Hot Tasty Rice Dishes

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:
1 kg basmati rice
1 kg chicken
3-4 onions, chopped into long slices
8 green chilies, sliced long
1 cup coconut, grated
A pinch of saffron
2 cups ghee (butter) or oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp chili powder
1 bunch cilantro, mint leaves
6 each cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon
2 tbsp coriander and khus khus seeds
4 garlic flakes, sliced long
1 cm ginger piece
2 bay leaves
Few cashew nuts

Method:
Wash the rice, drain off all the water and keep aside.
Mix coconut, coriander and khus khus seeds, 2 cloves, 2 cinnamon, 2 cardamoms, 2 onions and blend them to a fine paste.
Heat ghee in a pan, fry the remaining spices, chopped onions, green chilies and garlic for a few minutes.
Cut the chicken into desired pieces and add to this mixture with coriander and mint leaves.
Also add salt, chili powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste and cook the chicken by covering the pan. Add water if required.
Now add ground paste to the pieces and cook until it is done.Boil water in another pan, add washed rice to the water with saffron and cook until it is tender. Remove from heat and drain off all the water.
In a separate wide pan, place the rice at the bottom as a layer and above this, place the chicken pieces as another layer. Repeat this process until the rice and chicken ends.
Sprinkle the lemon juice on top and allow it to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.

Egg Biryani

Ingredients:
500 gms Basmati rice,soaked for half an hour
4 large onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves
Little ginger
8-9 green chilies
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 tsp coriander leaves
1 tsp garam masala & chili powder
2 bay leaves
6 tsp ghee
6 eggs, hard boiled
1/2 tsp yogurt
10 cardamom
1/2 cup grated coconut
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash and soak rice for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Blend the ingredients 3 - 7 in a blender until they become a smooth paste.
Shell the boiled eggs and give four long cuts on the white portion of each egg without separating it.
In a kadai, heat ghee. Fry onions until they become golden brown and keep them aside. In the same ghee, add the blended paste and fry a little. Then add chili powder, salt, eggs and fry till the eggs get coated with the masala. Remove the eggs and keep them aside.
To the same masala paste add the drained rice, garam masala, cardamoms, bay leaves and fry till the rice changes its color. Add sufficient water and bring to boil
When the air holes appear on the rice surface, reduce heat to low and then add the yogurt, coconut and mix well with rice. Cook till all the water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Cut the eggs into halves and garnish with the fried onions. Cover the pulao with a heavy lid, reduce heat and allow to cook for 30 to 45 minutes. Serve hot with Raita, Pickles, Pappad.

Mutton Biryani

Ingredients:
1 kg basmati rice
1 kg mutton
200 gms ginger
150 gms garlic
3 tsp garam masala
500 gms oil
500 gms finely chopped onions
250 gms thick yoghurt
2 lemons
2 sprigs of coriander
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Method:
Cook mutton with salt, turmeric and ginger-garlic paste for 15 - 20 minutes in a cooker or in a thick-bottomed vessel.
Heat oil in a wok and fry finely chopped onions until golden brown. To this add the cooked mutton pieces and fry for 15 minutes. Add the beaten yogurt, chopped coriander and juice of two lemons.
Take one-and-a-half measures of water for each measure of rice. Bring the water to a boil and add washed and presoaked (for 30 minutes) rice and cook until done.
Add the mutton pieces and cook for 10 minutes. Serve hot with raita.

Navrattan Pulao

Ingredients:
500g basmati rice
50g paneer
50g peas
50 cauliflower
50g cherries
50g pineapple
60g carrots
25g cashew nuts
20g kiss miss (raisins)
150g yogurt
10g garam masala
15g green chilies
75g onions
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
75g ghee or butter
Salt to taste
1 small bunch mint leaves
1 small bunch cilantro
1 lemon
25g ginger-garlic paste

Method:
Wash the rice and soak in the water for 30 minutes.
Mix the chopped carrots and paneer and fry in oil for few minutes.
Heat ghee in another pan, fry onions until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, mint leaves, paneer, vegetables, dry fruits and fry for 5-6 minutes.
Also add garam masala, salt, turmeric, chili powder, yogurt and fry well.
Remove from heat and keep aside.
Boil water in another vessel, add washed rice and cook until it is half cooked.
Then add the above prepared curry to the rice, mix well and cook on the steam until the rice is done. Sprinkle the lemon juice on rice and serve with cherries on it.

Peas Pulao

Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati rice
2 cups peas (shelled)
1/2 cup carrots, cut into medium sized cubes
2 green chilies, chopped
1 cm ginger, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic flakes, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 cm cinnamon stick
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash the rice well and drain off all the water.
Heat butter in a pan, fry cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms for a while until they splutter.
Add chopped onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies and fry until they are golden brown.
Add the drained rice, peas, carrots and fry till the rice gets separated.
Pour 11/2 cups of water, salt and cook until the rice gets cooked.
Stir gently once in a while so that the rice does not burn at the bottom of the pan.
Serve with any curry or raita.

Tomato Pulao

Ingredients:
1/2 kg basmati rice
350g tomatoes
1 cup coconut milk
500g onions, chopped
500g ghee
Required quantity of kiss miss and cashews
50g green chilies
Few coriander and mint leaves
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 each of cloves, cardamoms and cinnamon
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash the rice, drain off all the water and keep aside.
Put the tomatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes, remove from water and cool them. Take off the skin from tomatoes and blend them in a mixer to a fine puree.
Heat ghee in a pan, fry the onions, green chilies, spices, ginger-garlic paste until golden brown and add coriander and mint leaves. Mix well.
Then add rice, salt, coconut milk, few water and cook for 5 minutes.
Now add tomato puree and cook until it is done.
Later add 1 tsp ghee, cashews, kiss miss and cook for another 2 minutes and remove from heat.
Serve with any curry.

Vegetable Pulao

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup carrots, boiled and chopped
2 potatoes, boiled and cubed
1/2 cup green peas, boiled
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 onion, sliced
3 tbsp ghee or butter
Salt to taste

Method:
Cook rice with little salt in a rice cooker.
Melt ghee in a big vessel, fry onions until golden brown and keep aside.
Add vegetables to the remaining ghee, saute for a minute and then add cooked rice, tomato ketchup and salt to taste.
Mix well and sprinkle the fried onions on the top.
Serve hot with coconut