Kofta Pulao

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This is another form of Biryani whick is hugely popular in Hyderabad. Its my personal favorite too along with so many other delicacies in Mughlai Cuisine.

This is also my first ever entry to any event and I'm sending it to RCI: Authentic Hyderabadi Cuisine at Mona's blog Zaiqa. It also happened to be my older son's birthday and I thought what better way to celebrate it than with this fabulous pulao. It certainly bought a smile on his face :)


Ingredients:
4 tbs oil for frying onions

Marinate Mix
2 cups yogurt
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 turmeric powder
2 tbs ginger garlic
3 onions
32-35 kofte/meatballs
1 green chilli, slit


Note: I deliberately kept the spices in the yogurt to a minimum because the meatballs in itself are very spicy and once all of it is cooked, its gonna taste awesome.

For Boiling Rice
6 cups basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 30 min's
5 tsp salt
Garam masala (6 cardamom, 2 sticks cinnamon, 4 whole black peppers, 4 cloves, 2 tsp shahzeera and 2 bay leaves)

For Garnish
a few strands of saffron soaked in milk
3 tbs lemon juice
4 tbs ghee
1 whole bunch or more of cilantro


Method:
Heat oil and thinly slice the onions and fry them until golden brown, freeze them for a while and crush them lightly before garnishing.

In the remaining oil, add the marinate mix and cook till oil seperates, add the meatballs just long enough for them absorb the spices. Let it cool.

Boil rice and add the salt and garam masala...till half done. Strain the rice in the collander and oil a baking dish liberally with 2 tsp oil.

Spread the rice and top it with the cooked meatballs, ghee, lemon juice, saffron soaked in milk, fried onions and cilantro. Add the second layer of rice and top it with any leftover garnish.

Preheat the oven to 350*F and bake for about 1/2 hour. Serve with Tamate ki Chutney or Mirchi ka Salan, like I did and enjoy!

Note: I dug up the draft for Mirchi Ka Salan and blogged it recently, follow the link if you are looking for the recipe ;)

Karahi Lamb

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The recipe combines cardamoms and cinnamon with apricots giving a sweet and succelent flavor to the tempering which adds an irresistable touch to the recipe. The list of ingredients can however sound a bit overwhelming but that's the beauty of this gravy.


Ingredients:
1 lb boneless lamb
3/4 cup yogurt
1 tbs tomato puree (I used a 5.5 fl oz can of V8 vegetable juice instead)
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp black cumin seeds
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tbs ghee or butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamoms
5 dried apricots, quartered
Cilantro to garnish

Method:
In a bowl blend V8, yogurt, garam masala, black cumin seeds, salt, ginger garlic paste and chilli powder.

Trim excess fat from the lamb and cut into bite sized pieces and add it in the above mixture and let it marinate for an hour.

Heat oil in a wok and fry onions till crisp and golden brown. Remove and freeze it for a while, crush it and return to the pan.

Add the marinated lamb and stir fry for 2 min's. Cover the pan and cook the meat stirring occasionally. This would be a good time to add water, cook till the lamb is tender.

Heat ghee or butter and add cardamom and cinnamon , stir in the apricots and fry over low flame for 2 min's.

Pour this sauce over the lamb, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately with rice.

Qeema

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The secret to an excellent Qeema, as I recently found out :P was to have lots of onions...this not only makes the dish tasty but also makes it juicy.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground lamb
2 tbs oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
4 cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp black cumin seeds (shahzeera)
4 cloves
4 whole black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 green chilli
Cilantro for garnish

Method:
Heat oil and add onions, as they begin to slightly brown add ginger garlic paste and stir in salt, turmeric and the rest of the spices except red chilli powder.

Add it when the onions have totally gone brown, immediately add the qeema and stir briskly.

Immediately add water and shut the lid, cook until the qeema is tender.

Slice a green chilli and add cilantro for garnish. Cook further till oil starts to seperate.

QEEMA WITH POTATOES AND PEAS:



Similarly you can try a number of other variations like qeema with qasoori methi, potatoes, peas or with tomatoes. Here I have added both potatoes and peas before serving.