HYDERABADI BIRYANI

Ingredients:

350 gms Basmati Rice
200 gms Potatoes
200 gms Carrots
100 gms Onions
4 Green Chilies
30 gms Ginger
20 gms Garlic
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 cup Curd
1 tsp Saffron
2 tbsp Milk
1/3 cup Mint ( Pudina leaves )
1/3 cup Coriander Leaves
4 tsp Rose Water
50 gms Cashewnuts
50 gms Almonds
25 gms Raisins
120 gms Ghee
Salt To taste

Seviyan Ka Meetha – Vermicelli Dessert

Ingredients:

Ghee – 1/2 tsp
Canola oil – 3 tbsp
Dry fruits and Nuts – any, your choice; I added: almonds, pistachios, raisins – about 1/3 cup
Fine Vermicelli/Seviyan – 200 gms
Milk – 2 cups
Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Granulated Sugar – 1 cup (add more 1/4 cup if you have a sweet tooth)

Method:

1. Gently crush the seviyan into pieces about 2 inch long (that is not too fine) with your hands while still in the packaging.

2. In a wide saucepan at medium heat add ghee+oil and and as soon as it warm, add the dry fruits and nuts. Fry them all together for a minute and remove into a cup. Keep aside.

3. In the remaining oil+ghee, add the crushed seviyan and roast in the oil while stirring continously until the seviyan are a chestnut color. Now add the milk and cardamom powder and let it cook for 2-4 minutes. As the seviyan absorb the milk, add the sugar. Once sugar melts, add the fried dry fruits and nuts and mix the seviyan gently. Cook for 2-4 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature. Once cool, chill in the refrigerator. Serve.

Kheer (Rice Pudding)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup rice
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup sugar (adjust to taste)
• 6 strands of saffron
• Pinch of crushed cardamom
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon sliced pistachios
• 1 teaspoon butter

Method:

1. Use a non-stick frying pan to make kheer.
2. Wash rice, changing water until the water appears clear.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan on medium heat.
4. Add the rice and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add the milk, cook until the rice is tender and the milk is creamy and reduced to about half. Stir often to ensure the milk does not burn in the bottom of the pan.
6. Add the sugar, saffron, cardamom, almonds and pistachios and let simmer for a few more minutes.
7. Turn off the heat.
8. As kheer cools of will become thicker in texture.
9. Kheer can be served chilled or warm.

Variation:

1. Saffron, almonds and pistachios are optional in this recipe.
2. Instead of rice, make the kheer using only almonds and pistachios and flavor with cardamom and saffron.
3. Rice can be replaced with Vermicelli.

Tips:

If you will be serving chilled add 1 teaspoon of extra sugar

Khubani-ka-Meetha

Ingredients for Hyderabadi Khubani ka Meetha

• Dried brown apricots, (250g)
• Sugar, at least 8 to 10 tbsp or as per taste
• Sweet vanilla custard, 1/2 litre tub
• Double cream, 1/2 cup (with 1 tsp sugar)
• Whole almonds, 1/2 cup

Recipe for Hyderabadi Khubani ka Meetha

1. Place the dried apricots in a medium-sized bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for three to five hours or overnight and retain the excess water.
2. De-seed the apricots and place in a saucepan with the excess water. Add more water if need be; the apricots should be under at least an inch of water.
3. Turn on the heat and stir occassionally until the mixture comes to a boil; now reduce the heat to low and cook the apricots until they are pulpy tender. Taste the mixture; it should be quite sweet. If not, add more sugar.
4. Cook the apricot mixture until the liquid has reduced to a thick glossy brown syrup. Coarsely crush the softened apricots with a spoon, remove from heat and keep aside to cool completely.
5. Separately, soak the whole almonds in very hot water for about 15 minutes. Rinse the almonds with very cold tap water and pop the almonds out of their brown jackets. Slice the white seeds lengthwise into delicate julienne and keep aside.
6. In a bowl, add 1 tsp sugar to the double cream and whip until it takes on a slightly thicker consistency, but is not at all firm.
7. Assemble the Hyderabadi Khubani ka Meetha: In a large serving bowl, spoon in the sweet cold custard. Cover the custard with a layer of the sweet apricot mixture. Now cover this with the sweetened whipped double cream and garnish generously with julienned almonds.

Enjoy this intoxicatingly delicious Khubani ka Meetha after dinner for an exotic Indian experience. But stay mum on the recipe!

Note - Never throw away the apricot seeds. Crack the seeds with a stone or rolling pin to reveal a delightful little almond inside. You can garish the Khubani ka Meetha with this delicious seed as well. Bon apetit!

Double-ka-Meetha

Ingredients:

White bread - 6 slices
Milk -1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Water -1/4cup (for sugar syrup)
Heavy Cream - 1/2 cup
Butter/Ghee - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Peacons - 2 tbsp
Cardamom -1/4 tsp

Preparation:

1. Roast the bread slices (edges cut off if desired) in butter until they turn brown on both sides. Arrange them in a baking pan or any flat pan.
2. Mix sugar and water in a sauce pan. Heat and make sugar syrup out of it.
3. Boil milk with cardamom powder for few minutes. Keep aside.
4. Now, roast the raisins and peacons in butter and sprinkle over the bread slices.
5. Then pour sugar syrup, heavy cream and milk evenly over bread slices.
6. Serve it chilled or hot... Its just irresistible until the last morsel...:))

Haleem

                                            
Ingredients:

• 200 gm Wheat (washed and soaked for 2 hrs) • 300 gm Boneless Mutton • 100 gms Cooking oil • 3 Onions (sliced) • 2 Lime • 2 tsp Garam Masala • Salt to taste For paste: • 20 gm Fresh Green Chillies • 2 inch piece Ginger • 6-8 flakes Garlic

How to make Haleem:

• Clean and marinate mutton with half of ground paste of ginger, garlic, green chillies and salt for 1 hour. • Pressure cook the soaked wheat and marinated meat for about 45 minutes. • Mince and grind to a fine paste. • In a Pan heat oil, add the finely sliced onions, fry till brown, add the garam masala. • Add the ground paste and keep stirring on slow flame, till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. • Serve hot, with lime wedges

Pathar-ka-Ghosht

This is my first entry to the The Hyderabadi Ramadan Food Festival that Mona is hosting on her blog.

Ingredients for Patthar Ka Gosht:

1. Mutton(gosht) 1kilo
2. Cashwenuts(kaju) 1/2cup
3. Khas khas 2Tbspns(i used badam)
4. Milk 1/2 liter
5. Green chillies paste 2-3Tspns
6. Red chilli powder 2-3Tspns
7. Whole garam masala 2each
8. Whole Black pepper 1Tspn(crushed a bit)
9. Shazeera 1Tspn
10. Garama masala powder 1Tspn
11. Ginger-Garlic paste 3Tbspns
12. Desi Ghee 4Tbspns
13. Salt to taste.
14. Granite stone (slab)with charcoals for cooking
15. Patthar ka phool(optional) 1
16. Coriander leaves 1bunch
17. Mint leaves 1/2 bunch.

Method:

1. This dish is made on a hot stone...so goes the name patthar ka gosht.Its a traditional recipe which is usually made rarely but believe me its very easy to make.
2. Firstly heat a granide stone with charcoals underneath.you can also make it a cooker or vessel if u dont have the stone.
3. Now heat oil together with desi ghee and add shazeera,whole garam masalas.
4. Add ginger-garlic paste,greenchilli paste,kaju-khaskhas(or)badam paste,garam masala powder and whole black pepper(crushed a bit),pattar ka phool & salt.
5. Add the mutton pieces and fry for 5-6 minutes.
6. Add coriander and mint leaves and again fry for sometime.
7. Add about half a liter of milk and pressure cook(for 10mins)/or cook on ur stone.
8. Cover the lid and cook on low flame till the mutton becomes tender for approximately 1hour.
9. Finally garnish this dish with coriander leaves.