Til Ka Khatta Sesame seeds paste with Tamarind water

Til Ka Khatta again a Hyderabadi recipe.. This is a n accompaniment....specially with Khichdi


Ingredients :

1 tsp sesame seeds, roasted and powdered
1/4th  cup chopped onion
1 green chilly
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp cumin
2 cups tamarind juice from a lemon sizes tamarind
Few sprigs of cilantro and mint
2 red chillies
few curry leaves


Method :

Mix the sesame seed powder into chopped onions, chilly, cilantro, mint and add it to the tamarind juice and salt. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin, red chillies and curry leaves and fry till cumin splutters. Add the tamarind water to a boil....for about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover the dish and set it aside to serve :-)

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

The name Biryani is synonymous with Hyderabad. A lip smacking meal. Most popular and widely relished dish. The aroma of the spices and herbs just fills the house. My kids just love it. I usually don't need an occasion to prepare Biryani. Though the whole process looks a bit tiring, it's amazingly simple. Marinade the chicken, cook the rice and chicken and then layer them. There your Yummy Chicken Biryani is ready :-)  It is usually accompanied with Dahi ki Chutney Raita or Mirch ka Salan.

Ingredients:1 Kg whole chicken 1 kg Basmati rice 1 cup thinly sliced fried onions,2 tsp ginger/garlic paste,2 tsp chilli powder, ( As per your taste)½ tsp turmeric,100 g fried cashew nuts,3-4 Biryani Flower4 or 5 cloves,2 cm long cinnamon sticks,3 or 4 cardamom pods,1 tsp shah jeera,1 cup mint leaves,1 cup coriander leaves (cilantro),½ tsp garam masala powder(shah jeera, elachi, dal chini, lavang),1 lemon,1 ½ tsp salt (As per taste),1 cup ghee ½ cup yogurt,1 cup oil,few strands of saffron, ( Soak in milk)2 cups finely sliced onions,
Method :1. Clean the chicken and squeeze out the water1. Make deep incisions on the chicken flesh - deep enough for spices to get absorbed Mix turmeric, ( Haldi ) chilli powder, ( Mirchi powder ) salt,  ( Namak) ginger garlic paste, ( Adrak lasun paste) yogurt,  ( Dahi)  and half-lemon's juice. Thoroughly apply this paste onto the meat flesh and let marinate for an hour.
2. Heat about 100 ml of oil. Roast cumin, ( Zeera) cloves, ( Laung )cinnamon, ( Dalchini)  cardamom, ( Elaichi) bay leaves ( Tej Patta), ½ spoon cumin, 1 spoon coriander powder, ( dhania powder) and finally add onions When onions turn golden pink/brown add mint leaves. Then add marinated chicken and cook for about 20-25 min. The chicken at this stage will not be fully cooked. Add garam masala and coconut powder and switch off the stove.  .3. Simultaneously, while the chicken is still cooking, prepare the Biryani Rice.  In a pot heat water and add ( 4 Cardamoms, 3 Cloves, 2 Bay Leaves, 1  Biryani Flower,1 tsp Sahajeera½ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste,1 tbsp of Oil. 1/4th cup of salt ) Add the rice and cook till one boil......say about 5 minutes. The rice should not be fully cooked Then drain the rice and keep the aside.4. Now take a dish, layer half of chicken on it again topped by a layer of rice. One more layer of remaining chicken, finally with layer of rest of the rice on top. Sprinkle saffron milk and garnish the top layer with fried onion and fried cashew nuts and add a liberal amount of ghee. Now seal the container airtight.....so that steam does not escape, while cooking on a high flame for about 8 minutes, then on a low flame for about 15 minutes. 

Presto.... Your Biryani is ready   :-) 

Bagara Baingan Eggplant curry

I always had a passion for cooking ..always experimenting. Born and brought up in Hyderabad, made my friends ask me for Hyderabadi recipes..... Though not a perfectionist in the same i would love to share few recipes with you all. I shall start with an awesome dish Bagara Baingan ( Eggplant curry) A typical Hyderabadi dish. Goes well with plain white rice, bagara rice or Biryani. The taste gets yummier the next day

Ingredients :

1  1 Cup Peanuts
2. 1/4 cup sesame seeds ( Til)
3. 2 spoons poppy seeds ( Khus khus)
4. 3-4 cloves ( Laung)
5. 2 inch ginger piece( Adrak)
6. 2-3 garlic pods ( Lahsun )
7. Half cup grated coconut ( Pisa nariyal)
8. 1 spoon chilli powder ( mirchi powder)
9. 1 pinch turmeric ( Haldi)
10. 10-12 small brinjals ( Baingan)
11. A lemon sized ball of tamarind ( Imli) soaked and pulped
12. Mustard ( Rai ) Aniseed ( Jeera ) for tempering ( Tadka or Bagar)
13. 4 long green chillies ( Hari mirchi)
14. 5-6 curry leaves ( Kadi patta)
15. 2 large onions ( Pyaaz) Finely sliced
16. Coriander ( Kotmir or Dhania patta)
17. 2. Tablespoon oil
18. Salt to taste

Method :
1. Roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and cloves seperately.
2. Grind them along with coconut, chilli powder, Haldi, salt, ginger and garlic. Make a fine paste.
3. Cut slits in the brinjals, from top to bottom. Stuff the ground paste in them. Keep aside little paste. (  You can also fry the slit brinjals in oil without stuffing the paste drain and keep them aside and later add them to the paste which is being cooked.)
4. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds, Jeera, green chillies and curry leaves. Ones the mustard seeds start spluttering add onions and saute till they turn golden brown.
5. In a little oil saute the brinjals, till they change color.
6. Then add the remaining paste along with little water and tamarind pulp and mix well.
7. Cook for about 20 minutes with a lid covered, until you no longer have the raw smell of peanuts and brinjal coming. Check for the consistency in the gravy.
8. Finally garnish it with coriander.