Kitchen Tantra

Vellore Mutton Biriyani:

Vellore Jodhi Hotel Style Biriyani.

As I told you earlier....tho' the regional speciality Biriyani is booming these days. Few are never forgotten for their taste and uniqueness. Sure there are many places which follow the same thumb rule for years(for centuries actually). Like the one Vellore Jodhi...which is in swing for more than 100 years. These places do not maintain a name board, nor they advertise their hotel. The only publicity comes from word of mouth. Since they were out there for centuries....they maintain it in the same country style....without any modern equipments. The name survives for their trade mark!

Well...as I had already shared with you 'Arcot Star Biriyani', Vellore Vella Biriyani, 'Amboor Kushka ' Ahmadhiya Biriyani' and even 'Vaniyambai Biriyani'. This goes in the same collection. I am using my speciality 'Seeraga Samba rice' again. Since I don't get any Meat(Goat's Meat)here at Oxford, I did this when I visited my India home. So....go crazy dear you'all!

Ingredients:

For Meat Marination:

Goat's Meat (Bone-in, Fat-on) 1/4 kilo
Ginger-garlic paste 1 spoon(freshly prepared)
Green chili 2 minced
Scallion 1 grated
Country Tomato 1 grated
Mint 6-8 leaves bruised
Cilantro leaves bruised few
Lemon 1 fruit freshly squeezed
Rock Salt
Chili Powder 1/4 spoon
Yogurts 1/4 cup.

For Biriyani:

Short Grained Rice 2 cups
Green chilies 6 slitted
Onions 2 sliced
Tomatoes 6 chopped
Salt
Chili powder (optional...its not used generally)
Mint 10 leaves
Cilantro few leaves
Ghee 1 cup.

Spices:

Cloves 3
Cinnamon 2 sticks
Cardamom 6 crushed
Bay leaves 3 crumbled
Star anise 2
Marati Mokku 3
Rose petal few(dried)
Birinji flower 1
Saffron few strands - tapped

Method:

In a wide crock pot, heat ghee. Throw in all the spices. Let them crackle up.

Then add chilies, wait till it splutters and turns white.

Followed by onions...fry real good till golden. Maybe add salt o hasten your process.

Now tomatoes....cover and cook. When tomatoes turn pulpy, add chili powder.

Stir-in marinated meat. Cover and cook till meat is tender. It takes really...........long time!

When the meat is tender and oil shows up on top, make sure there is no extra moisture. Then stir-in rice.

Let the rice get well fried for brief period. Then measure your water and add the same.

Cover and cook in a least possible heat. I always slow cook under sim, the no-1 knob here. Again it takes 1- 11/2 on stove top. Well one could set these in oven over 350 degrees for 3 whole hours. Choice is yours!

Enjoy with accompany of Vellore Serva, Spanish Onion raita and Hard boiled egg!

Labels: Main Dish - Rice

Vellore Mullu Kathirikkai Serwa:

Vellore Jodhi Hotel Style Serwa. Egg-plants Serva. Brinjal Serva. Indian Egg-plants Curry. Baingan ka Salan. Baingan to go with Biriyani.

As there are sure 100s of varieties of Egg-plants here....yet one could never match one's own ethnic, regional variety!( I think more than the shapes, color, genus, the taste comes from happiness and associated incidents. As we grow older....we try to catch up our memories on old mommy's recipes, granny's recipe....the recipe we tasted first time....all with some nice thoughts. One could never give the same taste even if I fix it 100 times with lots of improvisation.

However....I made this dish to go with my Vellore Biriyani, as a side entry. Its again regional dish. Yeah....I used particular variety of egg-plants for this. Yet it comes under the same species 'Solanum melogena'. One need to look close into the veggies for a right pick. Yep...these eggplants are thorny on their stalk(peduncle). It worth's a new spices tho'....anyways, let go on with the recipe!

Ingredients:

To Grate:

Ginger 1" size
Garlic 2-4 beads
Scallions 2
Country toamtoes 1/2 kilo

To Powder:

Fenugreek Seeds 1 spoon
Cumin Seeds 1 spoon

For Tempering:

Peppercorns 1/4 spoon
Cumin 1/4 spoon
Fenugreek 1/4 spoon
Curry leaves few
Sesame oil

For Serwa:

Indian Eggplants - 1/4 kilo sliced legthwise along with stalk
Green chilies 3 slitted
Scallion 1 sliced
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Sesame oil few spoons

Method:

In a iron wok, heat up oil. Add tempering spices, followed by chilies and onions. Fry real good till onions turn golden. Add salt to hastent he process.

Now add grated ingredients and fry till raw odour leaves the pan.

Followed by sliced eggplants. Fry till they coat up oil on all the sides.

Toss turmeric and chili powders too. Cover and cook till the veggies is tender and oil shows up on sides.

Then add powdered spices and bring to one boil, remove from heat. Enjoy with Biriyani.

Labels: Brinjal/ Egg-Plant

Karumbu Chaaru Pongal:

Kanne Ki Chaawal. Karumbu Saaru Pongal. Sugar Cane Pongal.

This is once again my friend Kranthi's Mother's recipe. She made this on a Pongal(Sankranthi)day. Sure...it got into my mind, as it tasted much like fresh cane. I liked the idea about fresh cane juice in cooking rather then using crude jaggery or anything. It brings up all the flavour and earthy-ness. Wow....its a harvest festival and let us use all the fresh produce(raw rice, fresh cane.....)what not!

Ingredients:

Raw-Half broken rice 1/2 cup
Split moong dal 1/4 cup (pasi paruppu/pesaru pappu)
Sugar Cane juice (freshly squeezed 2 cups)
Cardamon seeds powder 1-2 spoons
Pachai Karpooram/raw camphor 1-2 pinches(optional)
Ghee/clarified butter 1+1 cup
Cashewnuts 1/2 cup (halved)
Dry grapes/raisins/kismiss - 1/2 cup
.
Method:

Wash rice and dal seperately....for several times. Maybe till the water runs clear. Then soak them togather for 20 minutes.

In a pressure cooker, add few spoons of ghee. Add 2 cups of cane sugar juice and bring this to boil.

Now add soaked rice and dal to this boiling cane sugar water.(discard the soaked water) Pressure cook them over medium heat till they are soft or for 3 whistles.

Then using a wooden laddle mix the well-cooked rice and dal.It should come to 'Pongal' consistency. Add raw camphor to this now and remove from stove.

In a seperate pan, heat ghee. Fry halved cashewnuts till they are golden-reddish color. Set them aside.

In the same ghee, fry dry grapes...till they pop and bulge.

To the above pongal...add fried cashewnuts, fried grapes and 1 cup of ghee. Stir them well.

Serve warm as a main-sweet dish or dessert. Or serve chilled as dessert.

Labels: Main Dish - Rice, Sweets

Boondhi:

This recipe turns up as a fix only when the laadu/laddu preparation is wrecked. Yeah...one need to press this laddu, while it is warm with greesed hands. Where I am not efficient enough. So I just toss this boondi in the jeera! Tho' its a escape recipe, it makes a pretty good one!

Ingredients:

Bengal gram flour 2 cups
Baking soda 1/4 spoon
Baking salt 1/4 spoon
Vanaspati/dalda/vegetable oil 1 spoon
Salt 1 pinch
Oil for deep frying
Sugar 2 cups
Saffron few strands
Cadamon powder 1/4 spoon
Cashew nuts to garnish
Slotted Spoon for mking boondi.

Method:

In a small bowl, bring baking salt and baking soda. To this add vanaspathi/dalda. Mix them well, until the salts dissolves and comes frothy.

Mix bengal gram to it. Mix them evenly. Then add warm water to it. Make a thin batter....it should be really in runny consistency without any lumps.

Now heat up the oil. Maybe in medium to high heat.

Take a slotted spoon.(a slotted wooden/steal spoon) each pore in the spoon should be with 'wheat size' pore. (if you run the batter over it....it should produce 'small rain drop size Boondhis')

Now holding the slotted spoon, right above the oil. Slowly, in a small table spoon, take your batter and run over the slotted spoon. And slightly shake the slotted spoon.....while you are running the batter! So that the batter will be drizzled in oil as rain drops. At the same time, do not load the oil. Fry little boondhis at a time.

Reserve each batch in kitchen tissues.

In a separate vessel, heat sugar with limited water. Add saffron and cardamom. Make a strong syrup.

Now toss the above made boondhis in the syrup. Let them sit for a brief perid sucking all the moisture up.

Garnish with cashewnuts.

Labels: Sweets

Tandoor Roti:

When we were in Vellore, during school and early college days....Pari (my brother )used to report all about the restaurant specialities! So slowly we adapted the culture of eating out. Generally Daddy takes us out on Saturday night. Before he plans for that....the whole weak, myself and my mom ask Pari to buy us outside food. Like he gets me Biriyani from Jothi, Rotis from Punjabi Dhaba and Sweets from Calcutta Corner.

We liked this roti from the Punjabi Place at CMC highroad, it was run by my school mates Father. Tho' there were so many punjabi dhaba everywhere....we liked it better there, as we knew they started with small dhaba and raised to 3 star level Restaurant. Its not only because of their location, their unique restaurant secret recipe for Panir Curry, Veg Kheema Curry....! I will share with you much like their curry dish, in future.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour 1 cup
Salt
Sugar
Yeast 1 spoon
Luke warm water
Ghee few spoons
Tandoor Oven(charcoal based)
Ghee for smearing over the roti.

Method:

In a wide bowl, bring luke warm water, salt, sugar and yeast. Leave it for 10-20 minutes. Let them come to frothy condition.

Now stir-in flour and slowly start kneading. After making dough...cover the vessel with damn cloth. Let this sit for really long time(7 hours) Make sure you leave enough room in the vessel...as you know they raise to 3 folds.

Now bring this raising dough and make equal parts out of it. Do not press after this. Take a ping pong ball size dough and pat them to disc shape. Do not press very hard. Let the knead one...be still thick. This will make good roti.

Repeat the same for the remaining dough too.

Pre-heat the oven already...when its is red hot. Throw in these roti...maybe thread to a skewer or something.

Let it come to nice burnt flavour...remove from heat. Smear ghee over it. Fold and place in a hot box. Better use a cloth to wrap these rotis until serving. Folding the rotis and wrapping them in cloth...makes the roti stay soft and tender for hours.

Serve with Paneer Gravy or Veg Koftha Curry. Enjoy with the accompany of raw onions, chilies and lemon wedge.

Labels: Indian Bread

Sundaikkai Sambar:

Sundakkai is called 'Turkey Berry' in English and its Botanical Name is 'Solanum torvam'. The cooked berry is used as a Vermifuge. The seeds and its skin acts as a roughage to stomach.

Turkey berry is an erect spiny shrub that is also known by prickley solanum, shoo-shoo bush, devil’s fig, wild egg plant, susumba, boo, terongan, tekokak, berenjena cimarrona, berenjena de gallina, berenjena silvestre, tabacón, pendejera, tomatillo, bâtard balengène, zamorette, friega-platos, pea eggplant, makhua phuang....(Source - Wikipedia)

This is my Mommy's recipe. She really makes this in a unique way....we could neither call this sambar/kuzhambu. Kind of in between these two! She says....if you do this like any other regular sambar...the veggie will be really bitter. Maybe she is right! And Mommy also uses mann-chatti(earthern pot to grind)these beriies. Maybe it also contributes in some way to that unique taste.

My brother loves this recipe! When myself and my brother met at India....nearly after 2 and half years. I prepared this dish for him. Mommy was like...how come I figured the method and ingredients....without asking her at any point. I consider myself thats a great compliment!

Ingredients:

Turkey berries few bunch
Green chilies 6 finely chopped
Garlic 2 whole heads peeled & semi crushed
Onions 2 finely chopped
Tomatoes 2 chopped
Thoor dal 2 fistful
Tamarind paste 1/2 spoon
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 spoon
Curry leaves few spoons
Oil few spoons.

Method:

Remove the stalk from the berries and wash them. Set aside.

In a wide vessel, boil 2 cups of water. Add salt and pinch of turemric to it. Now add berries, cover and cook for about 7-10 minutes. Or until the berries are tender.

Now remove them from heat and coarsely grind them in earthern pot(if you have one)or use wooden masher....and mash them gently. So that the berries release their fine seeds. Set aside.

Pressure cook thoor dal till tender.

Now heat a skillet. Add few spoons of oil. Start adding chilies, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Fry real good...until fragrant.

Add salt, turmeric, chili powders to it. Followed by ground berry and thoor dal.

Bring this to boil and finaly add tamarind and continue cooking over medium heat for few more minutes.

In a seperate pan, heat oil. Crackle up the seasonning spices and run this over the sambar made.

Labels: Brinjal/ Egg-Plant, Sambar

Spanish Onion Chutney:

Ingredients:

Purple Onions 4 small chopped roughly
Garlic 2-4 beads
Dry red chilies 4
Salt
Tamarind paste 1/4 spoon
Oil few spoons.

For Tempering:

Mustard seeds 1/4 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Chana dal 1/4 spoon
Urad dal 1/4 spoon
Aafoetida 1/4 spoon
Curry leaves few
Oil few spoons.

Method:

Heat oil, in a pan, toss all the ingredients together and fry for a brief period. Then wet-grind them to chutney.

In a seperate pan, heat up oil. Cracle up tempering items and run them over the chutney prepared. Enjoy with Dosa or Idly.

Labels: Thuvaiyal/Chutney