Kashmiri Pulao (Kashmir)

Naturally, the name says where from the cuisine is originated. Yet, my first experience with Kashmiri Pulao was in Bhubaneswar, and I fall in love with the cuisine on my first try itself. By the way, if you imagine spicy cuisine from Kashmiri Pulao, you are wrong; this one is one sweet main course that India is hosting.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice 2 cups

Sugar 8 teaspoons

Saffron 2 teaspoons

Apple 2 cups (chopped)

Pomegranate 1 cup (seeds)

Almonds ¼ cup (sliced)

 Cashews ½ cup (split)

Raisins ½ cup

Carrots 1cup

Green peas 1 cup

Corn ¾ cup

Rose water 2 tablespoons

Ghee 4 tablespoons

Salt to taste

Method §  Wash and drain rice; cook drained rice using required water with saffron, ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste), 4 teaspoon sugar and keep aside. §  Boil water in a bowl and cook all vegetables until tender; keep them aside. §  Heat 2 tablespoon ghee in a frying pan, and fry almonds, cashew nuts, and raisins; keep aside. §  Mix boiled rice, remaining ghee, remaining sugar, fresh fruits, fried dry fruits, and vegetables. Serve warm with Raita.

Awadhi Biryani (North India)

Another variety of Biryani popular in India is Awadhi Biryani. Famous in Lucknow in India, this dish has roots from Persian families. Comparing to other forms of Biryanis, this one has a slightly different taste, and of course the procedure. Usually prepared with Chicken, you can try preparing the dish with Mutton or with vegetables.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice 2 cups

Chicken pieces 2 cups

Curd 1 cup

Onion 2 (sliced)

Garlic 2 teaspoons (paste)

Ginger 2 teaspoons (paste)

Green chili 2 teaspoons (paste)

Mint leaves 8 to 10

Corriender leaves 10 to 12

Lemon 1 small (juice)

Cumin powder 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds ½ teaspoon (powdered)

Nutmeg powder ½ teaspoon

Cardamom 1 teaspoon (seeds)

Cinnamon 3 to 4 (small sticks)

Cloves 3 to 4

Garam Masala 1 tablespoon

Chili powder 2 teaspoons

Pepper corns 4 to 6

Saffron 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Vegetable oil as required

Method §  Wash chicken pieces and marinate them with a paste of lemon juice, cumin powder, fenugreek powder, coriander powder, chili powder, and salt for 30 minutes. §  Boil water in a bowl with salt to your taste; add washed – drained rice and cook in high flame for 4 minutes; §   Remove half of the rice, rinse in cold water, drain, and keep aside; Cook the remaining rice for another 2 minutes, rinse in cold water, drain, and keep separately. §  Heat a frying pan with some vegetable oil and fry marinated chicken for 3 to 4 minutes and keep aside. §  In the same frying pan fry onions to golden yellow; add garam masala, ginger-garlic paste, green chili paste, mint leaves, coriander leaves and salt to taste; sauté for 1 minute in low flame; add fried chicken pieces and curd and cook well to a thick gravy. §  Now like Kerala Biryani, spread a layer of cooked chicken with gravy, then a layer of less cooked rice then another layer of cooked chicken with gravy, then a layer of more cooked rice, and finally a layer of remaining ingredients in a handi and bake for 30 to 40 minutes after closing the handi tight. §  Once cooked mix well and serve with Raita, and pudina chutney. §  Serving with thick curd is also a common practice.

Chicken Biryani (Kerala)

Biryani is one cuisine that most of the people love throughout Kerala to be served in parties or events. Although Biryani is a dish prepared in other parts of India, they all have differences in preparations and taste.

Ingredients

Chicken 1 kg (big pieces)

Basmati Rice 1 kg

Onions 2 large (sliced)

Tomato 2 large (chopped)

Cashew nuts ¼ cup (split)

Raisins ¼ cup

Curd 1 cup

Lemon 1 (juice)

Coriander leaves 8 to 10

Mint leaves 6 to 8

Curry leaves 2 sprigs

Cloves 2

Green cardamom 2

Cinnamon stick 3 to 4

Nutmeg powder ½ teaspoon

Cumin powder ½ teaspoon

Fennel seed powder ½ teaspoon

Star Aniseeds 2 to 3

Vazhana leaves 2

Rose water 2 tablespoon

Saffron 1 pinch

Boiled eggs 2

Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon

Chili powder 1 teaspoon

Green chili paste 1½ teaspoons

Ginger paste ¾ teaspoon

Garlic paste ¾ teaspoon

Poppy seed paste ¾ teaspoon

Salt to taste

Ghee as required

Method §  Wash and soak rice for an hour; drain water and keep aside. §  Marinate chicken pieces in a paste of turmeric powder, chili powder, and salt for 30 to 40 minutes in refrigerator; §  Boil rice in a cooking bowl with water at 1:2 ratio (1 cup rice - 2 cups of water); you may also add some salt. §  Heat some ghee in a frying pan and fry half of onions, cashew nuts, and raisins separately and keep them aside. In the same ghee or add a little more ghee to it and fry chicken pieces for some time; keep it aside. §  Add more ghee to the frying pan; add remaining onions and sauté until translucent; add tomatoes, salt, green chili paste, garlic paste, ginger paste, and poppy seed paste and sauté for 3 minutes; stir in curd and lemon juice and cook until ghee separates. §  Mix fried chicken pieces to the gravy, cover and cook for 5 minutes; add mint leaves, coriander leaves, curry leaves, cumin powder, nutmeg powder, and fennel seed powder to the gravy and cook in medium flame until all water is absorbed and chicken is done. §  In a handi (a vessel normally used for making Biryani), spread a layer of chicken along with its thick gravy; on that spread a layer of half-cooked rice; on that sprinkle some fried onions, cashew nuts, raisin, saffron, cloves, cardamom, star aniseeds, cinnamon sticks, and vazhana leaves; then another layer of rice and repeat the layering until all rice, cooked chicken, and other ingredients are done; seal the vessel with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes; mix well with rose water and add boiled eggs. §  Serve hot with pappads, onion salad, and pickle.

Kichuri (Bengal)

A monsoon special of Bengal, Kichuri is a famous dish throughout India as Khichdi, Pongal, Kedgeree, or Khichra. A cuisine made from rice, pulses, and vegetables, Kichuri has very many variations by itself. Being one of the easiest main courses to prepare, we used to prepare Kichuri on most of our lazy days in Somalia.

Ingredients

Rice 2 cups

Roasted Mung daal

Cauliflower 1 (medium size)

Green peas ½ cup

Potatoes 2 (medium size)

Shallots 2 tablespoons (chopped)

Green chilies 4 -5 (slit)

Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon

Cumin powder 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder ½ teaspoon

Ginger paste 1 teaspoon

Ghee 2 tablespoons

Onion 1 (sliced)

Bay leaves 2 to 4

Cinnamon sticks (small) 4

Green cardamoms 2

Cloves 4

Water as required

Salt to taste

Method §  Wash and soak rice and roasted mung daal for 30 minutes. Govinda Bhog Chaal is the best option among rice to use. If not, you can substitute it with any thin polished rice. §  Bring water to boil in a deep pan; Add rice and daal to the boiling water; Let the rice be half cooked. §  Prepare a paste of salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder; §  Mix the masala paste to the half cooked rice and continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes; §  Add green peas, cauliflower, potatoes, shallots, and green chilies to the rice mixture and continue cooking until the vegetables are cooked well; once cooked keep aside. §  Heat a frying pan with ghee and sauté red chilies, cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves; add sliced onions and fry till golden brown. §  Mix the fried ingredients to the cooked rice/daal mixture and stir well. For the preparation of Pongal (a Tamilnadu version of Kichuri) you can add grated coconut to the above recipe. A slight variation to Pongal and Kichuri is Kedgeree. Kedgeree is believed to be a variation of Kichuri adopted by British colonials. A rough explanation of Kedgeree is the addition of boiled boneless fish flakes to the traditional Kichuri. However, Kedgeree is in existence from early 13th century. If so, what about Kichuri? Kichuri, Pongal, or Kedgeree the dish is best served with fried pappads.

Aval Velayichathu (Kerala)

Aval Velayichathu is normally prepared onetime and served for many days by preserving in an airtight container. It can either be considered as a morning breakfast or evening teatime snack. There is also a simpler version of this cuisine which cannot be preserved, which is commonly known as Aval Nanachathu. However, our concentration is on Aval Velayichathu.

Ingredients

Rice flakes (from red rice) 1 kg

Grated coconuts 8 to 9 cups

Jaggery 1½ kg

Powdered Cardamom 3 teaspoons

Cumin Seeds 3 teaspoons

Dried Ginger Powder 1½ teaspoons

Ghee – 2 tablespoon

Water as required

Method §  Heat a nonstick pan and lightly roast cumin seeds and keep aside; in the same frying pan roast rice flakes to crisp and keep aside. §  In the same pan add grated coconuts and fry on low flame; keep stirring until it turns light brown; keep aside. §  In a saucepan boil water and jaggery; let jaggery dissolve and remove impurities; further boil the solution to a thick syrup. §  Remove jaggery syrup to a large vessel, add grated coconuts and stir well to mix. §  Add roasted rice flakes, roasted cumin seeds, ginger powder, and cardamom powder to jaggery syrup and stir well to mix. §  Pour ghee over the mixture and mix once again. Serve with bananas.

Madakku San (Kerala)

Madakku San is an easy to make breakfast. And in some regions of Kerala it is known Mutta Kuzhalappam. There was a time when I almost hated this breakfast due to repeated serving by my mother. It was during my schooldays and the dish was easy to prepare while packing my lunch on one side.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour 1½ cups

Milk 2 cups

Egg 1

Sugar 3 tablespoons

Salt a pinch

Grated coconut 1 cup

Vegetable oil for greasing

Cardamom powder ½ teaspoon

Method §  Beat egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, milk, and salt; Mix with all-purpose flour to a loose batter and keep aside. §  Mix remaining sugar with grated coconut and cardamom powder for filling. §  Heat a greased frying pan; pour a full ladle of batter and spread circular to a thin layer. Cook both sides to brownish yellow; §  Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling in the middle of cooked bread and fold from both sides to a roll. Serve hot with bananas or plantains. If you do not want to use milk for preparing your Madakku San, you may try with water.

Thayir Vadai (South India)

Thayir Vadai or Thayir Vada or Dahi Vada is a South Indian origin, but today it is famous throughout India. This delicious cuisine can be treated either as a breakfast item or as any time snacks. We tried to prepare this item when some of our colleagues decided to visit us during on Eid holidays in Somalia.

Ingredients

Urad daal 1 cup

Onion 1 (chopped)

Green chilies 3

Ginger 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Curry leaves a few

Coriander leaves a few

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Curd 2 cups

Grated carrot 1 tablespoon

Bhoondi 1 tablespoon

Method §  Soak urad daal for 2 to 3 hours and grind it along with onion, green chilies, 3 to 4 coriander leaves, some curry leaves, ginger, and salt. Add water while grinding only to get a soft and fluffy batter. §  Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Keep a bowl of water to dip your fingers in between. Take a lemon sized ball of batter with your hand and roll it to round shape. Make a hole in the middle using your finger and drop to the boiling oil. Fry the remaining batter after dipping your fingers in water. §  Fry vadas until they turn light brown. Once golden brown, remove them to a bowl of lukewarm water; after 30 seconds of soaking take them out to serving plate after pressing gently between your fingers to ooze out excess water. §  Beat curd with salt to a smooth paste (adding some pepper powder is good to have your dish spicy). Pour it over the fried vadas. Serve cool after garnishing with grated carrot, coriander leaves, and Bhoondi.