Finally Biriyani....

After eating flavourless, very insipid biriyanis from some of the Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi takeouts here in Oxford we realised that if we want to eat biriyani just like we get it in Bedouin/Shiraj/Amenia/Zeeshan/Ar Salan etc etc in Kolkata we will have to cook it ourselves.

To deviate a little which is your favourite biriyani place in Kolkata? I was loyal to Nandi Street Bedouin for almost 15 years. Now my brother has converted me into an Ar Salan fan. So now a days whenever we want to eat biriyani at home, we trudge all the way to Park Circus. And if we are very lucky Ma makes it.

To get back to my biriyani. So after getting the recipie from Ma, I decided to brave it. Went to Covered Market and got some goat meat. The meat was not too good... the first time we bought the meat it was very fresh but somehow after that the meant has turned out rather disappointing.

Anyways after marinating the meat overnight, then steaming it, using the water to make the rice, frying the onions, potatos and the meat seperately and then finally the grand mixing.

And here is the biriyani. Just the way we drool over it in Kolkata. With a big succulent potato. They also put in eggs, didn't this time, maybe the next. The onions are not usually found in these biriyani shop biriyanis but they are a regular in the biriyanis made by the caterers like Bijali Grill, Ayojon etc. My mom adds the onion which makes the biriyani more tasty. So I added them to.

Bon Appetit!

Breakfast...

Sushi Besomes The Shef....

It is 8ish in the morning here....urghhh, the earliest I have got up in sometime. And the first thing I do is start writing in my blog. I think this is what is called 'being blog hooked'. Anyways guys my aavatar has changed from bored homoremaker to that of an experimenting chef. Yes my aavatars are a bit like the yahoo messenger ones, they change if and when fancy takes.

So in my new aavatar, I just do not go grocery shopping, I mean go and pick up the bread and eggs, resist the ice creams, you know the routine. I push my trolley towards the herbs, spices, seeds, preserves, take my time, read through them and consider whether I would be able to experiment with them or not. Yesterday during one of these knowledge sessions, I came across seasame seeds. (Oh I love my honey chicken heavily sprinkled with seasame seed.) I cannot tell you how excited I was to see these seeds, it was as if I have met a long lost friend in this allien land. No, on second thoughts it was not a very friendly feeling. It was more like 'ah I found you, now I am gonna eat you'.  A little rattiness for the experimenting chef is permissible, come on.

So the moment I returned home, I started scouring the internet for honey chicken recipes. Found those in plenty,one thing led to another and I found some recipies for terriyaki chicken as well. The recipies sound easy and the chicken looks yummy, so now I need to go out and shop for the terriyaki ingredients. But the most interesting thing is I found this site which talked about a book called 'Help! My Apartment Has A Kitchen Cookbook' by mother and son Nancy and Kevin Mills. I fell in love with the title of the book itself, but more goodies were to come. There is a little forward given in the site, it is hilarious. I think you can read it here. Reading  it, I was comparing Kevin's helplessness in the kitchen with my brother's. Though from the sound of the book Kevin is light years ahead making brunch burrito and chocolate chip wedges while  my bro still brags about his omlettes and maggies.

By reading just the forward and three recipies, I can tell it is an interesting book, instantly engaging the reader and making the reader laugh in the process too.

To get back to my cooking experiments, today I am planning to make honey chicken with seasame seeds. So watch out to know how my experiments with honey chicken and terriyaki chicken went and wish me a little cooking luck in the process too.

Before I leave you, I must share what I am currently pondering upon -- the sparkling white grab of the chefs. Is it not a wee little bit impractical to wear white when you know it is going to get sauce, juice, gravy splashed???