Chicken Dum Biriyani

Authentic and elegant delicacy --
biriyani turns an ordinary day into an extraordinary day.

It is perhaps the best complete meal in the world that is the contribution from Mughals to India.
I am not fond of rice or rice related any recipe.
After marriage my husband prepared this recipe on the eve of New year and made me to taste it.
I tasted it for the first time. It was delicious mouth watering recipe full of aroma.
I found something unique about it but I was not good at cooking those days except for making chapathis ;)
He is adept at making many kinds of exotic recipes. I user to be silent spectator most of the time when he cooks anything.
I wanted to make for so long and on his birthday I presented Chicken DUM BIRIYANI with a small twist.

Surprisingly it came out so good and perfect, my husband liked it to the core
rich in flavours and tasted so luscious, lip smackingly yum that just one serving wasn't going to be enough.. The rice grains were fluffy, cooked well and separate. 

This biryani is one of the popular biryanis in India. The preparation method is quite different from the other kinds.  

Dum Pukht is a technique of cooking in steam by not allowing the steam to pass. The Basmati rice cooked with layers of marinated chicken or meat is kept in a sealed container – usually clay pots which are sealed tightly with wheat flour dough. This does not allow the steam to pass. The food gets cooked in its own steam and infuses the nutrients, flavors and aroma of its own herbs and spices in the food.  You can feel it when taking each and every bite. You won't miss out individual taste of any single element. Every element is shown star in this recipe which is I believe a best word of complement of it.

Ingredients:

250 gms Basmati Rice
1 Star Anise
500 gms Chicken with bone (boneless if you want)
1/4 cup Oil
2 large Onion, sliced thinly
Salt to taste

For Marination:

1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped finely
1/2 cup Mint leaves, chopped finely
1/2 cup Curd 
4 Green Chilies, chopped 
3 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tbsp Special Garam Masala Powder
2 tbsp Chili Powder
3 tbsp Coriander Powder
Salt to taste

For Special Garam Masala Powder:

10 Cloves
10 Cardamom
1 cm piece Mace
2 Bay Leaf 
5 cm piece Cinnamon
1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Fennel Seeds

For Finishing:

Saffron a pinch
1/4 cup Lukewarm Milk
1/4 cup Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup Mint Leaves, finely chopped
3 tbsp Ghee
50 grams Cashews
50 grams Raisins 
Rose Essence few drops

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients. Let it marinate for minimum 2 hours but if you can keep it for overnight, it is great.
2. Wash and soak basmati rice for an hour.
3. Dry roast elements for special garam masala powder and blend them to a powder.
4. Take 2 glass of water in a pot and bring water to a boil. Once it boils, add in the drained rice and drop one star anise.
5. Add a tbsp of butter or oil to the boiling water while cooking rice. Cook it till it is 80 percent done. 
6. Drain it and set aside.
7. Heat oil in a pan. Shallow fry the onions till crisp, drain and set aside.
8. In same pot, add chicken and cook it in high flame, saute in between to avoid it from burning.
9. Cook it till the chicken is 90 percent done. Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees C. 
10. Place chicken in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven.
11. Get it out of oven and allow to rest.
12. Soak saffron in some warm milk.
13. Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashews and raisins till golden.

Layering biryani :

1. Take 1 ltr water in a pot and heat it.
2. On the top of this water pot, take a big pot where you want to cook biriyani so that the steam from water pot will provide heat to it. In this way, the base of biriyani will not get burnt while cooking.
3. Add 2 tbsp ghee. Spread over with the help of spatula.
4. Now a 1 inch layer of the rice over it, top with fried onions, chopped herbs, saffron milk, fried nuts and rose essence. Sprinkle 1 tsp of garam masala on it.
5. Place cooked chicken layer on it.
6. Repeat 2-3 steps.
7. Make a flour dough, stick on the lid and cover the entire pot or cover the entire pot with foil and cover with a plate. 
8. Place a weight over it and let it cook on a very very low flame for 20-25 mins.
9. Now remove the weight and foil and serve carefully.

Chicken Shawarma in Pita Pocket

In Arab countries, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa and the United Kingdom, Shawarma is widely popular and the meats, fillings and sauce vary depending on the country. Traditionally, Shawarma is made with chicken, lamb, beef, or goat that has been marinated overnight and is wrapped and cooked on a vertical rotisserie.


When an order is placed, meat is shaved off and served as a wrapped in pita bread or flatbread with fresh vegetables (cucumbers, tomato, lettuce, onions), pickles and a sauce or two (garlic mayonnaise and tahini).
Thinly sliced meat, wrapped in a pita bread with veggies and sauce is a delicious quick meal.

Though shawarma is made in different different ways so I thought I would try out a simple homemade version. I do not have a vertical rotisserie or a kebab grill at home. I opted to cook our chicken shawarma on a griddle pan. First marinate the chicken in a blend of yoghurt and spices, then cook the chicken and assemble the shawarma in pita bread.
Another great way to make your own Shawarma is by using leftover chicken from a BBQ. Slice it up and follow the steps below to get a mouth watering shawarma roll.

Ingredients:

For chicken Marination:
700gms of thinly cut skinless boneless chicken breast
½ cup of lemon juice
1 cup of plain (Greek) yogurt
1/4 cup of white vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp of olive oil
Salt  to taste
½ tsp of ground oregano (or thyme)
1 tsp of paprika
½ tsp of ginger powder (optional)
1 tsp ground allspice (or substitution : 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon + 1/3 tsp ground cloves +1/3 tsp nutmeg powder)

For Sauce:
Tahini (i did not put it, i am not fond of it)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons yogurt

For Spread:
Mayonnaise 

For Pita Pocket:  (Makes 8 Rounds)
1 cup warm water 
2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1-2 teaspoons olive oil (optional)

For PITA Fillings:
8 loaves of pita bread 
thinly slice cucumbers
thinly sliced onions
thinly sliced tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
pickle slices (optional)

Method for Pita Pocket:

1. Mix the water and yeast together, and let sit for about five minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Add flour, salt and olive oil.
2. Knead the Dough for about 5 minutes till the dough is smooth and elastic.Add more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface.
3. Set the dough in bowl and coat it with oil. Cover with a cloth and Let the Dough Rise till it is doubled in volume.
4. Once the dough rises, divide the Pitas into 8 equal pieces and gently flatten each piece into a thick disk. Sprinkle the pieces with a little more flour and then cover them with a kitchen towel, wrap until you're ready to bake them.
5. Roll one of the pieces into a circle 8-9 inches wide and about a quarter inch thick. Lift and turn the dough frequently to make sure the dough isn't sticking to work surface. Sprinkle with a little extra flour if it sticks. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. 
6. While shaping the pitas, heat the oven to 450°C. Place a large baking sheet on the middle rack to heat.
7. Place the rolled-out pitas directly on baking sheets (as many as will fit), and bake for about 3 minutes. The pita will start to puff up after a minute or two and is done when it has fully ballooned. 
8. Keep cooked pitas covered with a clean dishtowel while cooking any remaining pitas.
9. Pitas are best when eaten immediately after cooking. Leftover pitas will keep in an airtight bag for several days and can be eaten as they are or warmed in a toaster oven. 

Method for Chicken Shawarma in Pita Pocket:

1. Rinse the boneless chicken breasts with fresh cold water then cut horizontally into thinner cuts of about ½ inch (each breast could possibly be split into 2 slices depending on thickness).
2. Combine all ingredients except for chicken and Mix in a blender, add to a bowl and mix well with the chicken, cover and let marinate in the fridge overnight.
3. When ready, grill the marinated chicken using a George Foreman grill for about 15 minutes on medium heat. (Optional : You can also cook the chicken on a BBQ grill)
4. Combine sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
5. Take the onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and add other filling ingredients in a large bowl and combine well.
6. When the chicken is done, you can shred it, slice it or leave into large pieces. 
7. Spread a quarter of the sauce down the center of each pita.
8. Stuff the pita pocket with the shredded chicken mixture and then top it up fillings.

Crispy Hash Breakfast Skillet

Tender-but-crispy hash brown along with crunchy bell pepper and bacon with a luscious baked egg in the middle.


These are awesome! So creative and perfect dish. You have breakfast. Or brunch, or a snack. Whatever time you decide to eat this, you will be munching happy.
when I first decided to try these out, I was so excited.
These looked great and I couldn't wait to surprise Hubby with them.

I have to begin with the hash. First I tried grating potato from a raw state.
Squeezing them to release as much liquid as possible before they are cooked. 
This makes sense. Potatoes are loaded with moisture, which makes browning difficult. 
By getting rid of excess water, the potatoes should brown more evenly and quickly.
Then baked them until they were not quite tender enough to eat, Soft.
The consistency was perfect and the potato flavor was fabulous.(But i did not get the desired brown color :( )
I seasoned it with freshly ground black pepper.

Then I added rest ingredients. The original recipe only has bell pepper and bacon.
I added mushroom and tomato to add more flavours to this recipe. 

Cracked the egg and baked it
Ta-da. Its ready. A golden crust tops a savory egg mixture of cheese, hash-brown potatoes and spices in this wonderful way to start the day!  A slice of whole grain bread, a glass of orange juice. An energizing breakfast.
Got a YUM-MYY from my husband!

I tend to gravitate towards poached eggs and their evenly cooked whites and soft creamy yolks. Hence this recipe grabbed the showstopper position in the breakfast menu :)

These look like a sure winner for kid's breakfasts, lunches or suppers!! They will love it!

Try it and be happy :)

Ingredients:

Medium Russet  potatoes (or sweet potatoes) 2 
Bacon 3 strips 
Large bell pepper, chopped 1  
Chopped Mushroom 2 tbsp
Chopped Tomato 2 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Ground pepper 1/4 tsp 
Eggs 4 
Shredded smoked gouda cheese 1/3 cup 
Chopped parsley (optional)

Methods:

1. Wash and scrub the potatoes clean.
2. Shred the potatoes by using the largest holes of your box grater.(You can peel them or leave the peels on, whichever you prefer. I always prefer to have skin)
3. Place the shredded potato in a large bowl lined with a paper towel. 
4. Press down hard so the paper towels can absorb a lot of the moisture. Squeeze more using more paper towels if necessary. (Or you can wrap shredded potato up in a kitchen towel, and squeeze them out over the sink/ reuse in any other recipe)
5. Transfer the shredded potatoes to a plate and Cook in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Set the potatoes aside.
6. Place a skillet on the stove.
7. Before you turn the heat on, put your three strips on the pan. Keep the flame low.
8. Cook the bacon on both sides just before they become crispy. 
9. Remove from heat, reserve the grease, and set bacon on a plate. Once the bacon is slightly cool, chop it up.
10. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
11. Turn the stove heat up to medium. When bacon grease begins to simmer, add the shredded potatoes. 
12. Mix well. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes. 
13. Add chopped mushroom and cook it for 1 minute. 
14. Add the chopped pepper, salt, and pepper. Stir it around once or twice. Allow to cook for 3 minutes. Stir again, then allow to cook for 2 more minutes till the potatoes turns slight brown. 
15. Stir in the chopped bacon and cook for 2 minutes.
16. Add chopped tomato and stir once. Remove skillet from the heat and flatten out the top of the hash. 
17. Make 4 shallow indentations into the hash using the back of a spoon.
18. Top with shredded cheese.
19. Crack an egg into each indentation.  
20. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until the egg whites set. (It will take about 8-10 minutes) Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with the parsley.

Serve immediately.

Notes:

1. If you do not wish to add bacon, you may leave it out. Since potatoes are cooked in the bacon grease, instead you may use 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter.
2. You may use your favorite cheese instead of gouda cheese.