Tuna Biryani

What I love to do on a Sunday morning is to go the fish market. There is wholesale market for fish near our locality. Everyone must visit that place once to know how many different kinds of fish you can get especially to eat. I have even taken my 5 year old son once to get the feel of the market. And must say he was zapped with the sight and the rush but at the same time cranky due to the smell. But the bargains what you get with every deal would definitely wipe your pains..... Really you can buy a month stock without draining your pocket..

My favorites are Prawn, Seer Fish( Surmai), Black Pomfret( Halva) and Bombil(Bombay Duck). But this time I tried experimenting with TUNA fish…… I actually got one fresh from the market.  I am making Biryani out of it. Tuna fish is a very healthy fish with lots of Omega 3 which has been shown to be a stress reliever. Omega 3 keep stress hormones under control while also regulating adrenaline and tuna fishes are loaded with them. It is also a great source of protein too. Nevertheless it’s time to cook……

 

Ingredients – Rice:

Basmati Rice - 2 ¼ cup

Water -- 1 ½ measure of rice.

Lemon -- 1 medium

Cloves -- 3 - 4

Cardamom -- 1 - 2

Cinnamon -- 1 medium piece

Bay leaves -- 2 leaves

Star Anise- 3-4  

Ghee -- 3 tbsp

Salt -- 1 tbsp (Check the taste though)

Milk- 2 tsp

Saffron – 1 pinch 

Ingredients – For garnishing & layering:

Onions -- 1

Garam Masala -- 1 tsp

Coriander leaves -- A bunch

Ingredients – Marinade 

Fish -- ½ kg (4 -5 pieces of Tuna Fish )

Turmeric powder -- ½ tsp

Red Chilly powder -- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Lime Juice -- ½ of a lemon

Salt -- to taste

Oil -- To fry  

Ingredients – Gravy:

Finely Chopped Onions -- 2 – 3 medium sized

Green chillies -- 3 – 4

Garlic -- 8-10 cloves – medium sized

Ginger -- 1 inch piece

Tomato -- 1 – 2 medium sized

Chili powder—1tsp

Turmeric powder -- ½ tsp

Coriander powder -- 1½ tsp
Garam Masala -- 1 tsp

Pepper -- 1 tsp

Yogrut – 1 cup

Coriander leaves -- A bunch (around 10 – 12 stem)

Oil -- 2 tbsp

Salt -- to taste  

Preparation of Gravy: 

Wash and clean the fish pieces and marinate with the marinade mentioned above. Keep it aside for half an hour. Shallow fry the fish in a pan ,

Grind green chillies, garlic and ginger to a fine paste. Keep them aside. 

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Saute the sliced onions in oil until they become translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilly paste.

Add chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder and fry for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and let it cook until it the masala leaves leaves the oil in the pan. Add yogurt to the it  and mix well.  Let it boil. 

Add the fried fish once the gravy starts boiling. Let it boil for few minutes. Make sure you have just enough gravy for the biriyani. Lastely season the gravy with salt and  add the chopped coriander leaves  for garnish 

Keep the gravy aside till we prepare the rice 

Preparation of Rice: 

Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in. Drain and keep aside. 

Add 2 tbsp of ghee to a large vessel. Add cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves  cardamom  and star anise and fry for a minute. Add the drained rice and fry for 5 - 10 minutes. Meanwhile, keep the water on another stove and let it boil. Add rice along with the spices to the boiling water and add salt to season it .  

Once the rice starts boiling, add the lemon juice. Cook the rice till it is done .  

Empty the rice into another vessel, preferably other flat vessel and let it cool. 

Mix the biriyani:

Spread 1 tbsp of ghee in a big vessel . Layer the first part with some rice.

 Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves and garam masala powder  over the rice.

Then add a layer of fish and gravy. Repeat the layering till you are done with the gravy and the rice. There should be alternate layer of rice and gravy and finish the layers by garnishing on the top with coriander leaves

Mix 2 tsp of milk and a pinch of saffron and add to the rice and gravy layered. 

Cover this tightly and keep on low flame for 25 minutes.  

Serve hot with crispy pappad and achar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Thai Green Curry Chicken recipe is made of  chunks of tender chicken simmered in a homemade green curry sauce along with healthy vegetables (zucchini and red bell pepper). The result is a gourmet-style Thai green curry that is very aromatic and beautiful to serve. I have used the ingredients which is available in our local market to create the same magic and one can relish this tasty dish at home

 

Ingredients:  Serves 2 to 3

GREEN CURRY PASTE:

·         4 small green chilies,

·         1/4 onion, diced

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 thumb-size piece ginger, grated

·         1 stalk fresh minced lemongrass

·         1/2 tsp. ground coriander

·         1/2 tsp. ground cumin

·         1 (loose) cup fresh coriander leaves and stems, chopped

·         1/2 tsp. ground pepper

·         3 Tbsp. soya sauce

·         1 tsp. sugar

·         Basil leaves (some for garnish)

·         2 Tbsp. lime juice

CURRY INGREDIENTS:

·         250 gms boneless chicken thigh or breast, cut into chunks

·         1 can coconut milk

·         4 lime or 1 tsp. grated lime zest

·         1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks

·         1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise several times, then cut into chunks

·         1 bunch of spring onion

·         Generous handful fresh basil

·         2 Tbsp Olive oil

Preparation:

1.     Blend all the "green curry paste" ingredients together to a fine paste.  If necessary, add a few Tbsp. of the coconut milk to help blend ingredients. Set aside.

2.    Prepare the lime leaves by tearing the leaf away from either side of the stem. Discard the central stem. Then, using scissors, cut leaves into thin strips. Set aside.

3.    Heat the pan and add the green curry paste .Stir-fry briefly to release the fragrance.

4.    Add the chicken, stirring to incorporate. Cook the chicken in the paste till the chicken is coated with the curry paste .Then add 3/4 of the coconut milk and cook the curry.

5.      When the curry sauce comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium or medium-low, until you get a nice simmer.

6.    Cover and allow to simmer 3-5 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally.

7.    Add the red bell pepper zucchini and spring onions, plus the strips of lime leaf (or lime zest), stirring well to incorporate. Simmer another 2-3 minutes, or until vegetables are softened but still firm and colorful.

8.    Add salt to taste and soya sauce to balance the taste. If required squeeze lime to get a little tangy taste to your curry. Garnish the curry with the fresh basil leaves

9.    Serve this curry hot and enjoy with Rice

 

Chicken and Veg Momos with Special Chutney

This was the first time that I have tried making MOMOs at home. As we just love relishing these momos at restaurants I thought why not try at home . I had invited few of my hubby’s friends for dinner so I thought why not surprise them with mouthwatering MOMO’s. I just love to make them the way I love to eat them.

 

Let’s start with the Ingredients ( makes 10-12)

For the outer covering:

Maida    :3/4 cup

Water    :As needed

Salt        : ¾ tea spoon

Oil         : 2 tsp

Baking Powder: ¾ tea spoon

 

For Stuffing

Veg Stuffing:

Paneer: 1 cup

Cabbage: 1 cup(finely grated)

Carrot: 1 cup( finely grated)

Spring Onions: 3 pcs

Ginger: 1 tsp

Garlic: 1 tsp

Soya Sauce : 2 tsp

Salt  : to taste

 

Chicken Stuffing:

Chicken Breasts: 250 gms

Spring Onion: 2-3 pcs

Ginger : 1 tsp

Garlic: 1 tsp

Soya Sauce: 2 tsp

Salt  : to taste

 Method:

1.     Mix flour, salt ,baking powder and oil in a bowl and add water to make a smooth pliable dough. Just like our poori dough. Keep aside covered to rest.

2.    For Veg stuffing. Finely chop all the vegetables along with ginger and garlic. Add paneer and mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Season it with Salt

3.    For Chicken Stuffing: Blend ginger garlic and green chillies and chicken to semi paste. Add finely chopped spring onion and soya sauce to the mixture. Mix well and season it with salt.

4.    Roll the dough into a big disc and used a big lid to cut into smaller discs. Keep some stuffing we prepared in the middle. For Veg fold the edges as we do it for Modak and for chicken as we do for karangi. It’s so simple. We have been making these stuff every year for Diwali. Now we are doing it with a twist.

5.    Steam it in a steamer spaced properly, for 5-10 minutes.

6.    Serve hot with the chutney
 

For Chutney

Ingredients

Celery: 2-3 leaves

Onion: 1 small size

Dry chilies: 2-4 (more for extra spice)

Ginger : 1 piece

Garlic: 3-4 cloves

Lemon Juice:  1 lemon

Oil: 2 tsp

Salt : to taste

 Method

Heat oil in the pan. Saute Onions ginger and garlic for about 2- 3 minutes. Add dry chilies and sauté further. Add celery and cook for another 2 mins.  Remove the mixture from the flame and allow it to cool down. Blend the mixture into coarse paste and add salt and  lemon juice. Serve with steaming momos

For steaming you can also use pressure cooker. The very similar way as you use for making doklas. And always serve hot. The best way to steam is by using Steamer and  steam the momos again and again before serving. It will be really soft and white in colour whenever you steam.

Please try this at home and provide me your feedback and suggestions