Rishte Ka Achaar

Home-Made Mango Pickles are my favorite. And among all the kinds, I realy love this pickle a lot. It is so simple to prepare, hot as a pickle should be and absolutely delicious.

The first time I had this pickle was at my Aunt’s-Khala’s house I fell in love with it the moment I had tasted it at her place. And used to have it like a curry along with Chawal or Parathas.

I love blog hopping, and a few days back, on Priya’s blog, I had seen this pickle, which reminded me so much of Rishte Ka Achaar that my mouth was watering, and I was so much craving for it, just like a pregnant lady would! Somedays ago, I had been to an Indian store where I saw some very young and large sized Raw Sour and Green Pickle Mangoes, and I quickly bought three of them, came home and prepared this pickle. I was so happy.

Rishte Ka Achaar – Mango Pickle

I do not have any idea why this pickle is named as ‘Rishte Ka Achaar’. I have no clue. But it is called so by everyone in my contacts, and even they do not have any idea about this. If anyone of you know why it is called so, please let me know. I will be very happy to come to know about it from my dearest Readers.

Try and get some very sour raw green mangoes for this pickle. And do not use the green mangoes for this pickle if they are not very sour.

Rishte Ka Achaar – Mango Pickle

Ingredients:

Raw Green Sour Pickle Mangoes – 3, large
Dry Roasted Black Cumin Seed Powder – 1 1/2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder – 1 tbsp
Salt – 1 1/2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 2 tsp
Dry Red Chillies – 4
Turmeric – 1/3 tsp
Curry leaves (fresh) – 6
Green Chillies - as per your taste, chopped or slit (optional)
Canola oil – 3 tbsp

Method:

1. With a damp towel, wipe the raw green mangoes clean and dry them with a paper towel throughly. Throughly dry your hands and knife. Carefully, peel the skin, deseed them and cut into very small pieces.
2. In a flat glass container with a tight lid, put the cut raw mango pieces and add salt and turmeric and mix well. Cover the lid tightly and put the container aside for 24 hours in a cool dark place.
3. The next day, you will see that the mango pieces have released a lot of juice. In a pan on medium high heat, pour oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies. As soon as they begin to pop, remove from heat. Let it cool completely. This is the tempering/baghaar.
4. After the baghaar has cooled off completely, pour it into the container with mango pieces, and also add red chilli powder, black cumin seeds powder and green chillies, if using, and mix well. Adjust the salt and red chilli powder according to your tastes. The Achaar is ready. You can now relish upon it.

Store it in a glass jar with an air tight lid. It keeps very weel if kept away from water. Always use a dry spoon when you have it and keep it covered and refrigerated.

Tip: After you have cut the mango into small pieces and deseeded it, do not throw away the seed, use it in Khatti Dal instead of using the tamaring or lemon as the souring agent. It makes your Dal khatti/sour and gives a very good flavor to it.

Luv,
Mona

Kothmir aur Pudina Ki Chutney

This recipe is very close to my heart and my most cherished one. I love this chutney a lot, and it goes along very well along with almost all snacks like pakode, samosas, bhajiye, and tastes heavenly eapecially along with Khichdi. It has got all the goodness in it. I remember, my fair Dadi (Grandmother) always used to ask a second helping of this chutney… some times more than once! Memories are always associated with food.. many many memories with each and every dish on your table and I know everyone can agree with that.

I cherish this recipe because this is my humble Mother’s recipe which was taught to her by her mother. My Nani (Grandmother) is a very nice soul, she is a great cook too. Now, but due to age, both my Nani and Dadi, my Paternal and Maternal grandmothers cannot cook much today, but I can always ask them for the treasured tips, and recipes which are priceless to me.

Hara Dhaniya aur Pudine Ki Chuteny – Coriander and Mint Chutney 

I have slightly modified the recipe here, and used Thai Red Chillies too. They are optional. Use them if you like, you can substitute them by adding a few more green chillies depending how spicy you want this chutney to be. Also, you can add a few roasted groundnuts to the Chutney, makes it more flavorful, but here i havenot.

Store this Chutney in an airtight small glass jar in the refrigerator for upto a week.

Hara Dhaniya aur Pudine Ki Chutney – Coriander and Mint Chutney  

Ingredients:

• Fresh Cilantro/Kothmir – 1 cup, washed and dried on paper towels, roughly chopped along with the tender stems
• Fresh Mint Leaves/Pudina – 1 cup, washed and dried on paper towels, roughly chopped, only leaves
• Garlic pods – 4, large, roughly chopped 
• Thai Red Chillies – 3, washed and chopped
• Green Chillies – 4, washed and chopped
• Curry leaves – 6-8, washed
• Tamarind ball – without seeds, about the size of a golf ball (or) Tamarind Concentrate – 3 tbsp
• Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp
• Dry Desiccated Coconut – 1/2 cup
• Salt – 1 1/3 tsp or according to taste
• Canola/Sunflower Oil – 1/2 tsp

Method:

• In a non stick pan at medium high heat, pour oil and as it warms up, add the shredded coconut and the sesame seeds, and roast them both together till light brown and aromatic. Let it cool. Keep aside.
• Put the tamarind ball in a cup of warm water and let it dossolve completely. Once the tamarind pulp is all soft, sieve the pulp and keep it aside.
• In a blender container put the coriander leaves, mint leaves, garlic pods, red and green chillies, curry leaves, tamarind pulp, sesame seeds, shredded coconut and salt. Blend it till nice and smooth. You can add about half cup of water to aid in the blending if needed.

Serve chilled along with Khichdi, Idli, Dosa, Pakodas, Bhajiyas, Samosas, Croquettes, Kababs, Baghara Chawal, Aloo Paratha.. Or anything you like.

Whenever you are free, listen to this song ‘Luka Chuppi’ from the bollywood movie ‘Rang De Basanti’.

 

Its a very beautiful, touching, soulful song hindi song, , sung by the great Lata Mangeskar and A.R Rahman, never fails to bring tears in my eyes.

Luv,
Mona

Feast Time! Hyderabadi Dum Gosht Ki Biryani, Dahi Ki Chutney

Folks! Today I present you with Lamb Biryani, a simpler kind of it, with lesser oil, and lesser spices, the way we prepare it in our house, but equally yummy, moist and appealing as the original.

Hyderabad is known for its Biryani. The traditional Hyderabadi biryani is a dish of Meat and Rice infused with flavors and spices. Its the best of the one dish meals one could have ever. Biryani mostly means cooked layered rice along with meat of Beef, Lamb, Chicken, Shrimp, Deer, Hare or Fish, whatever the speciality of the day..

Lamb Biryani always reminds me of my wedding, when I wore a very beautiful Khada Dupatta. It was the best Biryani I had ever had ! This dish is so authentic that it is served along with Mirchi Ka Salan and Baghare Baingan and Dahi Ki Chutney, as the main dish at almost all weddings. Essentially all weddings in Hyderabad are suposed to have Lamb Biryani and Mirchi Ka Salan in the menu. This dish is so important in the Hyderabadi Muslim community. It is also prepared on gatherings, occasions, parties, all kinds of merry making get togethers..

My lovely sister had prepared this dish on the weekend. We were all in a mood to treat our family and ourselves with something special, and we immediately thought of this dish. What could be a more better meal to delight ourselves than this flavorsome fare?!

There are two methods to prepare this dish, one is with Raw meat, Kaccha Gosht and the Biryani is called as Kacche Gosht Ki Biryani. In this method, the meat is left to marinate for atleast 24 hours for the flavors to properly permeate into the meat, tenderize it and deepen the tastes. But today I am writing about the procedure to prepare a quicker kind of Gosht Ki Biryani, the Pakki Gosht Ki Biryani, where pre-cooked meat is used to prepare the dish. I will be posting the procedure of how I prepare Kacche Gosht Ki Biryani in my house in the coming days.

Gosht Ki Biryani, Dahi Ki Chutney 

Dahi Ki Chutney – Yogurt Chutney 

Makes:One small bowl

Ingredients:

Plain Yogurt (low-fat or full-fat)- 375 ml
Salt – 2/3 tsp or according to taste
Thai Red Chillies – 2, chopped (optional)
Green Chillies – 2, chopped
Yellow Onion – 1, medium, finely chopped
Mint leaves – 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Firm Red Tomato (fresh) - 1, small, deseeded and chopped finely

Method:

-To the yogurt in a bowl, add salt and half a cup of water and whip it till smooth, and creamy for approx 2-3 minutes.
-Add the remaining ingredients and fold them into the yogurt gently. Adjust salt according to your taste and cover the bowl with a plastic wrap.
-Put it in the refrigerator to serve it later along with Biryani.

You can store Dahi Ki Chutney in the refrigerator in an air tight food storage box for only one more day in a refrigarator, it doesnt last long. It is always better if you have an idea how much your family memebers will have it and you prepare it in only the required amount.

Hyderabadi Dum Gosht Ki Biryani – Fragrant Flavored Meat and Rice Casserole

Serves:5-8

Ingredients:

For the Marinade

Canola/Vegetable/Sunflower Oil (or) Butter/Makhan (or) Clarified Butter/Ghee - 90 ml/6 tbsp
Yellow Onion/Pyaz – 2, large, thinly sliced
Lean Lamb leg meat – 1 kg, washed and cubed into 3 cm pieces approx (with bones preferably if available, I have used only boneless here)  
Plain Yogurt/Dahi – 500 ml, lightly whipped
Red Chilli Powder/Lal mirch powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt/Namak – 1 1/2 tsp
Lemon Juice/Nimbu Ras - 4 tbsp
Garam Masala – 1 tbsp
Turmeric/Haldi – 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Water/Meat Stock – 1/2 cup

For the Garnish -

Green Chillies/Hari Mirch - 2, each slit into two
Thai Red chillies/Choti Lal Mirch - 2, each slit into two (optional) 
Fried Onion reserved for garnish earlier
Mint Leaves/Pudina – 1/2 cup
Cilantro/Kothmir – 1/2 cup
Toasted sliced Almonds/Bareek Kata Badaam – 2 tbsp
Fried Red Raisins and Cashwnuts/Tala-huwa Kishmish - 3 tbsp
Pinch of Saffron threads/Zaafraan soaked in 1/2 cup warm Milk (or) a pinch of red food colour, and pinch of yellow food colour
A dollop of Butter/Makhan or Clarified Butter/Ghee (optional)

For the Rice -

Basmati Rice/Chawal – 4 cups
Salt/Namak – 4 tsp
Black Cumin seeds/Shah Zeera - 1 tsp

Method:

-Wash and soak the rice in a big bowl for about 30 minutes.
-In a pressure cooker at medium high heat, fry the onions in oil/butter until they are golden brown in colour. Remove with a slotted spoon on a kitchen towel and reserve half for garnish. Blend the other half in 2 tbsp water inoi a paste.
-In the same pressure cooker, with oil/butter in it, add the washed cubed meat pieces, Stir fry till the meat has browned on all sides. Add the fried onions paste and the ginger garlic paste and turmeric. Saute them for 2 minutes. Throw in the red chilli powder, salt, garam masala, half cup water, and yogurt. Mix well and pressure cook for about 15-20 minutes until the meat is tender.
-Meanwhile drain the soaking rice and keep aside. Bring 9 cups of water in a to boil in a large saucepan with Black cumin seeds and salt (do not forget to add salt to the rice!!) in it. As soon as its boiling, add the drained rice and let it cook till the rice grains are just done. Drain and keep aside.
-Now, open the lid of the cooker and cook the meat mixture well without covering the lid on medium high heat until the meat mixture is done and most of the liquid has dried up. It should be a little bit dry mixture.
Add lemon juice to the meat and mix. Remove from heat.
-Preheat the oven to 350°F.
-In a large oven proof baking dish, add half of the rice in a layer at the bottom of the dish. Now add the whole meat mixture in one layer. Then cover it with the remaining rice completely and work gently, try not to break the rice kernels.  
-Garnish the layered rice with the reserved fried onions, mint and coriander leaves, slit red and green chillies, toasted and fried nuts, and sprinkle the milk with saffron threads in it or sprinkle the food colors and a little water. You can also add a dollop of butter if you wish. 
-Cover the dish with a tight lid or aluminium foil and keep it in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes, till a nice steam has formed inside.
-Before serving, dig the spoon into the dish till the base and take the rice and meat in a bowl. mix it and serve it hot.

Suggested Accompaniments: Mirchi Ka Salan or Baghare Baingan or Dahi Ki Chutney or Tomato Chutney.

This is my entry for Meeta’s Monthly Mingle-One Dish Dinners

Luv,
Mona

Tamatar Ki Chutney

Tomato Chutney is one of among the many dishes that you can prepare and store in air-tight plastic food storage boxes in your refrigerator for days together. It has a very long life if used with care and can be had as a side dish along with many things.

Tomato chutney is spicy, tangy, and this is the reason it is complimentary to almost all other dishes as a side-dish. My Mom was an expert and she always made the perfect Tomato chutney. I have never tasted a Tomato chutney as tasty as hers. I remember one of my cousin sister who used to come to live with us when I was a kid. She used to lick her fingers endlessly after having that chutney and would appreciate my Mom for the culinary treasures she possessed. I’m proud I got to learn from her the procedures of some of her known dishes.

Fresh Ripe Tomatoes and Tamatar Ki Chutney – Tomato Chutney 

Its spicy, its tangy, its tasty, a perfect Indian Chutney. You can have this as a side dish or with any of your favourite Manchuria’s or snacks you love. Go ahead and try it out.

Tamatar Ki Chutney – Tomato Chutney

Serves : 6

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes (fresh) – 4, large, red and ripe, washed and diced
• Green chillies – 4, washed and slit
• Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
• Salt – 2 1/2 tsp
• Canola/Vegatable/Sunflower Oil – 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds/Zeera - 1 tsp
• Black Mustard seeds/Rai – 1 tsp
• Garlic pods – 3, large, each cut into two
• Turmeric porder – 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves (fresh) – 6 leaves

Method:

• In a saucepan, add the chopped tomatoes and the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and and give it a nice stir. Cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring it occasionally, until the tomatoes are all mushy. With the help of a wooden spoon, you can press the tomatoes to the sides of the pan while stirring it so that it gets pulpy.
• Meanwhile, pour oil in a pan at medium heat and as soon as its warm, throw in the black cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Cover with a splatter screen and as the seeds begin to pop, add the curry leaves and the cut garlic pods as well and stir for about 30 more seconds until the galic pods are slightly reddish in colour. (Be careful, it splatters a lot and the oil will be hot!). This is the baghaar, or the tempering. Remove from heat and keep aside.
• When the tomatoes are all cooked and pulpous, add the baghaar and mix well. Cook for 3-5 more minutes. Later, let cool, and serve.

Tip: You can store Tomato Chutney in an air tight glass jar in the refrigerator for almost a week. or freeze it in (microwavable) food storage boxes for months together. When you want to have it, just microwave it for a few seconds or if you do not have a microwave, leave it outside at room temperature for a few hours and its ready to serve.

Suggested Accompaniments: ChickenDum Biryani, Gosht Ki Biryani, Tarkaari Ki Biryani, Qubuli or Tahari(Minced Meat Rice)

Luv,
Mona

Lahsun Chutney

When i was in Saudi Arabia for some time, i and my family loved the Garlic sauce from a famous chicken fast food restaurant named Al-Baik. I tried hard to find a recipe that is closest to the original garlic sauce that i had tasted in Saudi Arabia in this restaurant. After many efforts this the closest i could get to it. This is one of mine and my family’s most favourite sauces from my collection. You can have this dipping sauce with any anything you like the garlic flavour with. Its creamy and delicious. I love this sauce with chicken – fried, grilled or roasted. Try it out. Enjoy.

Garlic Sauce – Lahsun Chutney

Ingredients:  

• Large potatoes – 2 (boiled, peeled and cut into pieces)
• Garlic cloves – 6
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Egg yolk – 1
• Olive oil – 3/4 cup
• Lemon juice – 1/2 cup
• Vinegar – 3 tbsp
• White pepper – to taste

Method:

• Gring garlic with salt in a grinder.
• Add potatoes to it and again grind it till smooth.
• Beat the egg yolks and add to it.
• Add all the remaining ingredients and grind for a few minutes till mixed well.
• Add a little bit of water and mix it well if it appears to be thick.
• Pour into a sterlised bottle and store in the regfrigerator.

 

Imli Ki Chutney – Tamarind Sauce

Tangy Chutneys and sauces go very well with fried bhajiya’s and crisp pakodas in cold weather when its raining outside. Yummy. You can have this dipping sauce with anything you want to add a tangy taste to. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Tamarind – 250 gms
• Sugar/Jaggery – 300 gms
• Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
• Cumin seed/Zeera powder – 1 tsp
• Black salt/Kala Namak - a pinch

Method:

• Soak the tamarind in a small bowl with warm/hot water just enoughg to cover ir for 1 hour.
• Then extract a thick pulp from the tamarind by pressing it down a sieve to remove all the fibres.
• Take a heavy bottom pan and cook the pulp.
• Add sugar and keep stirring till it becomes thick.
• Add spices and salt and cook it 3 mins more
• Remove from heat.
• Pour into sterlised bottle and store upto 1 month in a refrigerator.

 

Chilli Sauce

Hot chutneys and sauces are a hit in India, and go very well with especially pakodas. I love to have this sauce with paratha and masoor dal/ split red lentil curry. Yummy. You can have this dipping sauce along with anything you want to add spice to. Enjoy.

Ingredients:-

• Green chillies – 30, small sized
• Garlic powder – 1 tbsp
• Sugar – 3 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 3 tbsp
• Vinegar – 4 tbsp
• Soy Sauce – 1 tbsp

Method:-

• Combine all the ingredients and grind them into a fine paste.
• Remove into a small bowl and add Soy Sauce to it.
• Mix the paste well and pour it in a sterlised bottle. Store refrigerated for upto 1 month.