25 May, 2016

Achari Paneer Masala Recipe | Quick and Simple Achaari Paneer Curry Recipe

Learn how to make Achari Paneer Masala ~ Paneer/Indian cottage cheese cooked in a creamy onion and tomato gravy flavoured with pickling spices

The weather gods are still indecisive in my neck of woods. One day it’s all bright and sunny with warm breeze and blindingly blue skies and the next day it’s wet and gloomy dampening our spirits! When I am about to pack our winter coats in vacuum bags and take out light cardigans, the heavens open their doors to downpour like never before. It’s supposed to be spring and the summer bank holiday is just a couple of days ahead! Well, its bit exasperating is an understatement!



While the weather gods continue to struggle to make up their mind, there is no doubt in my mind about the food that is churned in my kitchen. Hot and spicy curries are and will always be the firm favourites in my home during all four seasons, even on scorching summer days! Sounds crazy? Well, I am not taking about the curries that demand all your attention and time. I am talking about the curries that needs couple of minutes of your time and all you need is to breeze in and out of kitchen for stirring the glorious food simmering in a pot on the stove top. Yes, I am talking about such recipe which is simple and easy to cook and yet ends up looking and tasting like you have spent hours slaving in the kitchen while perfecting it, recipes like Achari Paneer Masala.

13 May, 2016

Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani Recipe | How to make Veg Biryani

Learn how to make Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani ~ Layered and dum cooked aromatic basmati rice with curried vegetables flavoured with saffron, ghee roasted nuts and fresh mint and coriander leaves

A very, very good pot of Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani is one of the top 5 favourite foods of mine. It is one dish that I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Yes, that’s how much I LOVE it. There is something quite magical about the whole process of making and eating it, right from carefully roasting the spices for Biryani Masala Powder to layering it. It is quite exceptional experience to open the sealed lid to reveal the perfectly cooked biryani with its heady aroma to finally eating a morsel of this heavenly meal where each grain of rice is kissed by the spices.



As a teenager, I had mastered 3 of my most favourite ‘fancy’ dishes; Malai Kofta, Gobi Manchurian, and Veg Cutlets. When I was in 11th, our science teacher Miss Maria who also happened to head exclusive ‘Ladie’s Club’ for the young ladies taught us to make Hyderabadi Vegetable and Chicken Dum Biryani. This is her recipe, Miss Maria’s Hyderabadi Veg Dum Biryani