The Birthday Cooking Bash - Vegetable Pulao, Special Chicken Roast

Sigh.. I turned another year old last Saturday and this year I decided to 'treat' my friends differently. I cooked for them. Also gives me some stuff to post in here, since I have resolved not to let my cooking blog die a slow death with neglect.

So, here are the things I made. Sadly, I didn't get much time to take good pics, since the guests were hungry and I was busy with the cleaning, setting up the table, getting ready myself before the 'cake-cutting', etc :). Anyway, here goes.

Vegetable Pulao




What I Used:

Ingredients Set One

Basmati rice - 3 cups
Onion - 1 big
Tomato - 1 big
Carrots - 2 medium
Beans - 15

Ingredients Set Two

Bay leaves - 1
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Green chillies - 4
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tsbp
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil in the pressure cooker pan, add ingredients set two and fry for two minutes.

2. Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry for another minute before adding the finely chopped vegetables in ingredients set one. Stir this mixture for 3 more minutes. Add required amount of salt.

3. After that, add the rice and fry for another minute.

4. Add 5 cups water and pressure cook till the first whistle.

5. Open as soon as steam has espaced and transfer to a wide bowl.

Serve warm.

This is my entry to this month's JFI - Rice, hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam.


Mummy's Special Chicken Roast

This is a dish that my mom used to make when I was in college and I used to love it! Tried to replicate the taste and almost succeeded.

What I Used:

Chicken, cleaned and cut into small pieces - 1 kg
Onions - 5 medium, cut into small square pieces
Tomatoes - 2
Capsicum - 1 small
Green chillies - 5
Jeera powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 4 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1.5 tbsp
Chilly powder - 2tsp
Curry leaves - 3 strands
Oil - to fry
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

1. Crackle mustard seeds in the heated oil and add the onions. Saute till golden brown.

2. Then add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric-jeera-coriander-chilly powders, curry leaves, chillies and fry for 2-3 mins, till the raw smells have gone.

3. Next, add the tomatoes and capsicum pieces. Stir for another minute and add the chicken pieces.

4. Close the pan and wait till the chicken has cooked. Note that no water should be added at any stage. Once closed, the chicken will release water and will cook in that itself.

5. Once the pieces have cooked, open the lid and keep on fire till all the water has gone and the oil starts clearing.

Enjoy hot!

Tip: This dish is on the spicier side and sometimes when it seems a little too much so, amma adds a pinch of sugar. I follow the same method. In fact, I add a pinch of sugar to almost all the curries I make, that involve a masala paste.

We also made payasam and of course a cake! Recipes and pics to follow in the next post :)