Methi Chaman Briyani (Paneer Methi Briyani)

Another interesting recipe from the masterchef Venkatesh Bhat from his briyani special episode (Watch the full episode here) which I tried for a sunday lunch. I have always been a big fan of him and I still have plenty of recipes from his collections yet to be tried. Never knew Briyanis can be made in so many different variations with different ingredients and flavours. He comes out with varied briyani varieties, that too vegetarian :):)

This is one such vegetarian briyani recipe, that uses juicy paneer(cottage cheese) and Methi. This aroma of Methi is the punch for this recipe. Hence, I do not add coriander or pudhina to this briyani as it might overshadow the significant aroma of Methi leaves.

This is my favourite combo and making this into briyani was really exciting. Let's quickly check out the recipe for this mild, aromatic and flavourful chunky Briyanis.

Ingredients

1. Fresh fenugreek leaves (methi) - 1/2 small bunch
2. Paneer (cottage cheese) - 200 gms (cut into cubes)
3. Basmati Briyani Rice - 1.5 cups
4. Saffron (kesar) - 6-7 strands
5. Milk - 1/2 cup
6. Ghee - 3 tablespoons
7. Onions - 3 large (Thinly sliced)
8. Green chillies - 2 slit
9. Fried onions - 1/2 cup
10. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
11. Salt - 1.5 tsp

Masala Ingredients

1. Green cardamoms - 2
2. Black cardamom - 1
3. Cloves - 3-4
4. Cinnamon -1 inch stick
5. Bay Leaf - 1
6. Black peppercorns - 5-6

For Marination

1. Thick Yogurt - 1 Cup
2. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
3. Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
4. Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
5. Roasted Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
6. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
7. Garam masala powder - 2 tsp
8. Needed Salt

Method

Marinating the Paneer

1. Marinate the paneer cubes with ingredients listed under "Marination". Let the paneer cubes remain soaked in the marinated yogurt mixture for half hour. This helps all the flavours to be absorbed inside the paneer and also helps it become soft.

Paneer cubes marinated in yogurt and spices

Cooking the Basmati Rice

2. Wash the Basmati Rice 2 times well for the excess starch to get rinsed off. Boil the basmati rice with a tbsp of ghee ,enough water and 1.5 tsp of salt till it is cooked about 90 percent. Drain the rice and keep it aside for dum cooking with the gravy. You can feel it by breaking the rice. 

90 percent Cooked Basmati Rice

Preparing Methi Paneer Gravy

3. Discard the roots of the methi leaves. Chop the leaves and tender stem part finely. Wash them thoroughly to get rid of mud and the bitter taste.

4. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee and all ingredients under "Masala". Add Onions,green chili and ginger garlic paste. Saute well until the onions are cooked and become translucent.

5. Add the marinated paneer, methi leaves and fried onions and mix well. Add needed amount of salt after checking. Cook the mixture on low flame for about 10 mins.

Preparing the Methi paneer gravy

Layering of Briyani

1. Soak strands of saffron in 1/2 cup of warm milk overnight or for about half hour.

Saffron soaked milk

2. Take a big heavy bottomed pan/cooker for dum cooking.

3. Layer the Methi Paneer gravy first. Add the remaining rice on top of the gravy as second 
layer.

Layering of Paneer Methi Masala

4. Sprinkle the saffron + milk all over the rice as shown in the picture.

Layering of rice topped with Saffron milk

Dum cooking

5. Place a Dosa Tawa on flame. Transfer the dum cooking handi/pressure cooker pan to dosa tawa and cover the pan tightly so that no heat escapes.( as shown below)

6. Cook for about 15 mins on low flame with the pan fully sealed.

7. Methi Chaman Briyani is all ready and piping hot to be served along with any raita of your choice :)

Mixed Vegetable Raitha

Raitha are an excellent accompaniment to not just briyanis but beyond that. I love to pair them up with poha, pulao, briyani, paratha, upma and what not. This is a very crunchy delicious raitha that has goodness of all crunch vegetables. Let's jump to the preparation.

Serves: 3 bowls

Ingredients

1. Thick Curd - 2.5 cups
2. Roasted Cumin Powder - 1.5 tsp
3. Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Black salt - 1/2 tsp
5. Needed Table salt
6. Coriander leaves - few for garnishing

Veggies

• Carrot - 3 tbsp (chopped)
• Cucumber - 3 tbsp (chopped)
• Onion - 3 tbsp (chopped)
• Capsicum - 3 tbsp (chopped)

Method

1. Whisk curd well and add all the chopped vegetables, coriander leaves,salt and mix well.

2. Sprinkle roasted cumin powder and red chili powder as shown in the picture.

3. Serve chilled with any Pulao or Briyani varieties.

Tarator (Таратор)

Tarator - Bulgarian Cold cucumber soup is a traditional and popular recipe from the Balkan regions. It is mainly prepared during summer with cucumber and yogurt as the main ingredient. The consistency can vary depending on how thick or thin you want. This is generally served cold and served in traditional Bulgarian Clay Pot, Gyuveche. Let's look into this preparation.

Serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Cucumber - 2 small sized or 1 big
2. Whisked thick curd/yogurt - 1 cup
3. Water as needed depending on consistency 
4. Garlic cloves - 3-4 (crushed or chopped finely)
5. Walnuts - 2 tbsp (chopped finely) 
6. Olive Oil/Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp
7. Salt as needed 
8. Fresh coriander leaves/dill/parsley for garnishing as needed 

Method

1. Peel and chop the the cucumbers into fine small cubes.

2. Mix garlic, yogurt and cucumber with needed salt.

3. Add water if you require a thin consistency. Adjust the water depending on how thick or thin you want the soup.

4. Drizzle some olive/sunflower oil and mix gently.

5. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves/dill,chopped walnuts and serve the soup chilled.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Original recipe uses dill. I have substituted with fresh coriander leaves as I don't get dill here.
2. You can either refrigerate the soup overnight or add ice cubes to serve them chilled. Either way it tastes great.

Curd Rice (Bagala Bath)

Needless to say,coming from a tambrahm family, we just can't live without this yogurt rice.My friends always tease me and wonder how I could be so crazy about curd rice. Leave me in an island with nothing but just curd rice, I would happily survive :). This will always be the finishing touch in any south Indian meal course.I always like to have curd rice in its virgin form with not much of add-on's. I have posted the recipe with simple and minimum tempering.Here is the recipe for yum yum curd rice:)

serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Raw Rice - 1 cup
2. Milk -1.5 cup (Boiled and cooled)
3. Fresh Curd/yogurt - 1.5 cup

Tempering

1. Oil - 2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3. Urda Dhal-1 tsp
4. Green chili - 1-2(finely chopped)
5. Curry leaves - 3-4
6. Asafoetida - a pinch
7. Salt to taste

Garnishing

Grated carrot/pomegranates/green grapes/Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Pressure Cook rice with 1:5 ratio (Rice:Water) so that the rice is overcooked.

2. Smash the rice,add yogurt, salt,milk and mix nicely.

3. Heat some oil in a pan,add mustard seeds.Once the mustard crackles,add urad dhal,green chili,curry leaves and saute for a minute.

4. Pour the above temper mixture over curd rice and mix well.

5. Garnish the Curd rice with either small pieces of carrots,pomegranates,grapes or even small pieces of cashews.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. I always like curd rice in its virgin form, So I have used less ingredients for tempering and garnishing.
2. In case, the curd rice becomes hard, you can add some milk and salt and adjust accordingly.
3. Tastes best when served with mango pickle.

Onion & Carrot Raitha

This is a very simple raitha that can be prepared very easily.This almost goes well with all rice varieties,pulao and even parathas. Sometimes,If I am too bored to prepare a side dish, I make a quick raitha. Onion and carrot make a great combination.Both are very crispy in nature and hence they are great to munch on.Here is the recipe for Onion n Carrot raitha.

serves:2

Ingredients

1. Fresh thick yogurt-1.5 cups
2. Onions-1 medium sized (Chopped)
3. Carrot-1 Chopped (Chopped)
4. Coriander-Few for seasoning
5. Salt to taste
6. Roasted Cumin/Jeera Powder-1 tsp
7. Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method

1. Whisk curd with salt and cumin powder nicely to a creamy consistency.

2. Add chopped onions and carrot and mix well.

3. Season raitha with chopped coriander leaves and some chili powder sprinkled on top.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. In the above recipe,instead of onion, you can use chopped cucumber and it becomes cucumber raitha :)
2. Instead of carrot, you can also use capsicum(If you like capsicum :P).