Shahi Biryani

I have started to enjoy making Biryanis, both to entertain and also for Sunday lunches. You can tell from the increase in the biryani recipes on the blog in the recent past. Once the rice and spiced veggies on done, then all is left to do is the layering part which is my favorite thing to do. The layered look is very pretty on the plate too. Also it is easy to multiply the ingredients and make them for a crowd.

I'm on the look out for new and interesting biryani recipes and when I saw this being made on a Telugu cooking show, I promptly noted it down. This biryani has a spice paste that gives all the flavor to the dish.

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Zafrani Pulao/ Saffron Rice/ Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter Z
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Zafrani Pulao/ Saffron Rice/ Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao

I can't believe today's the last day for our month long Blogging Marathon. This month flew by so fast and I've enjoyed cooking dishes from my home state of Andhra Pradesh. It has been quite a culinary journey that involved learning new dishes that I've never known or made before (like Vegetarian Haleem or Sheer Qurma) and making some traditional dishes that I've grown up with (like Lauju or kobbari kura or these comforting dals).
A big THANKS to Valli, our gracious host and organizer for the amazing ideas and being the driving force behind all of this action. Thanks to ALL the lovely ladies who did this month long marathon for your constant support. Thanks to ALL my blog readers. Last but not the least huge thanks to my family for all your ideas and encouragement.

For the final letter Z, I made Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao. This dish was almost set in stone and never changed throughout the marathon planning. I couldn't think of any other dish with Z and was happy the minute I found this recipe on Vahrehvah site.

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Yakhni Pulao (Hyderabadi Vegetable Yakhni Pulao)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter Y
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes of Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Yakhni Pulao (Hyderabadi Vegetable Yakhni Pulao)

Letter Y means we are almost close to the finish line, that is we are almost at the end of the month long marathon. Y was a little find a dish for and as I was discussing with my mom, she said make something with 'Yam'. Yam in India means Kanda (Telugu) or Suran (Hindi). But Yam in US is a variety of sweet potato. Because of all this ambiguity, I wanted to make something else.

Once I found this recipe for Yakhni Pulao, my search ended. Yakhni means 'Stock'. Traditionally Yakhni Pulao is made with stock made with meat, but I used vegatables to make stock. Recipe adapted from Veg Recipes of India and Paaka Shaale.

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Xperience Hyderabadi Irani Samosa & Chai

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter X
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes of Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Xperience Hyderabadi Irani Samosa & Chai

For letter X, I was thinking of (e)xperimenting with a new ingredient or a new dish. But as I mentioned in my previous post, it has been a busy month and by the time I started to think of what to make that would fit the Andhra dishes theme, I drew a complete blank. My mom suggested couple of traditional Andhra dishes that we could try, but as luck might have it, we didn't have enough time to make them.

As I was thinking of different words that start with 'X', I stumbled on (e)Xperience and then I thought of Hyderabadi Irani Samosa & Chai experience. The main reason for me to associate (e)xperience with tea is my 1 year old daughter. Recently she started saying 'aaaaahhh' everytime she drinks something, be it her milk or water. I guess she saw one of us say it when we drink our morning coffee/ milk. It looked so cute to me that she's really enjoying the experience of drinking. And that is how I thought of doing Hyderabadi Irani Chai & Samosa.

Hyderabad is famous for its Irani cafes that are scattered all around the city and mainly in the old city. People sipping hot, milky Irani Chai, munching on crispy, crunchy onion Irani Samosa and gossiping with friends is a very common site at these cafes.

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Veg Dum Biryani (Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter V
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes of Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Veg Dum Biryani (Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani)

Letter V stands for my all time favorite vegetable Vankaya (brinjal/ eggplant), but I stopped myself from making yet another vankaya recipe (I already posted 4 recipes with eggplant in this month). So I made yet another favorite of mine, Vegetable Dum ka Biryani.

The first time I ever had veg dum biryani was some 8 years ago when my MIL made it when she visited us. It was quite a lengthy and time taking process -- marinating the veggies, par boiling the rice, layering and then cooking on dum. I tried to make the process a little bit simpler and slightly faster than my MIL's dish. 

Instead of marinating the veggies, I cook them with spices so they don't taste bland in the final dish. I either microwave basmati rice or pressure cook for only 1 whistle, so rice still holds its shape and does not turn mushy.

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Sheer Qurma/ Khorma/ Korma (Hyderabadi Kheer with Vermicelli & Dates)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter S
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes of Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Sheer Qurma/ Khorma/ Korma (Hyderabadi Kheer with Vermicelli & Dates)

Today we are starting the final week of our month long A-Z themed blogging marathon. It has been quite an experience cooking and posting Andhra dishes for the past 18 days. As a group, we have been planning the event for almost 4 months and so most of my dishes were thought out, cooked, clicked and scheduled to post well in advance except for the last week. I only made 2 dishes for the last week and the posts are still pending :-(

September has been the busiest month so far. 2 birthday parties planned and executed, sending a first grader back to school, family from India visiting, entertaining my 1 year old and my 3 year old niece during the day.. phew.. a lot has been going on and the last of week BM suddenly had to be put on the back burner. Added to that some of the letters for this week were also quite challenging (hello U,V,W,X,Y & Z-- thank you). But I'm sure I'll figure everything out and complete the marathon, thanks to my mom for all the help :-)

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Mirchi Baingan Salan (Hyderabadi Chili-Eggplant Curry in Sesame Peanut gravy)

Bonus Recipe for Week 3
Theme: A-Z Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: M for Mirchi Baingan ka Salan

I made this very famous Hyderabadi Mirchi ka Salan to go with Qabooli. This is my 2nd bonus recipe for this week. This dish is similar to the Mixed vegetable salan I have already posted, but the spices used are slightly different. I tasted this at a restaurant long time back and wanted to recreate at home. I used eggplant and mirchi (chilies) in this recipe, but you can use just mirchi too. Recipe is from Zaiqa.net.

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Qabooli Biryani (Hyderabadi Chana dal Biryani)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter Q
Theme: A-Z Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Q for Qabooli Biryani (Hyderabadi Chana dal Biryani)

Letter Q stands for Qubani (apricots). Qubani ka Meetha is a very famous Hyderabadi dessert that is made with dried apricots that are soaked and then cooked with sugar and drizzled with cream. I wanted to make it, but couldn't find good quality apricots. So I made Qabooli instead.

Qabooli is biryani made with spicy chana dal (split pea lentil) and layered with basmati rice. I used black chana/ chickpeas instead and it turned out quite tasty. This is a filling and delicious dish that is great to make when you have company.

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Haleem/ Vegetarian Haleem Recipe

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter H
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: H for Haleem/ Vegetarian Haleem

Letter H stands for Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabadi cuisine is not only famous for its rich and spicy Biryanis and curries but also for equally rich and decadent desserts. Hyderabad's cuisine is an amalgamation of Mughlai, Turkish and Arabic along with the influence of local Telugu and Marathwada cuisines.

Utmost care is taken in choosing the spices and other ingredients for the dishes. Therefore the addition of a certain herb, spice, condiment or a combination of all these add a distinct flavor and aroma. The key ingredients are coconut, tamarind, peanuts and sesame seeds which are used extensively in main dishes. 

Even though I grew up in Hyderabad, I have no knowledge of the actual 'Hyderabadi' dishes. We were never big on eating out and there were only handful of Hyderabadi dishes that my mom would make for us like Bagara Baingan and Mirchi ka salan.

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Bagara Baingan (Hyderabadi Baby Eggplants in Peanut-Coconut Gravy)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter B

Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: B for Bagara Baingan (Baghare Baingan)

Letter B stands for veggies like Beerakaya (ridgegourd), Bendakaya (lady's finger/ okra) and one of my favorite greens Bachalikura. B is also for Bellam or jaggery, a unrefined sweetener that is used widely in both savory and sweet dishes in A.P. 

With so many B's to choose from, I ended up choosing a dish that is very close to my heart (and tummy) and the city I'm from, Hyderabad. Hyderabadi cuisine is very famous for its Biryanis and other rich and delicious Mughal & Nizam influenced dishes. So being an eggplant lover, I couldn't think of anything else other than Bagara Baingan for the letter B. 

This dish used to be a part of almost all of the wedding menus and other functions. But there seems to be a change of trend these days and my beloved bagara baingan is hardly ever made. Which means it is time to make it right at home. I already posted my mom's recipe here. Today's recipe is adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer.

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