Zaiqa

Khushka is Plain Basmati Rice. The word Khushka comes from the term ‘Khushk‘ in Urdu, which means Dry, or Plain. Khushka is also called as Saada Chawal in some households, which means Plain Rice. The rice is lightly salted while boiling and drained. The procedure is very simple, and it is as the name says about it, a plain basic rice which can be had along with any side dish.

Having this Rice while it is warm is so comforting, but if you wish to serve it later and want to prepare it ahead of time, just microwave reheat the cooked rice covered for 1 or 2 minutes adding a few drops of water in a microwave safe bowl. You can store left over rice in a microwave safe bowl for easy reheating in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. It stays good and is as good as fresh when reheated in a microwave just before having it.

Khushka – Basmati Chawal (Plain Basmati Rice)
Serves – 4

Ingredients:

Long grained white rice – 2 cups
Water
Salt – 2 tsp

Hyderabadi Khushka,
served along with a dry chicken curry

Method:

1. Wash the rice well and soak it in 4 cups of cool fresh water for about 10-30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, pour in 5 cups of fresh cool water and add the drained rice and salt. Mix well. Bring it to a boil, then simmer, uncovered until the rice is done. Keep checking if the rice is done, take a few grains from the boiling water and press between your thumb and index finger if the rice is soft, or taste a few grains for softness. Do not overcook the rice and make it mushy.
3. Once the rice is done, close the heat and drain off all the water in a wire mesh strainer in your sink and return the rice back into the saucepan. Working quickly, clean the sides of the pan with a rubber spatula and level the rice properly. Cover with a lid, and leave it for 5 minutes to finish cooking on dum (till a nice steam has been formed). Serve it hot, or you can even have it later.

I am so happy to recieve the Nice Matters Award from the beautiful sisters Zainab and Hameeda, of Arabic Bites.

“Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers that are just nice people , good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!

Thank You Guys! This is my very first award, and I’m delighted to receive it. If I didn’t have to send it to only a few of the selected bloggers, I would have sent this award to each and every blogger in the blogging world, as each one of us are so dedicated to our love of sharing our knowledge across places. HoweverIi had to cut short the list, so, I choose to pass on this Award to Asha, Amna, Lubna, Daagh, Sailaja, Indira, Priya, Jai and Bee, Meena, Nabeela, Rahin, Seena and MJ. Everyone of you all bloggers are deserving for this award and very nice.

Luv,
Mona

Pulao and Qorma is one combination I love. And this particualar combination of Rajma Pulao with Vegetable Qorma is my favourite. Try it once and you will love it.

I had prepared it for dinner yesterday night after having Cabbage Pakodas for iftaar. I will be posting the recipe for the pakodas soon. During this month I haven’t got much time to post. Only two days more, and Ramadhan, the holy month will go away, and we will have to wait for an another year to for this auspicious month to again arrive. Eid, our festival, which we celebrate at the end of Ramadhan might be on this Saturday. On Eid we usually prepare dishes like ‘Nihari‘, ‘Biryani‘, ‘Cholay‘ and ‘Sheer Kurma’, a sweet dish which we muslims especially prepare on Eid of Ramadhan which is called as Eid-Ul-Fitr.

On Eid, we get up early, and the men and women go to mosque and offer the Eid Prayers, some women offer their prayers for Eid at home. We then greet our relatives and spend the day together with our loved ones. We celebrate Eid for the three days after Ramadhan. Back in India, we used to have a grand celebration on Eid, with our all relatives and loved ones visiting and greeting each other, the whole day.

Rajma Pulao – Red Kidney Beans and Rice Casserole

One of my friend had once invited me and she served Rajma Pulao. I had loved it and that day, I decided someday I will try to prepare that dish in my own way. So, yesterday, i was all set and we had Rajma Pulao with Vegetable Kurma, it was one yummy dinner which we enjoyed a lot. It didnt take a lot of time and I was very happy over my own successful experiment of preparing my version of Rajma Pulao.

Rajma Pulao – Red Kidney Beans and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

• Long Grained Basmati Rice – 2 cups
• Salt – 1 tbsp
• Black Peppercorns – 4
• Green cardamom – 2
• Cinnamon – one 2 inch stick
• Cloves – 2
• Onion – 1, large, sliced thin
• Oil – 6 tbsp
• Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Cashewnuts – 2 tbsp
• Green chillies – 2, sliced lengthwise
• Dried Red Chillies – 1
• Shredded/Grated Coconut – 2 tbsp
• Canned Red Kidney Beans – 1 Can

Method:

• Make a bouquet garni with black peppercorns, green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
• Boil five cups of water in a heavy bottomed bowl on stovetop and add the salt and the prepared bouquet garni to it. Once the water is boiling nicely, squeeze and remove the bouquet garni and add the rice and set the gas temp to 8 level.
• After 3-4 minutes, take some grains of rice in a spoon from the boiling water and test them if they are soft enough. Once they are just soft, drain the water and adjust the gas level now to 2, and put the bowl of rice onto the stovetop and cover well.
• Remove the bowl from heat after 2-3 minutes once the steam has nicely formed.
• Meanwhile open and put the red kidney beans in a colander and wash them well in a water bath, taking care that you do not break the beans into pieces.
• Pour 2 tbsp ghee/butter/oil into a pan and add the mustard seeds, sesame seeds, cashewnuts and green chillies and dried red chillies. Let them splutter up a bit. Then add the red kidney beans. Give it a careful stir and add this to the prepared rice.Mix it well with the rice
• Pour 4 tbsp of butter/oil/ghee in a heavy bottom pan and fry the onions till brown and crisp. Remove in a paper towel and garnish the rice with the fried onion and serve hot.

Luv,
Mona

I had always disliked vegetable biryani. My Ammi had to run behind me to make me finish my plate. The other day while I was browsing through this cookbook, I came across this recipe and I am so glad I tried it. This recipe is a keeper and I will definitely be trying it again and again in my kitchen.

Vegetable Dum Biryani –  Rice Cooked With Vegetables and Spices
Source: India’s Vegetarian Cooking
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• Spices for the Rice water:

1. Bay Leaves – 2
2. Fennel Seeds/Saunf – 1 tsp
3. Nutmeg Powder – 1 tsp
4. Cinnamon – 1 small stick
5. Cloves – 5
6. Black peppercorns – 8
7. Green cardamom – 3

• Milk – 4 tbsp
• Saffron strands – 1/2 tsp
• Rose Water – 4 tbsp (optional)
• Green cardamoms – 2
• Butter/Canola Oil – 6 tbsp
• Yellow Onion – 3, medium, thinly sliced
• Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
• Tomato paste – 2 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1 1/4 tsp
• Frozen Mixed Vegetables (Corn, Carrots, Potatoes, French Beans, Lima beans) – 270 gms
• Red capsicum – 1, chopped
• Basmati Rice – 300 gms
• Mint leaves – 1 tbsp
• Cilantro – 1 tbsp
• Slivered Almonds – 3 tbsp

Vegetable Dum Biryani / Tarkari Ka Chawal

Method:

• Preheat Oven to 425 °F /220 °C/Gas Mark 6
• Put the spices meant for the rice water in 600 ml of water. Bring to a boil and turn off heat. Cover the pan and allow the flavours to infuse. This will be our liq. 1.
• Meanwhile crush the two green cardamoms with milk and saffron and rose water and keep aside in a small bowl. This will be our liq. 2.
• In a pan on medium heat, pour 3 tbsp of butter/oil and stir fry the chopped red capsicum. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
• In the same pan and butter/oil fry the onions until brown. Remove half of them and reserve for garnish. Add Ginger garlic paste to the pan and stir fry it along with the remaining onions. Remove from heat and let it cool. Grind the fried Ginger-Garlic and Onion.
• Heat 1 1/2 tbsp butter/oil in a pan and pour the above grinded mixture along with turmeric powder, Garam masala and tomato puree. Season with salt and let it cook for 5-10 minutes.
• Add the frozen mixed vegetables to the tomato and onion mixture in the pan. Also add the stir fried red capsicum. Mix Well and simmer. Let it cook for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.
• Strain the liq. 1 and keep aside. Throw away the spices.
• In a pan add 1 1/2 tbsp of butter/oil and fry the rice over high heat. (Note: Do not wash the rice before hand. Rinsing will wash away the significant amount of surface starch that contributes to the dish.)
• When the rice has become shiny, add half of the liq. 1 and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover for about 6-8 minutes or until the water has evaporated.
• Take an oven proof dish and start the layering process of the Biryani. The top and bottom layers are always the rice in a Biryani. Start by a layer of rice in the bottom of the dish, then add a layer of Vegetable mixture, then a layer of rice, and layer of vegetable mixture, and then the final rice layer. Pour evently the remaining liq.1 and the liq. 2 and the reserved fried onions on the rice layer. Also sprinkle the chopped coriander and mint leaves, and the slivered almonds on it. Seal the dish with tinfoil.
• Cook the biryani for 40 minutes in the oven reducing the heat to 375 °F/190 °C/Gas Mark 5 after 20 minutes. Open the dish/Remove the tinfoil from the dish, just before serving.

Suggested Accompaniments: Tamatar ki Chutney

This goes as my contribution to Sharmi for the event she is holding Jihva for Ingredients JFI and its Rice this month at her place.

Luv,
Mona

My earlier version of Chicken Biryani was the traditional kind, but I learnt this version from my Mother in law and is very light and has lesser calories and gets prepared quite quickly when compared to any other type of Chicken Biryani’s. As this Express Cooking Event calls for a meal to get ready in less than 30 minutes, I have used left over cooked plain rice, you guys can always make it fresh if you do not have left over rice. Its a complete meal with Biryani, a dessert, and a juice, and is filling but light on stomach.

My Version of ‘Instant Light Chicken Biryani‘
Serves – 2

Ingredients:

Canola Oil – 1 tbsp
Chicken Breast – 200 gms, washed, and cut into 2 cms cubes
Salt – to taste
Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Yogurt – 1 tbsp
Tomato paste – 2 tsp (optional)
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Garam Masala – 1 1/2 tsp
Dry roasted Cumin seed/Zeera powder – 1 tsp
Dry Roasted Coriander/Dhaniya seed powder – 1 tsp
Water – 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice – 2 or 3 tbsp ( as you like)
Saffron threads – a pinch, soaked in 1/4 cup warm milk
Cooked Plain White Rice – 3 cups
Crispy Fried Onions – 2 tbsp

Method: ( Target time to prepare the whole meal – 30 minutes )

1. Put a heavy bottom pan on medium heat, and pour oil into it.
2. Add the chicken pieces, salt and red chilli powder, and fry till golden brown on all sides. This takes probably 7 minutes. When the chicken cubes has been browned properly, adjust the heat to medium high add the yogurt, tomato paste (optional) and ginger-garlic paste and the three dry masalas and stir well. This will take about 5 minutes. Now add half cup water and lemon juice. Cover the lid of the pan for 2 minutes until the water dries up.
3. Now arrange the half of the rice in a microwave safe bowl in a layer, add the cooked chicken breast from the pan on top of the rice in a layer, again arrange the remaining rice layer on top. Sprinkle the fried onions on top and pour the milk with saffron threads evenly on top of rice. All this takes about 5 more minutes
5. Cover and microwave for 3 minutes. The Biryani is ready.
6. Serve the Biryani along with and a Juice and Ice Cream for a heartful meal for two ready in about in less than 30 minutes.

Tip: Adding salt to the water in which you cook rice is essential, or else the whole taste of Biryani turns upside down. One tip if you have forgotten to add salt to the water while boiling rice is – stir the required amount of salt in a little quantity of hot water, about half cup or a few tablespoons, and pour this on the biryani evenly. Warm the biryani in microwave and serve immediately.

Luv,
Mona

Tahari is a kind of one dish meal made with mutton pieces+rice, or minced meat+rice and masalas for flavor. In this technique, the meat is cooked in seasonings and masalas and later water is poured in to the gravy in which rice is added and it is all cooked together until the rice is done. For this, one has to learn the perfect ratio of water and rice so that the rice does not end up like an over cooked mushy mess.

Qimah ki Tahari is different than Biryani. In Mutton or Chicken biryani, Mutton or Chicken is layered along with half cooked rice and finished in the oven until the rice completely done; whereas in Tahari, rice is cooked on dum in the gravy containing Minced meat or Mutton pieces.

Qimah ki Tahari, served along with tomato chutney

I like Qimah ki Tahari along with ‘Tomato Chutney’. On our Saturday’s trip to the Niagara Falls, we had Qimah ki Tahari and Tomato chutney for lunch. After a very long drive when we reached there, my hubby was so hungry, we quickly had Tahari and set out to enjoy the beautiful landscapic view of the Falls.

Qimah ki Tahari – Minced Meat with Rice Casserole
Serves: 6-7

Ingredients:

Ground Lamb lean meat – 500 gms
Yellow Onion – 1, large, sliced
Canola Oil – 5 tbsp
Green Chillies – 4, slit in middle
Ginger garlic paste – 1 1/2 tbsp
Tomatoes – 3, finely chopped
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Salt – 2 1/2 tbsp
Garam Masala powder – 1 tsp
Yogurt – 1/2 cup
Green Cardamoms -4
Cinnamon sticks – 2
Caraway seeds/Shah Zeera – 1 tsp
Water – 5 cups
Rice – 3 cups
Cilantro – 3 tbsp, finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice in fresh cool water sufficient enough to remain 5 cms above the level of rice.
2. Wash ground meat along with sliced onions well and drain the water completely in a very fine mesh strainer.
3. In a large saucepan at medium heat, add three tablespoons oil and green chillies, cinnamon stick, cardamom, caraway seeds and ginger garlic paste. Let it splutter and fry. In a minute. Add the drained onions+ground meat and also add red chilli powder, 2 1/2 tsp salt, garam masala powder, tomatoes and stir well and let it cook for 10-15 minutes until you see oil floating on top. Add the yogurt and mix well. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. Add cilantro and mix well.
4. Add the water and let the mixture come to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil well, add rice and mix well. Let it come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover with a lid. Let it cook till very little water remains. Keep checking it every now and then, and give a gently stir everytime. Add a few splashes of water if you feel you need more water for the rice to cook. Once the water is mostly dried up, close the heat, but leave the saucepan on the hot stove so that a nice steam forms. Let the dish rest for 15-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Enjoy this ambrosial one-dish meal along with Dahi ki Chutney or Baghare Baingan or Mirchi Ka Salan or Tomato Chutney.

Luv,
Mona