HOW TO MAKE Puran Poli

For this Diwali, I told my Mom that I want to make sweets at home. Nothing elaborate. Or difficult. I just don't do difficult! She rattled off a list of easy to make sweet dishes. One of them was the festival staple, puran poli. Which, surprisingly, is not really tough to make.

Ingredients
For the filling
1 cup chana dal (chholar dal), soaked for 15-20 minutes
1 cup sugar
Nutmeg powder
Elaichi powder
For the dough
2 cups atta
Water
Salt
Oil

Method

1. Pressure cook chana dal on high flame for one whistle. Lower flame and continue to cook till nice and mushy (about 5-10 minutes more). After opening the pressure cooker, cook till there is no excess water left in the dal.
2. Transfer dal to a non-stick pan and add sugar. 
3. Add the nutmeg and elaichi powder.
4. Cook till the filling is ready. The consistency should be such that it can be stuffed in a parantha. Hence, not too runny. Or too dry. It should hold good when the parantha is being rolled out.
5. Prepare the dough using the ingredients listed for it. You can cover it with a damp cloth and leave it for about half an hour for a nice and soft dough.
6. Take some dough and roll it out a little. Add some filling to the centre. Seal it in and roll out the parantha. 
7. Heat a tawa and cook the paranthas, preferably with ghee.
8. Serve hot.

HOW TO MAKE Aditya Bal's Dum Murg Ki Kacchi Biryani

 He looks as good as he cooks. No, he cooks as good as he looks! I just cannot figure out. Who am I talking about? Aditya Bal, one of the yummiest chefs in India, if you ask me (all puns intended!).

I wanted to share this recipe for two reasons. One, it is a great biryani recipe that worked out really well for me when I hardly knew how to cook. Second, I associate it with some really fond memories, as this is one of the first things that I tried my hand at cooking after getting married!

Seriously! Delicious recipes from one hot guy, cooked for another hot guy ;) Does it get any better? 

Now that I think about it, maybe my interest in cooking has been motivated by factors other than my Mom! Like certain model-turned-chefs who whip up drool-worthy dishes. And you are not even sure what you are drooling over ;)

You can see the original recipe here. I have not made any changes to it. Why spoil a good thing?

Dum Murg Ki Kacchi Biryani

Ingredients

1/2 kg basmati rice
1 kg chicken
2 onions - chopped
1/2 tsp saffron
1 cup milk
Juice of 1 lemon
Fresh green coriander - chopped
2 green chillies - chopped
1 tbsp refined oil

For the Marinade
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 cup curd
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Spices for Chicken
4 cloves
1" cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Whole spices for rice
2 cloves
1/2 " cinnamon
2 green cardamoms
Salt - to taste

For the Dum
Dough made of atta and water

Method

Soak the basmati rice in water for 20 minutes to half an hour.

Marinate the chicken with curd, turmeric, salt, chilly powder and ginger-garlic paste.

Grind all the spices for the chicken in a mortar and add to the marinade. Leave the chicken to marinate for an hour minimum or up to four hours.

Heat 2 tbsp of refined oil in a pan. Saute the onions, till they turn golden brown. Keep aside.

Put the rice into the cooking vessel and add the requisite amount of water. Add the whole spices and the salt. Cover and let it cook till the water is absorbed.

Put the milk into a saucepan and heat till tepid. Add the saffron and stir till the milk takes on the color of saffron. Keep aside.

Crumple half the burnt onions and add it to the marinated chicken. Put back in fridge for half an hour.


To Layer The Biryani

In a handi or an appropriate biryani cooking vessel: put 1 tbsp oil and heat. Add the chicken and cook on high heat till chicken takes on a light brown color and is half cooked.

Lower the flame; flatten the chicken to form a layer. Put chopped coriander and green chillies on top.

Put all the rice on top of this layer and smoothen out. Pour in the saffron infused milk over the rice and add the lemon juice.

Cover the vessel and make long snake off the dough by rolling in on the counter and use it to seal the top of the cooking vessel.

Let the biryani cook on a very slow fire till the seal is hard and the rice looks fully cooked.

Serve hot.