Paramanna / Payesh / Bengali Rice Pudding

Paramanna / Payesh is a Bengali Style Rice Pudding which is definitely cooked to mark any auspicious occasion, festivities, birthdays etc. Apart from the first grain that ever touched my tongue was from a bowl of Payesh on my Mukhe Bhaat first rice eating ceremony my memories of Payesh being cooked is mainly vivid during Kojagori Lokhi Puja.

Korma Asafjahi Recipe ~ Dish From The Royal Cuisine Of Sailana India

Korma Asafjahi is a dish whose recipe dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century AD. This dish originated in Hyderabad and the recipe was gifted to Raja Dalip Singhji, the then ruler of the erstwhile state Sailana which is in the current Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, by the Nizam of Hyderabad. Raja Dalip Singhji had a repertoire of more than 5,000 hand written recipes which he had collected from different princely states of early twentieth century India.

Murg Palak Ke Korma Kebab Recipe / Kebabs Made With Chicken Korma And Spinach ~ My Fab Kebab Series

The word Kebab has Turkish and Arabic origin. However food historians have put forth the existence of something similar to Kebabs in Ancient India. "the Manasolassa, a Sanskrit composition from the 11 th century, talks about Bhaditrakam, a dish made by cutting lamb or goat into small pieces, stringing the pieces on iron skewers and cooking them on hot coals."( This is an extract from the article India's Kebab Connection by Air Sangvi ) . Having said that when the Arabs and Turks came to India they did bring with them their famous Kebabs, which in time imbibed the Indian spices and took the shape of the Kebabs we savour today. My Fab Kebabs Series is an ode to this wonderful dish.

Kutchi Shami Kebab / Gujrati Kutchi Memoni Style Shami Kabab

It's been a dream to walk through the pristine white sands of the Rann of Kutch, a salt marsh in the Thar Dessert spanning across the Western Indian State of Gujrat. In the moonlight soaked pearly sands I wish to stand with both my feet buried in the sand, gazing at the starred canopy above, listening to the buzzing, humming sound of the nocturnal dessert creatures, letting the cool dessert breeze play hop scotch with my tresses. Then as from a nearby tent the aroma of delicious food will slowly start enveloping the night air, my growling tummy will keep nudging my entire being to uproot my feet from the sand and walk towards the scent of decadent food. Ah, I keep dreaming of this all the time. Someday I will tick off this dream of mine, fulfil my desire to savour the delectable cuisine native to this area. Till then let my kitchen be my wish fulfilling magic wand, where at least I can dish out at least a few of those Kutchi delicacies till the time I can actually make my culinary trip to the Rann of Kutch.  

Mumbai Style Keema Pav / Chicken Mince Curry With Indian Bread Mumbai Style

Today is Valentine's Day. A day that was marked to celebrate love. In today's world finding true love is becoming more and more harder. But amidst all these disillusions Almighty still sends people who reiterates your belief in this most powerful four lettered word in this entire universe LOVE. I still do meet people who totally surprise me with their untainted heart filled with selfless love. They keep my faith in this magical thing called Love alive. Amidst all the hatred that is slowly engulfing our beautiful planet it is heartening to know that we still value love. Why else would we otherwise have a day which celebrates something so pure so beautiful as love. Beginning from the Saint who started this trail of love even in the face of death who didn't stop spreading love how befittingly his name has today become synonymous with a day when the entire world comes together to restore their belief in this beautiful thing called love.

Egg Rendang / Famous Indonesian Savoury Egg Dish With Very Thick Gravy

As a food Blogger I am always on the look out for nouvelle recipes, everyday begins with a quest to first learn about new ingredients, then incorporating those ingredients in a dish, making the dish a number of times, till I have almost total control over those ingredients. It is only after that, I will cook that dish, capture it's steps, photograph the main dish and then publish it here in my Blog, so that all the lovely wonderful readers of my Blog can prepare the dish without having to go through any difficulty. No dish which is being cooked for the first time in my kitchen, will be published in my Blog, after the first attempt, even if the very first attempt has yielded the perfect result. It will only find it's way into my Blog after it has been made with that same flawless result at least a number of times. 

Nasi Biryani / Chicken Nasi Biryani / Nasi Beriani / Malaysian / Singapore Style Chicken Biryani ~ My Biryani Trail

I took a pledge to share my love for Biryani by documenting my journey tasting this superlative dish across the length and breadth of the Globe. The more I travelled in search of different versions of this dish the more intrigued and awed I was with Biryani. Introducing you dear friends to a Biryani called Nasi Biryani. The word Nasi in Malaysian and Indonesian cookery stands for Cooked Rice. This version of the Biryani is unlike any of the Biryanis that your palate is familiar with. This Biryani does not incorporate the “Dum” cooking technique that is so synonymous with the cooking of any Biryani dish. Moreover it incorporates Local ingredients like Pandan Leaves, Lemon Grass to suit the local taste.

Beary Biryani / Mangalore Beary Style Chicken Biryani / Karnataka Beary Biryani ~ My Biryani Trail

So continues my Biryani Trail, as promised, every week, I shall be here with a Biryani, Pulao or Rice Dish which has swept my taste buds off their feet. Here I am today to fulfil that promise to my readers with an unique Biryani Recipe from the South Indian State of Karnataka. Dear readers let me introduce you all to BEARY BIRYANI a speciality of the BEARY Community who inhabit Dakshina Kannada, a coastal district in Karnataka. The word BEARY means trade or business in the native language of this community.

Pickled Onion Chicken With Roasted Peppers Recipe / Sirka Pyaz Murgh Bhuna Hua Hari Mirch Ke Sath

Going to my parents home every single time feels like walking into that attic where all my childhood toys, story books, pictures, that doll from whom I was inseparable through my toddler years have been carefully stashed away. The joy of, (for once) someone looking at me with so much love as I lie enveloped in slumber with a smile caressing my lips, then gently stroking my forehead and tresses, lightly nudging me to wake up, is truly indescribable. Many years have trotted by and changing of roles have taken place as I now habitually look at a fairy face, fast asleep and then run my fingers through her silky mane, gently coaxing her awake. Yet I so look forward to this role reversal every year and totally bask in its warmth and tenderness.

Chicken Xacuti Recipe / Goan Style Chicken Curry With Coconut And Exotic Spices

It was the year 2010, when laden with a couple of suitcases I had taken a very bumpy flight to a really tiny airport in Goa. Mr. S was there for almost a month, living out of hotel food which had got his system a little haywire. So here I was to get his gut back on track with some homemade food. In the week that we were house hunting in Miramar, Panjim I did get a fair chance of treating myself to full fledged Goan fare. Most of the times I would be by myself and undertake small culinary adventures. Be it a visit to the Spice Gardens or a taste escapade at the Saturday Night Market at Arpora, a rendevous with the Poder (the Goan breadmaker, an adaptation from the Protuguese padeiro) or sampling a mouthful of Bebinca topped with Vanilla ice~cream at Infantaria cafe in Calangute or simply perching myself up next to a window seat at the waterfront restaurant in the Goa Marriott Resort, right on the Miramar beach, experiencing Goan cuisine at it's best, I surely did have a true blue Goan Style blast.

Dhaka Style Kacchi Chicken Biryani Recipe / A Distinct Type Of Chicken Biryani From Dhaka, Bangladesh

Life those days was overflowing with selfless, unadulterated, Shat pratishat shudh desi ghee (100% pure Desi Clarified Butter) type of Love. Two sets of grandparents, two dozen uncles and aunts from both sides and off course the most wonderful parents were showering their love on me and my sister and cousins my age or couple of years elder or younger. Life was all about going to school, studying, playing outdoors and on holidays reading my story books, reciting poems from my favourite Bengali and English poets, going for a ride on Baba's Lambretta Scooter. These Italian scooters were in Vogue those days. Scooters in general was romanticized and made a dream ride when the debonair Hollywood Legend Gregory Peck rode one in the movie "Roman Holiday". Baba being an ardent Gregory Peck fan, having watched all his movies would ditch his Ambassador car for his Lambretta scooter many a times. 

Murgh Methi Malai Recipe / Chicken Cooked In Fenugreek Leaves And Fresh Cream

I look at the cardboard boxes sprawled across my once spic and span home, some half full, some taped and closed with marker scribbled words of what it contains inside written on top. The Greek Philosopher Heraclitus's doctrine says "Change is the only constant" and so true it is. Change has remained the only constant factor in my life so far. It all started from the first change of sharing my parents room, to my own room, then sharing my room with my sister, changing out into my Engineering college hostel room, to my first salary rented flat, then to my in-laws home after marriage, many other cities and homes later to this one in Dubai and again I am changing to a new abode which I will turn into a home in time.

Padampuri Murg Recipe / Khoya Chicken Recipe

Padampuri Murg is a Chicken delicacy from Padampur located in the princely state of Rajasthan in India. This is probably one of the creamiest chicken dishes that you might have ever tasted. The Khoya/Khoa or milk solids used to cook this dish is primarily responsible for the rich silky texture of it's gravy. Along with yogurt and pure desi Ghee (clarified butter) added generously, this dish is not at all for the faint hearted . The indigenous spice mix which is added to the curry is resplendent with fiery red chilies, black cumin (kalonji) and other spices that gives the dish a perfect balance of flavours, a unique taste and a light lingering aroma. One spoonful in your mouth and your taste buds will dance to the power house of flavours which makes this dish truly befitting to be served at any Royal fare.

Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani Recipe / Calcutta Chicken Biryani Recipe

Kolkata ~ the city of Joy, for me, apart from being the city where my family and extended family have lived for decades, is the city where food and sports are woven into the very fabric of the life of the people. A city which breathes football and cricket, a city where food is a passion and a way to express the rich cultural heritage of this vibrant city. Today let's take a virtual tour through the essence of the most famous and popular dish from here, Calcutta Biryani or Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani.

Hyderabadi Dum Ka Murgh Recipe / Hyderabad Style Slow Steam Cooked Chicken Curry Recipe

Dear Culinary Enthusiasts and Food Adventurers here I am again, though after a long interval, sharing with you a very dear recipe from my mum-in-law's repertoire, HYDERABADI DUM KA MURGH. As the name suggests this dish originates from the Indian city, known worldwide for its royal past, the magnificent monument Charminar and lipsmacking cuisne, HYDERABAD. This is a chicken dish where the chicken is marinated in distinct but simple spices and aromatics, then cooked on Dum, meaning its own steam, very slowly, resulting in a ridiculously delicious Chicken Curry, which I can bet will have you cooking this dish again and again, on demand, in your kitchen till you loose count of it.

Murshidabad Mutton Tikia Recipe / Mutton Mince Patties Recipe (Murshidabad Style) / Mutton Keema Tikia Recipe ~ Just Recipes

I am quite smitten by the culinary fare of Murshidabad. Mutton Tikia (Murshidabad Style) is the third dish from the region, to be posted on my Blog. Have you checked the other two unique dishes from this region yet ? If you haven't, do most definitely check out CHICKEN KORMA (MURSHIDABAD STYLE) and POPPY SEEDS HALWA (MURSHIDABAD STYLE) . Such culinary treasures are to be savoured and documented for posterity and I am glad that I have had the good fortune of not only savouring these delicacies from Murshidabad but have cooked them many a times in my kitchen and now have them documented forever in my Blog. A hearty thank you to CHEF DEVRAJ HALDER for initiating my foray into this wonderful world of Murshidabad Cuisine.

Hariyali Keema Recipe / Green Chicken Mince Curry Recipe / Keema Hara Masala Recipe ~ Just Recipes

With this post I am starting the Just Recipes series. This series will comprise of the dishes which I cook and post instantly. I have decided to keep the prelude to the recipe as brief as possible. Unlike my other posts, the posts in the Just Recipes series will contain only pertinent trivia about the dish presented to you. My culinary stories and travel stories will continue in my other posts. 

Shorshe Keema Recipe / Mutton ( Goat) Mince In Thick Mustard Sauce Recipe ~ Basking In Festivities

It is Eid here in Dubai today and many parts of the world. In India Eid will be celebrated tomorrow. On this auspicious occasion I would like to wish all my dear friends, readers and everyone celebrating A VERY HAPPY AND BLESSED EID.

Chicken Chettinad Recipe / Chettinad Chicken Curry Recipe ~ Chennai Food Adventure Series / Eat Like A Local Series

As promised, here I am with the recipe of Chicken Chettinad, the first among the 10 dishes which I think is a must eat when you visit Chennai. To get the taste of Chicken Chettinad similar to the one that I had eaten in Chennai, I must have cooked the dish 4 or 5 times, till I was able to nail the exact taste or let me put it, very close to the exact taste of the Chicken Chettinad I had in Chennai. There must be a number of versions that this dish must be cooked. I too had a few recipes with me which I tried and also got my Tamil friends to eat and give their opinion about. The one which was approved by all including my own senses, I am putting down that recipe here, so that no matter in which part of the world you are, you will be easily able to create the dish with a taste very close or maybe almost similar to the one which is cooked in Chennai or Chettinad.

Masala Prawn Popcorn Recipe

It's the weekend and my time with little D. We do are Mummy daughter things mostly on the weekends. But this weekend my little darling is down with a nasty cold. To make things worse, the anti histamine syrup prescribed by her doctor is making her drowsy and grumpy. My poor darling has lost her priceless smile as she is tucked away under her favourite tinker bell blanket, clinging to her tinker bell doll, as if almost hoping that this fairy doll will sprinkle some magical powder on her which will make her feel better. For a mother nothing can be more heart wrenching than seeing her little one unwell, even if it's just a common cold.