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Showing posts with label RESTAURANT STYLE RECIPES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RESTAURANT STYLE RECIPES. Show all posts

January 4, 2015

Dindigul Thalappakatti Veg Biryani-Mushroom,Soya Chunks Biryani Recipe--Sunday Lunch Recipes -1

Dindigul-thalapakatti-biryani

In this New year, with all your support and blessings, I have planned to start biryani series from this week. I guess most of you make ( Both vegetarian & Non-vegetarian) make biryani in weekend especially on Sunday. Even I too make biryani mostly on Sundays, make myself free and enjoy my time with my family. To me, Biryani is an easy to make yet very rich & delicious one pot meal that make everyone drool over its smell & color. I love to try varieties of biryani recipes by watching TV shows, by referring blogs or cookbooks. I thought of blogging the same here as it might be useful to vegetarians who look for varieties of biriyani recipes. So every Sunday, you can expect some yummy biryani & pulao recipes in my blog. Actually I wanted to start this series with “How to cook Basmati rice” post. But I still have some work pending to bring that post here. As I am in Salem, I couldn’t do it. So I thought of starting this series with this most popular Dindigul thalappakatti biryani recipe in which I used jeera rice. Generally vegetarians have less options for biryani varieties. So I used to refer non-veg biryani recipe too & try it  by replacing chicken or mutton with vegetables like mushroom, Gobi/cauliflower and soya chunks. You can find one such example here.  Even today I have shared Dindigul thalapakatti biryani which is the most popular mutton biryani of Dindigul district. For this recipe, I referred so many sites and read readers comments to get some idea about its color, the rice used in it etc. Finally I landed upon here & tried this biryani by making small changes in the actual recipe to achieve its brown color. I used mushroom & soya chunks/meal maker in place of mutton ;). The taste was awesome. It came out super flavourful with minimum masala. Raksha & Sendhil loved it a lot. Raksha told me to make the same biryani next day too for her lunch box . So I made a minimum quantity for her using rice cooker. Now I can confidently try this biryani for my guests too. I served this biryani with simple onion raita as a side dish. I made fruit custard for dessert & curd rice as well. So last week we had this biryani, raita, fruit custard and curd rice for our lunch. It was simple yet divine ! I have updated this recipe with a full video. Do watch it !

I will try my level best to collect the best biryani recipes, try them in my kitchen and share it here.Wish me Good Luck. Leave your feedback or share the picture if you try any biryani recipes from this series. It will motivate me to try n post more. Check out my other biryani & pulao recipes that are popular in my blog.

I have updated this recipe with a video. Please check it !


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November 14, 2014

KFC STYLE VEG STRIPS RECIPE-KIDS SNACKS RECIPES


KFC-Veg-strips-recipe

KFC’s Veg strips with Veg Rice Bowlz & Potato burgers/Krisper is my daughter Raksha’s favourite restaurant food now.Yeah,we have become a regular customer of (Bangalore) Kathriguppe KFC in weekendsDrooling.Thanks to my friend Megha for telling me about the veggie options in KFC.Earlier we were thinking it is only for non-vegetarians.So we have never gone inside it and i was throwing out all the KFC discount coupons i was getting along with sodexo meal passNot talking.Once Megha told me about Veg Rice Bowlz and Veggie burger varieties of KFC and suggested me try once.We went in the same weekend and now we have become an ardent fans of those dishes.More than me Sendhil & Raksha have become crazy for its taste and they are ready to go there anytime of the day.U won’t believe if i say that we have visited KFC nearly 6-7 times in past two monthsWinking.And nowadays Raksha started demanding me to try KFC’s recipes at home too.When i was browsing for the same,i got some ideas from facebook’s Chef at large group posted by some members.I collected all those recipes & googled few more too.Inspired by all the pictures and recipes,i tried veg strips for the first time last week and i was  very happy with the results.It was sooo crispy and Raksha loved it a lot with tomato ketchup.I won’t say its the exact replica of KFC’s original recipe(hope u know its a secret recipe) but i am sure it tastes pretty close and your family will enjoy it for sure.
Today being children’s day,i wanted to treat my daughter with her favourite finger food.So I made this again along with one minute brownie & kept it for her surprisingly.After coming from the school,when i gave this snacks to her,she showed a big smile and hugged me tightlyBig Hug.She tasted and said “Wow,mummy its awesome” and she had 5 of themLaughing.
The procedure may seem lengthy as i made bread crumbs & chilli flakes at home.If u have store bought bread crumbs & chilli flakes in hand, u can finish the entire process within 30 minutes,Also u can make everything well advanced and just deep fry during serving time.So just try this for your kids birthday party & get together or simply as evening snack.They will enjoy this dish thoroughly.But one thing,serve it hot to enjoy its full flavor,taste & crispness.So don’t forget to serve & eat hot !!
Here is the picture of KFC Veg Rice bowlz with veg strips i tried on last weekend.Here i used coarsely ground corn flakes to give KFC chicken lookWinking.But today i used finely powdered corn flakes.So make it as per your wish.It tastes Sooo Good in either ways Smile.Soon i will post Veg rice bowlz with curry recipe.

NOTE: KFC's veg strips tastes less spicy with very mild masala flavour.So i too followed the same here.Please add garam masala powder,aamchur powder or chat masala powder if u want strong masala smell.


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July 24, 2014

POORI MASALA RECIPE - HOTEL STYLE POTATO MASALA FOR PURI - POORI KIZHANGU

Poori masala
Poori masala with potato/ Aloo masala in Hindi / Urulaikizhangu masala in Tamil is the best side dish for poori. Last year I posted onion masala without potato which is my mom’s special recipe. But poori tastes the best only with potato masala or potato kurma as served in restaurants / Hotels. In Tamil we say this as “Poori Kizhangu” and in Hindi it is called as bhaji. In Tamilnadu, Saravana bhavan hotel poori masala is very popular. Iam yet to taste it. But the one I have shared here is also hotel style poori masala that is served in most of the restaurants in Tamilnadu. Yes, addition of besan flour is the secret for hotel style recipe. I made puri and this south Indian hotel style potato masala for our breakfast yesterday as my birthday special recipe. Some people use this potato masala for stuffing masala dosa too. But I make that masala slightly different. Soon I will post it here. You can do so many variations in this recipe by adding tomato, carrot, peas and making it without onion, besan flour etc. I have listed them in “Note” section.It tastes good in all the ways. Here is our method of making this yummy side dish for poori. Lets see how to make hotel style poori masala @ potato masala for poori with step by step photos.

Do check out my potato kurma recipe for poori , Karnataka style veg sagu , Saravana bhavan veg kurma

Poori masala recipe


Poori masala recipe


Rava payasam recipe Poori masala / Poori kizhangu masala - Tamil nadu hotel style recipe, Best side dish for poori using potato
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Sidedish
Serves: Serves 3
Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 25Minutes


INGREDIENTS
To Pressure cook
  • Potato - 3 nos
  • Big onion - 2 nos
  • Green chillies - 3 nos
  • Ginger – 1 inch piece
  • Hing - 1/8 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  • Besan flour – 2 tsp
  • Salt & water - as needed
To temper
  • Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Urad dal - 1 tsp
  • Chana dal - 1 tbsp
  • Curry leaves - few
METHOD

  • Wash and cut the potatoes into 3-4 pieces.Pressure cook them adding a pinch of turmeric powder for 4-5 whistles in high flame.Remove and peel the skin.Mash it roughly into big pieces.Dilute the besan flour adding 1/4 cup of water and set aside.
Poori masala recipe step
  • Slice onions,chop ginger,Green chillies and curry leaves.Set aside.
  • In a wide kadai,heat oil and do the seasoning part as given above.Then add onions,finely chopped green chillies ,ginger bits & curry leaves.
Poori masala recipe step1
  • Saute till onion turns transparent.Now add 1 cup of water,turmeric powder,salt and hing.Allow it to boil.Meanwhile add the roughly chopped potatoes and diluted besan flour.(I transferred everything to a small cooker and cooked for one whistle in high flame for quick cooking of onions.Its optional.U can do it in kadai too.)
Poori masala recipe step2
  • Boil well for few minutes till onion gets cooked well & masala reaches semi solid consistency.Switch off the flame.Add some coriander leaves if necessary.
Poori masala recipe step3
Potato masala is ready to serve with hot puffy puri !
NOTE
  • For variations,u can add finely chopped carrots and a handful of peas while sauting onions.U can also add half of a finely chopped tomato.
  • U can add besan flour or skip it if u don’t like tat flavour.But i add it to give the restaurant touch as well as to give a creamy texture.
  • This masala thickens when it cools.So make it slightly watery before switching off the flame.
  • Adjust the quantity of chillies as per ur taste.I don’t chop the chillies finely for my daughter’s sake.So i slit and add.But in hotels they do add them finely chopped.
  • To make this as kurma,add some finely chopped garlic cloves and 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder.



Poori kizhangu masala



Puffy poori with this potato masala tastes like heaven for morning breakfast.Do try & feel it !!

Don't forget to check out my puffy poori/Puri recipe with tips n tricks !

Potato masala for poori




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May 26, 2014

AMBUR VEG BIRYANI RECIPE WITH SOYA CHUNKS

Ambur veg biryani recipe
As you all know, the world famous Ambur biryani is a non-veg biryani prepared with mutton or chicken. But you may think how come I post Ambur biryani in my vegetarian blog ?. U are right. Being a vegetarian, I can’t try the actual biryani recipe. But somehow I wanted to try this in my kitchen after knowing its popularity.

When I asked my non-veg friends, they suggested me to use soya chunks/meal maker instead of mutton. Meal maker very much resembles mutton right, eppuuudddi ?. So I just replaced mutton with soya chunks and tried this biryani by referring The Hindu “Food safari” section & Aval vikatan magazine where “Star biryani “ Muneer ahmed has shared the recipe for how to make in small quantities at home. I also watched you tube video by “Puthiya thalaimurai” channel for more details.

It came out very well & I started making this regularly. This would be our sunday biryani at least once in a month. I used jeera rice/ seeraga samba arisi as mentioned in the actual recipe. Without using ghee  & coconut milk, the flavour of just masala & jeera rice while cooking is awesome. Try it, you will come to know. Next I have planned to try Dindigul thalapakatti biryani too. 


Ambur veg biryani recipe

In the “Notes” section I have shared some of the health benefits of soya nuggets/meal maker. Do read it. As there is no grinding or chopping works, you can do this quickly. Bachelor's can try this too..

Check out my soya chunks gravy if interested!

Ambur veg biryani recipe

Ambur Biryani recipe with soya chunks


Ambur Biryani recipe with soya chunks Ambur style Soya chunks biryani recipe – Sunday special biryani !!
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Lunch
Serves: 3
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml
  • Jeera rice/Seeraga samba arisi - 1 cup
  • Big onions - 2 nos
  • Tomato - 1 no
  • Soya chunks - 2 handful
  • Red chilli paste - 1 tbsp (I used 5-6  byadgi chillies & make a paste)
  • Garlic paste - 1.5 tbsp ( grind 20 cloves)
  • Ginger paste -1.5 tbsp ( Grind thumb finger size piece)
  • Mint & coriander leaves - a handful
  • Salt - as needed
  • Water - 1.5 cups( I used 1.75 cups to make it well cooked)
  • Curd - 3 tbsp
  • Lemon juice - as needed
To temper
  • Cooking oil - 4 tbsp
  • Cinnamon – 1 big piece
  • Cloves - 2 nos
  • Cardamom - 2 nos
HOW TO MAKE AMBUR VEG BIRYANI - METHOD

  • Pinch & soak 6 chillies in little hot water and grind into a smooth paste. Use Kashmiri variety chilli (Byadgi) to get this bright color. Grind ginger to smooth paste adding required water. Similarly grind garlic and make the paste.Keep all the paste separately.
  • Boil water in a pan. Once it starts to roll boil, add the soya chunks and switch off the flame. Let the chunks soak and gets doubled in size.
  • Chop onions, tomato, mint & coriander leaves and keep it ready.
ambur biryani step1
  • In a cooker base, heat oil. Sprinkle a tsp of curd to check whether the oil is heated. Now add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom. Saute for a second and add the garlic paste. Saute for a minute till raw goes off. Now add ginger paste. Saute well for a minute. Mix well. Then add chilli paste & mix well.
ambur biryani step2
  • Now add onions & saute till transparent.Then add tomato pieces. Saute till it turns mushy. Squeeze and add soya chunks. Mix well.
  • Lastly add mint & coriander leaves & salt. Toss well.
ambur biryani step3
  • Add the curd & mentioned quantity of water, lemon juice. Let it boil nicely. Wash the jeera rice and add it to the boiling water. Close the cooker with the lid. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle(approx 10 mins).
ambur biryani step4
ambur biryani step5
  • After the steam is released, check whether rice is cooked well. U can put **DUM** for 5 minutes if necessary else check for taste and serve hot with raita ! Prepare this rice 30 minutes in advance because all the masala will infuse well & tastes good.
HOW TO PUT DUM
You can put the dum in two ways. 
1. Heat an old dosa tawa till very hot. Place the cooker over the dosa tawa. Keep the flame very low and cook for 5 - 10 minutes. 
2.Transfer the rice from cooker to a flat base vessel. Keep the vessel over the low flame and cover it tightly with a lid. Boil water in a bowl and keep this bowl over the rice vessel as a weight. Put the Dum for 5-7 minutes. Keep the flame very low. Remove and serve hot! 



Ambur veg biryani

Note


  • As Muneer ahmed says, the secret & color of this biryani lies in red chilli paste. So I used byadgi red chilli to give the natural red color and it is mildly spiced too. I have not used food color here. If you use other chilli varieties, add less based on its spice level.
  • As per the original recipe, you should cook the gravy & rice separately upto 80%, mix & put under DUM. But cooking in pressure cooker suited my family’s taste. So I follow this way.
  • No need to use ghee or coconut milk in this recipe,
  • Use the paste as mentioned above to get the actual taste. Never add G&G paste. It will give a different taste & flavor. I have tried in that way too.
Health benefits of soya nuggets
  1. Soya is rich in protein, minerals & vitamins. Hence it is a good choice for vegetarians.
  2. It is high in fiber and aids in weight loss.
  3. It is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acid. So it is good for heart.
  4. It is beneficial for women during post menopausal days.
Enjoy Ambur style soya chunks biryani with simple onion raita. Tastes great !
Soya chunks biryani

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March 4, 2014

KUMBAKONAM KADAPPA RECIPE/கும்பகோணம் கடப்பா-SIDE DISH FOR IDLI DOSA

Kumbakonam Kadappa as the title says, it is a very famous side dish recipe for idli, dosa in Kumbakonam, Thiruvarur & Thanjavur district, Tamil nadu. It tastes more like kurma but its consistency is between sambar and kurma. I have tasted this once in Sendhil’s uncle’s house in Kumbakonam.

Long back I tried two versions & posted here too. But this recipe is the authentic, restaurant style one from Chef, Master Ravi of  the famous “Vaasan cafe”, Thiruvarur, Kumbakonam. I took this recipe from Aval vikatan Magazine. Last month I prepared this when my in-laws were here. We all loved it & relished with idli. I have tried this many times after that.

The color of kadappa is usually white. In some hotels/restaurants, they make with or without tomato, carrot. Even the recipe given the book had carrot and tomato. So I tried two versions. Hope U can find the difference in color in pictures. Do try any based on your liking. I am sure you’ll love this mildly spiced, kurma like gravy for idli, dosa. Procedure seems a bit lengthy. But its worthy to try. Lets see how to make restaurant style kumbakonam kadappa recipe with step by step pictures.

Kadappa with tomato & carrot

Kumbakonam/Thanjavur kadappa recipe


Kumbakonam/Thanjavur kadappa recipe Kumbakonam/Thanjavur kadappa recipe - Authentic recipe from a chef. A tasty side dish for idli,dosa!
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Side dish
Serves: Serves 4
Prep time: 20 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 40 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml
To pressure cook
  • Yellow moong dal - 1/4 cup
  • Potato - 1 no
  • Water - as needed
  • Oil - a drop
To powder
  • Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
  • Fennel - 1/2 tsp
  • Garlic cloves - 5 nos
To saute
  • Oil - 1 tsp
  • Green chilli – 4- 5 
  • Fried gram dal /Pottukadalai – 2 tsp
To grind with above
  • Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
  • Khus-Khus/Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
  • Soambu/Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
  • Garlic cloves - 5 nos
  • Ginger - 1 inch piece
To temper & saute
  • Oil - 2 tbsp
  • Cloves - 2 nos
  • Biryani leaf / bay leaf - 1 no
  • Star anise - 1 no
  • Small onion - 10 nos OR Big onion - 1 
  • Garlic cloves - 10 nos
  • Tomato – 1 no (optional)
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Carrot - 1 no (small,optional)
  • Mint, coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
  • Lemon juice - few drops
HOW TO MAKE KADAPPA - METHOD

  • Pressure cook moong dal adding required water & a drop of oil. Keep a whole potato inside it. Cook them for one whistle in low flame. Remove, peel the potato skin & cut into cubes. Mash the dal & set aside.
kadappa tile1
  • In a kadai, heat a tsp of oil & saute the green chillies & fried gram dal. Take this in a mixie jar & add grated coconut, ginger, garlic cloves, poppy seeds & fennel seeds. Grind everything to a smooth paste adding required water. Set aside.
  • Crush the cinnamon, fennel & garlic cloves & set aside. In the same kadai, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Saute cloves,star anise,cardamom and biryani leaf.
kadappa tile2
  • Now add the crushed cinnamon powder. Then add onions, garlic cloves & saute till transparent. Now add tomatoes & saute for a minute. No need to become mushy. Adding tomato & carrot is optional.
  • Add sliced carrots, saute well. Add water to cook the carrots and cover cook for few minutes.
kadappa tile3
  • After the carrots are cooked well, add the ground coconut paste and cooked moong dal. Boil for sometime. Check for salt. Add the potato cubes, allow the gravy to boil till thickens slightly. 
  • Before removing, add the chopped coriander and mint leaves. Give one boil and switch off the flame.
kadappa tile4
kadappa tile5
  • Add lemon juice and Serve with hot idlies !

I served it with Oats Barely idli !



Note

  • This gravy would thicken after it cools down.So make it slightly watery.
  • Adding tomato & carrots are optional. I have not seen them in the kadappa I tasted in kumbakonam restaurants. But I added as it was mentioned in the recipe.
  • To make it white, omit tomato & carrots. Add more green chillies if you want it more spicy.
Enjoy this Kumbakonam kadappa for idli,dosa with  Kumbakonam degree coffee !


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February 5, 2014

Tomato Soup Recipe - Indian Restaurant Style Tomato Soup (Without Cream)

Tomato-soup-with-bread

This is my first post on soup recipes. Tomato soup using fresh tomatoes is the one and only soup I order whenever we go out for dinner. But no two restaurants serve tomato soup (thakkali soup) in same taste. Everybody has their own variations. Among all the soups I have tasted, I would say the best tasting soup is the one I had in Salem”Lakshmi Hotel - Salem, Tamilnadu’'. It was the bestest. My total family is a big fan of that soup and sometimes we have gone there for dinner just to taste that soup. Every time I keep sniffing/smelling the soup to find out the ingredients and I tried many times to recreate the same. At last I succeeded in my attempt. This tomato soup tastes 90% close to that soup.  I got the same color and taste. I have not used carrot, beetroot or cream . This is just the original color of fresh tomatoes. Sendhil and Raksha loved it a lot. Do try this simple,easy and yummy restaurant style recipe and let me know your feedback. Here is my small attempt in capturing the steam..How is it ? 😉 Lets see how to make this easy south indian tomato soup recipe.

Tomato soup recipe


Tomato soup recipe Indian Restaurant style yummy tomato soup recipe without cream.
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Soup
Serves: Serves 3
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
To saute
  • Butter - 1 tbsp
  • Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
  • Cloves - 1 no
  • Bayleaf - 1 no
  • Garlic cloves - 10 nos
  • Big onion - 1 no(small size)
  • Ripe tomatoes - 4 nos(chop finely)
To mix in the soup
  • Salt - as needed
  • Sugar - 1/4 tsp
  • Tomato sauce / tomato ketchup -1 tbsp
  • Corn flour - 1 tbsp
  • Water- 3 cups
  • Pepper powder -  to serve
METHOD

  • In a pressure cooker base,melt butter. Add the cinnamon,clove and bay leaf. Saute for few seconds. Add onions,chopped garlic cloves and saute well. Finally add the chopped tomato pieces and saute till mushy.
tomato-soup-tile
  • To this, add 3 cups of water, salt and pressure cook in high flame for 3-4 whistles. After the steam is released,remove the bayleaf, cinnamon and grind it with a hand blender or a juicer.
tomato-soup-tile2
  • Strain the sediments and discard. Add the bay leaf and cinnamon back to the strained soup.
  • Now add sugar, tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp of white pepper powder and allow it to boil for a minute. Dilute corn flour in little water and add to the soup. Allow it to boil till raw smell emanates completely.
tomato-soup-tile3
tomato-soup-tile4
  • Serve hot with bread croutons.
  NOTE
  • Generally a piece of carrot or beetroot would be added to the tomatoes while cooking to give a nice color. But I din’t use any as my tomatoes itself were ripe with a nice color.
  • If you add carrot or beetroot,do not grind it along with tomatoes. Please discard them after you pressure cook.
  • For making bread croutons,cut the bread into slices, apply little oil. Bake in a convection oven at 180c for 20 mins. Flip it once in the middle. U’ll get a super crispy bread croutons which you can serve with this yummy soup. It tastes great !




Serve hot topped with bread pieces and pepper powder ! It tastes yummy!
Tomato-soup-recipe-with-bread-pieces

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December 12, 2013

Restaurant Style Vegetable Pulao With Raita - South Indian Veg Biryani Recipe

Spicy vegetable pulao
I got this restaurant style veg pulao recipe from a friend who is an expert in cooking non-veg recipes. She shared her South Indian style Vegetable pulao recipe with me. In Karnataka, all my friend call it as vegetable pulao/palav. In my house, mom and MIL call these kind of recipe as either biryani or vegetable rice. I tried this recipe for the first time. It came out super flavourful and tasty. When you cook this biryani, I bet your house will be scented with this masala flavour. U can feel the smell in your hands even after you finished eating it:) I am not exaggerating, its true. Try it :) Its totally my kind of recipe with full masala flavour.

Whenever my neighbours make biryani, I keep sniffing the aroma. Every time I feel like rushing to their house to get the recipe. As they cook mostly non-veg biryani, I hesitate to ask because I was thinking the same flavours cannot be achieved with vegetables. I thought its only because of chicken or mutton. Of course chicken/mutton may also be one of the reasons. But the major thing is the masala/spices we use. I got to know this only after making this biryani. U’ll get the taste and smell of non-veg biryani when you try this recipe. Its a keeper recipe for vegetarians like me.

If you make this for parties, make it directly in electric rice cooker like i did in my tomato rice recipe but with generous amount of oil and gheeRice cooker helps to keep the pulao hot till u eat. Last week i attended a birthday party. They kept this rice in their menu. It was awesome.So I thought of sharing this recipe before posting the party menu.

Ok, enough of boring, let us move on and see how to make spicy veg biryani & raita with step by step pictures :)

Click here for Masala vada recipe, Curd Rice recipe 

spicy vegetable pulao


Spicy vegetable pulao


Spicy vegetable pulao Spicy vegetable biryani/pulao recipe - Truly flavourful
Cuisine: Indian Category: Lunch Yields: Serves 3
Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Total Time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml
To soak in water
  • Basmati rice - 1cup
  • Water - 1.5 - 1.75 cups
To saute in oil
  • Cooking oil + ghee – 2tbsp + 2tsp
  • Bay leaf – 1no
  • Star anise – 1no
  • Lichen or Black stone flower – Kalpasi – 1/2 tsp (please see the picture in step by step & refer notes)
  • Vegetables - 3/4 cup (carrot-1no ,beans-8nos, green peas-1/4cup, potato - 1no)
  • Big onion – 2 nos (medium sized)
  • Red chilli powder - 1/2 - 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
To grind
  • Big onion - 1/4 no (use only quarter piece)
  • Green chillies - 3- 4 nos (small finger size)
  • Mint leaves - 10 nos
  • Fennel seeds - 3/4 tsp
  • Cinnamon - 1 small piece
  • Clove -2 nos
  • Cardamom - 1 no
  • Ginger - 1 inch piece
  • Garlic - 5-6 pods(small)
  • Cashews - 2 nos (optional)
HOW TO MAKE HOTEL VEG PULAO - METHOD

  • Wash and soak the basmati rice for at least 30-45 minutes. Else you have to add 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Chop all the vegetables and onions(finely)  & grind the masala. Keep it ready.
Spicy veg pulao
  • In a pressure cooker or rice cooker base, heat oil+ghee and add the bay leaf, star anise and kalpasi. Then add the onions, saute for a minute or two. Now add the ground masala paste. Wash the jar with very little water and add it. Saute well in medium flame till you get a nice aroma(People sitting in living room will definitely come to your kitchen by the aroma;))
Spicy veg pulao
  • Add turmeric and red chilli powder. Saute for a minute. Lastly add the vegetables and required salt. Mix well. Drain the water from the soaked rice and add it. Mix well for a minute.
Spicy veg pulao
  • Lastly add 1.5-1.75 cups of water (depending on the basmati rice brand) and a tsp of ghee and pressure cook in low flame till one whistle or 10-12 minutes.
  • Remove, mix with a fork like ladle.
Spicy veg pulao
Serve hot with any raita.I served with mixed vegetable raita and its recipe follows.

Click here for Masala vada recipeCurd Rice recipe 


Note
  • Do not add more mint leaves and onion than the above mentioned quantity. Do not use turmeric powder to get white colored pulao. Add more green chillies if you want too spicy.
  • Add oil/ghee generously when you make for parties or guests.
  • If you have Lichen or Black stone flower - Kalpasi, please add it. Mostly U’ll get this ingredient in biryani masala packet. It gave a nice smell to the pulao. Please click this link to see the picture of this ingredient. Skip if you don’t have it.
  • Adding water depends on the amount of soaking. If you soak for one hour, add 1 to 1.5 cups of water. Here I used around 1.75 cups of water after soaking the rice for about 15 minutes as my husband likes that way. I used India gate basmati rice.
Spicy vegetable biryani

RAITA FOR PULAO/BIRYANI

This raita was served along with this pulao in that party. It was a nice combo for this pulao. We loved it.
Raita recipe for pulao/biryani

Mixed vegetable raita


Mixed vegetable raita Raita recipe for pulao/biryani
Cuisine: Indian Category: Lunch side dish Yields: Serves 4
Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Total Time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
To mix in curd
  • Finely chopped big onions - 2 nos
  • Finely chopped cucumber - 1/2 no(small size)
  • Finely chopped green chillies – 1-2  nos if small 
  • Grated carrot – 1 medium no
  • Salt - as needed
  • Fresh thick curd – 2-3 cups
HOW TO MAKE RAITA - METHOD

  • Finely chop all the vegetables. Mix well in a big bowl adding the required salt. Just before serving add the curd, Mix well without adding water. Tempering is not needed. Serve with pulao/biryani.
Raita for biryani/pulao

Note

Cucumber will leave water and the mixture will become watery if you mix curd in advance. So add curd only 10 minutes before serving. After mixing, if you feel the mixture is too thick, add little water. Else do not add water.

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