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This section will contain some recipes and tit-bits about cooking and my experiments with it. I love cooking and experimenting out but I belief that some dishes has to be left as authentic with their intrinsic spices and aroma which imparts the delectable taste to it !!

Mutton Kebabs/Tikki with Dahi dip

• For Dahi Dip

1. 4 Tablespoon yoghurt
2. 1 tspn cumin powder
3. 1 tspn red-chilli powder
4. 1 tspn chopped coriander
5. salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients above and server as a dip for tikkis and kebabs. 

• Mutton Tikki

1. 250gms mutton keema
2. 1 tspn cumin powder
3. 1 tspn red-chilli powder
4. 1 tspn chopped coriander
5. salt to taste
6. 1 large onions paste
7. 1/2 tspn garlic chopped
8. 1 tspn ginger chopped
9. 1 tspn ginger-garlic paste
10. 1 tspn coriander powder
11. 1 tspn garam masala powder
12. 1 bay leaves
13. 2-3 medium cinnamon sticks
14. 2 cloves
15. 2 cardamon 
16. 3 tbspn chana dal
17. 1 table spoon veg oil

How to Prepare:

• Cook the mutton keema with the whole-spices of the garam masala (cinamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves, 1tspn oil), 1 tspn of onion, 1/2 tspn of ginger-garlic paste, 1 potato salt and chana dal in a pressure cooker.
• Strain the keema, dal and the potato from water and the whole spices after they are tender.
• Mash keema,dal and potato. If you are using a mixer, just put on the knob for few secs, otherwise it will be a paste and making tikki out of it is a tough job then. Better to use a ladel/hands to mash the dal and potato, keema should be in minced form.
• Put oil in a kadai. Put the bay leaves. 
• Put the mashed things from 3rd step.
• Put all the rest of the spices and mix well. while mixing keep the gas in sim.
• Make the keema in tikki form.
• Put 2 tspn oil in a non-stick frying pan.
• Put the tikkis ont by one and fry till golden brown.
• Serve with the dahi-dip as a starter :)

 Vegeatable Pulav

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice 120gms
2. Carrot 100gms
3. Beans 100gms
4. Cashews 8-12
5. Kismis 8-12
6. Garam Masala Powder 2 tspn
7. Corriander Powder 2 tspn
8. Vegeatable oil 1 tbspn
9. Ghee 1 tbspn
10. Whole garam masal, corriander sticks 1/2 inch, cloves 2.
11. Sugar & Salt to taste

How to prepare

1. Make the rice, preferabley few hours before and refrigerate it. This absorbs the extra moisture from the rice-grains and makes the pulav taste good.
2. Finely grate all the vegeatables.
3. Soak the cashews and kismis in luke warm water for 30min-1hour.
4. Heat vegeatable oil in a frying pan.
5. Put cardamom, cinnamon sticks (1/2 inch) on heated oil.
6. Saute the vegetables in oil, with 1 teaspoon of sugar, salt, corriander powder.
7. Put the cooked rice. Mix well with the dry fruits and add garam masala powder.
8. Put 1 teaspoon of ghee and mex well. Can use ghee as cooking medium instead of vegetable oil. 
9. Can put fried onions.
10. Serve hot with any curry or have it by itself.

Alu Pyanj Posto (potato with poppy seeds and onion)

Ingredients:

1. 3-4 Potatoes
2. 1 medium size onion
3. 2 green chillies
4. 2 tablespoons poppy seeds (soaked in luke warm water)
5. 1 tbspn whilte vegeatable oil/ mustard oil to fry
6. Salt to taste

How to Prepare

1. Dice the potatoes in small cubes
2. Finely chop the onions
3. Slit the green chillies in halves
4. Heat oil in a kadai/cauldron.
5. Put the onions, shallow fry till golden brown.
6. Add the poppy seeds, after draining the water
7. Put the green chillies, salt and put in sim, covering with a lid.
8. Allow it to cook and check intermittantly.
9. Serve hot with plain rice/roti.

Kadai Chicken 

Dry chili chicken

Lobiya

Chicken Macaroni with scrambled eggs

 Veggie Macaroni

Matar Paneer 

Badami Murgh

Ingredients:

1. 650gms chicken (curry cut)
2. 50gms yoghurt
3. 100 gms kaju
4. 2-3 large onions (paste)
5. 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
6. 1 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania)
7. 1 teaspoon cumin powder (jeera)
8. 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
9. 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
10. 1 tspn salt
11. 1/2 tspn jaiphol-jaitree(roasted) and then powdered
12. White/vegetable oil 2 tbspn
13. Water (2-3 cups).

How to Prepare:

• Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients upto serial number 11.
• Keep the marinated chicken in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
• Before cooking, keep the chicken out from the refrigerator, at least for an hour. This ensures the chicken to be at room temperature and helps in cooking.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a kadai/pan.
• Fry the chicken, in the oil, till golden brown. Keep the marination out while frying the chicken, as much as possible. Not to worry about the portions attached with the chicken pieces.
• After all the chicken has been completely fried, clean the kadai or use a separate one with fresh oil. This step is to ensure, that the over-fried remnants of the oil should not be used while doing the rest of the cooking, resulting in a deeper color of the dish.
• Put the marination, in the kadai (with heated vegetable oil). Keep the oven in sim. Continuously stir this marination, unless you can see the oil to be separated out from the marination, within the kadai.
• Put the fried chicken.
• Put 1/2 cups of pre-boiled luke warm water. Keep in sim and cover the kadai with a lid for 10-15mins.
• Depending upon the consistency of gravy you want (depends on whether you will be having with roti/rice), add more pre-boiled luke warm water.
• Check the salt. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon garam masala.
• Serve hot with roti/paratha/pulav and enjoy :)

Babycorn Chicken Salad

• Ingredients

1. Babycorn 200gms (sliced into half)
2. Shreaded boneless chicken 200gms
3. salt to taste
4. honey 1 tspn
5. chilli flakes
6. black pepper 
7. oregano
8. 1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
9. 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
10. butter 1 teaspoon

• Preparation

1. Boil the shreaded boneless chicken in (micorwave for 6mins/ in boling water for 10-12mins), with pinch of salt and ginger-garlic paste. Check the chicken tenderness, it should be completely cooked.
2. Strain the chicken and keep aside.
3. In the chicken stock, boil the babycorn for few mins (micorwave for 1-2mins/ in boling water for 2mins), to make it tender. Don't over cook it, as it looses it's inherent taste.
4. Heat a pan, with olive oil. put the chicken, babycorn. Add the salt, honey, chili-flakes, oregano. 
5. Keep in sim, for 5-7 mins, check intermittently.
6. Add the butter on top and serve hot.
7. Have salad itself or with bread toast, enjoy!

Masala Prawn

To serve 4 people

• Ingredients

1. Medium sized prawns (400gms), properly cleaned and washed in hot water.
2. Potato (2 medium sized).
3. 2 medium sized onion paste.
4. Ginger-garlic paste 1 teaspoon
5. 1 Tomato.
6. Garam Masala Powder (1 teaspoon)
7. 1 tablespoon, mustard Oil (can use vegetable oil, if the former smell is strong for your taste)
8. 2 green cardamom (elaichi)
9. 10gm cinamon, in powder form.(dalchini)
10. 2 cloves. 
11. 2 green chillies
12. 1 teaspoon red-chili powder
13. 1 teaspoon cumin powder (jeera)
14. 1 tspn turmeric powder
15. 1 bay leaf
16. Sugar 1 tspn
17. Salt to taste

• Preparation 

1. Dice the potatoes and fry golden yellow with pinch of salt. Keep aside.
2. Blanch the prawns is hot water with a pinch of salt and pinch of ginger-garlic paste OR microwave the prawns for 5mins. Keep aside the prawns.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan.
4. Put the cardamons, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves on the oil. 
5. Golden fry the onion-ginger-garlic paste. Put the green chili, tomato, jeera powder, red-chili powder, sugar, salt, turmeric powder.
6. Saute for 2mins.
7. Put the potatoes,toss for 2mins
8. Put the prawns, without the water.
9. Toss all the contents for 2mins.
10. Put the warm water, where the prawns were boiled.
11. Keep in sim, with a lid.
12. Cook for 10mins.
13. Put garam masala, mix well.
14. Serve hot with plain rice and enjoy!

Prawn Cocktail

Starter: To serve 2 people

• Ingredients

1. 2 table spoon veg-mayonese
2. 1 egg
3. 4 teaspoon castor sugar
4. pinch of salt
5. water
6. Blanched cleaned 4 medium sized prawn. Blanching with 1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, salt.
7. 2 mint leaves for garnishing.
8. 2 tooth picks to attach the prawns and mint leaf.

• Preparation

1. Mix well the mayonese, with the egg, sugar, salt, water. Check the concentration, it shouldn't be too thick or too liquid.
2. Attach the mint leaf and 2 prawns with the tooth-pick.
3. Pour the mixture from step1, in a glass. 
4. Place the prawns (from step2) at the side.
5. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
6. Have it and enjoy :)

Peas kachuri / করাই শুটির কচুরি 

• Ingredients

1. Finely Chopped Ginger, half teaspoon
2. 2 green chilies
3. 1 dry red chili
4. Cumin seeds
5. Coriander seeds
6. Sugar one teaspoon
7. Salt to taste
8. Vegetable oil
9. Flour (for making the dough for the kachuri)

• How to Prepare

1. Paste the peas along with the chopped gingers and green chilies. Ensure it is not pasted completely and the peas have a broken texture.
2. Add the whole spices ( dried red chili, cumin and corriander seeds) on a hot pan and let them get roast. 
3. Grind the roasted spices and set is aside.
4. Put vegetable oil in a kadai. Add the semi-ground peas. Put sugar and salt and continuously stir it, unless the mixture feels like a flour dough. Put the roasted spices and mix well.
5. In the flour dough, make small saucer shape. Put the peas paste. Ensure there is not much of the peas paste, otherwise it will break while you are making the flatting it/making the kachuri.
6. Fry the kachuri in hot vegetable oil in a kadai.
7. Have them hot with dum alu.. :)

Veggie-Chicken

a delightful chicken dish, quick to make and great to have at anytime during the day. You need not to have all the kind of bell peppers ready at home, can taste equally good with capsicum, peas, beans and carrots or neither of them...

Ingrdients : 

1. boneless chicken 200 gms
2. half capsicum
3. half chopped red bell pepper (depending on size)
4. half chopped yellow bell pepper (same as above)
5. boiled peas
6. black pepper
7. white pepper 
8. soya sauce
9. vinegar
10. honey
11. oregano n chilli flakes from pizzas left over :D

Preparation:

• Boil the chicken with a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste (6-8mins in microwave)
• put white oil (2 teaspoon) in a non-stick frying pan
• put all the chopped vegetables, toss for a while unless cooked
• add the boiled chicken, drained from water
• add 1 teaspoon of soya sauce, vinegar, peppers, 1/2 teaspoon honey, toss well
• garnish with oregano and chilli flakes
• have with brown toast or just like that :)

Veggie-chicken

Cantonese Noodles

Ingredients:

1.  Boiled noodles 100gms
2. all the ingredients for the veggie-chicken (section above)
3. cornflour (4/5 teaspoon)

Preparation:

• Boil the noodles, with salt, 1 teaspoon white oil (microwave for 5-7mins)
• Strain out the hot water and wash the boiled noodles with cold water. This removes the stickiness from the noodles.
• Leave the noodles aside, in a strainer.
• Mix the cornflour with 1/2-1 teacup of cold water( cold water prevents the crumbling of the cornflour).
• Mix the cornflour with the boiled vegeatables, in a heated saucepan, with salt to taste, black+white pepper.
• Mix well for 2-3 min, the ingredients above. Check the concentration of the gravy as per your liking and add some boiled water if the concentration seems to be thick.
• Mix the above gravy on top of the boiled noodles.

Cantonese Noodles

Biriyani (Calcutta Style)

Ingredients:

1.  Basmati rice 1Kg
2. Chicken/mutton/lamb chops 1Kg
3. 200 gm hung yoghurt
4. kewra water (2 drops)
5. rose water (1 drop)
6. 200ml milk, luke warm
7. saffron (0.5-1 gm)
8. alu-bukhara (4-5)
9. ghee (200gm)
10. white oil (1 table spoon)
11. potato (4 big), optional
12. sliced onions (2/3 big)
13. chopped onions for the meat(3-4)
14. ginger-garlic paste
15. 1 tspn red chilli powder
16. 1 tspn cumin powder 
17. green cardamom (3-4)
18. bay leaf (1)
19. salt to taste

Marination:

• Marinate the meat (chicken for 4-5 hours, mutton/lamb overnight) with youghurt, cumin powder, red-chilli powder, gingler-garlic paste, chopped/pasted onions(12), oil,salt.
• Marinate potatoes for 1 hour (pricked with fork, so that the marinated ingredients can go inside).

Preparation:

• Soak the basmati rice with water for an hour.
• Take the meat from the refrigerator, standing time 1-2 hours.
• Boil the meat in pressure cooker with potatoes and alu-bukhara.
• Fry the sliced onions in ghee and keep aside
• Mix the kewra, rose-water, saffron in luke warm milk and keep aside.
• Half cook the rice (with green cardamom, bay-leaf previously sauted in 1 teaspoon of ghee), salt.
• Drain out the excess water from the rice. Remember not to fully cook the rice, otherwise it will be not discrete when the biriyani s fully cooked.
• In a large handi, greased with ghee, add rice on the bottom most layer. 
• Add cooked meat, potato, alu-bukhara. Sprinkle 1 table spoon of the meat gravy, 1 teaspoon of milk mixture. 
• Repeat the above step (alternative rice and meat layers)
• The top most layer should be plain rice.
• Add the ghee and the luke warm mil-mixture from the top.
• Seal the mouth of the handi with wheat (atta).
• Keep this handi in a larger handi(filled with boiled water)
• The above step is not ensure the biriyani rice should not gets charred while in direct contact with the flame. Biriyani is cooked in the steam.
• Remove the smaller handi after 30-45mins.
• Serve Hot :)

Chicken Biriyani