As much as I am finding it difficult to come back to this space, at times I just want to be here and not neglect it. For the past few days, I cleaned up my bookshelf and went through a lot of my cookbooks. It gave me a wave of nostalgia. There were days when I absolutely loved cooking, clicking and posting new recipes. However, for the past few years, I have been scraping through my cooking with half a heart. It has started feeling like a chore. Once in a while, I get excited to try something new, but it kind of fizzles out in the same speed. This explains the lack of new recipes on the blog. Anyway, whenever I am able to come back with something new, I will try to do it more frequently that I have been doing last year, In Sha Allah…

Coming to today’s recipe… Non-vegetarians will never call what vegetarians make a biriyani; they would rather call it a pulao. Still, I have loved every veg “biriyani” I have made – whether it is the Malabar style or one with just potatoes in it, of course always coupled up with something to bite on, like chicken fry or a beef roast, hehe…

I saw a recipe for paneer biriyani on an Instagram page and decided to try it. Though paneer isn’t exactly a favorite of mine, I still make it once in a while, to have some variety to cook. Now this biriyani does have a few steps – like making the masala, frying the paneer, making the rice and finally putting the whole dish into “dum” so that it locks in the flavors. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was a very mildly spiced biriyani, with chewy bites of well seasoned paneer in between. I served it with simple cucumber raita and pickle, and thankfully, everyone ate it silently without asking for any extras. I count that as a win. Off to the recipe…

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Easy Paneer Biriyani

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

FOR PANEER

• 200 gm paneer cubes thawed
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp ghee

FOR BASE

• 1 onion large, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp oil/ ghee
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 green chillies minced
• 1 tomato large, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• Salt to taste

FOR RICE

• 1/2 cup basmati rice washed and drained
• Whole garam masala cardamom, black pepper, cloves
• Water as needed
• Salt as needed
• A drizzle of ghee

FOR DUM

• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
• A handful of fried onions
• A handful of cashews and raisins fried in a tsp of ghee
• 2 tbsp milk
• A pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp rose water
• 1 tsp garam masala powder

Instructions

• Toss the paneer in the rest of the ingredients except the ghee under the "for paneer" section and set it aside to marinate as much as possible.
• In a pan, heat oil/ ghee and splutter cumin seeds. Add the onion, ginger garlic paste, crushed chilli and tomato with a little salt and saute till raw smell is gone.
• Add the turmeric and chilli powder and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Switch off and allow the mixture to cool. Blend into a smooth paste with a little water.
• To prepare rice, boil water with the whole spices, salt and ghee. Add the rice and cook till the rice is almost done. Drain and set aside.
• In a pan that is good to assemble, heat the ghee for frying the paneer. Add the marinated paneer and flip just till browned, for a couple of minutes.
• Add in the ground paste and bring to boil. Adjust seasoning.
• Add in half the coriander leaves and garam masala from the "for dum" ingredients and toss.
• Arrange the drained rice on the top. Spread the remaining of the "for dum" ingredients.
• Close the lid tight after covering with foil on top, keep a flat pan below the assembled pan and cook on slow flame for around 20 minutes.
• Switch off and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Open the lid, remove the foil, fluff up the rice and serve hot.

The post Easy Paneer Biriyani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Hello, hello, Assalamu alaikum lovely people… I know I have been missing for the longest time again, even though I promised I would be back soon. In fact, the entire month of February, I was trying to do a post, so that I don’t feel like I have missed my blog’s thirteenth birthday, but I did miss it. The post is still in my drafts. And then came Ramadan, Alhamdulillah… One of my favorite Hadiths about this month is the below:

As usual, my onus is on creating easy meals especially during this month when the onus is on doing more good. Recently, I gifted myself a Nutripot, which is a competitor brand for the Instant Pot at a better price, when I found it on a great deal. The timing couldn’t have been better – my big pressure cooker was giving up on me and this deal comes up, making me jump onto the purchase. I am really glad I did, I have been cooking in it every second day, if not every day. One thing I really wanted to try was to make a biriyani.  I loved how easy it is. I already have a few pressure cooker biriyani recipes on the blog like this one, but since this is a electrical machine, the settings are different.

The ingredients are readily available in your pantry. The only thing is to keep the pieces of chicken smaller than usual to ensure proper cooking. The entire process gets done in around 40 minutes and keeps the biriyani warm till it is time to eat – I love this feature. If you get the chance and have some space on your counter, then I do recommend to get one. I am sure you will not regret it. Meanwhile, let me go share the recipe and I sincerely hope you will try it for yourself as well…

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Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

An easy chicken biriyani made in the Instant Pot

Course Rice

Cuisine Indian/ Pakistani

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 600 gm chicken cut into small to meduim peices

FOR MARINATION

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp yogurt heaped

FOR RICE

• 1 1/4 cup basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil I used mix, more if required
• Mix of whole spices cardamom, black pepper, clove, bay leaf
• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 2 green chillies thinly chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tomato chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander and mint leaves
• 2 cups water

Instructions

• Wash and drain the chicken well.
• Add all the ingredients under "for marination" and coat well. Set aside till time of use.
• Switch on the Instant pot, take off lid, leave the inside pot. Set on "Saute" mode. Mine automatically shows 15 minutes. Leave it at that timing.
• Once the inner pot gets heated, add the oil and/or ghee. Add in the whole spices if using and saute for a few seconds.
• Add in the onion with some salt and saute occassionally till wilted. Do note that Instant Pot cooks faster than your usual pan, so keep an eye on the same.
• Once wilted, add the ginger garlic paste and chillies and saute for a few seconds.
• Add in the tomato and give a good mix. Cook till the tomato is smashed. If the mixture is getting stuck at the bottom, sprinkle in some water and scrape the bottom well.
• Once the mixture is well cooked, add in the chicken along with all its marination. You may add a couple of tbsp of water to clean up the marination in the pan and add it to the pan.
• Saute occasionally, tossing the mixture well, till the chicken starts to look whitish in color. Cook for roughly 5 minutes.
• Add in the half the coriander-mint leaves and toss well.
• Add in the water, adjust seasoning, allow it to come to a boil. Let it boil for a couple of minutes, or till the "Saute" option goes off.
• Drain the rice. Add into the boiling mixture along with the remaining coriander-mint leaves. Put the lid on.
• Choose the "Pressure Cooker" mode, keep on high, keep the timer for 6 minutes and start the process.
• Once the cooking is done, keep the pressure on for 10 minutes and then release the pressure. If you want eldente rice, then keep for 5 minutes. (refer notes)
• Open the lid, fluff up the rice. Serve hot with sides of choice.

Notes

My family likes overcooked rice and hence I kept it for 10 minutes. Otherwise let the pressure go off in 5 minutes. 

The post Instant Pot Chicken Biryani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Being a food blogger, there are a few habits that I find hard to shake off. For example, the wanting to do a blog post before I travel and leave the blog on its own till I come back. However, that didn’t happen. I started the post, but didn’t get the time to sit and complete it in the mad rush of going home. I have been finding it extremely difficult to keep coming up with posts for the blog, because cooking has become just for survival, rather than anything else. I miss the time when I used to cook and try new dishes, get excited about clicking and posting about it on the blog. I am hoping that now that I am back from the break and the weather is getting better, I will get a chance to try new recipes and post up on the blog. Just hoping for the best…

It has been long since I posted a rice recipe. You may know that I love Pakistani cuisine. I eat their food a lot, though I haven’t tried making too many and posting on the blog. I came across this recipe on Instagram some time ago. It used a pack of Shaan Pulao Biriyani masala. Usually, I don’t like to use packed masala powders, but I had to buy it. I was so tempted to make the pulao as soon as possible. I was very sure in my mind that it was absolutely flavorful. As expected, it was delicious. If you are looking to make a different recipe from the regular Pakistani pulao, then this is a must try… I have been trying to figure out why this pulao has its name as “Degi Pulao”, but I don’t seem to be finding an answer. If you know, do let me know. Off to the recipe…

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Deghi Murg Pulao | Chicken Pulao

Course Main Course

Cuisine Pakistani

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken cut into meduim peices
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp whole garam masala cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, etc.
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• 4-5 green chillies, slit
• 4-5 dried red chillies
• Salt to taste

FOR RICE:

• 3 cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp oil or more, as needed
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp Shaan Pulao Biriyani masala heaped
• 2 potaotes peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion fried till golden for garnish
• 1/4 cup coriander and mint leaves chopped

Instructions

• In a pressure cooker, add the ingredients from chicken to salt along with 4-5 cups of water. Cook for one whistle and switch off. Release all the steam.
• Remove the chicken from the broth. Sprinkle with some pepper.
• Drain the broth, measure and set aside.
• Crush all the strained mixture and set aside.
• Heat oil in pan. Fry the chicken on both sides. Drain and set aside.
• Add the onion and saute till it is golden brown. Add the crushed strained mixture and saute for a couple of minutes.
• Add the chilli flakes and masala powder and saute till raw smell is gone. Add the potaotes and toss.
• Now add the chicken stock along with any additional water that may be required - should be a total of 4.5 cups and bring to boil.
• Add the drained rice and cook till water evaporates.
• Give the rice a toss. Spread the chicken on top. Sprinkle fried onion and coriander-mint leaves.
• Cover with foil and close the lid tightly. Cook on low flame for 15 minutes. Switch off and allow to rest.
• Serve hot with sides of choice.

Notes

For one cup of rice, 1.5 cup of stock. 

If you have bukharay (dried prunes), add a couple of them along with the potatoes. 

The post Deghi Murg Pulao | Chicken Pulao appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Sometimes I feel that writing a blog these days is like talking to a wall – in literal sense. With the advent of videos and even quicker videos in all forms of social media, writing and recording recipes have taken a back seat. I can’t tell you how much of a discouragement it is for somebody like me and many of my blogger friends who have been writing down their recipes and keeping it patiently on the WWW after paying under their nose. Don’t doubt, it is money to keep a blog running. It isn’t cheap at all – to ensure that all our posts stays without crashing or getting lost. Of late, I have been toying with the idea of not blogging anymore and just let the blog be. Or maybe do posts only as and when I feel. But I know if I do that, I would never come back to the blog. Hence, working more on a push strategy than pull in this case…

Anyway, enough of ranting… I am always looking at easy recipes, that can be done without much effort. As much as I love to cook, most of the time, I just want to get it done. While trying to figure out whether I had a pressure cooker biriyani recipe, I realized I had only for chicken and not for mutton. Hence, the quest began… I am so glad that I did try making this recipe. First of all, it is quite easy with all ingredients in our cupboard. There are no extra efforts you need to do. Except for frying the onion for the topping – which you can even use store bought fried onions to make it easier, the whole process is in one pressure cooker. Don’t you like recipes like that? I just made it last weekend and out of excitement, I am posting the recipe without any delay…

The first step is to marinate the mutton for some time, which can be done first and allowed to rest, while making the onion and tomato masala. Once you put the mutton to cook, you can soak the rice, so that it plumps up in time to cook. This also makes the cooking time reduced as well. I have used minimal oil in this recipe, but you can add more if you want. Do try it when you are not in a mood for something elaborate but still want a good meal for your afternoons. Even though some people may argue that biriyanis made in pressure cooker isn’t essentially a “biriyani”, but you can’t call it a pulao either because the spices used in a biriyani is all used in this recipe, with just the missing of the “dum” step. But I have always felt that it doesn’t matter much, since it is all going to be mixed up anyway. Hehe…

Somehow Fridays are always biriyani day, even though the pattern of the weekend shifted last year. I guess till I get back to work – I am really hoping something works out soon, InShaAllah… – that thought won’t go off my mind. I hope that if you do land up on this page courtesy of Google, you would try the recipe and share your feedback… I paired it with garlic pickle, my favorite chammanthi and plain yogurt, but make some onion raita – the aunt I mentioned in that post is no longer with us SubhanAllah… – if that is your thing.

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Easy Pressure Cooker Mutton Biriyani

An easy one pot biriyani with mutton, made in a pressure cooker...

Course Biriyani

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

FOR MARINATION

• 800-1000 gm mutton with bones cut into meduim peices
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup coriander and mint leaves chopped mixed

FOR MASALA

• 1-2 tbsp oil
• Mixed whole spices of choice I used cardamom, cloves, star anise, cinnamon and bay leaf
• 1 tsp black peppercorn
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 3-4 green chillies
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tomatoes

FOR REST

• 3 cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves loosely packed
• 1/4 cup mint leaves loosely packed
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp rose water optional
• More ghee as needed

Instructions

• First, combine all ingredients under "for marination" and set aside.
• In a large pressure cooker, heat the oil. Add the whole spices and saute for a minute. Saute the onions till translucent.
• Blend the tomatoes, garlic and green chillies together. Add into the wilted onions and cook till oil floats on the top.
• Add the meat along with its marination and give a good mix. Check for seasoning. Add around half a cup of water, preferably used to take off the extra marinade.
• Close the lid and pressure cook for two whistles on high and on low for around 15 minutes. Switch off and allow the pressure to go by itself.
• During this time, wash and soak the rice for at least 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the one tbsp ghee and fry the onions till browned. Set aside.
• Coarsely chop all the mint and coriander leaves.
• Open the pressure cooker and give a good mix. The mutton will be almost done. Switch on the flame, add in the drained rice. Make sure to adjust seasoning at this point, you will need a little more salt than usual.
• Pour water an inch above the level. Sprinkle the coriander and mint leaves, fried onion along with the ghee, garam masala and rose water if using. Top with more ghee if using.
• Close the lid and pressure cook for one whistle. Switch off and allow the pressure to go on its own.
• Open, give a light mix and enjoy hot with raita and chammanthi.

Notes

Try to use mutton that is young meat. They cook faster and is way more tastier. 

For adding water to cook the rice, it all depends upon the stock in the masala. Once you add the rice, add water that is enough to cook the rice. You can do the finger test by dipping to touch the top of the rice and pour water till it is half to 3/4 of your finger. 

 

The post Easy Pressure Cooker Mutton Biriyani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

2023 just came in and we are almost two weeks into it. It just scares me that days are flying so fast with nothing much getting done. Or maybe it is just my feeling. The news around the world is not very encouraging either. On a brighter note, the climate has been better this year. A friend, me and the kids went for a sunrise trip on new year and had a wonderful time. I have restarted working out at the gym after almost two years and it instantly started feeling amazing. I have also started a couple of other things, that I would like to keep to myself at the moment. So far, the start has been decent, Alhamdulillah… I am hoping that things will get better with the coming days, InShaAllah…

It has taken me so long to do a post on the blog. I have been posting a lot of sweet recipes, thanks to the Bakeathon last month, that now I just want to do some savory posts for a while. Hehe… As you all may know, I love simple and quick meals, whether it be rice or curries, and usually the recipes I share take less time to cook, while keeping the flavors in tact. This dish is no different. I have a chicken version on the blog, which I have cooked a few times and really like it. Since I had fallen in love with the aloo biriyani, I have been wanting to make a potato tehari too. If you are wondering what a tehri or tehari is, it is simply a spiced rice dish similar to pulaos, found in Awadhi cuisine. So you could basically say it is the Awadhi style pulao.

It is a very simple dish, yet so filled with flavors. If you love such simple meals for lunch just like me, then this one is definitely a must try. I would equate this one to another favorite of mine, the chickpea pulao. Off to the recipe…

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Aloo Tehri | Spiced Potato Tehari

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee/ oil I used 1 tbsp each
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 2-3 green chillies minced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 potatoes peeled and sliced (approx 350-400 gm)
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 1/4 cup basmati rice washed and drained
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• Coriander leaves for garnish optional
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a saucepan, heat oil and ghee. Splutter cumin seeds and bay leaves.
• Fry the ginger garlic paste briefly and then add onion and green chillies. Saute till wilted.
• Add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder and saute till raw smell is gone.
• Toss in the potatoes and fry for around 5 minutes.
• Add the tomato, cook till all mashed.
• Add the drained rice, fry for five minutes until crisp.
• Add 2 cups boiled water and season. Bring to a rolling boil. Keep on the lowest flame and cook on tight lid till the rice is done.
• Add the garam masala powder and coriander leaves if using and fluff up the rice.
• Serve hot with side of choice.

The post Aloo Tehri | Spiced Potato Tehari appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

It is time for the second week of the Blogging Marathon #140 and this week, I chose another cuisine that I have been wanting to try since long. Just like I chose Parsi cuisine last month, this time I chose Anglo-Indian cuisine. As I dug into finding recipes related to this cuisine, I found it very difficult to find many. But when I checked up a few, it rang a bell. Remember when I had reviewed a book called “The Indian Bible”? I suddenly realized that this book, that was published in the UK, was basically a diary of Anglo-Indian recipes! It is interesting how after blogging for so many years, you finally start learning a few things here and there.

Anglo-Indians are basically a community of English people who settled in India after the years of colonization and went on to become citizens. The beauty of this cuisine is the amalgamation of English and Indian cooking. Most of the Indian recipes were adjusted in spice levels to go with the taste buds of the British. Hence, you will realize that the recipes are very similar yet distinct in its own way.

I have already marked up recipes like the basic Anglo-Indian recipes like Mulligatawny and Kedgeree to try. However, when I found this recipe, it was such an easy one that I had to try. I already have a coconut milk rice recipe on the blog, but this version is yellow because of the addition of turmeric and a very straightforward recipe as one – by which I mean no cutting or slicing. If you want to make a very simple rice recipe to go with any non-veg curry, then this one is definitely to try… Off to this recipe…

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Yellow Coconut Rice | Anglo-Indian Coconut Milk Rice

Course Rice

Cuisine Anglo Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter/ ghee or a mix of both
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamom
• 1 inch pc cinnamon
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk I used canned one
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup basmati rice washed and drained

Instructions

• In a saucepan, melt the ghee. Briefly fry the whole spices.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and keep on high flame till the water comes to a boil.
• Reduce to simmer and cook till the rice is done.
• Fluff up with a fork and serve warm with curry of choice.

The post Yellow Coconut Rice | Anglo-Indian Coconut Milk Rice appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Once upon a time, when I had started blogging, I remember bragging how much my family loved biriyanis and that is why I was trying all sorts of different biriyanis. But as my girls grew up, their interest in biriyanis took a very steep downturn, faster than I had expected and hence went for a toss my interest to try new versions. They became keener on only having a ghee rice-chicken curry lunch, than to have a biriyani, which needed a lot of nitpicking of so many tiny bits and pieces in them. Does it seem familiar to you? All the fried onions, nuts and spices I painstakingly and lovingly add into a biriyani ends up in a heap on the side of their plates. Naturally, my interest to cook biriyanis vaned and I haven’t been making it much unless it is requested for or we have guests. How times change…

During one of my casual browsing, I came across this “white” chicken biriyani, which didn’t have any onions or tomatoes to be chopped, had a simple ground blend to go into the chicken and the sauce was just whatever stock the chicken leaves out. We actually love a biriyani with a lot of masala, so I wasn’t sure how this would go with my folks. Still I made it, because it really appealed to my “lazy cook” side. The biriyani has very limited ingredients. The masala is a more off-white but still doesn’t have much of color. If you feel that the lack of ingredients would actually hamper the taste of the final dish, think again… It doesn’t. In fact, everything you add into it lends its distinct flavor and makes the end result really delicious. I love the fact that it uses very limited ghee in it. In fact, this biriyani can be made richer by adding a little cashew paste and/or cream along with the yogurt, but I wouldn’t to keep the guilt factor of eating a biriyani on the lower side. Do give it a try when you feel like cooking biriyani but don’t want to do all the chopping…

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Sofiyani Murg Biriyani | Hydrebadi White Chicken Biryani

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken
• 1 inch pc ginger
• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 3-4 green chillies
• 2 tbsp yogurt heaped
• 1 tsp white pepper der
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp shahjeera
• Salt to taste
• 2+1 tbsp ghee
• 3 cups basmati rice
• Whole spices (1 cardamom, 1 clove, 1 bay leaf, some pepper)
• Fried onion and mint leaves for garnishing

Instructions

• Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces. Wash and drain well.
• In a grinder, grind together ginger, garlic, green chillies and yogurt into a smooth paste. Add in to the chicken.
• Add ingredients from pepper powder to salt and rub well into the chicken.
• Allow the mixture to marinate for at least an hour or as much as possible.
• In a cooking pot (preferably the one for dum), add 2 tbsp ghee. Add the marinated chicken, completely with all the marinade - you may use some water to clean up all the marinade - and allow the chicken to cook on low flame, stirring occasionally, till almost done.
• Meanwhile, wash the basmati rice. Cook in lots of water with some salt and the whole spices till done. Drain and set aside.
• Once the chicken is almost done, layer the cooked rice on top of it. Sprinkle some fried onions and chopped mint leaves and the remaining ghee on top. Cover the lid tightly and cook on dum for around 15-20 minutes.
• Switch off and allow it to rest for another 10 minutes.
• To serve, fluff the rice to mix with the masala. Serve hot with raita, pickle and a thick gravy if needed.

The post Sofiyani Murg Biriyani | Hydrebadi White Chicken Biryani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Alhamdulillah, this year unlike the past two years, there is a full fledge Hajj happening in Saudi Arabia. It feels very heartfelt to see a million of our own brothers and sisters, unitedly call out the name of Allah, go through the process that was demonstrated by our Nabi (PBUH) on the blessed land of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). There are so many lessons of dedication, steadfastness and gratitude in the history of this month. We already know it, but it is always better to revisit the history and remind ourselves about it. Since the main event of Eid-ul-Adha is the sacrifice of domestic animals like goat or lamb, most of them prepare their dishes from that meat. Many foodies may refer to this Eid as “meaty Eid”.

I have been wondering which recipe to share on this occasion. I wanted to try a new mutton biriyani recipe and was wondering which one I would. Naturally, my head was titled to trying a local recipe. I tried to search on Google and there was only one option available to even refer to. I checked my cutout folder and there were no recipes in it as well. I am a little surprised since meat is eaten more regularly than chicken in this part of the world. Another disappointing thing was that the option available was absolutely confusing as far as the steps were concerned. If someone is trying the recipe for the first time, they would definitely have a mess in hand. So I reworked on the entire recipe and cooked it. The use of spices is minimal and hence I was a little concerned about how it would taste. To my surprise, it tasted amazing. It actually reminded me of the rare mutton biriyani D used to get from the local restaurant near his office during Ramadan – rare, because umma was never fond of mutton. The bites of the chickpea lentils is the highlight, do not skip it – a very stark similarity to the Omani Mutton Kabouli. It actually lends an amazing deliciousness to this mild biriyani and something that HD really loved. If you have no plans set for the day but want to cook something simple, then I would say to target this biriyani. Just make a batch of the bezaar spice blend in advance and you are good to go!

If you are looking for some meaty ideas, go on and explore the meat section for all sorts of ideas. But if you want me to suggest something specific to make, then here are my go-tos:

Thalassery Mutton Biriyani

Malabar Erachi Biriyani

Harrison’s Mutton Biriyani

Safed Maas

Bedouin Meat Rice

Lahm Majboos if you have bezaar and want to make something else

I may not post much next week, even though I absolutely have no plans on. But at times, little breaks are good to then come and blast in some amazing recipes… Have a blessed Eid and stay tuned…

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Lahm Biryani | Emirati Meat Biriyani

Course Main Course

Cuisine Emirati

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 400 gm mutton pcs with bones
• 1/4 cup chickpea lentils
• 10-15 almonds blanched
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp bezaar spice blend
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• 1 tbsp ghee

FOR RICE

• 1 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 clove
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 cardamoms
• 5-9 black peppercorns

Instructions

• Pressure cook the mutton with salt and pepper and set aside along with its stock.
• Pressure cook the chickpea lentils till done. Drain and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, boil lots of water with the whole spices and salt. Add the rice and cook till 90% done. Drain and set aside.
• In a cooking pan, heat olive oil. Fry the almonds and then the raisins. Drain and set aside.
• Add the onion and saute till golden brown.
• Add the spice powders and cook for a minute. Add in the tomato and tomato paste along with some salt and cook till nicely mashed.
• Now add in the mutton with the stock and the drained chickpeas and give a good toss. Adjust the seasoning and cook on low flame for around five minutes for the flavor to mingle.
• Now keep the flavor to the minimum. Top with the prepared rice. Sprinkle the fried almonds, raisins and coriander leaves on top. Drop the ghee in a few spots.
• Cover with aluminum foil and close the lid tight. Cook for around 15-20 minutes. Switch off and allow to rest for another 10 minutes.
• To serve, slowly fluff up the rice and serve warm with sides of choice.

The post Lahm Biryani | Emirati Meat Biriyani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I wish I could just get back to how life was normally – waking up lazily, watering and talking to my plants, just going by my life at home and just taking life as it goes. When life just goes on, we wish there was something more to it, when Allah decides to just let you know that things were fine as it was. Mentally, it has been a little overwhelming for me, because I am so used to being busy and having something or the other to do, that being on the bed most of the time isn’t taking well on my thoughts. I am just trying to stay as positive as possible, since I have no other option. This current situation is going to take around a month to get back to normal, or close to it, so I have to gear myself for it. In between, yesterday Rasha turned 15. I sometimes can’t believe that my girls are no longer little. All I pray for them is that Allah keeps them steadfast and levelheaded to face the challenges of the world ahead of them… This time I couldn’t bake anything but since she isn’t a cake fan, I don’t feel guilty about it.

It has been quite some time since I have posted any Emirati recipes on the blog. I can’t believe that the last recipe was the Thareed Lahm, that I posted as the National Day special post, which was a good six months ago. It has been mainly because I haven’t been trying much. The past couple of years have been a limbo as far as trying new recipes are concerned, and that explains the slow down in the posting as well, compared to the initial years. But I guess, that is a general transition when you blog for a long time – the circumstances change, so does the taste buds of the family as they grow into their stages. I don’t want to keep promises to myself but of course, want to explore at least some new recipes as soon as I am able to get out of bed… Hehe…

This is likely to be the last leg of the majboos recipes on the blog. I have already posted the chicken – the most tried and tested, Alhamdulillah! -, mutton and fish versions, which I realized I had posted exactly a year before. Even though prawns aka shrimps are technically in the fish category, the coking style is different and hence a totally different recipe. The prawns are marinated and cooked in the beginning and then added back to the rice just before the steaming process. I used medium sized prawns in this recipe. Try to use these or the jumbo ones, since they seem to go well with the recipe and would hold shape.

Since I can’t eat prawns, the family, especially my majboos crazy HD really devoured it. But if you ask me which is his favorite, it is always the chicken one. Always have a small bottle of the bezaar spice blend handy, so that you can make any of the Emirati delicacies at a whim. I usually make half the batch and it stays for at least 3-4 majboos cooking. Do you know that Emiratis use a lot of prawns and fish in their cooking, due to the proximity of the sea to the desert? Do check out the Arseeyeh Rubyan, Marrag Samak and the Emirati style baked fish, just among the limited recipes on the blog. Off to this delicious recipe…

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Majboos Rubyan | Emirati Prawns (Shrimp) Machboos

Course Main Course

Cuisine Emirati

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

FOR PRAWN MARINATION

• 500 gm shrimps/ prawns, cleaned and deviened medium sized/ jumbo
• 2 garlic pounded
• 1 heaped tbsp bezaar spice blend
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• Salt to taste

FOR RICE

• 2 1/2 cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 2-4 tbsp olive oil as needed
• 2 large onion thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 loomi slightly crushed
• 1 small stick cinnamon
• 2 cardamoms
• 4-6 black peppercorn
• 1 veg stock cube optional but recommended
• 3 cups water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves

Instructions

• Marinate the prawns with all the ingredients and keep aside for at least fifteen minutes.
• In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the prawns and cook both sides till slightly browned and almost cooked. Drain and set aside.
• In the same pan, add more oil if needed and add the onions. Fry till nicely browned and crisp. Drain half of it out and set aside.
• Now add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, loomi and whole spices and cook till the tomato is completely mashed and cooked.
• Add the water and stock cube and bring the mixture to boil. Adjust the seasoning.
• Add the rice and allow it to boil till the rice absorbs most of the water.
• Keep the flame at the lowest. Sprinkle the reserved fried onion and coriander on top. Layer the fried shrimps as well.
• Cover the top tightly with aluminum foil, close the lid. You may keep something heavy on the top of the lid as well.
• Cook for 20-30 minutes on the steam. Switch off and allow the rice to rest till the time of serving.
• While serving, toss up the rice to mix with the prawns. Serve hot with yogurt and salat on the side.

The post Majboos Rubyan | Emirati Prawns (Shrimp) Machboos appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I know that many a times, rice isn’t a part of dinner meals, but I find rice as one of the easiest options when it comes to cooking quick fix meals. Especially during Ramadan, I cook rice for dinner as it saves a lot of time and is filling as well. That is what made me decide to post this super simple recipe as the second post for this week’s Blogging Marathon #132 theme of “Fast Dinners under 30 minutes”.

Tuna is something that I keep at home always, even though my folks aren’t very fond of it. I tell them, I need some respite from not having to think who likes what before cooking anything. It can be literally frustrating, isn’t it? Anyway, there are times when we make toasties or a simple stir fry to go with store bought khubs for dinner. Now I am going to add this one to my list too. It is one of the easiest meals that I have ever made. I cooked the rice on one side and when it was almost done, I made the tuna masala on the other side, mixed it together and let it steam for the flavors to mingle. I was so glad that my girls really loved it and I hardly had any leftovers. Rasha said I should make this frequently – a huge compliment from an awfully picky teenager. Off to this simple recipe…

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Spiced Tuna Rice

Course Rice

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 2 tbsp oil or ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 2 tins tuna chunk 170 gm approx, in water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves minced

Instructions

• Wash and drain the rice.
• In a saucepan, heat lot of water with little oil and salt. Once boiled, add the drained rice and cook till el dente, around 7-9 minutes. Drain and reserve.
• Meanwhile, in another saucepan, heat the oil/ghee. Splutter the cumin seeds and briefly fry the ginger garlic paste.
• Add the onion with a little salt and saute till wilted.
• Drain the tuna and add into the pan. Break the chunks using the spatula.
• Add in the turmeric and red chilli powders and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Now add in the cooked rice, toss lightly. Sprinkle the garam masala and the coriander leaves on the top.
• Tightly close the lids with foil or cloth, to avoid steam from escaping. Keep the flame on bare minimum and allow it to be on dum for 5 minutes.
• Switch off and keep undisturbed for another five minutes.
• Fluff up and serve hot with raita and achaar.

Notes

I have used tuna in water. This is best to avoid any additional oil in the dish. 

The post Spiced Tuna Rice appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.