mom Chef -Sizzling Tastebuds and had made 3 recipes for this purpose - This is not an uncommon dish to people who used sprouted grams - but the beauty of this dish is to sprout your own grams - it is truly amazing the wonder of things when you see the little white stems poking out of the gram only to grow long in a matter of a day!  So give this a shot - you will be doing yourself a favor by eating this incredibly healthy dish, South Indian Shtyle :)

Sprouting green gram requires soaking, draining and rinsing intermittently until such time you see some sprouts - Using a thin wetted towel could help this process -Although I did not have enough foresight to take pictures of the process, I do have some pictures of the dish :)

This is off to the event - please follow link to see other entries and if you have not submitted one already, please do so - I will sprout back with some more dishes this week

Kumato- Mozzarella Hors D'oeuvre

Kumatos is a brand name but the most common one that comes up if you are googling brown tomatoes. The first time I saw them I was intrigued! Thought it was a cross between a plum and a tomato - My friend used Kumatos in a salad the first time I tasted them and I loved the crisp sweetness of it raw and enjoyed them a lot more than the regular raw tomato.

Of Spanish origin, Kumatos are a cross of red & green tomatoes. They are from the Mediterranean region of Spain but are now being grown in many parts of Europe and Canada since people have come to taste them and realize how incredibly sweet they are :) So it was a pleasure to make something with them for the first time after which I have gone on to experiment with other dishes which I will post soon, hopefully.
This hor D'oeuvre is a simple & sophisticated dish and would be an amazing addition to either fine dining or a casual party. I used port wine along with other ingredients to be listed below to marinate the mozzarella. I know many people in my circle who are not crazy about raw tomatoes, but even they loved this preparation.

Ingredients

6 Kumatos
About 6 ounces of Small fresh mozzarella
For the Marinade
2 tbsp port wine
1 tbps balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 tsp herb de Provence
1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1tsp of agave nectar
1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper
Fennel greens for garnish

Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices (this can be done before serving)

Similarly cut the Mozzarella balls into wedges

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together in a flat plate with sides - Soak the mozzarella in it and refrigerate for until an hour to half an hour before serving.

Arrange the cut tomatoes in a serving plate - Top with cheese as shown in the picture. Drizzle any extra marinade over the tomatoes as well. Place you fennel on each serving decoratively and hear the Mmm mmms or Wows :)

Event Announcement

My blog is guest-hosting hosting Mharo Rajasthan's blog event - Veggie/Fruit a Month and the star veggie on my blog is the much touted (by me thanks to Dr Oz) and supposedly one of the healthiest vegetable - The Sweet Potato - or La Patate Douce or Chakravelli Kazhangu, Camote etc - If you have not cooked with this wonder veggie hitherto, please, this is your chance to give them a shot - here are some of my sweet potato recipes - Thank you Priya for giving me this wonderful opportunity to showcase my most favorite veggie :)

There are few rules of this event:

·              The chosen veggie or fruit has to be the STAR of the recipe.

·              It can be cooked in any way or can be in its raw form in the recipe. 

·              It can be any course of the meal (appetizer/main course/side dish/dessert/beverage or breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack).

·              Recipe has to be strict vegetarian (eggs are allowed). This is simply to re-enforce the fact that we can eat veggies without any meat and also for all our vegetarian friends, who do not eat meat.

·              You HAVE to make new recipes and old archived posts are not allowed. This is just so that we try and make new fresh recipes :)

·              Please send in your entries before end of March 31, 2012.

·              Link your post to the original event post along with the event announcement for that month.

·              You can choose any kind of fruit/veggie that is featured. Feel free to mention the variety if you know.

·              Always try to buy and use locally grown veggie and fruits :)
Please use linky below to enter your recipes

Please feel free to send any suggestions or feedback on the event or if you have any questions regarding any of the rules.


******REMINDER*******


Ongoing event "Cooking for Kids", A brain child of Kalyani -Sizzling Tastebuds - The ingredient - Sprouts- I have cooked 3 recipes I cannot wait to share! 
Do send your entries to both events


Look forward to your entries - send them along starting now ...:)