Ingedients
Basumathi rice – 1 kilo
Green chillies – 15
Garlic – 100 gms
Ginger – 100 gms
Coconut – 1 Big
Tomatoes – 1/2 kilo
Big onions – 1/4 kilo
Khus khus – 1 Tablespoon
Somph – 1 Teaspoon
Cashewnuts – 100 gms
Cinnamon sticks – 1 Inch
Bay leaves – 2
Cardamom – 6
Cloves – 6
Turmeric powder – 1 Teaspoon
Salt – To taste
Ghee or oil – 200 ml.

Method
Soak cleaned and washed rice in enough water for 1/2 hour.
Fry the green chillies in a little oil till white, remove, add peeled garlic and ginger, grind to a fine paste.
Grind khus khus, somph and cashewnuts to a paste.
Cut onions and tomatoes fine.
Grate the coconut and take the first and second milk 200 ml, 2nd milk 200 ml.
Heat a thick bottom vessel, add the ghee or oil, season first with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, then add turmeric powder the cut onions, cook till brown then add ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw smell goes, then add tomatoes, cook till tomatoes are well cooked, keep stirring so that the parts do not stick at the bottom, then add the soaked rice and fry well, then add the 1st & 2nd coconut milk 400 ml then add 1400 ml water so roughly 7 glasses of water, then mix well and put on slow fire to cook, add salt to taste, you can cook on a slow fire or re-cook for 15 minutes remove, Garnish with coriander leaves.

Ingredients
broiler chkken, cut into medium sized pieces – 1 kg.
jeera or basmati rice – 1/2 kg.
3/4 cup refined oil
Whole spices: 1 stick cinnamon,
2 cardamoms,
2 cloves.
medium sized onion. sliced – 2
garlic ginger paste – 1 tbs.
1 small bunch coriander leaves, chopped
10 mint leaves, chopped
chilli powder – 2 tsp.
turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp.
2 green chillies. slit
1/2 large lime
salt – to cook chicken – 2 1/2 tsp.
salt – to cook rice -1 tbs. -
3/4 cup water

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Add whole
spices, then the sliced onions, fry lightly for a minute.
2. Add garlic ginger paste, fry for 1 minute.
3. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves, fry for
a minute.
4. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, slit green
chillies and lime juice. Stir and fry for 1 minute.
5. Add chicken, 2 1/2 tsp. salt and 3/4 cup of water. Stir well, close the cooker and cook chicken fur;) minutes.
6. In the meanwhile, cook rice as ordinary rice, \vlth 1 tbs. salt. When 3/4 cooked, strain the rice.
To assemble the Pallav:
1. Put one layer of rice, then one layer of chicken and curry. Repeat this.
2. Keep on high flame for 3 minutes & on low
name for 15 to 20 minutes till rice IS done.

Ingredients
jeera sambar – 1/2 kg
rice cooked vvith – 1 tbs.
salt – 1 kg.
broiler chicken, with skin cut into medium sized pieces
Masalas ground to a paste:
large stick cinnamon -1
cardamoms – 2
doves – 2
medium sized onions – 2 together
green chillies – 10 ground
ginger -1 1/2 inch to a
medium sized pods of garlic – 2 paste
medium sized bunch -1
coriander leaves
mint leaves – 5 stalks
coconut -1/4
turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
cup water – 3/4
salt – 2 tsp.
lime – 1
small bunch mint leaves, chopped – 1

Method:
1. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a pressure cooker. Add all ground masalas, fry for 3 minutes, stirring well.
2. Add turmeric powder, raw chicken pieces, 3/4 cup water and 2 tsp. salt. Close the cooker and cook for 4 minutes.
3. In the meantime, cook jeera rice, as usual as white rice, with 1 tbs. salt. When almost cooked, strain the rice.
4. Put the rice into the pressure cooker and mix it into the chicken curry.
5. Squeeze lime juice and add a little more salt, if required.
6. Close lid and put on slow flame for 10 minutes.
7. Garnish with chopped mint leaves.

Ingredients
jeera sambar rice – 1/2 kg
cooked as usual till just done with – 1 tbs. salt.
When rice is strained smear – 1 tbs.
oil and keep aside to cool.

Vegetables
fresh peas – 50 gms
beans chopped – 50 gms
carrots chopped – 50 gms
1 medium sized capsicum chopped
cooked with – 1/4 tsp
salt – 3 tbs water
oil -1/2 cup
onion, chopped – 1 medium sized
garlic ginger paste – 1 tsp
soya sauce – 1 I/2 tsp
chilli sauce – 1 tsp
white or black pepper powder – 1 tsp
tomato sauce – 1 tsp
salt – 2 tsp
stalks of spring onion – 8
shredded chicken – 1/2 cup of cooked,
ajinomoto – 2 pinches

Method
1. Cook vegetables, that is, peas, beans, carrots, adding capsicum last. Add 1/4 tsp. salt & 3 tbs. Water. Keep cooked vegetables aside.
2. Heat a large kadai with oil. Add chopped onions, garlic ginger paste, fry for 2 minutes lightly.
3. Add the cooked vegetables, stir well. Add soya
sauce, chilli sauce, tomato sauce and stir well.
4. Add the cooked rice ahd stir well till it is mixed well.
5. Sprinkle 2 tsp. salt. Stir well & add chopped spring onions, shredded chicken and ajinomoto. Toss well for 1 minute and serve hot.
Goes well with chilli sauce.

KUNDAN BIRIANI
Ingredients:
For the rice:
basmati rice – 500 gm
turmeric – 1/4 tsp
salt – to taste
few threads of saffron soaked in 1/4 cup of milk
bay leaves – 4
onion sliced – 1
powdered garam masala – 1 tsp
curd – 1/3 cup

For the chicken:
chicken – 750 gm
cut in regular pieces
onions, ground – 4
garlic paste – 1 tsp
ginger paste – 1 tbsp
1 tsp roughly powdered garam masala
curd – 1/2 cup
tomatoes, chopped – 2
salt – to taste
ghee – 1/3 cup

For the garnishing:
almonds – 25
cashewnuts – 20
sultanas – 20
silver leaf as needed
hardboiled eggs, sliced – 4

For the makhani gravy:
onions, finely chopped – 2
butter – 50 gm
blanched, peeled, deseeded and chopped tomatoes – 500 gm
salt – to taste
kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tbsp
ginger juliennes coriander leaves, silver leaf for garnishing.

Method:
Rice: Soak the rice for half an hour. Boil in water in which turmeric and salt are added. Strain, when 3/4 done. Sprinkle the saffron over the strained rice. Keep aside.
Chicken: Cook all the ingredients together till three fourths done in very little water. Dry away excess liquid, if any. Add the ghee and fry the chicken well.
Garnishing: Boil the almonds for 2 minutes. Peel. Let dry for 10 minutes. Break the almonds and cashewnuts in halves. Wrap these alongwith the sultanas in silver leaf. Reserve. (You may dry these in the sun and keep in an air tight container for days. Use to garnish any sweet or savoury dish).
The Finale: Take a heavy bottomed degchi. Heat the ghee in it and season with the bay leaves. Fry the onions till golden. Spread the rice over it and sprinkle the garam masala.
Top with the chicken pieces and dot with the unbeaten curd. Place the nuts on it. Seal the pan with the atta dough and put on dum. Keep a heavy tawa underneath, cook over a low heat for 30 minutes. Serve with the gravy.
Gravy: Heat the butter in a skillet and add the onions and fry till golden. Add all the ingredients except ginger and coriander leave. Cook over a moderate heat till the tomatoes are soft. Keep stirring and pressing with a ladle so that the tomatoes are mixed. Add a little hot water, if needed. This should be a thick gravy.
Garnish with leaf, ginger julienne and coriander leaves.

MURG YAKHNI PULAO
Ingredients:
chicken breasts – 4
chicken legs – 4
chicken thighs – 4
1 It chicken stock,
salt – to taste
large onion, chopped. – 1
Groundnut oil for frying onions
large onions, evenly sliced – 3
basmati rice – 500 gm
ghee – 2 tbsp
kabab chini – 10
star anise – 2
peppercorns – 10
black cardamoms – 4
bay leaves – 4
curd – 1 cup
kewra water – 2 tbsp
ginger paste – 1 tbsp

Tie in a muslin:
whole dry chillies – 2
gram dal – 1 tbsp
bay leaves – 2
coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
stick cinnamon – 2.5 cm
cloves – 4
green cardamoms – 4
peppercorns – 5
black cardamoms – 4
ginger, grated – 2 cm

Method:
Crush all the masalas slightly and tie in the muslin. Pressure cook the chicken pieces with the stock, 1 tsp salt, the masala bundle, chopped onion for 10 minutes. Let the cooker cool on its own. Take out the chicken pieces. Squeeze the muslin to extract the flavour and discard. Reserve the stock.
Heat enough oil in a karahi and fry the sliced onions, stirring well, till golden. Remove excess oil on a piece of paper. Crush the onions when cool and crisp.
Soak the rice for half an hour. Drain and let dry for 10 minutes.
Heat the ghee in the pressure cooker. Season with the whole spices. When they turn a shade darker, about one minute, add the rice and fry well.
Once the rice acquires a parched look, add the curd ginger paste and browned onion, mixed together. Stir till the rice is well coated. Put in the chicken pieces and stir carefully a few times.
Add the hot stock, powdered garam masala and kewra water. Close the cooker. Reduce the heat just as the cooker is about to reach maximum pressure. Cook for 4 minutes.
Turn off the heat, but let the cooker sit on the gas oven till needed. Fluff up with a fork and serve with a raita. The whole spices may be removed at the time of serving, if desired.

Variation: 1 large chicken, cut into pieces may be used instead of individual cuts.

Ingredients:
basmati rice – 1 cup
golden raisins – 1/3 cup
butter or ghee – 2 tbsp
cuminseeds – 1/2 tsp
piece of cinnamon – 10 cm
green cardamoms – 4
large onion finely sliced – 1
chicken stock or water – 2 cups
salt – to taste
pepper – 1/2 tsp
sugar – 1/2 tsp
cooked and shredded chicken – 1 cup
cooked peas – 1/2 cup
cream – 1/4 cup
sliced hardboiled egg – 1

Method:
Wash and soak the rice for half an hour. Wash and soak the raisins too till needed.
Heat the ghee in a degchi. Add the cuminseeds; when they stop spluttering, add the cinnamon and green cardamoms, slightly bruised. When these turn a shade darker, put in the onion and fry. Once the onion starts to pick up brown spots, add the rice and fry till the rice turns opaque.
Add the stock or water, heated, salt, pepper and sugar. Cover; let it come to a boil and lower the heat. Soon the water will be absorbed and you’ll find holes appearing on the surface. When that happens, add the cooked chicken, well squeezed raisins, peas and cream. Mix once with a very light hand.
Put a tawa underneath the degchi and cook on dum till the rice is tender. The pulao should not be too dry. The pulao can also be put in a moderate oven to finish.
Garnish with slices of hardboiled eggs. Serve with a spicy raita.

Ingredients:
mutton – 1 kg
basmati rice – 1/2 kg
aniseeds – 1 tbsp
coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
pepper corns – 10
dry ginger powder – 2 tsp
almonds – 10
walnuts – 5
cashewnuts – 10
raisins – 20
milk – 750 ml
leaves – 4 bay
groundnut oil – 6 tbsp
green cardamoms – 4
cloves – 4
piece of cinnamon – 5 cm
garam masala powder – 1 tsp
salt – to taste.

For garnishing:
fried onions – 4 tbsp
chopped mint leaves – 1 tsp
chooped coriander leaves – 2 tbsp

Method:
Have the mutton cut in large pieces. Pick and rub the rice with a damp cloth a few times to clean it. Do not wash the rice. Tie aniseeds, coriander seeds, pepper corns and the ginger powder in a muslin cloth. Blanch the almonds halve walnuts. Fry these and cashewnuts and raisins lightly. Keep aside.
Pressure cook the mutton alongwith the milk, lay leaves and the tied up spices for 7 minutes. Strain the stock. Squeeze the muslin bag to extract maximum flavour. Discard the bag and the bay leaves.
Measure the stock. It should be 750 ml. If less, add water. If more, boil away the excess liquid.
Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Temper with the pounded, but whole garam masalas. Fry the meat pieces a few at a time. Remove when brown.
Put the rice in the same oil. Fry well. Now, add mutton, hot stock garam masala powder and salt to taste and the dried fruits.
Close cooker. Reduce heat when the cooker is just about to reach full pressure. Cook for 4 minutes. Let the cooker cool on its own.
Fluff up the pulao with a fork and serve garnished with the fried onions, chopped mint and coriander leaves.
All that you need as an accompaniment is a cool dish of raita.