Egg Biryani

Ingredients:

4 Boiled eggs
1 kg Biryani/ Basmati Rice
1/2 cup biryani masala
Salt to taste
1tsp coriander pwoder
Pinch of turmeric powder
Green chilies(optional)
250 grams Ghee
Oil 2 tbsp
4 chopped onions
2 diced tomatoes
whole spices- 5 black pepper corns, 3 black cardamoms, 2 green cardamoms, 5 cloves, 1 medium size cinnamon stick, 1 bay leave, 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tbsp kashmiri mirch
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Water as required

Preparation Method:

1. Wash and soak the Biryani/basmati rice in water for at least 30 minutes. Then slow cook the rice or cook it in a rice cooker with less water till they are half cooked.

2. Now in a deep frying pan or a handi, heat some oil and add all the whole spices. To it add the chopped onions and cook till translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and diced tomatoes. Cook until you see masala completely cooked. Now to the masala add salt, coriander powder and chili powder and mix well.

3. Now add boiled eggs to the cooked masala and mix well and turn off the heat. Take a big pan layer and start layering your rice and egg masala. Cover the lid and let it cook on slow heat till the rice is cooked completely and the aroma and masala blends well with the rice.

4. Garnish with coriander leaves, lemon and fried onions and serve.

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Karela or Bitter Gourd chips

Ingredients

5 Thinly sliced bitter gourds
4 tbsp Rice flour
1 tbsp Salt
Pinch of turmeric powder
Pinch of chili powder(Optional)
1/2 tbsp Sambhar masala
1 tbsp water
Oil for deep frying

Preparation Method:

1. Take a big bowl, to it add sliced bitter gourds, rice flour, turmeric powder, chili powder, sambhar masala, salt and water and mix well.

2. Now heat oil in a deep frying on medium heat.  Key to perfectly crisp bitter gourd chips it the temperature. So do not fry them on high or low heat.  Start frying the bitter gourd in small batches. Do not over crowd your pan.  Everything has to cook evenly on medium to high flame.

3. Cook until they are golden brown and drain it on kitchen towel. Enjoy as is or goes well with Indian meal as a side dish.

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Pua Recipe from Uttarakhand

Ingredients:

1 cup semolina
1 cup yogurt
1 tbsp Ghee/ clarified butter
3 tbsp sugar
1 banana mash(Optional)
Oil for deep frying

Preparation Method:

1. Take a bowl and mix all the ingredients Semolina, yogurt, ghee, sugar and banana mash together and whisk it well.  Keep it aside for minimum 10-15 minutes for best results or can be cooked instantly as well.

2. Heat oil in a deep frying pan on a medium high flame and once ready, start dropping the batter one by one and fry till golden brown on medium flame.  Pua is ready to be served as an appetizer or snack.

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Gram Flour Stuffed Peppers Or Besan Bharwa Mirchi

Ingredients:

6-10 Banana Peppers or big green peppers
1 cup Gram Flour
1/2 cup Oil
Sal to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp fennel powder
Pinch of cumin seeds
Pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp dry mango powder/Amchur powder

Preparation Method:

1. Wash all the peppers and pat them dry with a cloth.  Now put a slit in the middle of the peppers to remove the seeds.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and asafoetida and saute for a second.  Now add turmeric powder and gram flour and saute until the mixture turns light brown in color.  To it add salt, coriander and fennel powder and saute again for a minute. Finally add Amchur powder and garam masala to till and give it a good mix.  You can turn off the flame and keep it to cool down a bit before you start stuffing your peppers.

3. Now start stuffing all the peppers one by one gently without breaking the peppers in halves.  Try stuffing as much of the filling as you can.  Make sure they don't open up easily while shallow frying them.

4. Heat a pan on a low flame and put some oil to it.  Now place all the stuffed peppers to the pan and cover the lid.  Cook them for about 4-5 minutes on low flame.  After few minutes flip them to the other side so that both the sides are nicely cooked.

5. They are ready to be served as a side dish with any Indian meal.  Goes really well with Parathas or Chapatis.

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