Mughlai Vegetable Biryani

Vegetable Biryani is a rich and exotic rice dish with spicy vegetables and is a perfect feast for any occasion or a party. Biryani holds a special place in Mughlai food and is known for its aroma and rich taste. Many Mughlai foods are baked in the sealed pots (handi). Tried to find a nice recipe for Mughlai Biryani and finally found one. This is the first attempt of  Mughlai Vegetable Biryani and turned out to be super tasty and not so difficult to make. I adapted this recipe from Here.

For the rice

Ingredients

1cups long grain basmati rice

1 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

Wash and drain the rice. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. When the water boils, add the rice, salt and lemon juice. Stir gently. When the water boils again, reduce heat to low. Simmer the rice, uncovered for about 8 minutes, or till the rice is about 3/4th cooked. 

The grains must be swollen, but they must still be a little chewy. If the rice is crunchy it needs to cook more. If the rice is soft, you have over cooked it.

Drain the rice in colander. Gently wash it in cold water. Let it drain well. Then spread the rice out on a large platter to cool completely.

For the vegetables

Ingredients

½ cup fresh beans, chopped

½ cup green peas

1 cup carrot, chopped into small cubes

1 cup cauliflower cut into small florets (about 12 small florets)

Method

1. Boil plenty of water in a large pan. Add the beans, peas and carrots. Boil for 2 minutes.  Add the cauliflower, and boil 2 more minutes. All the vegetables must be a little crunchy and half cooked.

2. Drain the vegetables well, and wash in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and set aside.  Alternatively, skip using fresh vegetables altogether and use 3 cups of frozen, thawed mixed vegetables instead (no need to boil in water)

For the masala

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cashewnuts

½ tablespoon khus khus (white poppy seeds)

1 tablespoon fresh grated coconut

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 small onions grated (about ½ cup when grated)

½ bay leaf

1 thin piece of cinnamon

4 cloves

2 cardamom pods

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garlic paste

2 medium tomatoes, pureed in a blender

½ cup full fat yogurt

1 teaspoon garam masala

2 teaspoons chili powder

¼ teaspoon cumin powder

For layering

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

½ cup chopped mint leaves

½ teaspoon saffron dissolved in ½ cup warm milk

2 tablespoons ghee

Method

1. Grind the cashew, khus khus and coconut into a smooth paste, using as little water as possible. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add grated onions, and cook on low heat till the onions are brown, about 10 minutes.

3. To the onions, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Crank up the heat to medium and stir for about 1 minute or till fragrant.

4. Add the ginger and garlic pastes. Stir and let it cook for about 30 seconds.
5. Add the coconut, khus khus, cashew paste. Stir another 30 seconds.
6. Add pureed tomatoes and cook for about 4 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.

7. Add yogurt and mix well. Moving the skillet away from the heat when adding yogurt will prevent it from curdling.
8. Return the skillet to the stove. Turn heat to low, and add garam masala, chili powder, and cumin powder. Stir for 1 minute.
9. Now add the reserved vegetables and salt. Cook for 10 minutes or till the vegetables are almost done. Add ½ cup water, and simmer another 3-5 minutes.

0. Taste the gravy and adjust salt if needed. Remember: this gravy will be spicy, but when you add the rice to it later, everything will balance out.
11. Now you are ready to layer the biryani. Take a large baking dish. Lightly oil the inside.
12. Layer everything in this order – half the rice, half the chopped cilantro, half the chopped mint, all the vegetables and gravy, remaining half of the rice, saffron dissolved in milk, remaining half the cilantro and mint. Drizzle the top with ghee.

13. Cover the baking dish and bake in a 350f oven for 15 minutes or till the rice is cooked through but not muchy. Turn the oven off, and let the biryani sit in the hot oven another 10 minutes.
14.If you dont want to bake the biryani in the oven, layer everything as above in a deep saucepan. Cover tightly with a lid, and set it on the stove top. Cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes or till the rice is cooked through but not mushy.I didn't bake biriyani

15 .Heat oil and deep fry the onion strips, a little at a time. Don’t over crowd the oil. When the onion turns light brown, remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. The fried onion will crisp up as it drains.When the biryani is done, top with the fried onions .
Serve biryani hot with raita .Enjoy!

Gobi Musallam and Butter Naan

Gobi Musallam

Mughlai cuisine is a South Asian cuisine, influenced by the imperial kitchens of the Mughal Empire. The cuisine is strongly influenced by Persian as well as Turkic cuisines of Central Asia. Mughals did everything in style and splendor. It represents the cooking style used in Delhi and Punjab. Mughlai cuisine vary from extremely mild to spicy, and is often associated with a famous for the exotic use of spices, dried fruit and nuts  and milk combine to create rich, in fat, carbohydrates and proteins..One of such recipe is Gobi Musallam.

Musallam meaning “whole” .Whole Cauliflower (Gobi) marinated and cooked with a spicy gravy in a typical Mughlai style and a rich creamy dish that is said to a jewel of the Awadh Cuisine.  Gobi Musallam is a delight for the saviours of Indian vegetarian recipes. The Gobi mussallam are easy to prepare and quite eye appealing; delicious and healthy side dish with rice or chapati/puri, you can have them with a gobhi musallam for a meal.So let’s get started with how to make Gobi Musallam.

Ingredients for "Gobi Musallam"

small sized Cauliflowers(whole)- 2

Water-6 cups

Turmeric-1tsp

Red Chilli powder-1 tsp

Green Chillies-2

Ginger, finely chopped-1 tbsp

Garlic, finely chopped-1tbsp

Cumin Seeds-1 tsp

Coriander Seeds-2tsp

Cinnamon, broken-1" piece

Green Cardamoms-4

Cashew nuts -10to 12

Onions, finely sliced-2

Milk-4tbsp

Tomato puree-1 cup

Water-1 cup

Oil- 4 to 5 tbsp

Salt to taste

Fresh Cream

Almonds& Raisins few for Garnishing.

Finely chopped, Coriander Leaves for garnishing

Method of cooking "Gobi Musallam"

1.In a pan roast together cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cardamoms and cashewnuts till they are aromatic.

2.Fry the sliced onions on medium level till brown.Allow to cool.

3.Grind together browned onions, roasted spices, green chillies and chopped ginger-garlic with a little water.

4.In a pan bring to boil the water along with some salt.Place the cleaned cauliflowers in hot water for about 10 minutes.Remove from water, wash well and wipe dry.

5.Heat half the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan till hot.Add the cauliflowers.

6.Cover and cook while stirring occasionally on medium level till the cauliflowers are browned lightly and cooked.Remove fried cauliflowers from the pan and keep aside.

7.Add the remaining oil, heat it till hot and fry the paste on medium level till the oil separates.

8.Add the turmeric powder, hot spice mix, red chili powder and fry for a few seconds.

9.Add the tomato puree, water and sprinkle salt to taste and Mix well.

10.Reduce the flame and add the milk slowly whilst stirring to get a thick gravy.

11.Stuff a little of this gravy in between the cauliflower florets and stems.

12.Add some water to the remaining gravy to get a desired consistency.Pour the gravy into a bowl.

13.Now place the stuffed cauliflowers in the same pan and pour the gravy over it evenly.

14.Cover tightly and keep on low flame for about 5 minutes or till it is heated through fully.

15.Alternatively arrange the cauliflowers topped with gravy on a serving plate and heat through in a preheated oven. 

16.Add some, almonds and raisins Garnish with fresh cream and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with pulav ,Naan ,Roti or with plain Rice..

Butter Naan:(Without Yeast)

Naan is a round flat bread made of maida and cooked in a Tan door or clay oven. You can make naan using pressure cooker or oven or grill or stove top...
Thanks to Raks  of Rak's Kitchen for this recipe Naan (without yeast).

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/maida-2 cups

Warm milk-1/2 cup

Curd /yogurt-1/2 cup

Salt-1tsp

sugar-1/2tsp

Baking pwd-3/4 tsp

Baking soda-3/4 tsp

Butter-4to5 tsp

Method:

1 Sieve flour, baking pwd, baking soda and salt two times. Place the sieved flour on a wide plate.

2.Make a well in the center of the flour and pour sugar, milk, yogurt and slowly combine, to form a soft dough. Cover with damp cloth and let it rest for 2 hrs.

3. After two hrs, knead the dough gently for 2 mts. Dust the working surface with some flour, pinch a large lemon sized dough and roll into a thick roti, slightly elongated in shape. 

4. Wet your fingers with water and run your fingers along one side of the roti.

5 Heat a iron tawa and once its hot, place the naan, wet side down and place a lid and cook for 40-45 secs on high flame. Remove the lid and you will find that the naan bubbles up. 

6.Now cook the other side of the naan over direct heat of the burner using tongs, spreading the naan all over the heat such that brown spots appear. Do this for a few secs only and not too close to the flame.

7. Drizzle some butter over the naan and serve hot with any curry of your choice.

Enjoy!