Id ka Dawat : Mutton Biriyani

Mutton Biriyani & Rezala

Name one festival that you can celebrate without it’s special food. Be it Id, Durga Puja or Christmas. Id celebration is incomplete without Biriyani and Mutton Rezala. Durga Puja without ‘bhog’ and Christmas without Cakes.

Mutton Biriyani recipe:

To Serve: 5 Persons

For marinade:

3 Onions

1 Ginger

5 gm mace and 2 Nutmegs

200 gm Curd

Sugar and salt to taste

Make a paste of all the above in blender.

5 to 6 Mutton pieces

Mix the above well with Mutton pieces and marinate overnight. At least 6 hrs. minimum.

More ingredients:

1. 2 Onions: Sliced in thin stripes. Fry till the onions turn into brown. Keep ready.

2. 500 gm: Basmati Rice. Soak the rice in water for 15 min. Then cook the rice. Then spread it on a plate and keep aside.

3. 2 Potatoes: Cut in half. Slightly boiled. Then fry it and keep aside.

4. Add saffron and 3 drops of sweet attor in half cup warm milk. Keep ready.

5. One table spoon Kewra water

6. 3 to 4 table spoon Ghee

Process:

Take out the Mutton pieces from the marinade and fry till brown. Then pressure cook the meat till the mutton is soft.In a handi, smear ghee at the bottom. Take half of the cooked rice and spread as a layer. Then  sprinkle half of the saffron and milk solution.

In the second layer place the fried mutton pieces, sliced onions and potatoes. In the final layer add remaining rice. Lastly sprinkle rest of the saffron and milk solution and one table spoon Kewra water.

Pour 1 table spoon ghee on the entire rice bed. 

Cover the Handi. Seal the lid with something heavy on Handi top so that the steam cannot escape. 

Place the handi on oven and simmer it for 5 to 7 minutes. Mutton Biriyani is ready.

Mutton Biriyani

Id ka Dawat : Mutton Rezala

For marinade:
3 Onions
2" Ginger
1 Garlic
5 gm mace and 2 Nutmegs

200 gm Curd

2 tea spoon black pepper powder
Sugar and salt to taste

Make a paste of all the above in blender.

 5 to 6 Mutton pieces

Mix the above well with Mutton pieces and marinate overnight. At least 6 hrs. minimum.

More ingredients:

1. 2 Onions: Sliced in thin stripes.
2. 1 Garlic : in paste form
3. 2" Ginger : in paste form
4. Add saffron and 3 drops of sweet attor in half cup warm milk. Keep ready.
5. Make paste of 200 gm curd, and 20 gm cashew nut
6. one table spoon Kewra water
7. 2 table spoon Ghee or white oil

For tempering:

1.Two red dry chillies,
2. One Bay leaf
3. Three cinamon sticks
4. Five cloves
5. Five small green cardamom
6. Two big black cardamom
7. 10 whole black pepper

Process:

Heat white oil / Ghee on a Kadai and add all spices for tempering. Then add sliced onion, garlic & ginger paste and fry slightly.Add mutton pieces, stir till he raw ness disappear. Meat will release some water. Then add the marinade mixture and stir for 5 minutes. Then transfer everything in a pressure cooker and add 1 tea spoon of keora water. When the mutton is cooked properly, add the nut and curd paste and stir. Adjust the seasoning and gravy. Remove from oven.

Add milk saffron and sweet attar and cover.

Mutton Rezala

Chilli Chicken (Mom-in-law’s way)

This is one of the many things I have learnt from my Mom-in-law….

Ingredients :

600 gm Chicken (cut in small pieces)

3 Onions

1 Capsicum (optional)

5 Green Chillies

2 Tomatoes

1 tea spoon Kashmiri red Chilli Powder

Ingredients for marinade:

2 Table spoon Corn-flour powder

5 Table spoon Vinegar

3 Table spoon Soya sauce

1 Egg

2 Table spoon Garlic paste  

Salt & Sugar to taste

Process:

Marinate the chicken pieces for 6 hours. Then heat white oil in a Tawa and fry the Chicken pieces. Next fry the chopped Onions, Capsicum (optional), Green Chillies and Tomatoes. When vegetables become tender and brown in colour, add the fried Chicken pieces and fry together for 2 minutes. Pour the marinade gravy onto the mixture. Mix everything. Check & add sugar/salt according to your taste. Now sprinkle Kashmiri Chilli Powder on top & cover. When the chicken is cooked, uncover and adjust the level of gravy as per own wish.  

Chilli Chicken

Posto bora (Poppy seed Fritters)

Days when we have Posto bora (or Vada) & rice in lunch everything else in the menu seem like extra. May be we actually don’t need too many things to be happy.    

Process:

Shallow fry sliced onions and green chillies in white oil. Next add powdered Poppy seeds and water. Add salt and sugar to taste. Then keep stirring till water dries up completely. Let it cool down. Lastly make small round shaped balls and pan fry them on a flat tawa. Done!  

  

Ingredients :

Powdered Poppy Seed: 50 g

2 Onions : chopped in thin slices

4 Green Chillies : chopped crosswise

Salt & Sugar to taste

Water in a small bowl

2 table spoon White oil to fry

Posto bora (Poppy seed Fritters)

Crispy fried bitter-gourd : bitter love or love for bitterness ?

This is a very common starter item in Bengali lunch menu. Just cut fine stripes of bitter-gourd. Sprinkle turmeric powder and salt according to taste. Then stir fry till the colour turns brown. I love to fry it till black. Isn’t it easy ?

So that is all about my bitter love or love for bitterness …. J

Fried Bitter Gourd

Sukto

I cook 'Sukto' when I am in my rare golden mood for cooking an elaborate and authentic Bengali lunch. Below is how:

Ingredients :

2 big Potatoes

3 or 4 medium size Sweet Potatoes

5 Drum Sticks

7 or 8 small sized Bitter Gourds

2 medium sized Brinjal/ Egg Plants

2 Green bananas 

1 Green Papaya

½ bowl Milk 

10 Bori

1 table spoon Ginger paste

1 table spoon Mustard paste

1 table spoon Ghee

1 table spoon Panch phoron

2 Dried red chillies 

Sugar & salt to taste

Mustard oil

1 table spoon Turmeric powder

2 bay leaves

Sukto

Procedure:

Cut Bitter Gourd into very thin pieces. Then sprinkle salt & Turmeric powder and mix with it. Keep aside. Cut all other vegetables in medium pieces. Then stir fry other vegetables & bori separately, one type at a time. Then put all vegetables (except Sweet Potato, Drum Stick, Brinjal & Bitter Gourd) in a Pressure cooker with water, turmeric powder & salt. Allow two whistles. 

Heat mustard oil in a Kadai. Add dried red chillies, bay leaves and panch phoron. When the spices start to splutter add the boiled vegetables from pressure cooker along with the stock. Also add rest of the fried vegetables (except Bitter Gourd) and bori in the Kadai. 

Adjust the salt & sugar per taste. Add water per your requirement of gravy. Cover the kadai and cook for 10 minutes in low heat. Check if all the vegetables (specially which you added later) are cooked. When all the vegetables are cooked add the ginger paste. Simmer it for 2 minutes.Then spread the crispy fried Bitter Gourds on top. Again cover & simmer for 2 minutes then turn off the oven.Mix mustard paste and milk in a bowl. When the 'Sukto' is cooled a little bit add this mixture of milk & mustard paste while stirring. Never add milk straight into the hot 'Sukto' because then the milk may disintegrate & spoil the entire dish. Finally sprinkle ghee on top to add a nice aroma.  

Quilled Greeting Cards

Sometime it is best to quill names on Greeting cards ….because one's own name is the sweetest sound to him/her...

Quilled Greeting Card