Everyone who knows me know that I am a social junkie. I love all sorts of social media and use it to keep abreast of family, friend and happenings around the world. Being my birth country, I have always been interested in what is happening in india. In the midst of all the bull shit, it is heartening to note the work done by the youth of india in working towards making the country a better place! I follow a lot of groups on Facebook and some of them like The Logical Indian, The Better India and Teach for India are inspiring to say the least. With half of india’s population under 25, it is great to see the youth moving in the right direction. Follow them on Facebook to feel inspired!
Clean eating is motivating me to cook. Take away not being an option any more, I have dusted my cookbooks and looking for recipes to make variety of meals. Breakfast yesterday was piping hot idlis. They are steamed pancakes made of fermented rice and lentil batter and is one of the tastiest and healthiest breakfast choices available. It is had with coconut chutney, sambhar or just by itself. I love it with coriander chutney. I made a big batch yesterday so that I can relish them a few days. Check out the picture!
Avi was craving for some chicken for dinner but I did not want to have the usual chicken curry. So I decided on cooking biryani. Biryani is a rice and meat dish cooked in various parts of india and each region has its own flavours and way to cook. I take inspiration from many but modify it to suit my family’s taste. Biryani is made from a lot of masalas and I have started using the shortcut and buying biryani masala. Try Laziza biryani masala.They are the best and give a distinctive flavour to the biryani. The picture and the recipe is below. Bear in mind that this biryani is hot. Use half the masala packet if you want it less spicy.
Ingredients
- 500 g Chicken thigh fillet, chopped in bite size pieces
- 3 Cloves Garlic chopped
- 4 Green Chilies slit vertically into half (adjust to taste)
- 4 Whole Onion (Chopped)
- 4 Tomato (Chopped)
- 1/2 Cup Yoghurt – beaten
- 1 Packet Laziza biryani masala
- 1 tsp Dry Mint powder
- 1 Finely Chopped Coriander (optional)
- 2 Cups Basmati rice – soaked for 30 minutes
- 2 Tbsp Oil
Directions
- Take a deep pan and heat oil in it.
- When the oil is hot, add green chillies and chopped garlic. Sauté for a few minutes till garlic turns light brown.
- Add chopped onion and sauté till the onions are translucent.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes and keep frying till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
- Add the beaten yoghurt, mint, coriander, laziza biryani masala and stir for 1-2 minutes till the oil separates.
- Now add the chopped chicken pieces. Stir well till the chicken pieces are coated with all the spices. Lower the flame and let the chicken cook in its own juices till it is tender. Chicken leaves water, so don’t add any water unless required.
- Once the chicken is cooked and tender, add the soaked basmati rice with its water. Rice should be soaked in 1:2 ratio with water.
- Let the rice cook with the chicken on a low flame for 15-20 minutes till all the water evaporates.
- Garnish with fried onion (optional)
- Have a piping hot biryani with coriander chutney and raita.
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