Creamy Mushrooms | Mushrooms cooked in Spicy and creamy gravy

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Button Mushrooms are one of our family favorites. Mushrooms are not just delicious but also very rich in nutrients. It's cholesterol free and low in fat, also rich in Vitamin D and B-complex. All the more it's antioxidant property is going to keep you in good health with good immune. Need I say more?


I make Mushroom Omelette, Mushroom Biriyani and sometimes I mix it with other veggies. I tried making something different with it this time. Inspired by Hamlyn's 200 curries cook book I made these spicy creamy mushrooms with some variations. It was an instant hit with my family. Here is the recipe for you to try. I hope you like it as much as we did.

 

Ingredients:

White button mushrooms : 500 gms

Onion: 2
Garlic: 4-5 cloves
Ginger: 1/2 " piece
Peppercorns: 1/2 tsp
Tomato paste:2 tbsp
Cooking Cream: 100 ml
Butter: 2 tbsp (to saute mushrooms)
Oil: 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick: 1 piece
Cloves : 2-3
Cardamom: 2
Green chillies: 2
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder: 1 tbsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method: 

1. Put Onion, Garlic, ginger and pepper corns in a blender and grind to a smooth paste, keep it aside.

2. Wash the mushrooms and pat dry. Slice or quarter the mushrooms.

3. Heat butter in a wok and saute the mushrooms until they turn golden in color. takes about 4-5 mins on high flame. Remove and keep aside.

4. In the same pan heat oil and add whole spices (Cardamom, clove and cinnamon). Saute for 30 seconds or until the oil is fragrant.

5. Add onion paste and saute until the raw smell disappears - for about 1-2 mins.

6. Add tomato paste and all the spice powders - turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander and cumin powder. Add salt and mix well and cook until the oil separates.

7. Add cooking cream and mix it will, bring to boil and reduce the flame. Add sauteed mushrooms and mix everything well.

8. Cook for 2 more minutes and turn off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any indian flat breads.






 

 

Notes:

1. You can add more cream if you like more gravy.

2.  You can substitute cream with curd - Add a little milk to the curd and whisk it to bring to the cream consistency.

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Creamy Egg masala | Motte masala

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This egg masala was not a planned recipe, I started with a plan to make simple onion tomato masala with some Indian spices but ended up making this finger licking good creamy gravy that was super delicious. 

Usually when the vegetables are out of stock I cook something with eggs. This creamy egg masala is a perfect spicy dish to go with any Indian flat bread or flavored rice. I made it quite spicy but you can adjust the amount of spice according to your taste. 

So let's get started with boiling the eggs.

  

Ingredients:

Boiled Eggs: 6
Oil: 2tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Garlic: 6-7 cloves
Ginger: 1 inch
Green Chillies: 2
Medium Onion: 3
Medium Tomato: 2
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder: 2 tsp
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala powder: 1/2 tsp

Kasoori methi(dried fenugreek leaves): 1 tsp
Cooking cream: - 2-3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Boil water in a pot and add salt to it drop in eggs slowly and cook for 10-12 minutes. Drain the water from pot and pour cold water on it and peel the eggs after 5 mins, cut into half and keep aside.

2. Thinly slice onions, garlic and ginger, chop tomatoes and slit green chillies and keep aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and saute for 30 seconds. Add garlic and ginger and saute until the oil is fragrant.

4. Mix in sliced onion and green chilles and cook until the onions turn translucent. We do not need to brown the onions.

5. Add in chopped tomatoes, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder and mix well. let it cook on medium flame until the oil separates.

6. Add cream and a little water (Adjust according to the gravy needed) and bring to boil.

7. Sprinkle garam masala and crushed kasoori methi and mix well. Add boiled eggs, cover and cook for 2 mins and turn off the flame. Let the flavors sync in for 5 mins.  Serve with roti/chapathi or any flavored rice. 

Notes:
1. You can skip the cream and continue with next steps for simple onion tomato gravy masala.

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Kuska Rice and Boneless chicken biriyani | Learn how to make plain biriyani rice and boneless Chicken Biriyani

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I am back with another biriyani recipe. The chicken biriyani that I made before was with chicken on bone cooked in dum style. Today I tried boneless version without dum cooking. I was trying to replicate my childhood favorite rice item Kuska Rice from my father's hotel. It's nothing but plain biriyani rice.  Me and my sisters loved to eat this kuska rice with sherva (Plain Savji curry). In the hotel they used keep the Kuska rice ready and prepare chicken/Egg/Mutton or Veg biriyani with it as and when the order was placed.

So this Kuska rice came out really well and it had all the flavors of a good biriyani. Then I thought of making a chicken masala and preparing biriyani with it. I had some boneless chicken in store so out came this delicious chicken masala and the biriyani! It tasted just like the famous Meghana Boneless Biriyani. My family loved it. This has all the qualities to be out next family favorite dish:) I have noted down the recipe to make Kuska Rice and the boneless chicken biriyani with it. You can replace it with chicken on bone. It was just another pefect Biriyani :) Please read on for the recipe.

Kuska Rice /Plain Biriyani rice recipe: 
Ingredients:

Rice: 3 cups

Green chillies: 4-5

Onion: 3

Ghee/Oil: 3 tbsp

Caraway seeds (shahijeera): 1 tsp

Cardamom pods: 3-4

Clove: 4

Cinnamon stick: 1

Bay leaf: 1

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Yogurt/curd : 1/2 cup

Chopped coriander and mint leaves: 1 fistful

Salt to taste
Safrron: 1 pinch
Rose water: 1 tbsp (Optional)
Kewra Water: 1 tbsp (Optional)

Preparation:

1. Wash and soak rice in enough water for 30 mins

2. Thinly slice onion, slit green chillies, chop coriander and mint leaves.

3. Soak saffron in 2 tbsp of warm milk or water.

Method:

1. Heat ghee/oil in a thick bottomed wok, add caraway seeds and whole garam masalas - clove, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf. Sauté until the ghee is fragrant.

2. Add thinly sliced onion and fry until onion turns to golden brown and crispy.

3. Now remove 2 tbsp of fried onions and keep it for garnishing. Add ginger garlic paste and green chillies, sauté until the raw smell disappears.

4. Add beaten yogurt, salt, chopped mint and coriander leaves and mix well. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

5. Add soaked rice and fry it for 2-3 minutes. Add 4.5 cups of water (1.5 cups for 1 cup of rice)

6. When it starts boiling cover with the tight lid and cook until the water on top is dried.

7. Open the lid sprinkle 1 tsp of rose water and kewra water and saffron milk  and put the lid back and keep it on low flame for 15 mins and turn of the flame.

8. Allow it to cool for 10 mins, open the lid and mix the rice up slowly without breaking it.

Garnish with fried onions and the rice is ready. You can serve it some spicy gravy of your choice or make biriyani with it. Read on to to know how to make boneless chicken biriyani.

Boneless Chicken Masala for Biriyani:

For Marinade:

Lemon Juice: 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder: 2 tsp
Turmeric: 1/2tsp
Coriander powder: 2 tsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Biriyani powder: 2 tsp
Egg: 1
Corn Flour: 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Boneless chicken cubes: 500 gms

In a large mixing bowl add all the items listed for marinade and mix well. Add boneless chicken pieces and mix. Keep it refrigerated for 2 hours.

For chicken masala:

Ingredients:
Ghee: 5-6 tbsp.
Cashews: 10-12
Onion: 2
Green chillies: 2
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Mint and coriander leaves: 3 tbsp

Yogurt: 1 cup
salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashews until golden brown, remove and keep aside.

2. To the remaining ghee, add sliced onions and fry until golden brown, add ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell disappears.

4. Add slit green chillies, salt, coriander and mint leaves saute for a while.

5. Mix in marinated chicken and fry for 5-6 minutes. Add a cup of beaten yogurt and cook until the chicken is done. It shouldn't be too dry, should be of thick gravy consistency. Add a little water if required.

6. Squeeze in lemon juice and the chicken masala is ready to go!

Serving:
1. In a serving bowl, add the plain biriyani rice and top it up with chicken masala and garnish with fried cashews, fried onions, chopped mint and coriander leaves. Serve hot with yogurt raita.

Notes:
1. Do not over cook the rice, Biriyani rice grains should be separated in a good biriyani :) you can add orange food coloring if you like the rice to be colorful.

2. Adding rose water/Kewra water is optional but recommended as it really brings the biriyani flavor out.

3. You can adjust the chicken masala according to your taste, you can add tomato puree or also can add 2 tbsp cream to make the gravy rich.

Please click here to know how to make biriyani powder.--> Fresh Biriyani Powder in a Jiffy

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Biriyani powder in a jiffy.

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Fresh biriyani powder is the soul of a good biriyani. You can buy ready made biriyani mixes from the market but the freshly ground biriyani powder makes all the difference. It certainly brings that "the biriyani flavor". I make very small batches of this powder so that I have the freshly pound masala everytime I make Biriyani. For 1 kg meat about 3 tbsp of this aromatic biriyani powder would be sufficient. 

It only takes 5 minutes to prepare the powder if you have all the ingredients at home.

Ingredients:
Cloves: 8-10
Black Cardamom - 3-4
Green Cardamom - 8-10
Mace(Javithri/Japathre) - 2
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon Sticks: 3-4
Peppercorn - 8-10
Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek leaves): 1 tbsp

Stone flower (kalpasi/dagad Phool): 1 tbsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder: 2 tsp
Red Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Anardana powder : 1/2 tsp (Optional - it works as a meat tenderizer)

 Method:
1. Put all ingredients except the powders in the blender and grind to coarse mixture, Add in all the powders and mix well. Store in an airtight jar.
2. Do not use more than 3 tbsp for 1 kg Chicken otherwise the garam masala tastes overpowers the biriyani flavor.

If you make a big batch of biriyani powder it's better to dry roast the ingredients before grinding so that it stays fresh for longer.

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The famous Saoji chicken Curry and Jawar Roti from North Karnataka

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Saoji (or Savji) food is a popular delicacy from Maharashtra and North Karnataka region in India. If you have been in these places you would have definitely come across Saoji Khanavali or Saoji hotels that serve jawar roti with spicy, aromatic and very delicious Saoji curries. The most famous one is the Saoji Mutton curry. My husband loves jawar roti with Saoji curry that we get in North karnataka. Making Jawar roti is bit of a task for me, I've failed miserably couple of times. This weekend I tried my luck again and made this delicious saoji chicken curry with jawar roti. To my surprise the roti came out perfectly and I was doing the happy dance :-)

Saoji curry is made with a masala powder prepared with dry red chillies, garam masalas, dry coconut and the special ingredient "jawar flour" (Sorghum/White Millet flour) Coconut and Flour in the masala help to thicken the curry. If you have the masala handy it will take less than 30 minutes to prepare the chicken curry. 

Ingredients:
Chicken 1 kg
Oil: 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Chopped Onion: 2
Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 tbsp
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp
Saoji Masala powder: 3-4 tbsp 

Method: 

1. Heat oil, add cumin seeds and saute for 30 seconds.
2. Add finely chopped onion and saute until it turns into golden brown in color. 
3. Add ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell disappears.
4. Now add in turmeric powder, salt and the saoji masala powder, give a quick stir
5. Add in chicken pieces and mix well. 
6. Add enough water and cook it covered for 20-25 minutes. 
7. Adjust the seasoning and consistency and turn off the flame.
8. Add coriander leaves and freshly squeezed lemon juice. 
9. Serve hot with jawar roti/chapathi or rice with a piece of lemon wedge and onion roundels. 

How to make Saoji Masala:

Ingredients:

Cinnamon: 2 stick
Cardamom: 6-8
Cloves: 6-8
Black pepper corn: 1 tbsp
Black cardamom: 2
Mace: 1 string

Star Anise: 1/2 
Stone Flower (Kalhoovu/Dagad Phool): 1 piece
Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp
Fennel seeds: 1/2 tsp
Sesame Seeds: 1 tsp
Caraway seeds: 1/2 tsp
Red chillies: 8-10
Grated Dry Coconut: 3 tbsp
Jawar Flour (Sorghum/White Millet): 2 tbsp

Method: 

1. Dry roast cinnamon, cardamoms, Clove, Peppercorn, Mace, star anise and stone flower on medium heat for 2 mins. 
2. Add coriander seeds, fennel seeds, sesame seeds and caraway seeds and roast until its fragrant - about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add dry red chillies, coconut and jawar flour and roast for another minutes. make sure you do not burn the flour. 
4. Let it cool and grind to a coarse to fine powder and store in airtight jar. It can be used for 2 weeks at room temperature and about a month if refrigerated.

Making Jawar Roti:

There are only 2 ingredients needed to make this roti. Take a cup of jawar flour in a wide bowl and bring a cup of water to boil. Add half of the water to the flour and mix with a spoon. Do not mix with hand as it's very hot and can scald your palm.  Add water little by little and make a thick dough by kneading it well.

Dust the work top (or rolling board) with dry jawar flour. Take a big lemon sized dough and keep it on the dusted worktop and start patting it.Keep rotating the roti while patting. Add more dry flour if it's sticking to the board. 


Pat it and beat it with the help of your palm until a round roti is made. Keep joining the edges that break while patting. 

Lift the roti very carefully and put it on the hot griddle, dip a small muslin cloth in cold water and wipe the surface of roti (apply water all over). When the water dries up on top flip it and cook on the other side. Flip again and press with a dry cloth, it will puff up when you press, this is to ensure its cooked well. Serve hot with the curry.  

 
 

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Paneer do pyaza with capsicum | Cottage Cheese with Onions & Capsicum

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Paneer do pyaza is another Indian curry with rich flavors of cottage cheese, onions and other Indian spices. There is double the quantity of onions used in this gravy, one is sliced/chopped and fried to golden brown that almost melts in the gravy while the other is slightly cooked crunchy onion cubes, hence the name do pyaza (Do is two and Pyaza is Onions).

Paneer has a milky flavor that tastes heavenly when cooked with flavorful Indian masalas. I have added green capsicum for color and peppery taste but it's completely optional. I served this spicy paneer with Garlic Nan, it also goes well with plain roti or chapathi or even as a side dish with flavored rice. Please read on for the recipe.

Ingredients:

Paneer (cottage cheese) : 3 large cups

Sliced medium Onion: 2

Cubed onions: 2-3

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Sliced green chillies: 2

Tomato : 2

Capsicum : 1 (optional)

Turmeric: 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder: 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Salt to taste 

Oil: 2 tbsp

Chopped Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a deep pan and add cumin seeds, when they splutter add thinly sliced onion and sauté it.

2. While the onions are cooking grind chopped tomatoes and 1/4 capsicum in a mixer to a coarse paste and keep aside.

3. When the onions turn golden brown in color, mix in turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell disappears.

4. Add slit green chillies and sauté for a while.

5. Now mix in salt, red chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well. Add a little water if the masala is sticking to the pan.

6. Next add ground tomato paste and cook until the oil separates. Add capsicum pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes. Adjust the consistency by adding a little water.

7. Add crushed kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and mix well. 

8. Mix in cubed onions and paneer and cook for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with your choice of Indian flat bread.

Variations: 

1. For a creamier version add 2 tbsp of fresh cream just before turning it off.

2. Or add 1 tbsp of powdered fried cashew for a thicker gravy.

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Aloo Gosht | Mutton Chops and Potato Stew

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Aloo Gosht or Mutton Chops cooked with potato chunks is a recipe from India/Pakistan region but the recipe I follow is from a Chinese friend. He used to bring all the ingredients home and make this amazing chops with potato when we had home parties. We used to call it as his signature dish although he didn't have much knowledge of Indian spices or the method of cooking :) It's also my husband's favorite so I tried to replicate it with slight variation and it was an instant hit at home. My in laws totally loved it when they visited us. Its kind of become my signature dish too now;-) I make it only when we have guests at home as I don't eat mutton and my husband needs to empty the pot:)

So here is the recipe of Aloo Gosht | Mutton Chops and Potato Stew tried and tasted by my family and friends.

Ingredients:

Mutton chops : 500  gms
Medium size Potato : 3 
Curd : 1 cup
Curry powder: 1.5 tbsp
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves: 1/2 bunch
Curry leaves :4-5 sprigs
Green chillies - 5-6 (adjust to your taste)
Ginger : 1 inche
Garlic :  8-10 cloves
Onion :2 medium
Ghee/clarified butter for cooking: 4 tbsp

Method:
1.  Marinate mutton chops with Salt, curry powder, turmeric powder and yogurt and leave for half an hour.

2. Grind coriander leaves, curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and garlic to a coarse paste and add to the marinated chops and leave it for 3-4 hours.

3. Heat ghee in a deep pan and add chopped garlic and saute for 30 seconds.

4. Add chopped onion and saute until it turns golden brown. 

5. Now add the meat piece by piece. Save the remaining marinade paste.

6. Saute till the meat is tender and the masala paste is almost dried up. It takes abt 30 mins. 

7. Add potato cubes and add the remaining marinade paste. Add 1 cup water and cook without lid for about 10 mins then cover the lid, let it cook in low flame until done. It takes abt 1 hour to cook completely. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with Flavored rice or any Indian Flat bread. 

Curry powder:
You can use any store bought curry powder or make it at home.

Ingredients for curry powder:
Mustard:1/2 tsp
Cumin: 3 tbsp
Coriander seeds: 6 tbsp
Red Chilly : 7-8 (preferably kashmiri/byadagi chillies)
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-5 sprigs
Pepper corn: 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds : few seeds
Bay Leaf: 1
Cinnamon: 2 pieces
Cloves: 4-5
Green Cardamom: 5-6
Garlic: 4-5 cloves 
Dry roast all the ingredients, put it in a blender along with 2 tbsp fried onion and make a slightly coarse powder. Store in an airtight jar. 

Notes:
1. You can replace it with chicken but reduce the cooking time as chicken gets cooked faster. 
2. Add more water if you like to have more gravy/sauce. 

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