Laal Maas from Udaipur

                                                      The history of Udaipur Princely state
                                                                           Udaipur

Rajasthan is always famous for its color and when it comes to food then its the red chilies which plays an important role in the cuisine in this area.

As part of a full course meal, red meat is the most favored dish in the Royal houses in Rajasthan and different regions have their own way of cooking it. This dish is an important part of the wedding cuisine and its the responsibility of the Males in the family to prepare especially this dish for the special guests.

Today I am cooking the famous 'Laal Maas', the way it is cooked in regions near Udaipur ( The city of lakes).

Ingredients :

- 1 Kg red meat (Lamb/Goat), medium sized pieces from ribs and legs cuts.

- 4 big red onions cut into thin circular rings

- 20 to 25 cloves of Garlic

- Plain yogurt 1 cup

- Ghee/Musturd Oil 300 ml

- 1/4 cup poppy seeds soaked in water

Spices:

- Whole red chilies soaked in water (approx 30) for 2 hours and made into paste.

- Turmeric powder 4 spoons

- Coriander powder 5 spoons soaked in water

- Cumin seeds 1 spoon

- Shahi Jeera 1/2 spoon

- Black pepper 10

- Black Cardamom 3

- Cinnamon sticks 3 (4 inches)

- Bay leaf 4

- Cloves 5

Method:

Heat the Ghee/Mustard oil in an iron pan, and till the fumes starts to come. Add all the whole spices to it and cover it with a lid so that the aroma of the spices should not escapes out. Once the spices turns to black add the onions and garlic cloves to it and stir it occasionally until the onions turns golden brown. Its very important that onions should be cooked properly otherwise the texture and taste of the gravy will not be good. add salt as per the taste (it needs to be a bit more as it will help to tenderize the meat).

Add the meat pieces to the pan now and stir it nicely, preventing the meat to stick to the pan. It need to be roasted for another 15 mins. Then add the red chili paste, turmeric powder and stir it so that the chili and turmeric should not get burnt. This needs to be stirred and roasted for another 10 mins and then add enough water to it so that the meat pieces are soaked completely into water now. add half of the soaked coriander powder and cover the lid and let it boil and cook for another 30 minutes. The water level need to be checked in between just to ensure that it doesn't stick at the bottom else no need to add extra water. 

After 30 minutes once the water evaporates and it forms a thick gravy, add the soaked poppy seeds and cook and stir for 5 mins then add the yogurt, stir it. Cook and stir it occasionally adding little water as and when required in order to prevent it from sticking to the pan. The meat pieces needs to be checked if they are cooked. If meat is tender now and cooked then add remaining soaked coriander powder and water as per the gravy desired and let it cook for 15 minutes. Put off the fire now and add chopped green coriander and cover it with lid. 

Serve this with wheat or maize chapatis/rice. 

Note: If whole red chilies not available then chili powder soaked in little water can be used.

         Iron pans gives a distinct flavor to the meat, which won't come with the non-stick pans.

         The garlic cloves should be dissolved completely in the process of stirring and cooking.

Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani

When we talk about Biriyani in India, few renowned specialised Biriyani variations comes in mind. Biriyani from Lucknow, Hyderabad and Sindhi Biriyani. Among these Hyderabadi Biriyani has its own aroma and taste (what we call Zayka).

So I thought to attempt this one, incorporating the cooking methods employed in Kitchen's of Hyderabadi Nawabs.

Ingredients:
Chicken 750 grams cut into medium pieces (with bones)
Rice 200 Grams
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 cup chopped Green Coriander
1 cup chopped mint leaves
2 big size Red Onions thinly chopped length wise
2 Tablespoon Ginger paste
3 Tablespoon Garlic paste ( use fresh Garlic)
2 cups Plain Yogurt
6 Green Chillies cut into half length wise
5 Spoon Ghee
Oil to fry the Onions
Wheat flour dough to seal the edges of pan

Spices:
4 Tablespoon red chilli powder
2 Tablespoon turmeric powder
2 Tablespoon Coriander powder
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds
1 Tablespoon Shahi Jeera
6-7 Black pepper
4-5 Cloves
3 Black Cardamoms
4-5 Green Cardmoms
4 Cinnamon Sticks 3 inches
2 Pinch of Saffron diluted n half a cup of milk and 2 spoon rose water
3 Bay leafs

Preparation.

1. Wash the rice thoroughly with cold water untill the water stops being cloudy. Then soak it in water for 20    minutes prior to the cooking.
2. Mix Yogurt, Garlic and Ginger paste, Red chillies, Turmeric, Coriander powder, green chillies, lemon juice, and add Chicken pieces to it thoroughly. Marinate this for 1 hour so that the Chicken pieces soaks the juices of the spicy mixture and becomes tender.

3. Heat some Oil in a pan and when its hot, put the sliced onions and fry till it becomes golden brown as in picture below. Once done keep it on paper towel to soak the excess oil and keep it aside to be used later.

Method:
Boil the rice with plenty of water, Black Cardamoms, Green Cardamoms, Cloves, Cumin seed, Shahi Jeera, black pepper, Cinnamon, Bay leaf and cook it till they are half cooked.

Take a heavy base pan, of wrought Iron pan and put it on medium fire.Add the marinated mix to the pan.
Put a layer of fried onions on top of it. Now put half of the rice on top of Chicken mixture. Add rest of the fried Onions on top of this layer, add chopped coriander leaves, half of the mint leaves to it. Sprinkle the Saffron and rose water solution on this layer, and layer rest of the rice on top of this. Put remaining mint leaves   on top and little saffron and rose water solution. Add the melted Ghee along the edges and top of the mixture.

Cover the pan with a heavy lid and seal the edges with the flour dough, so that the aroma should not come out with the steam and the contents in the pan gets properly cooked. Cook it for 30-40 minutes on medium fire.

Once the steam starts to come out from the edges then its the indication that its cooked. Open the lid and with a flat spatula check if the chicken is cooked. Try not to break the rice grains in this process.
If its done, then cover the lid and let it stand for 5 to 10 mins.

So the Biriyani is ready and you can serve this hot, garnish with coriander leaves along with Raita of your choice.

Note: If you see that the chicken is little burnt then don't worry, it gives a distinct roasted taste.
Sometimes people don't like that the whole spices coming in mouth at the time of eating. So you can put all the whole spices in a muslin cloth and make a small bag. Put this bag in water at the time of boiling the rice. Once the rice are half cooked you can remove the muslin bag and you are left with aroma in the rice.

So Enjoy the Royal treat.