Mirchi Ka salan

Ingredients:

1.Onion – 1 large (finely chopped)
2.Banana peppers – 4
3.Garlic – 3 pods
4.Ginger – I inch square
5.Green chili- 2-4
6.Tamarind concentrate – 2-3 tsp

To grind:

1.Peanuts – ½ cup
2.Grated Coconut  – ½ cup
3.Sesame seeds- 2 heaped tbsp
4.Khus Khus/White Poppy seeds – 1 tbsp (optional)

Other spices:

1.Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
2.Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
3.Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
4.Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
5.Curry leaves - 8-10
6.Cumin powder-1tsp
7.Corriander powder- 1tsp
8.Chili powder- ½ tsp
9.Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
10.Salt to taste

Paste 1: Dry roast peanuts, grated coconut and sesame seeds. Then add a cup of water and grind it smoothly to make a paste.

Paste 2: Grind ginger, garlic and green chili together to make a smooth paste.

1.Saute the peppers in a pan with 2 tsps of oil. Don’t let the peppers get roasted too much.

2.In a sauté pan add 3 tsps of oil. After the oil turns hot add mustard seeds, fenugreek, cumin and fennel seeds. Cook it till the mustard seeds start splattering. Once that’s done add curry leaves and add paste 2 (ginger, garlic and green chili paste).

3.Cook it for a minute and add chopped onion and sauté it till the onion turns golden brown. Then add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt.

4.Add 3 tsps of tamarind concentrate (if its homemade tamarind paste which is not so concentrated then you can add a little more) and cook it for another 5 minutes.

5.Add paste 1 (peanut, coconut and sesame) and cook it for another 5 minutes. Now add 2-3 cups of water and cook it for a few minutes.

6.Add banana peppers to the gravy and cook it for 15 minutes (low flame) just to let the gravy thicken.

Black Chickpea Biryani

Ingedients for the rice

- 1 and half cups (380ml) rice
- 1 cup milk
- 5 cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom
- 5 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2.5cm cinamon
- mace (pinch)
- 2tsp salt

Ingedients for chickpeas

300ml dried black chickepas (soaked overnight,washed and cooked) or
2 cans of black chickpeas (washed)

5 cloves garlic (grated)
1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
100ml ghee
180ml yoghurt
3 medium potatoes (peeled and diced)
1 and half tamatoes (cubed)
1-3 green chilli (choped finely)

Ingredients for Garnish for Layering Biryani

- 1/2 cup chopped corrinader
- mint (handful)
- 2 thin slices of ginger (cut into thin julienes)
- 2-4 green chillies slit into center
- 1 tomato (cubed)
- 3  medium red onions (thinly sliced)
- 100ml yoghurt
- cardamom powder from 3 seeds of 3 pods
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tsp saffron
- 60ml milk



-Dry on kitchen towel and saute the onion in 3 tablespoons oil until crsipy and golden, keep aside
-Wash and soak the rice in water for 30 minutes
-Whisk 100 ml yoghurt with garam masala powder and cardamom powder, keep aside.
-Dissolve 1tsp saffron in 60ml warm milk, keep aside

To prepare rice,boil 700ml water with milk, add spices,salt and rice and cook for about 10mins until almost done.Drain.

Mix ginger, garlic, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and 1/2 tsp turmeric pwd together with 3 tablespons water.
Heat ghee in a pan and add above mixture and saute on medium heat for 2 minutes.
Stir in 1 and half tomatoes.Whisk 180ml youghurt and add into the pot.Add potatoes and green chillies.
Stir constantly until the gravy becomes thick and fat leaves the mixture.
Then add chickpeas and simmer until the gravy coats the chickpeas and potatoes.Adjust salt.
Remove pot from the heat.Sprinkle the mixture with garnishing ingredients and pour the spiced up yoghurt on top.Spread rice evenly over the garnished chickpeas.Sprinkle the saffron milk.
Place a moist cloth or moist paper on top, cover with lid and seal with flour dough.
Cook in preheated oven (180C) for 20 minutes.
Open and slowly dig in the rice to reach the chickpeas at bottom and slowly mix with the rice.

Serve with raita and sliced onions or Mirchi ka salan.