Stove top Chicken Biryani

Hyderabadi Dum ka Biryani is the only kind of dish my Big B would call Biryani. He would probably put me in a corner for calling the dish I made "Biryani". But when you are short of time and are craving yummy food, anything goes.

And anything close to a "Biryani" on a week night after a long day's work and home cooked f is "the best" no matter what you call it. So call what you may...I present
Stove top Chicken Biryani (Stove top One pot chicken and rice dish )

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts or better yet chicken tenderloins cut at a biase, into 3/4 inch slices 1-2 inches long  
2. 1/2 teaspoon each or salt, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala powder, cumin
3. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste
4. 2 tablespoons oil
5. 1 medium large onion sliced thin
6. 1 bay leaf
7. 2 cups (Measure uncooked) Basmati rice cooked according to package directions. Cooked with 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1/4 cup warm milk + pinch saffron (optional)
9. few mint leaves

Marinate the chicken with the spices and set aside.

In a wide pan heat the oil and add the bay leaf and cumin and fry for a minute. On medium high flame fry the onions till 90% of them turn brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the chicken and fry for 10-12 minutes until they start turning golden brown. Add the cooked rice , topped with saffron soaked in warm milk if using, garnish with mint and cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, on very low flame.

Garnish with 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice and coriander with available on hand.

Enjoy with Gravy for Biryani
More recipes...
Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani
Shrimp Biryani 
Egg Biryani
Fish Biryani

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Chicken with Celery and Almonds

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts  cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2. 2 tablespoons corn starch
3. 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced diagonally
4. 1/2 medium white onion sliced
5. 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, white vinegar
6. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, grated garlic
7. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8. 1/2 teaspoon numbing peppers (optional)
9. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10. 1/4 cup roasted salted almonds (optional)
11. 3 scallions, thinly sliced white and green, separated

Marinade the chicken with salt, pepper, corn starch and ginger for atleast 30 minu.tes
Mix the soy sauce and white vinegar in a medium bowl, set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet. Add the chicken and fry for 8-10 minutes until done. Drain and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, the celery and onions. Fry for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot and add the soysauce and vinegar and mix well.
Give it a taste taste and adjust the salt and add the almonds and scallions and serve immediately. Enjoy

Chicken Stir fry Indian Style

I love making stir fries which are quick and easy and have some meet and a ton of vegetables in it. When I started searching for the recipes all I could find are Chinese...ofcourse Stir Fry is all Chinese I know (roll eyes)

   but but but...I like stir fry and I do not always want to eat Chinese.

So I made my own...Chicken stir fry with Indian spices and boy oh boy it was yummy

Chicken Stir fry Indian Style

Chicken Stir Fry with Indian spices

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken cut into 1 inch cubes but only 1/4 inch thick.
2. 1 tablespoon each of coriander powder, 
3. 1 teaspoon cumin powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
5. 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
6. 1 teaspoon dried mango powder (optional) (substitute fresh squeezed lemon juice)
7. 2 tablespoons oil
8. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
9. Your choice of vegetables (I used mushrooms cut into thick slices, onions, bell pepper) (Can also include Zucchini and Squash

Marinate the chicken with salt, chilli powder and ginger garlic paste and lemon juice for 30 mins.

In a pan heat 1/2 the oil and add the mushroom and fry on high for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and fry for 5-10 minutes. Drain.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and add the chicken and fry for 10 minutes until its cooked through. Add the vegetables back and add the spices and add salt according to taste.

Garnish with hand full of cilantro and enjoy with white or brown rice

Chicken Shawarma

Shawarma is one of my favorite dishes. The first time I had it, I had no idea what it was great. This chicken shawarma recipe is su super easy and great to eat

Chicken Shawarma (Chicken roasted in spices and pan seared)

Chicken Shawarma

Ingredients:

1. 2 chicken breasts
2. 1 tablespoon olive oil
3. 1 teaspoon each of cumin, paprika, garam masala, finely chopped garlic
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, cayenne , black pepper and salt
5. 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and marinate for atleast 1 hr.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook for 20 minutes. Let cool.

Cut the pieces into 1 ch thick, long pieces. 

Heat a pan and spray with cooking spray. Fry the chicken pieces until they get a nice crust. Add some sliced onions if you like. Serve with pita bread, hummus and Tatziki

Methi dal with Chilli Chicken

Dinner time...as usual I was searching for something different to make for dinner. I have made chilli chicken before but it was the wet variety. Today I made it dry and I made methi dal...and it was sooo delicious. My kids ate it without complaining. but I took crappy pictures (one of them, you can see here) so I am not posting it today

Methi Dal (Split peas with Fenugreek leaves)
Ingredients:

1. 1 cup yellow or green split peas/pigeon peas
2. 2 cups fresh fenugreek leaves stripped from the stems
3. 1 big or 2 small cloves of garlic
4. 1/2 tablespoon oil
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, asafoetida, salt, chilli powder and turmeric
6. 1 small lemon sized tamarind (optional)
7. few dried red chillies
8. few curry leaves

In a pressure cooker, cook the split peas and methi leaves for 4-5 whistles with 2 cups of water and turmeric. Let the steam escape. Soak the tamarind in 3 cups of water and add that water to the dal. If not using tamarind, just add water, salt, chilli powder and boil for 10 minutes. In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin, mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves till they splutter. Add asafoetida and stir and add the tempering to the dal and boil for couple of more minutes. garnish with chopped cilantro if desired and serve with white rice.

Note: If serving with roti , just add 1 cup instead of 3 cups of water after the dal is cooked

Chilli chicken (Indo chinese spicy sour chicken)

Chilli Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 2 chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
2. Oil for shallow frying
3. 1 medium onion cubed
4. 1 bell pepper (any color you like) cubed
5. 1 tablespoon oil
6. 1/2 tablespoon each of soy sauce, white vinegar, sambal chilli paste
7. 2 garlic pods chopped
8. 4-6 green chillies sliced
9. 
   

For marinate:

1. 3/4 teaspoon salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, ginger garlic paste, onion powder, garlic powder
2. 1 egg beaten
3. 1 heaped teaspoon corn starch, all purpose flour

marinate the chicken with ingredients in "1" for 2-4 hours. Add corn starch and all purpose and mix well. Add egg and mix well and set aside for 30 more minutes.

Heat oil in a pan for shallow frying (or if you like...deep frying) and fry the chicken till they turn golden brown. Drain and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and fry the onions for 3-4 minutes. Add slit chillies, bell pepper and garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Add chicken stir well. Reduce the heat add soy sauce, vinegar and chilli paste and mix well. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. garnish with cilantro and green onions and serve

Chinese Chicken with Mushroom

The place we moved to, from Los Angeles has very less choices for Chinese Restaurants and and whatever are there their version of Chinese tastes different from what me and my family are used to. Unbelievable how ethnic food tastes get modified to the tastes of the local population.

Anyway, I wanted to make chicken with chinese flavors and the only vegetable I had on hand was mushrooms. And I made the chicken with mushrooms Chinese flavored and I served with with Black and white rice. What is Black and White rice??? I cup regular white rice and 1 cup black rice (I found them in Costco) cooked together

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom curry

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Curry

Ingredients for Marinate

1. 1 tablespoon each of oyster sauce, soya sauce, white vinegar, sesame oil
2. 2 tablespoons corn starch
3. 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

Ingredients

1. 2 chicken breasts cut into 1/4 inch thick slices about 1-2 inches long
2. 8-12 oz mushrooms wiped clean and quartered
3. 1 medium onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
4. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, garlic
5. 2 tablespoons oil
6. Salt and pepper to taste

marinate the chicken pieces in the marinate ingredients for atleast 30 minutes. Heat oil in a wok or pan (don't use non stick) until its very hot. Add the chicken and fry stirring regularly for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add one more tablespoon of oil if needed. Add the onions and fry for 3 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and the mushrooms and stir regularly and fry for 10 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot. Add 1/2 cup water and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper and garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with steamed black and white rice or white rice or brown rice with some siracha on the side

Pan fried chicken thighs with Silky Carrot Masoor dal

My mom used to make the most amazing chicken fry. In India, atleast in the olden days i.e before the giant super and hyper markets invaded , we could go to the butcher and get fresh chicken and ask him to cut it the way we want it. So we would get the whole chicken cut up into pieces and she would pan fry it in a very easy and amazing chicken fry. This fry is great with boneless, skinless pieces too, but today I made it with chicken thighs and they were thick so I had to finish them off in the oven

                     To go with it I made a silky carrot masoor dal which turned out amazing. I served it as soup to my li'l boy and as a side dish with the chicken and rice for others.

Pan fried Chicken thighs (Marinated chicken thighs fried with Onions)

Pan fried chicken thighs





Ingredients:

1. 6 chicken thighs or drumsticks or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into medium chunks
2. 1 big onion or 2 medium onions sliced thin
3. 2 tablespoons cashew pieces
4. 3-4 tablespoons oil
5. 3 cloves, 1 inch cinamon stick, 1 cardamom pounded roughly

Ingredients for marinade:

1. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste
2. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Marinade the chicken with the ingredients for atleast 2 hours.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan till it gets very hot. Carefully place the chicken pieces into it and fry till the pieces get a nice golden crust. Drain and set aside. Add the onions to the same pan and fry till they start changing color. Add cashew and pounded garam masala and fry for a few more minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan, reduce heat and cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked*.

*If you have thick pieces like I did today, place them in a oven safe sheet and bake further at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top it with the fried onions and serve

Silky Carrot Masoor Dal (Red lentils with carrot and spices)

Silky carrot masoor dal

Ingredients:

1. 1 large carrot
2. 1 cup masoor dal
3. 2 heaped teaspoons dried mango powder (amchur powder)
4. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, coriander powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin, grated garlic,
6. 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
7. 1 green chilly chopped
8. 1 table spoon oil or ghee
9. 2 bay leaves
10. Coriander for garnishing

Pressure cook the masoor dal with carrot and grind them to a smooth paste.

In a pan heat the ghee or oil and fry the cumin and bay leaves till they start to splutter. Add onions and green chillies and garlic and fry till the onions become soft. Take the bay leaves out and add all the spices and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the ground dal paste and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve as soup or as a side dish with rice or roti