Chicken biryani

Chicken biryani is a very popular dish in India. The rice is cooked separately from the thick sauce, the curry and the rice are then brought together and layered and the final dish is dry or minimal moist.

It is not really a difficult dish but it does take some time to prepare, but it's worth it because it is delicious!

Ingredients ans steps:

Chicken marinade:

- 300 gr chicken
- 3 cups of yogurt
- 4 (medium) garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp hot red chili powder (more if you like it hot)
- 2 tsp sweet red chili powder
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 3 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 1/2 onion, sliced and fried
- salt
- 1 tbsp oil

 

Place the chicken in a bowl. Add the salt, garlic and ginger, mix well and let it rest for a few minutes. Add the yogurt, turmeric powder, hot red chili powder, sweet red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder,  mint leaves, onion and oil. Mix well and set aside to marinate for at least a couple of hours. I usually prepare this marinated the night before to allow all the flavors to blend.



 

Fried onions:

 

- 4 onions, sliced

 

Saute the onions at medium-high heat until golden. Set aside.

 

 

The rice:

 

- 4 cups of rice

- about 3 tbsp caraway seeds

- about 3 tbsp cumin seeds

- 1 bay leave

- 5 cloves

- 10 green cardamons

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1 tbsp oil

- salt

- 7 cups of water

 

 

Fill a pan with about 7 cups of water and add all the ingredients except the rice. Bring to a boil and add the rice, cook for 3/4 of the usual time and strain. Set aside.

 

Chicken:

 

Fry the marinated chicken at high heat for a few minutes till nice brown. Set aside.

 

 

 

Rest of ingredients:

 

- about 10 tbsp mint leaves, chopped

- about 10 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

- Some Ginger, in julienne or crushed

- Some saffron

- Some milk

 

 

Prepare all the ingredients we will need for the layering. Chop the coriander leaves, the mint leaves, dissolve the saffron in some milk, mince the ginger. 

 

The layering:

 

Start with a a layer of chicken. Spread a layer of rice over it. Sprinkle with some ginger, saffron dissolved in milk, coriander leaves, mint leaves, some cardamon powder, some fried onions.

 

 

Start again by adding the remaining chicken, the remaining rice, ginger, saffron dissolved in mild, coriander leaves, mint leaves, cardamon powder and fried onions.

 

 

 

Cover and place in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes.

 

 



 



Dhal Soup (red lentils soup)

This recipe is for my brother and for my sister. Because we all love Indian food so much. Because my sister is a vegan and always needs new ideas of healthy and easy to prepare meals. Because my brother needs to cook nice, tasty and healthy meals for his pregnant wife!

A delicious dish that even my kids love!

Ingredients and steps:

- 25 gr butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kurkuma
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin

Saute the onion and the garlic for a few minutes, till soft. Add the garam masala, kurkuma, paprika powder, chili powder, cumin and fry for about 30 seconds.  I always prepare all the spices in a plate in advance so that they are ready to go in the pan in one time and I don't need to stress!

- 3 skinless tomatoes, diced

- about 300 gr red lentils



- juice of half a lemon
- about 1/2 l vegetable broth
- 1 can coconut milk
- salt and pepper

Add the tomatoes, the lentils, the lemon juice, the vegetable broth and the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and let it cook at medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Taste to make sure the flavor is right and add salt and pepper if needed.

Most of the time we serve it with home made naan breads.

Indian chicken Tikka Masala

Indian food is a favourite in my family. My father has been living in south India for two years and introduced us very early to it's delicious cuisine.

One of everyone's favourite dish and certainly my husband's favorite is the chicken tikka masala. A few weeks ago I decided to give it a try and prepare it myself. I watched every you tube film about how to prepare the perfect chicken tikka masala and finally came up with this recipe. It was a success and actually much easier to do than I had expected!

Ingredients and steps:

For the chicken-marinade:

- some 300 gr boneless chicken
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger paste
- 1 cup of yogurt
- 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- some cumin seed powder
- salt and pepper

Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the salt and pepper and the garlic and ginger paste, mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and leave to marinate for at least two hours. Ideally prepare it the night before and leave it marinating overnight.

When ready, cook the chicken in the oven for about 10 minutes.

For the sauce:

- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger paste
- 1 medium onion

Fry the garlic-ginger paste a few seconds, add the onions and fry for about 10 mn, till soft.

- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- some cumin powder-
- 2 tomatoes finely chopped (skinless) and 1 can tomatoes

Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, coriander powder, garam masala powder and cumin powder. Fry for a 1 minute to allow all the flavors to come out.

Add the tomatoes and let it cook at medium heat for about 15 mn.

- salt/ pepper
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika powder
- 3 tbsp honey

Add the salt/pepper, chili powder,sweet paprika powder and honey. The chili and sweet paprika powder are a bit to feeling and taste, if you like it hot use more chili powder and less sweet paprika powder. If you don't have honey you can of course also use sugar.

Mix well and put the mixture in a blender. Blend until smooth, then filter the sauce in a strainer and put it back in the pan. This will guarantee you a really smooth sauce!

- 250 ml double cream
- butter (to taste)
- coriander leaves
- fenugreek dry leaves

Add the cream, butter, coriander and fenugreek leaves and finally the chicken. Serve with rice or/and nan's!