Thala Ajith Biryani Recipe - Mushroom Biryani - Vegetarian Version

Hi Friends,
Today I have shared a yummy & delicious celebrity biryani recipe that belongs to our South Indian actor, The Ultimate Star Thala Ajith. I have been his fan for years and I am extremely happy to try and share his style of biryani in my blog. 

Few months back, I came across this recipe in a popular Tamil magazine (Kumudham Snehidhi). Our blogger friend Sundari Nathan shared the screen shot of the recipe page with me as per my request. So sweet of you dear. When I read the article, it is said Thala is a great cook and an expert in making biryani. He used to prepare and serve a delicious mutton biryani for his Co-stars & workers in his shooting spot. 

Director Mr.Venkat Prabhu and South Indian actress Miss. Parvathy Nair have shared the method of making Thala biryani with all the minute details. Everybody had praised the taste & Thala’s passion of cooking biryani. Having tempted by the article, I tried this recipe at home by replacing mutton with mushroom & soya chunks. I used my own measurements as the quantity of ingredients were not specified in the magazine. I have tried this recipe twice in the past 2 weeks. It’s a very simple bachelor kind of recipe without much fancy ingredients & grinding job.

To make this post more special, I served Thala Biryani in Thala Vazhai ilai with onion raita, Plain salna, Honey Chilli potato and Semiya payasam ;).We all loved its awesome aroma and taste. I have shared the screen shot of the article below for your reference in Tamil. If you wish to try Thala’s actual Non-veg biryani using mutton, it will help you. 

By the way, this biryani is my 35th post in this series.With this recipe,I am happily ending my Sunday Lunch Recipes Series. Next week I will make a detailed post on how to cook Basmati rice & jeera rice and update my old biryani recipes till this month end.

When I started this series, I had no clue of how I am going to try varieties of biryani being a pure vegetarian. But God helped me giving delicious recipes through websites, cookbooks and my friends. And now I am the proud owner of 40+ veg biryani recipes. I can confidently make veg biryani for my guests & family. 

At this time, I would like to thank all my readers & silent readers who have given me continuous support and encouragement by sharing the feedback of my biryani recipes via e-mails with tried & tasted pictures.  Even though I couldn’t post the recipes on time due to personal works, there were few readers who wait for my post and tried it instantly. Thanks for all your patience.

This series have got me so many new readers, friends and some cute sisters (Dhivya, Dharini, Kavitha, Sindhuja…). Thanks a ton buddies. But for you all, this series would not have come so far & become a hit. In the New Year 2016, I will try to come up with another interesting series. Stay tuned !!

Now lets see how to make this awesome, star special – Namma Thala Ajith style Biryani recipe in vegetarian version. Therikka Vidalamaa !!

Thala Ajith Biryani Recipe - Vegetarian Version

How to make the popular Thala Ajith Biryani Recipe using mushroom & Soya chunks- Vegetarian version

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Biryani Recipes

Serves: Serves 2-3

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 40 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 200 ml Basmati rice - 1 cup ( I used India Gate Brand) Water - 5 cups Lemon - 1/2 no ( small size) Salt - as needed Cooking oil - few drops For Gravy Cooking oil + ghee - 2 tbsp +1 tbsp Cinnamon - 1 inch piece Cloves - 3 nos Cardamom - 2 nos Bay leaf - 1 no Black stone flower/Kalpasi - 2 nos Big onion - 1 no (Big) Ginger - 2 inch piece+Garlic cloves - 8 nos (Grind to a paste.Use fresh paste for best taste OR 1.5 tsp store bought G&G paste) Green chillies - 2 nos Mint leaves + coriander leaves - 2 tbsp Ripe Tomato - 2 nos Mushroom or Soya chunks/meal maker - 10 nos Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp ( Add 1.5 tsp for spicy biryani) Curd - 1 tsp Red food color - a pinch Salt & water - as needed

METHOD

Wash and soak Basmati rice for at least 30 minutes. In the mean time,wash and clean the mushrooms if using. Chop into cubes. If you use soya chunks, boil 2 cups of water and soak the chunks. It will bulge in size. Squeeze & set aside. Chop the onions into slices, tomatoes into pieces & slit the green chillies. Boil 5 cups of water. When it roll boils, add the soaked & drained rice. Add salt, a tsp of oil and squeeze half of lemon. Simmer the flame & add the soaked, drained rice. Let it boil in high flame for few minutes. Stir once or twice in between without breaking the rice. Let it cook in water till its 80% done. Now switch off the flame and strain the rice in a colander. Collect the rice cooked water in a bowl. We are going to use this hot cooked water( Kanji) for putting DUM. So don’t throw it. Now take a tbsp of rice cooked water and mix the food color. Set aside. Let the rice be in colander till the gravy gets ready. Heat a kadai adding oil + ghee. Saute cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf & black stone flower. Now add the onion slices and saute until its transparent. Keep the flame low and Cover it with a lid. Let the onions turn crispy and golden brown. This is the key point for this biryani. Grind ginger & garlic adding required water and add it to the onion mixture. Saute until its raw smell vanishes. Do this in low flame. Cover it with a lid for sometime. Then add the mint+coriander leaves. Mix well and add tomatoes , green chillies. Saute until mushy. Cover with a lid. Once it turns mushy, add turmeric powder & red chilli powder. Mix well for few minutes and let the mixture become a paste. Add the mushroom pieces OR Squeezed soya chunks pieces. Saute well for a minute. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook the mushrooms/Soya chunks. Cover with a lid and let it boil for 2-3 minutes in high flame. Add 1 tsp of curd and cover cook for sometime. Oil will float on top. This is the sign for a perfectly cooked gravy. So wait till that point. Now gravy is ready. Let the gravy be in the kadai. Make sure there is some moisture content in the gravy so that it doesn’t get burnt. Now spread the 3/4th cooked basmati rice over the gravy and cover it. Heat a dosa tawa ( Any old non-stick or iron tawa) till its fuming point. Reduce the flame to low completely and place the kadai over the dosa tawa. Make sure kadai is closed tightly. Place the strained rice cooked hot water (Kanji) over the lid. Put under DUM for 5 minutes. Then open the lid and sprinkle food color, add a tbsp of ghee over the rice. Mix it gently with a ladle from top to bottom without breaking the rice. Again close it and keep for 10 minutes.That’s it. Delicious and yummy Thala biryani is ready to serve !! Enjoy with raita & Kurma !

Note

Adjust the quantity of spices as per your taste Add mixed vegetables in place of mushroom & soya chunks Keep in mind, you should use freshly ground ginger, garlic paste for best taste. Flame should be low when you saute sliced onions & other masala. Don’t forget to cover the kadai after you saute the masala every time. Onion should become golden brown. This point was highlighted in the recipe. If properly done, this is one of the best biryani with simple ingredients. For variations,you can add 1/2 tsp of garam masala or biryani masala powder.

I served Thala Biryani with Onion Raita , Plain salna, Honey Chilli potato and Vermicelli/Semiya payasam. We had a delectable lunch !!

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Paneer Paratha Recipe - Stuffed Paratha Recipes

Basically I love to try different varieties of paratha recipes at home.I make aloo paratha and mooli paratha most often. But I have not tried paneeer paratha & gobi paratha recipes so far.I have tried many paneer recipes like paneer gravies, korma, Paneer Kheer,  Paneer biryani & even Paneer bonda. But somehow I haven’t tried my hands on the most popular paneer paratha recipe.Yesterday I bought a 200gms block of paneer just to make this stufffed paratha.It was so easy to make and it came out so tasty, flavorful and soft. This paratha would be loved by kids and adults as well. For variations, you can mix some grated cheese along with paneer and make it for kids.Try making this paratha for you lunch or dinner. It tastes yum. Lets see how to make this easy & healthy paneer paratha recipe !

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Fruit And Yogurt Parfait Recipe – Parfait Recipes

Parfait Recipe – When my friend Shalini told me about this recipe,I had no clue of What is parfait,how it is made, how it tastes. Immediately I browsed for the recipe & images.I found in Wikipedia that Parfait is a type of food that is eaten as a dessert or breakfast in United States. It is a French word that means perfect.

In the United States, parfait refers to either the traditional French-style dessert or to a popular variant, the American parfait, made by layering parfait cream, ice cream, and/or flavored gelatins in a tall, clear parfait glass, and topping the creation with whipped cream, fresh or canned fruit. In Canada and the United States, parfaits may also be made by using greek yogurt layered with granola, nuts or fresh fruits, such as peaches, strawberries or blueberries. 

I loved the simplicity of this recipe and tried it for our Sunday breakfast using strawberry flavored yoghurt layered with muesli & fresh fruits. It came out very colorful and we loved its taste too. So I thought of sharing this easy dessert and breakfast recipe for you to try if you are bored with our usual Cereals with milk combo. Its so healthy &a tummy filling recipe. After tasting this strawberry yogurt parfait, I wish to try all the variants of parfait recipe and taste it. Ok, Lets see how to make this easy and healthy fruit yogurt parfait recipe.

Vegans, please replace yogurt with non-dairy yogurt. Actual recipe calls for granola, but I used muesli here. It was super crunchy to taste !

Fruit yogurt parfait recipe

Fruit yogurt parfait recipe - Easy American breakfast at home !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Breakfast

Serves:  2

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Granola Or Muesli - 4 tbsp Flavored yoghurt - 2 cups ( I used DANONE Strawberry yogurt – 80gms) Fresh fruits ( Blueberry , Strawberry,Apple and Cherries) - as needed

HOW TO MAKE FRUIT AND YOGURT PARFAIT - METHOD

Refrigerate or freeze the yoghurt for an hour and let it be cold and thick. I bought Danone & Nestle yogurt. But used Danone. Take all the required ingredients and keep it ready.   In a clear glass/Parfait glass, put 2 tbsp of muesli as the first layer. Then add half of the yogurt from 80gms cup. Again layer it with muesli and then add the remaining yoghurt. Lastly layer it with chopped fresh fruits. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf and serve immediately. Healthy and tasty fruit yogurt parfait is ready. Enjoy ! Doesn't it sound easy ?? ;) ( If you use greek yogurt, you can mix sugar with fresh fruits and then layer it to give a sweet taste. I used sweetened Strawberry flavored yoghurt. So I din’t use any extra sugar. For variations, you can use chopped banana pieces, cranberry, raspberry etc) If you don't have flavored yogurt in hand, just blend the strawberry adding some sugar, Mix with homemade thick curd & hang it for an hour by tieing them in a cloth or freexe it for an hour to make it thick. Excess water content would be removed. Then you can use this thick curd for making parfait !

Enjoy this quick and easy International breakfast at home !

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Cup Corn Recipe - Butter Cup Corn - Easy Snacks For Kids

Masala Cup corn is one of the most popular snacks you can find in all the malls and theaters in big cities.Cup corn is nothing but boiled American sweet corn kernels mixed with plain salt & butter.It’s an easy and yummy snack to be enjoyed during this monsoon season.In most of the cup corn stall,u could find a menu showing variations in this recipe like Indian masala,Mexican,Italian,classic,salted cup corn etc.We always go for masala butter corn whereas Raksha loves plain salted ones with extra butter.Most of the time this would be our interval time snacks in theaters.If you opt for less butter,it’s a guilt free low calorie healthy snack for kids and adults.Actually I clicked a picture of the cup corn menu and wanted to share here for variations u can try.But somehow I missed that file in my mobile. I will update this post after I click again.Nowadays I make this for Raksha’s school snack box very often.Its very easy to make if you have boiled corn in hands.You can also use frozen corn.Just cook the corn adding salt ,drain the excess water and mix the spice powders.Ok,Lets see how to make this easy masala butter cup corn recipe at home ! 

List of my corn recipes

• Sweet corn soup
• Sweet corn masala dosa
• Sweet corn pulao
• Sweet corn sundal
• Corn cheese balls
• Baby corn golden fry
• Baby corn manchurian
• Baby corn stir fry

Cup corn recipe/Butter cup corn recipe

How to make masala butter cup corn recipe for evening snacks

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Snacks

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

American sweet corn - 1 no ( 2 cups of corn kernels) Butter - 2 tbsp ( add more if u wish) Red chilli powder - 1 tsp ( use 1/2 tsp for less spice) Chat masala powder - 1/2 tsp ( adjust) Salt - as needed Lemon juice - few drops

METHOD

Pressure cook the sweet corn adding enough water and salt.Once it becomes warm,remove the cork kernels using a knife as shown in the picture below. Boil the kernels in hot water for few minutes to make it hot ( OR mix all these spice powders and double boil the corn kernels to keep it hot till u serve).Drain the excess water and collect the corn kernels in a bowl.Add red chilli powder,chat masala powder,salt and butter. Mix it well,check for taste and serve hot immediately. Enjoy !

Note

For plain salted ones with butter,avoid spice powders and add salt,butter alone. Adjust the quantity of chilli powder and chat masala powder as per your taste. You can skip lemon juice and add amchur powder for tangy taste You can also try adding black salt instead of plain salt.

Try this easy,healthy masala cup corn recipe for your kids and Husband.They will love it !!

Check out my other corn recipes

• Sweet corn soup
• Sweet corn masala dosa
• Sweet corn pulao
• Sweet corn sundal
• Corn cheese balls
• Baby corn golden fry
• Baby corn manchurian
• Baby corn stir fry

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Garlic Chutney Recipe - Poondu Chutney - Side Dish For Idli Dosa

This is one of the chutneys I make for travel because it stays good for a day without refrigeration.My Dad loves this chutney a lot as it tastes spicy.Usually I add more onion and less garlic but this morning I tried the same chutney adding more garlic cloves and less onion.It was tasting great with idli & dosa.Garlic chutney(Poondu chutney in Tamil,Lahsun ki chutney in Hindi,Vellulli chutney in Telugu and Bellulli chutney in Kannada) for idli & dosa can be made in many ways.You could find varieties of poondu chutney in blogosphere.Some people add tomato & some use coconut.It can also be made as dry chutney just like my Poondu molapdi for Vendhaya dosa.The chutney recipe I have shared today is without coconut & tomato. Soon I will share the other variants of garlic chutney.In the mean time,check out my Poondu thogayal/Garlic thuvayal for rice & easy tomato garlic chutney for roti  if interested ! Lets see how to prepare this South Indian style onion poondu chutney for idli,dosa

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Milagu Rasam / Pepper Rasam Recipe - Rasam Recipes

Pepper Rasam(Milagu Rasam in Tamil) is the most wanted rasam recipe in this rainy season. As you all know pepper is good for sore throat & cold. It gives a soothing effect. So my MIL make this rasam to drink as a soup whenever we are down with flu. Adding tomato & garlic in this rasam are purely optional. If you want to make this rasam without tomato, just follow my poondu rasam recipe and use less garlic cloves. However you make this rasam tastes great with the flavor & hotness of pepper. Lets see how to make this hot and spicy Indian pepper rasam with stepwise recipes !

Check out my Milagu kuzhambu & Iyengar Milagu kuzhambu recipes too !

Milagu Rasam/Pepper Rasam

How to make pepper rasam/Milagu rasam for cold

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Rasam Recipe

Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Tamarind - Small gooseberry size Tomato - 1 no (skip tomato & use medium gooseberry tamarind to drink as a soup for cold) Pepper corns/Milagu - 1 tsp ( Use 1.5 tsp for more spiciness) Cumin seeds/Jeeragam - 1/4 tsp Garlic cloves - 2 nos (optional) Pepper powder –1/4 tsp ( to sprinkle at the end) Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Hing/Asafetida – a pinch Salt & water - as needed Sugar - 1/4 tsp To temper Ghee - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Red chilli - 1 no ( optional) Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves - to garnish

HOW TO MAKE MILAGU RASAM - METHOD

Soak tamarind in one cup of water for 20 minutes and take extract. Wash and chop the tomato into pieces. Crush it using your hands and add to tamarind extract. Add salt, turmeric powder, hing and few curry leaves. Coarsely powder the pepper corns+Jeera+garlic cloves(with skin). Heat a kadai with ghee. Splutter mustard seeds,Cumin seeds and a pinched red chilli. Add the tamarind extract +1 cup of water and boil for few minutes. Add the ground pepper powder to the boiling rasam and add 1/4 cup of water. When the rasam comes to a roll boil, switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and sprinkle 1/4 tsp of pepper powder on top to get a nice flavor. Transfer it to a bowl and enjoy drinking hot or mix with plain rice !

Note

You can avoid tomato & garlic in the above recipe. But increase the quantity of tamarind accordingly. For this recipe, you can use medium gooseberry sized tamarind. Add more pepper corns for spicy rasam.

Make this hot and flavorful pepper rasam. Enjoy drinking as a soup or mix with plain rice & ghee !

Tastes yum!!

 

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Easy Walnut Chutney Recipe - Side dish For Idli,Dosa

Nowadays I started to look for some healthy chutney recipes other than my usual coconut chutney & onion,tomato chutney recipes.Recently I came across this walnut chutney recipe in a facebook page.Its recipe was very similar to my hotel style thick coconut chutney recipe.So this morning I tried it for our breakfast as a side dish for Samai idli/Little millet idli( Recipe yet to come).After having this chutney,Sendhil told its taste is very similar to peanut chutney.Its an easy to make,South Indian style chutney using less coconut.You can make it without coconut too.It was tasting good with Samai Idli & Dosa as well.If you don’t have walnuts in hand,you can prepare this chutney with Almonds/Badam or just with the skin of almonds.ie badam peel.It will come out well.Refer notes section for more variations.Lets see how to make Indian style,healthy walnut chutney recipe in detail !Check out my 40+ Chutney varieties HERE

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