CHICKEN HALEEM

A famous Hyderabadi dish a tasty and wholesome mixture of chicken, dals and broken wheat.
Preparation Time : 1 hour
Cooking Time : 40 minutes
Ingredients:
Boneless chicken breasts 1/2 inch cubes-4
Ghee -3 tablespoons
Green cardamoms -2-3
Cloves -5-6
Cinnamon -1 inch stick
Bay leaves -2
Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon
Onions sliced-3 medium
Ginger paste -1 tablespoon
Garlic paste -1 tablespoon
Split green gram skinless (dhuli moong dal) soaked-2 tablespoons
Split Bengal gram (chana dal), soaked-2 tablespoons
Broken wheat, soaked-3 tablespoons
Turmeric powder -1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder -1 teaspoon
Salt -to taste
Garam masala powder -1/2 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped-2 tablespoons
Fresh mint leaves, torn-10-12
Method:
Heat ghee in a deep pan. Add green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, cumin seeds and onions and sauté till light brown.Add ginger paste, garlic paste and continue to sauté.Add chana dal, moong dal and dalia and stir. Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder and mix. Add half a cup of water and sauté for two to three minutes.Add chicken cubes and salt and mix. Add four cups water and let it come to a boil.Add garam masala powder, coriander leaves and mint leaves. Stir and cover. Cook on medium heat till done.Remove the bay leaves. Blend it lightly using a hand blender and serve hot.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

INGREDIENTS:
PART -ONE
2 lbs.-Boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup-Curd
3 tsp-Minced Ginger
3 tsp-Crushed Garlic
1/4 tsp-White Pepper
1/4 tsp-Cumin Powder
1/4 tsp-Mace
1/4 tsp-Nutmeg
1/4 tsp-Cardamom Powder
1/4 tsp-Chili Powder
1/4 tsp-Turmeric
3 tbsp-Lemon Juice
4 tbsp-Vegetable Oil or Butter
PART-TWO
5 oz.-Tomato Paste
10 oz.-Tomato Puree
2 lbs.-Chopped Tomatoes
2 tsp-Ginger Paste
2 tsp-Garlic Paste
2 tsp-Green Chilies
1 tbsp-Red Chili Powder
2 tsp-Cloves
8-Cardamom
1 tsp-Salt
3 tbsp-Butter
2/3 cup-Cream
1 tsp-Fenugreek
2 tsp-Ginger Julienned
2 tsp-Honey
PREPARATION:
Whisk all of the ingredients in Part I together in a large bowl. Add the chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake the chicken for 8 minutes, basting with margarine twice. Drain excess marinade and bake for another 2 minutes. While doing this, make the sauce in Part II. Deseed and chop green chilies. Put tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/4 cups of water. Add ginger and garlic paste, green chilies, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. Cook over low heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir. If the sauce tastes sour, add honey to taste. Add fenugreek and ginger juliennes, stir, and serve with the chicken.

CHICKEN MAKHANI

Ingredients:

1 tbsp- Peanut Oil

1 finely chopped-Shallot

1/4-Finely Chopped Onion

2 tbsp -Butter

2 tbsp-Lemon Juice

1 tbsp-Ginger Garlic Paste

1 tsp-Garam Masala

1 tsp-Chili Powder

1 tsp-Crushed Cumin

1-Bay Leaf

1/4 cup-Curd

1 and half cup-Tomato Puree

1/4 tsp-Cayenne Pepper[ red chilli powder]

1 pinch-Salt

1 pinch-Black Pepper

1 tbsp -Peanut Oil

1 lb-Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp-Garam Masala

1 pinch-Cayenne Pepper

1 tbsp-Cornstarch

1/4 cup-Water

Preparation:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Saute shallot and onion until soft and translucent. Stir in butter, lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon garam masala, chili powder, cumin and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in half-and-half and yogurt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, and season with 1 teaspoon garam masala and cayenne. Stir in a few spoonfuls of sauce, and simmer until liquid has reduced, and chicken is no longer pink. Stir cooked chicken into sauce.Mix together cornstarch and water, then stir into the sauce. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened

HYDERBADI MUTTON BIRYANI

PREPARATION TIME:4o mins
MARINATION TIME:3 - 4 hours
COOKING TIME: 30 mins
SERVES:8
INGREDIENTS:
mutton --1 kg [ shoulder of lamb ]
rice - 1/2 kg [ basmati ]
onions--4 finely sliced
ginger paste--1 tsp
garlic paste--1 tsp
green papaya skin--1 tsp [ paste]
red chilli powder--1 tsp
chopped coriander--2 bunches
green mint--1 small bunch
green chillies--4
cardamoms--4
cloves--6
cinnamon stick--1 inch
caraway seeds--1 tsp
peppercorn--1 tsp
nutmeg--1 small piece
mace--a few flakes
Make a fine powder of ingredients from cardamom to mace.
yoghurt--4 cups
lemon juice--of 3 limes
milk--1/2 cup
oil--2/3 cup
ghee or clarified butter--2 tbsp
salt to taste
liberal pinch of saffron
METHOD:
Heat oil and fry the oniond till golden brown,crush them after they cool.Rub the ginger and garlic and the papaya paste into the meat.Add 3 cups of yoghurt,salt,red chilli powder,coriander,mint, green chillies,the ground spices,lemon juice,crushed onions and oil in which the onions were fried.Mix well and marinate.
Wash the rice and mix with 1 cup well beaten yoghurt.Add saffron to 1/2 a cup of milk.Set aside.Take a heavy bottomed pan with a tight covering lid.Transfer the marinated meat with the marinade to the pan.Place the rice over the meat.Sprinkle the saffron milk over the rice.Dot it with ghee.Cover and cook,first at high heat,then at medium and then at low heat till the meat is tender,the liquids are absorbed and rice cooked.Take out gently and serve steaming hot.

YAKHNI PULAO

Ingredients:

Mutton-1kg

Rice-1kg

Desi ghee-250 gms

Clove-3 gms

Cardamom-3gms

Cinnamon-3 gms

Hung Yoghurt-125 gms

Pepper-4 gms

Onions-250 gms

Ginger-20 gms

Cumin-1 gm

Salt- to taste

PREPARATION OF YAKHNI:

Its a stock prepared by cooking meat together with spices,onion and salt. When the meat is tender,the stock is strained through muslin cloth. This stock is called YAKHNI. The meat pieces are reserved for further use. Sometimes it is used without being strained.

METHOD:

1.Make yakhni as prescribed and temper it with clove. Strain the stock and keep aside.

2. Add yoghurt to 2 tbsps stock. Add meat piecec, cinnamon,clove,cardamom and pepper and cook on medium heat.When the stock is absorbed remove from fire.

3. Par-boil rice in stock.

4. In a separate pan arrange meat and rice in layers. Pour ghee on the top and cook on dum.

BLACK CURRENT KULFI WITH MANGO SALSA

Delicious blackcurrant kulfi served with mango

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 3-4 hours

Ingredients

Milk -2 litres

Black currants -1/4 cup

Cashewnuts -10

Condensed milk -3/4 cup

Cream -1/2 cup

Ripe mangoes -2 large

Red chilli flakes -1/4 teaspoon

Lemon juice -1 tablespoon

Honey -1 tablespoon

Method:

Soak blackcurrants in half a cup of warm water for fifteen minutes. Drain and grind coarsely. Grind cashewnuts coarsely.Heat milk in a saucepan and bring it to boil. Let it boil, stirring continuously, till reduced to three-fourths the original quantity. Add condensed milk and keep stirring.Add the coarsely ground cashewnuts and cook till it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.In a large bowl take ground currants and cream and whisk well. Add the reduced milk. Mix well.Pour into kulfi moulds, seal them airtight and freeze them in the refrigerator till set. Peel mangoes and cut the flesh into half inch sized cubes.To serve arrange the mango cubes in the serving plate. Demould the kulfi and place it amid the mango cubes. Mix lemon juice, honey and chilli flakes and sprinkle over the mango cubes. Serve immediately

MANGO SOUFFLE

A light fluffy mango delicacy made with beaten eggs and rich cream.

Preparation Time : 40 - 45 minutes

Cooking Time : 4 - 5 hours

Ingredients

Ripe mangoes pureed-1/2 cup

Eggs -5

Castor sugar -1 cup

Cream -2 cups

Gelatin -1 tablespoon

Ripe mango -1

Method

Break eggs one by one. Take three whole eggs and two yolks into a bowl and whisk. Add one cup of castor sugar and mix. Cook on a double boiler till thick. Beat one and a half cups of fresh cream. Add mango pulp and mix.When the egg mixture thickens remove from the double boiler. Strain and cool.Dissolve gelatin (add a little water to the gelatin and place in the microwave oven for fifteen seconds). Add this to the egg mixture.Add the cream mixture to the egg mixture and mix well.Pour this mixture into the ramekin moulds and set in the refrigerator for three to four hours.Peel and thinly slice the mango. Whip the remaining cream with two tablespoons of castor sugar and transfer into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.Once the soufflé is set, place the mango slices on the top along the outer circumference of the ramekin moulds. Pipe fresh cream in the centre and serve immediately