Feast for fest

Chef Rakesh Chabolu from Hyderabad and executive chef Jitendra Nakhwa cherry-pick a couple of yummy recipes from the ongoing Hyderabadi Food Fest at Masala restaurant in Holiday Inn, Kochi. The dishes are an ideal spread for the holy month of Ramadan where one can fast and feast with equal vigour. The fest is on till Sunday

Ingredients
To marinate chicken:

• Chicken cut into large pieces — 1 ½kg 
• Ginger garlic paste — 2 tbsp
• Red chilli powder — 2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder — 1 tsp
• Salt  — as per taste
• Coriander leaves — 1 bunch 
• Mint leaves — 1 bunch
• Green chillies — 7 - 8 nos
• Caraway seeds — 1 tsp
• Cloves — 3 - 4 nos
• Cinnamon sticks — 2 nos
• Cardamoms — 3 - 4 nos
• Black pepper corns — 3 - 4 nos
• Fried golden brown onions — 2 cups
• Yogurt — 2 cups
• Oil — 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice — 1 tbsp
• Garam masala powder — 1 tsp

To cook rice:

• Water — to boil 
• Basmati rice — 1 kg
• Cloves — 2-3 nos
• Cinnamon stick — 1 nos
• Cardamoms — 2-3 nos
• Caraway seeds — 1 tsp
• Black pepper corns — 2-3 nos
• Lemon juice — 1 tbsp
• Salt — to taste 

For dum seasoning:

• Oil — 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves — 2 tbsp
• Mint leaves —2 tbsp
• Fried onions — 2 tbsp
• Lemon juice — 1 tbsp
• Saffron flavored milk — 1 cup
• Ghee — 1 tbsp
• Water — 1 cup

To garnish:

• Fried onions

Preparation

To marinate chicken:

• Wash the chicken pieces well with lemon juice and water and drain the chicken completely.
• Add ginger garlic paste to it.
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and mix well.
• In a blender add a bunch of coriander leaves, a bunch of mint leaves, green chillies, add a pinch of salt and make the paste called as green paste or hara masala paste.
• Add the green paste to the chicken marinade.
• Add whole garam masala that is cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper corns, caraway seeds.
• Mix the whole mixture well.
• Crush the onions and add into the marinade.
• Add beaten yogurt and mix well.
• Add oil over the marinade and mix well.
• Add garam masala powder and lemon juice and mix well.
• Check the taste of salt and add if required.
• Refrigerate this marinade for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

To cook the rice:

• Firstly, wash the basmati rice and soak it for about 35 minutes.
• Take a cooking pot, add water generously into it.
• Into the water, add salt as per taste, cinnamon stick, cloves, shahi zeera, black pepper corns, cardamoms.
• Bring the water to a boil.
• When the water starts boiling, add the soaked rice into it.
• Cook the rice for about 6 - 7 minutes until it is three fourth done.
• Drain the rice completely and rest.

For Dum:

• In a cooking pot, coat the base with oil.
• Add the marinated chicken into it and spread it evenly.
• Add the rice which has been cooked into it.
• Spread the rice evenly all over the marinade.
• Season the rice with coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions.
• Add lemon juice all over the rice.
• Add saffron flavored milk(2 saffron strands added into the ¼th cup of milk to get orange red color).
• Add ghee into it.
• Add little water all over the rice(optional).
• Make a chapathi dough and seal the lid and the cooking pot tightly with the dough.
• Switch on the flame, put the cooking pot onto the flame.
• Dum the biryani on sim flame for about 45 minutes.

Procedure to take the biryani out:

• Take the biryani out with a spatula from one corner side and when taken out, the spoon has to go deep down and should come out with the rice and chicken.
• Serve the lip smacking biryani on a serving plate.
• Garnish the Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani with fried onions.
• Also it can be garnished with coriander and mint leaves.
• And also serve it with lemon slices and raw onion rings.

Hyderabadi mutton haleem

Ingredients

For cooking mutton(these ingredients are needed for step 1 in instructions):

• Boneless mutton/meat cleaned and washed well — 750 gms
• Green chillies — 8
•  Ginger garlic paste — 1 tsp
•  Turmeric powder — ½ tsp
•  Small cinnamon sticks — 3-4 nos
• Cloves — 4 nos
• Green cardamoms — 2-3 nos
• Caraway seeds — 1 tsp
• Black pepper corns — 1 tbsp
• Salt — to taste
• Water (200 ml approx) — 1 cup 
• For cooking dals (these ingredients are needed for step 2 in instructions:
• Broken wheat — ½ cup
• Split black gram — 1 tsp
• Pigeon peas — 1 tsp
• Bengal gram/chick pea gram — 1 tsp
• Yellow moong dal — 1 tsp
• Rice — 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water — 3 cups
• Other ingredients needed while mixing mutton and dals (these ingredients are needed for step 4 in instructions) :
• Oil — 3 tbsp
• Medium size onions finely sliced — 4
• Ginger garlic paste — 1 tsp
• Freshly chopped coriander leaves — ½ bunch
• Freshly chopped mint leaves — ½ bunch
• Slit green chillies — 2 nos
• Full black pepper corn powder — ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder — ½ tsp
• Beaten yogurt (200 ml approx...) — ½ cup
• Pure ghee — 5-6 tbsp
• Ingredients for garnishing:
• Freshly chopped coriander leaves
• Freshly chopped mint leaves
• Lemons cut into 4 halves — 5-6 nos

Preparation

Step 1 (Cook the mutton):

• Firstly, in a pressure cooker, add the mutton chunks, about 8 green chillies, ginger garlic paste.
• Add whole spices such as cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, caraway seeds(shahi zeera), black pepper corns.
• Add salt as per taste, add turmeric powder.
• Add little water(1 glass approx...), mix well and cook the mutton until it is tender.

Step 2 (Cook the dals):

• Take a pressure cooker, into it add daliya/broken wheat, add urad dal, add toovar dal, add chana dal, add yellow moong dal and rice.
• Add about 3 glasses of water and pressure cook until the dals get soft.

Step 3 (Blending the mutton and dals):

• In a blender, add the cooked mutton and blend into a fine paste and transfer it into a bowl or vessel.
• In the same blender, add the cooked dals and blend into a fine paste and keep aside.

Step 4 (Mix the cooked mutton and dals)

• In a separate cooking pot, add oil, add 4 medium size sliced onions and fry until golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
• Add fresh coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chillies, mix well.
• Add black pepper corn powder, turmeric powder and mix well.
• Add beaten yogurt, mix and cook for 5 minutes on low flame.
• Add the blended paste of dals and also the blended paste of mutton into it.
• Mix it well and keep stirring and mixing until the mutton and dals get mixed well evenly.
• Add the mutton stock and mix well.
• Add pure ghee all over and mix.
• Cover the lid and cook it for about 15 minutes on low flame.
• Remove the lid and give a mix.
• Switch off the flame.
• Haleem is ready to serve.

Serving:

• Serve haleem in bowls, in each bowl, add deep fried onions, add coriander leaves, mint leaves, lemon slices, and serve hot.
• Sprinkle lemon extract all over the haleem while eating for a slight tangy taste.
• Enjoy the delicious Ramadan special mutton haleem.