AMBUR/VANIYAMBADI MUTTON BIRIYANI

HOW TO COOK AMBUR / VANIYAMBADI MUTTON BIRIYANI

INGREDIENTS :

For Lamb Masala:

Spices :

For Rice :

METHOD : 

 For Lamb :

• Soak Dry Chillies in hot water for 10 minutes and then grind it into a fine paste adding very little water.
• Grind Ginger and Garlic separately and keep them aside.
• Heat Oil in a pan, once the oil is hot pour in 1 Tablespoon of Curd into it.
• Wait until it stops spluttering, now add all the ingredients mentioned under 'Spices' and fry them on a medium flame until aromatic.
• Sauté finely chopped Onions until it turns translucent.
• Add in the Garlic Paste and sauté it for about 3-4 minutes until fragrant on a medium flame.
• Then add Ginger paste and sauté it for about 3-4 minutes until the raw flavour goes.
• Once the Ginger and Garlic Pastes are sautéed, follow it with Dry Chilli Paste and fry it for few minutes.
• Add Turmeric Powder and give a quick stir.
• Add finely chopped Tomatoes to the above mix and cook them until they turn soft and oil separates from the mix.
• Add Mutton/Lamb pieces along with a dash of salt, Lemon Juice and 1/4 Cup of Curd and mix well (add few pieces of papaya at this stage, if using).
• Sprinkle a handful of Mint and Coriander Leaves.
• Cook Lamb/Mutton pieces in a pressure cooker for about 5 whistles on a high flame and another 5-6 whistle on a low flame.(Adjust the cooking time to suit the tenderness of the meat).
• Wait until the pressure is totally released.

For Rice:

• Rinse the Rice once or twice, moving your fingers through the rice, wash it until the water runs clear.
• Soak the washed rice for about 20 - 30 minutes.
• Cook the Rice in a Vessel big enough to hold both Rice and Water.
• Boil enough Water in a big Vessel.
• Drain the soaked Rice.
• Carefully add the soaked Rice along with a dash of Salt & Spices into the boiling Water.
• Cook until the Rice is half done. (just a boil would be more than enough)
• Switch off the flame.
• Immediately drain the excess water from the cooked rice.

For Ambur/Vaniyambadi Mutton Biriyani:

• Take a heavy bottomed Vessel big enough to hold both Rice and Mutton.
• Add the 1/2 cooked Lamb/Mutton Masala.
• Top it up with half cooked Rice.
• Sprinkle finely chopped Mint & Coriander Leaves. 
• Pour in the Lemon Juice and give a quick stir.
• Cover the Vessel with a lid.
• Cook on a medium flame for about 5-7 Minutes.
• Now it is time to give the Dhum effect for the Mutton Biriyani.

For a Dhum Effect : 

Over a Griddle : 

• Keep a preheated Chapati griddle below the Biriyani Vessel to give a dhum effect.
• Meanwhile, heat a Chapati griddle in a high flame for few minutes or until the griddle is very hot.
• While lowering the flame to cook Mutton Biriyani, keep this preheated Chapati griddle below the vessel with lamb and rice to give a dhum effect.
• Cook this for about 12-15 minutes, then switch off the flame and leave the Biriyani Vessel on the stove top untouched fr fe minutes.
• Remove the lid and gently mix the cooked Ambur Mutton Biriyani with a long ladle.
• Gently fluff up the Rice and Mutton so that the ingredients are well combined. 
• Care should be taken not to break the rice strands.
• Serve Ambur/Vaniyambadi Mutton Biriyani along with Curd-Onion Raitha or any preferred vegetarian or non-vegetarian side dishes.

Baking in an Oven(for Dhum Effect) : 

• Preheat the oven to 450° F/230°C.
• Cover the Biriyani vessel with an Aluminium foil and keep it in the middle rack of the oven.
• Bake the Ambur Mutton Biriyani for about 30 minutes.
• Gently fluff up the Rice and Mutton so that the ingredients are well combined. 
• Care should be taken not to break the rice strands.
• Serve Ambur/Vaniyambadi Mutton Biriyani along with Curd-Onion Raitha or any preferred vegetarian or non-vegetarian side dishes.

NOTES :

• Well seasoned Basmati / Jeerakasamba Rice plays a vital role in the texture of a Biriyani. 
• Soaking the rice helps in getting a perfectly cooked rice.
• Cook the rice with ample of water until 1/2 done in a big Vessel.
• This helps to yield perfectly cooked Rice.
• Adding Curd to the oil is a technique used by expert cooks to eliminate the impurities from the oil.
• Adjust the amount of Dry Red Chillies to suit your spice level. 
• Grind Garlic, Ginger and Red Chillies separately and sauté them in the same order as Garlic, Ginger and Red Chilli Paste.
• Garlic paste needs to be sauteed a little longer than Ginger paste.
• Adding lemon juice is to avoid rice getting sticky.
• The meat available locally takes a long time to cook.  Adjust your cooking time to suit the tenderness of the meat.
• Mix both Rice and Lamb together and cook in a dhum style for perfectly cooked Biriyani. 
• Cooking in Dhum helps the Mutton Biriyani not to get burnt at the bottom of the vessel.

A QUICK TIP :

• Use Raw Papaya to tenderize the meat.  It acts as a natural 'MEAT TENDERIZER'.
• Raw papaya contains an enzyme called Papain.  The connective tissue in the meat breaks down when it comes in contact with Papain.
• Papaya is one of the preferred tenderizers for red meats (Lamb, Mutton & Beef).
• Use few pieces of raw papaya while cooking red meats.  This will tenderize the meat, making it more soft and succulent, without changing its taste and flavour.
• Yogurt/Curd, Lime Juice, Vinegar, Soda-bi-carbonate, all have softening and tenderizing effects on Red meat.

MANGO KULFI

HOW TO MAKE MANGO KULFI

INGREDIENTS:

For Mango Kulfi:

To Garnish:

METHOD :

• Purée the Mangoes and keep it aside. 
• Dissolve Saffron strands in a few teaspoons of milk and keep them aside.
• Mix Milk Powder in cold milk to make a thick paste, mix well until there are no lumps.
• Add the rest of the Milk to the Milk Powder Paste, along with Condensed Milk, Sugar and mix well.
• Bring this Milk Mix to boil on a very low flame for about 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Scrap the sides in between.
• Add Mawa/Khoya and mix well, preferably using a whisk.
• Leave this on a very low flame, stirring thoroughly.
• Care should be taken not to burn the mix and make sure there are no lumps.
• Add Cardamom Powder, dissolved Saffron and mix well.
• Switch off the flame and allow it to cool.
• Pour in the Mango Purée and mix well until it is well incorporated into the Milk mix.
• Freeze the Mix for about 2–3 hours until half set.
• Remove the mix from the freezer and whip it up in a blender or with an egg beater for a few minutes.
• Pour this into Kulfi moulds.
• Garnish it with slivered nuts.
• Again, freeze it for about 8–10 hours, or until well set.
• Serve chilled.

NOTES :

• If you feel the mix is watery, can add 1 teaspoon of Corn Starch.
• Use a wide, heavy bottomed pot to simmer the Milk Mix.
• The large surface area of the pot will speed up the process.
• While boiling the milk, stir it frequently, otherwise it will tend to burn and will totally spoil the taste of Kulfi.
• Add the Mango Purée once the milk mix is cooled down. 
• Adding Mawa/Khoya is truly optional for Mango Kulfis, I add them to give a rich texture.
• For a soft Kulfi add more sugar, also sugar helps in scalding down the milk mix soon.
• Pour only 3/4 of the level in the mould, while freezing them it tends to expand.

HOW TO REMOVE KULFI FROM THE MOLD:

• Run each mould with the lid on under a tap of running hot water or fill a bowl with hot water, stand the kulfi mould in the bowl for a few seconds. 
• Carefully invert the mould on a serving plate, holding on to the stick.
• Alternatively, can twist the mould between your palms of both of your hands.
• The idea is to make the mould warm so that Kulfis come out clean from the mould.
• Both ideas work best.

KASHMIRI DUM ALOO

HOW TO COOK KASHMIRI DUM ALOO

INGREDIENTS :

For Potatoes :

For the Gravy :

To Garnish :

METHOD :

For Potatoes :

• Pressure cook the Potatoes with salt and enough water for 2 Whistle in high flame and for about 5 minutes or a whistle on a very low flame.
• Switch off the flame and wait for the pressure to release.
• Allow the Potatoes to cool, then peel the skin off.
• Gently poke the Baby potatoes with a fork.
• Heat Oil in a pan, once the oil is hot lower the flame, add Turmeric and Kashmiri Chilli Powder into it.
• Immediately add cooked Potatoes to the spicy Oil and fry them until they turn into golden brown colour.
• Once done, remove the fried potatoes from oil and keep it aside.

For the Gravy :

• Puree the Tomatoes and keep it aside. 
• Grind Cashew nuts with few teaspoons of Water into a paste and keep it aside.
• Add few teaspoons of Oil to the remaining oil used for frying the Potatoes.
• Splutter Fennel seeds in a low flame.
• Saute Ginger-garlic paste until fragrant, add Asafoetida powder and give a quick stir.
• Add finely chopped Onions and saute until onions turn translucent.
• Add Kashmiri Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Garam Masala and fry the spice powders on a low flame until the raw flavour goes.
• Pour in the Tomato Puree and mix well.
• Allow it to cook on a low flame until oil separates from the mix.
• Whisk the curd and pour it into the above gravy and mix well.
• Add fried Baby Potatoes along with Salt, Sugar and Ratanjot infusion.
• Cover and cook on a very low flame for about 5-8 minutes.
• Pour in the Cashew paste and mix well.
• Cook on a very low flame until the Potatoes are well infused with the flavours and until you get the desired consistency. 
• Sprinkle Dry Ginger Powder and mix well.
• Finally, garnish it with Kasuri Methi, Coriander leaves and Spring Onions.
• Serve Kashmiri Dum Aloo with Roti, Naan, Paratha, Chapati, Kulcha, Batura or with steamed Basmati Rice.
• Goes well with Rice Dishes, Biriyanis & Pulaos too.

NOTES :

• Can prepare the dish with normal Potatoes, just cube and cook them as mentioned in the recipe. 
• Alternatively can cook the Potatoes in a Saucepan too.
• Adding Ratanjot infusion is totally optional.
• I have not used a Ratanjot infusion, as I couldn't get the spice here.
• Can use any type of vegetable oil for the recipe. Mustard Oil gives an authentic flavour to the dish.
• Slow cooking enhances the flavour of the dish.
• Kashmiri Chilli Powder helps you get the red hue in the gravy.
• Kashmiri Chilli Powders are less spicy but have a bright red colour.
• If Kashmiri Chilli Powder is not available, use normal Dry Chilli Powder, but adjust the amount to suit your spice level.
• Can use Red food colouring to do the job, if preferred - which I would suggest not to... 
• The true flavour of Dum Aloo comes from the intense flavours of dried ginger powder, fennel and asafoetida. 

OKRA / LADY'S FINGER  STIR FRY

HOW TO COOK OKRA / LADY'S FINGER  STIR FRY

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD :

• Wash and clean the Okra / Lady's finger. Trim off the corners and chop them into small pieces
• Heat Oil in a Pan, splutter Cumin Seeds.
• Immediately add finely chopped Onions and saute until onions turn translucent. 
• Add chopped Okras, Turmeric Powder, Red Chilli Powder, Kitchen King Masala, Salt and a pinch of Sugar and give a quick stir.
• Saute the Okras on a low flame until they are done and the stickiness of the vegetable is totally gone.
• Serve hot with Roti/Rice. 

TIPS & TRICKS: