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
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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.
- 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.
- 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 !
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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.
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Continue Reading...
.For the past one week,I had been trying various cookies and cake recipes.From today,I will share them one by one till Christmas.To begin with,here is the most popular cookies that everyone must try during this season.Yes,Its melt in mouth,crispy Shortbread cookies(Eggless version).We call this as Butter biscuit/ butter cookies.I browsed through few recipes and came up with this version.This is my first attempt in making these cookies and I must say”It came out PERFECT”. I am completely happy with the results.The ingredients and measurements are very easy to remember.It’s a fool proof,beginners cookie and anyone can bake it easily.Its perfect for Christmas & New year Gifting.With buttery soft and melt in mouth texture,it tastes awesome.You won’t and you can’t stop with one even if you are calorie conscious
.I saw few recipes with cornstarch/corn flour and few with a combination of wheat flour & maida.I am sure it works in all the ways as the butter makes the magic here.I have shared all the possible tips and tricks in my Notes section.Do peep into it before you start.Friends,How come a cookie with so much of butter goes wrong.Do try it confidently and surprise your family members by showing your expertise in baking
