Shammi Kebab- Kale Chane ke kebab

Hello Sweet Peas!!! My kids love Indian Subway as in the sandwich chain. They love US style subways too, but Indian chains are more customized for Indian spices and tastes. They have a variety to choose from chatpata chana pattie to mexican pattie to paneer tikka.

After returning to US, both kids missed the Indian varieties of patties. Like any good mom, I decided to search the chatpata chana pattie recipe. I had seen Sanjeev Kapoor  make his famous rajma pattie. I substituted rajma to kala chana, they tasted way better and kids gave me a thumbs up.

You will need;
1 cup soaked and boiled black chana
1 boiled potato
1 tspn cayenne pepper powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn chat masala
2-3 crushed cloves of garlic
1/2 inch ginger grated
1 tsp Turmeric
salt to taste
oil or spray to shallow fry the kebabs

Wash and Soak the kala chana in water for 5-7 hours. Boil the potatoes and the chana for 2 whistles and then 5 mins on low flame in a pressure cooker. Cool for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, mash the potato. In a mixer grind the boiled chana and mix in the potato mixture and add all the spices and mix well. 

Heat a skillet and grease the base with oil and drop little coins  of this mixture and spray them with an oil spray and fry till they get cooked. The kebabs are ready to be eaten with some green chutney or in any sandwich as subway does it with the greens and dressings.

Methi Thepla

Hello Sweeties!!!! Weather is getting warmer and so are the weekends getting busier. Whenever we travel, I like to carry at least one food item from home. Theplas or parathas are easy to make and can be had on their own.

A famous snack for the state of Gujarat in India, it has sort of become a staple in my home too. I learnt it watching some tv shows. But its very easy to make.

You will need;

2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup Fresh Methi Leaves-Washed and chopped fine

1 small Boiled Potato

Salt to taste

1 tsp Red chili/cayenne powder
1 tspn Haldi/Turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 Amchur or dry mango powder
1tsp Sugar
1 tsp Garam masala
3 tbspn yogurt
2 tbspn oil to knead the dough

Water as needed to make the dough soft.

In a wide bowl, take the methi leaves, mashed boiled potato and the dry spices and add salt and sugar, add yogurt and oil and mix well, now start adding the flour and start mixing in the flour.

Add teaspoon by tea spoon water till you have a soft pliable dough. Once  the dough is soft enough, cover  and let rest for 15-20 mins.

After the dough is rested, roll out the theplas like you would make roti's( make small balls  of the dough and roll out thin round tortillas dusting flour if the tortillas stick to the surface). 

Heat a griddle or tawa on medium heat and cook the theplas on one side. Flip the theplas and spray oil and cook the other side. Repeat on side one and cook both sides. Serve hot with some ketchup. or green chutney or any curry of your choice.

They travel well and stay good for 2-3 days.

Matki chi Usal/Moth bean curry

Hello Sweeties!!! Last week was all about cakes and cookies, so briging my sweet tooth and crazy carving in check, I am concentrating on healthy and soul food this week.

It does happen, you slip, give in the craving and then try making things work out by eating right.


**Sprouting beans; Soak a cup of dried beans in hot water for 5-6 hours, Rinse the beans and discard the water it was soaked in, either tie these soaked beans in a cloth or keep in a air tight box in a warm place for 8-10 hours for sprouting. 

 

You will need; 

1 cup sprouted Matki/Moth Beans
**Boiled with 2 cups water in a pot for 8-10 mins.
1 inch ginger grated

2 cloves garlic mashed 

1/2 cup dry roasted coconut

2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera

1 clove

3-4 peppercorns

1 tspn Usal Masala-(Substitute with 1/2 tspn Garam masala + 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper) 2 tsps Cumin-Coriander powder

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

1 tspn Goda Masala- Optional (** Black Garam Masala commonly used in Marathi speaking homes)

Tempering

1 tbspn oil

1 tspn Jeera/cumin seeds

1 tsp rai/mustard seeds

pinch of hing/asafodita

1 tsp turmeric/haldi

In a grinder powder the dry roasted coconut and the jeera with the clove and some peppercorns. Keep this powder aside.

Heat a wok on medium heat and add oil, add the tempering ingredients, rai/mustard seeds and jeera/cumin seeds, let it sizzle and then add the ginger and garlic, then add the turmeric/haldi and hing. Then add the boiled matki beans with the water in which it was cooked.

 

Then add the coconut powder, usal masala, cumin-coriander powder, salt and cover and cook for 5-7 mins. The usal is ready. Garnish with cilantro if you like.

** The Usal masala, which I have is very spicy, so adjust the heat levels as per your liking. Generally it is wiser to start with less amounts and increase to you liking.

Enjoy this usal with bread or rice or phulka or any Indian roti. If you are like my kids they eat it as a snack too.

Mugachi Usal/ Sprouted Green Beans Curry

Hello Sweetpeas!!! Thanks a tonn for reading this space and looking out for me when I go missing in action. Many of my friends wanted to learn how to make Usal and include sprouts in their daily diet.

So Radhika if you are listening, This post is for you. I have been making usal in 2-3 ways; but this is the fastest and the simplest way with less spices and oil.

**Sprouting beans;
Soak a cup of dried beans in hot water for 5-6 hours, Rinse the beans and discard the water it was soaked in, either tie these soaked beans in a cloth or keep in a air tight box in a warm place for 8-10 hours for sprouting. Sprouted beans will look like the below picture.

You will need; 

1 cup sprouted Greeen Beans/ Moog/ Mung
**Boiled with 2 cups water in a pot for 8-10 mins.
1 inch ginger grated
2 cloves garlic mashed

1 tspn Usal Masala-(Substitute with 1/2 tspn Garam masala +1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper)
2 tsps Cumin-Coriander powder
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
1 tspn Goda Masala- Optional
(** Black Garam Masala commonly used in Marathi speaking homes)

Tempering

1 tbspn oil
1 tspn Jeera/cumin seeds

1 tsp rai/mustard seeds

pinch of hing/asafodita

1 tsp turmeric/haldi

Heat a wok on medium heat and add oil, add the tempering ingredients, rai/mustard seeds and jeera/cumin seeds, let it sizzle and then add the ginger and garlic, then add the turmeric/haldi and hing. Then add the boiled mung beans with the water in which it was cooked.Then add the usal masala, cumin-coriander powder, salt and cover and cook for 5-7 mins. The usal is ready. Garnish with cilantro if you like.

** The Usal masala, which I have is very spicy, so adjust the heat levels as per your liking. Generally it is wiser to start with less amounts and increase to you liking.

Enjoy this usal with bread or rice or phulka or any Indian roti. If you are like my kids they eat it as a snack too.

Roasted Gobhi Aloo-(Roasted Cauliflower with potatoes)

Hello Sweeties!!!!. Aloo Gobhi is one of the favorite veggies my kids like. They don't like when the cauliflower florets get soggy and lose their muscle. They are not pesky eaters but they do appreciate the crunch in the veggies.

Roasted/Fried Cauliflower was my all time favorite snack and anytime my mom deep fried few florets mi and my bother would be armed with our forks not to eat but to guard them more. Food fights were oh so common while my growing up.

You will need;
1 whole cauliflower tore into florets and roasted
**Roast in a pre-heated oven at 400Degress. Coat the florets with some olive oil and sprinkle salt if you like. Roast for 20-25 mins.
1 tspn Ginger Garlic paste
1 cup tomato pureed
1/2 onion chopped fine
2 Boiled potatoes diced 
Salt if needed as the roasted cauliflower might have salt
 1 tspn Cayenne chili powder
1 tspn turmeric/haldi
1 tspn Garam Masala
2 tbspn oil

Heat the oil in a wok, add the onions, and saute for a minute, add in the pureed tomatoes, then the ginger garlic paste, fry this masala till oil starts leaving the sides; than add in the roasted cauliflower, diced boiled potatoes and saute for a minute.

Lastly add in the haldi, cayenne chili powder, garam masala and salt and stir well. Cook till the veggies gets coated. Serve hot with roti, naan or with rice and dal.

This screams comfort food for us, what is your comfort food. you might travel the world, enjoy the finest dining experience yet there is something about the home and  simple food, that kinds of de-stresses you and makes you go strong in your faith and beliefs.

Lasuni Palak Sambar- Garlic Spinach Sambar

Hello dearies!!!! My love for sambar is  shown time and again on this space. Its the most satisfying and healthy soup/ dal/lentil for me. Be it a cold day or a warm day, Sambar and rice with a dollop of ghee/clarified butter is my go to meal.

I have an en-number of South Indian friends who make all kinds of sambar. I was totally alien to the concept of adding different veggies to the sambar. My mom at the most added drum stick, eggplant and potatoes to the sambar.

But the exposure I got from meeting people of mixed cultures, food habits after coming to US, is what I cherish most in my stay here. One such food exposure I got was adding leafy greens to Sambar and lentils.

You will need;
1 Cup cookedToor dal, 
**Pressure cooked with little Turmeric and Hing and mashed well
3-4 Cloves Garlic
1 tspn Tamarind Pulp
1 cup chopped spinach
1 tbspn(heaped) Sambar Powder
** I used 777 brand sambar powder.
Salt to taste
Little Jaggery/Gur-Optional
Water as needed
 
Tempering;
1 tspn Oil 
1 tspn Ghee/Clarified butter
1 tspn mustard seeds
1 Tspn Cumin /Jeera 

In a pot heat some oil+ghee, ad the tempering ingredient let the seeds splutter then add the chopped garlic, let it fry well.
After the garlic is fried well, add some water, add the Sambar Powder and salt and the Tamarind Paste. Add the chopped spinach. Lastly add the cooked dal and Gur and bring it to a boil. Let it boil a few minutes and the Sambar is ready. 
Since I made it for dinner to go along with rice, I did not use any garnishing and even Curry Leaves, as I had none on hand. But feel free to jazz it with curry leaves and cilantro. I drink sambar in bowl fulls, so any lentil with sambar powder will work for me.

 This Sambar is so tasty on its own, that I skipped rice  totally and had it like soup.

Eggless Chai Spiced Gingerbread Man Cookies

Hello sweeties!!!! Can you believe that we are into the Holiday season of year 2013!!! Every year we kick start the holidays with shopping for gifts and setting up the tree.

After that comes the baking part, where we do bake an assorted varieties of cookies chocolate, peppermint and custard cookies. This year I tried my hand by tweaking the ginger bread man cookie recipe with some chai spice.

Original recipe for Ginger bread man cookie is here. I tweaked a few things to basically use what I had on hand.

I used Agave and chai spice to make my gingerbread man cookies more Indian and it did take the taste a notch up, for sure.

You will need;
1 stick butter at room temperature
2.5 cups All purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Agave nectar
1 tbspn Vanilla extract
1 tbspn Ginger powder
1 tbspn Chai spice mix-
** Powdered form of clove, dry ginger, green cardamon, black cardamom,  pepper corn, cinnamon.
1 tspn Cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3rd cup milk--if needed

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients and keep aside. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar and then add in the agave nectar, and vanilla extract, slowly add the flour till the dough becomes easy to handle. Add milk if needed to form a dough, cover in the cling film/plastic wrap and chill for an hour or so.

Roll into a disc of half cm thick and cut  the gingerbread man shapes. Bake at 300 F till they turn slight brown...for abt 8-10 mins.

The cookies are ready to be shared with a loved ones and wish, " Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings to you"!!!!!

Plantain Coins Curry

 Hello Sweeties!!!!! I am hogging on the Diwali treats at my end and what follows every year is a  down side to all that hogging. The jeans fit a bit snug and the tummy kind of pops out every now and then.

My mom always used plantains instead of potatoes every now and then, no we were not Jain and we did eat garlic, onion everything, but she mixed matched sometimes for health reasons sometimes just to finish stuff off the fridge.

I had brought the plantains on whim last time I went for grocery, little knowing what to do with them. Then days passed with no clue until my kiddo demanded I made the potato patties. Their demand for Ragda Pattice got changed into Pattice Curry as Donut wanted ragda pattice and Munchkin wanted egg curry.

 You will need;
For Patties's
2 medium size plantains
1 small potato
1-2 tspn corn flour
1 tspn cayenne pepper powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn coriander powder
2-3 crushed cloves of garlic
1/2 inch ginger grated
salt to taste
oil or spray to shallow fry the patties's

Boil the plantains and the potato for 2-3 whistles and then 5 mins on low flame in a pressure cooker. In a bowl, mash the plantain and potato and mix in cornflour, add all the spices and mix well. 

Heat a skillet and grease the base with oil and drop little coins  of this mixture and spray them with an oil spray and fry till they get cooked. Once done, remove and keep aside.

For the curry;
 1 medium sized onion
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 tbspn ginger garlic paste
1/2 tspn haldi/turmeric
1 tspn cayenne pepper powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 cup water
1/3rd cup heavy cream- Optional
Salt to taste

Tempering;
2 tbspn oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tspn shahjeera/Caraway seeds-Optional

In a deep wok, heat the oil on medium. Once the oil is hot add the seeds and let them sizzle for 2-3 seconds, then add the ginger-garlic paste and onions, then add in the tomato puree and cook till the oil leaves the sides of the onion and tomato mixture, then add in the haldi, and the spices and add water and salt and cover and let it boil. Grind it into  paste if you like fine texture curry. Lastly add in the cream and stir and cook for 1-2 mins. Make the curry little thick,

 While serving,

 Take the patties in a bowl and pour the curry on the patties. Serve hot with phulka or flat bread of your choice or rice. Remember to assemble the dish when you are about to eat it. 

Keeping the patties in the curry for long will result in the patties absorbing the curry and losing the shape and everything will turn into  a mess. This will certainly not interfere with the taste, but it will not look very pleasing.

Drumstick Sambar

 Hello Sweeties!!!!

 Today Sambar is one such thing, that uses up most of the veggies even squash/pumpkin to corn and peas. the basic recipe for sambar is same, you can feel free to substitute any veggie in the sambar.


You will need;
1 Cup Toor dal, Boiled with little Turmeric and Hing and mashed well
1 Onion
2-3 Cloves Garlic
1 Tomato chopped
1 tspn Tamarind Pulp
1/2 Poato Boiled
6-8 2-3 Inch long sticks of Drumstick
* I used Frozen, since we do not get them fresh easily
1 tbspn(heaped) MTR Sambar Powder
Salt to taste
Little Jaggery/Gur-Optional
1 tspn Oil
In a pot heat some oil, add the onions and the drumsticks and the tomato and saute for a minute. Then add the crushed garlic and  potatoes and enough water to cover the veggies. 

After the veggies are fully cooked; add the Sambar Powder and salt and the Tamarind Paste. Lastly add the cooked dal and Gur and bring it to a boil. Let it boil a few minutes and the Sambar is ready. 

Since I made it for dinner to go along with rice, I did not use any garnishing and even Curry Leaves, as I had none on hand. But feel free to jazz it with curry leaves and cilantro. I drink sambar in bowl fulls, so any lentil with sambar powder will work for me.

Homemade Roasted veggie PIzza

 Hi Sweetpeas!!!!Home made pizza was and is a very easy dinner idea that everybody at home loves. After finding a new kind of yeast, the prep time is reduced to zero and I can make pizza in short amount of time.

I am not compensated to promote this brand of yeast, but I want all those moms out there who are looking for fast and easy ways to put meals on the table to know, that this Yeast actually works.

Nothing beats the aroma and taste of homemade pizza. The herbs in the crust  make it a delish on its own. Plus you can make it as per your liking, garlic, rosemary and  chili flakes take the crust to another level.

For the dough,

Prep Time; 10 mins to mix the dough

10-12 mins for first bake 

Makes 4 Thin crust Pan pizzas 

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup All Purpose flour

1 Tbspn dry active Pizza Yeast

1 Tbspn Sugar and 1/2 cup warm water to bloom the yeast

1 Tsp Dried Rosemary

1/2 tsp Dried Basil

1 Tsp Garlic powder

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp red Chili Flakes

2-3 Tbspn Olive Oil and 

Salt for taste

water as needed to make the dough 

 

Toppings;

Store brght Pasta Sauce

Grated cheese to spread on the pizza

1/2 Green bell pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 big onion

3/4 cup Broccoli-Steamed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbspn oil

 

In a bowl, take the dry active yeast, sugar and warm water and mix well. Keep it aside to bloom for 10 minutes. The mixture will be frothy, if the yeast is active. If the yeast is old discard the mixture and get fresh yeast. I always prefer to check the yeast then move on to the dough.

In a mixing bowl, take the flour, add the salt and seasonings, garlic powder, rosemary, basil, oregano and little oil to start the mixing, as you move along making the dough, add the oil and knead into a soft dough. Cover and keep it in a warm place till you roast the veggies and get the toppings ready.

 

When the dough rises, it is ready to be baked into some yummy pizzas. Punch out the air from the dough and take small balls and roll it into small discs. I usually bake these pizza bases for 10-15 mins in a pre-heated oven at 350degrees F.

Roasting veggies
In a wok, on high heat, take 1 tbspn oil, and add the veggies, let them caramelize for 5-7 mins without stirring often, add salt and pepper and  remove from heat, let them hang out in the hot wok.

Assembling pizza;
Take the base, spread the pasta sauce, arrange the roasted veggies and sprinkle lots  or little cheese and bake @ 400 degree F till the cheese melts.

Enjoii the hot and delicious pizza that's filled with homemade goodness of healthy ingredients.

Paneer Masala/ Cottage cheese in Indian spice sauce

Hello sweeties!!!! Did you guys miss me, I am very sorry and kindly accept my apologies for being MIA for such along time.

I will skip the excuses and say that even though I was cooking regular food, there was nothing that was worth mention here. Not any more, I am back with a very easy and simple Paneer dish, that won thumbs up from Munchkin. He even asked for the gravy  sans the paneer and that's a lot coming from a 5 yr old foodie.

Another piece of news worth sharing is that Indulge-ashscorner has been nominated for the Indiblogger awards.
I will need your blessings and kind comments to find mention in the list. Please pretty please  check the link, recommend and comment to show your support for my work.

Coming back to the recipe, its fairly simple and easy to put together if you have paneer ready. I get mine from the Indian grocery store, but you can make it at home.

You will need;
 
1 large Onions
3 Tomatoes--Pureed or use 1/2 of the 8oz can
1 inch piece Ginger
3 tbspns chopped cilantro
1/4 tspnTurmeric powder
1 tspn Red chili powder
1 tspn Coriander powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 pod green Cardamom-broken with but with the skin in tact
1 tbspn Cashew Paste
** Soak Cashews in milk with 1 tspn kasuri methi for 1 hour and grind it into paste.
Salt to taste
Paneer around 200 gms.
** soak the paneer in water and milk and microwave it for 25 secs to soften it.

Peel, wash and chop onions and ginger finely. 

In a blender take the onions and tomatoes, ginger and cilantro and grind into fine paste.
Heat two tablespoons oil in a pan and add the above paste. Sauté till lightly browned. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, salt and let it cook for 2 minutes till the raw onion smell goes away Add the cashew paste, garam masala powder and the green cardamom and let that fry till it leaves the sides of the pot.

Then add little water( Water + Milk from the paneer works well) to make it gravy consistency and add diced pieces of the paneer. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, taking care that the paneer does not get mushy and the gravy does not stick to the pan.
The paneer masala is ready to be served.

Please also note that August will be vacation time for Ms. Ash and we will be back from interesting tit bits from home and  maybe an awesome giveaway around September. Stay hooked and watch this space to win some sweet notes.

Kadhi Pakora- Fritters in yogurt base gravy

 Hello Sweeties!!!! Life is getting busy with the heat and lazy weekends. Such times you want to spend minimum time in the kitchen and  go for simple easy meals. 

Rain has been a regular feature in NJ this summer, so we are making a lot of khekda bhaji's to keep up with the rains. It is an uncompromisable ritual in Ashland, that when it rains we make bhaji. 

But we do face leftover bhaji issues. Once cold and limp, these once hard to land on the plate fritters lie around like unwanted pieces of furniture. Not to go anything to waste, Ms. Ash transforms them into Kadhi Pakodas, The menu teams well and its surely a hit, make bhaji for snacking with tea and then simple rice and kadhi meal for dinner.

You will need;
1 cup thick Yogurt
1 tbspn Besan
2 Cups water
leftover Khekda Bhaji
Few Curry leaves
1 tsbpn grated ginger
2 cloves,
1 tspn sugar
small lump of Jaggery
salt to taste
and pinch of black pepper powder

Tempering; 
1 tbspn Ghee/ Clarified Butter
1 tspn jeera/Cumin Seeds
1/s tspn hing/Aesafodita
1 tspn Corriander seeds
1 tspn Fenugreek Seeds
1 Green Chili-Slit

Take yogurt in a bowl add water and besan.. and mix well, as no lumps should be formed...heat this mix in a pot.. to this add the jaggery, salt, sugar, cloves and pinch of black pepper powder and grated ginger....Simultaneously make the Tempering in a diff pan.

For tempering;
In a pan heat some Ghee.. add  cumin seeds, Coriander and Fenugreek seeds, hing, curry leaves and green chilies.. let them splutter.. then add this to the yogurt mix...and boil the whole thing for 5-6 mins on low to medium heat.. garnish with cilantro and enjoii this with the khichadi or plain rice.

Vegetable Paneer Tikka Biryani

Hello Sweeties!!!! What do you do when you are in no mood to cook anything elaborate yet there is some celebration needed. You make this vegetable paneer tikka biryani. Easy!!!!

Donut finished his exams and we thought like always, we might dine out and this Momma might get lucky on a week day. Surprises never cease us, Donut declared he liked home cooked food much better than outside spicy food.

Mr. Ash was in mood for some Biryani and kids love Paneer/Indian cottage cheese.  There is a debate as American cottage cheese is  different than paneer, But since I don't know another word for Paneer, I am sticking to Indian Cottage cheese.

I had got the spicy paneer tikka masala paste to try from the last grocery trip, I decided to satisfy everyone and use that. 

Birayni can be jazzed up in million ways and use of ingredients can be  added or minimized. This is my version of kid friendly biryani. 

You Will Need;
For Rice;
2 cups Basmati rice washed and drained 
2 cups boiling hot water
one tspn lemon juice

For Vegetable Paneer Tikka Masala;
2 medium onion
2 Tomatoes
2 Medium Potaoes diced
around 8-10 1 inch paneer cubes
1 cup mixture of corn, peas, and beans 
1 inch ginger
2-3 cloves Garlic
3 tbspn paneer Tikka Masala Paste  
* I get the ready to use masala paste in my Indian grocery store, alternatively use the dry spice powder mixed in yogurt 
1 tbspn chopped mint
1/2 cup Milk or cream
Salt to taste
1 tbspn chopped mint
2 tbspn Ghee for tempering
1 tspn jeera/cumin seeds 

To assemble The Biryani;
1 heavy pot/Handi
few Saffron Strands mixed in warm milk
1 onion cut in Strips and fried
Chopped mint
Cooked basmati rice
Prepared Vegetable Paneer tikka Masala Gravy

Take the washed and drained rice and add boiling water and lemon juice to it and cover and let cook for 10-12 minutes. Do not cook the rice fully, we need it al-dente. Fluff and Keep aside

In a small food chopper, take the onion, tomatoes,  ginger and garlic and pulse into a fine paste. 

In a handi/deep pot, take the ghee, add the jeera, add the onion tomato paste and fry till the oil separates. Then add in the paneer tikka masala paste and the chopped mint. The paste is very spicy and has all the ingredients of the whole garam masala. 

IF you are not using this paste, then add 2 heaped tbspns of garam masala/paneer tikka masala and 1 tbspn red chilli powder now and fry the onion tomato mixture,. then add the vegetable and let cook till the potatoes get cooked al-dente.  Do not cook everything through or else they will get mushed when you further cook the biryani.

After the poatoes get partially cooked add the milk/cream and paneer and  let cook and reduce. we need some gravy, but don't make it too liquid.

We are ready to assemble the biryani. 

Remove half of the gravy from the handi into another bowl, add in a layer of rice, Sprinkle half of the fried onion and mint and  the saffron milk over the layer, then another layer of paneer gravy, rice and garnish with remaining onions, mint and saffron milk. Spread some ghee over this mixture. Cover this tightly with a lid. 

On low-medium heat, take  a flat pan and  arrange the handi over it and let cook for another 30-45 minutes. The more you keep, the better the tastes develop. We ate after about 30 minutes, but the tastes was very much there.

The Biryani was modest in taste. The gravy can be made rich by using cashew nut paste/almond paste, heavy cream, full fat milk instead of regular milk. The biryani was good for a quick weekday dinner and was light on our tummies.

We enjoyed the biryaniw ith some lime and boondi raita.