[Aroy]

Originally Posted by carboy

How much Basmati rice to use with 1 kg of chicken while making biryani? Biryani has only chicken with bones, no eggs. What is a good ratio to use?

The normal ratio is 1:2, 1 of rice and 2 of meat. So for 1kg, there should be 1/2 kg meat.

[ksmrsm]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

Correct assumption ksmrsm

Not an assumption at all. Aroy has mentioned the ratio as well. The general ratio is usually 1:2 or 1:1 1/2 (rice:meat) to get the right flavour and taste to the biryani.

Originally Posted by Aroy

The normal ratio is 1:2, 1 of rice and 2 of meat. So for 1kg, there should be 1/2 kg meat.

Apologize for pointing this out, your ratio is correct but then it should be - for 1 kg of rice there should be 2 kgs of meat and not vice versa.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

... derivative of tapioca starch ... More about it here: ...

Corn starch derivative, not tapioca starch. The demo lady mentions it in the first video. Key thing about this one, and a couple of other agar agar and carrageenan-based thickeners / setting agents is "Colorless and odorless". Sabudana / "Shaboo" should work (it does have a mild flavor to it), but one has to figure out how fine to powder it.

There are other 'thickeners' which are available more easily (ask at specialty food vendors who supply to bakers, confectioners and restaurants) - guar / xanthan gum, sodium pyrophosphate (sounds dangerous, doesn't it?), ClearJel, arrowroot (that's tapioca starch in India - the original brand was Arrow, Arrow Root Powder), etc.

Crazy thought, but 'sat isabgol' will have the same working with juice (and a different effect next morning ).

Originally Posted by ksmrsm

Not an assumption at all. Aroy has mentioned the ratio as well. The general ratio is usually 1:2 or 1:1 1/2 (rice:meat) to get the right flavour and taste to the biryani. ...

750g rice with a kilo of meat with bone is more like it. Hyderabadi biryani recipes recommend 750g-1Kg of rice to 1Kg of meat.

This however depends on what type of rice is used, and how 'meaty' is the biryani supposed to be - from 'atithi satkar' point of view ! If both 'saalan' and 'raita' are accompanying the dish, more rice is generally acceptable. Jeera Samba rice, for example, will absorb much more water than Basmati, and feel heavier after the meal.

For meat, one reckons with 150-200g of meat / chicken per person. Of course there are people who will polish off more than 1/2kilo and not bother much about the rice, but generally 150-200g is a safe assumption (pieces are never uniformly sized).

Ditto for dry rice by weight. National Institute of Nutrition recommends about 120g of uncooked rice (that is what I remember from my text books 50 years back). Of course, I have seen very few people satisfied by that quantity especially when the meal is meant to be special.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The normal ratio is 1:2, 1 of rice and 2 of meat. So for 1kg, there should be 1/2 kg meat.

Yes you are right, 1 kg rice for 2 kg meat. Sorry for the confusion.

[Gannu_1]

Had a hard time consuming the desi chicken the other day. Wife and MIL went to buy chicken and got this by mistake due to some communication issues. I bore the brunt of eating it! It looks like it takes a hell lot of time to cook unlike the broiler chicken. And is expensive as well.

[ritz3645]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Had ll.

Also desi has less flesh to bone as in broiler.
People identify it by yellowish fat, hard leg and it is a bit slim or lean.

You get pectin powder or use raw papaya paste as a tenderizer. And let it marinate and soften for some time then cook. The more time this takes reduces cooking time the same way.

Past few years am back to my vegetarian roots fully.

Disclosure : Long back I did Hotel Mgmt at one of premier Institute in India.

[rohanjf]

I made some key lime pie yesterday.

Ingredients:

For crust:
- 100 grams flour
- 50 grams butter
- 1 cup ice cold water
- 2 tablespoons sugar

for filling
- 4 egg yolks
- juice of 3 limes
- 100 ml sweetened condensed milk

Procedure:
Crust:
- rub in butter and sugar into the flour carefully. Don't knead much, because we don't want gluten strands to form. Then slowly add ice cold water. Roll the dough and spread it in the baking pan, make small holes on the bottom for air to escape and bake immediately.

Filling:
- mix egg yolks, condensed milk and lime juice well. Once the crust is baked and browned on the outside (say, in 5 minutes), pour the mix into the crust and bake for 15 minutes or so.

You may make meringue out of the egg whites and top the pie with that.

[pjbiju]

Malvani Masala Prawns


Ingredients

For the Marination

• Salt as per taste
• 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice

For the Paste

• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 5-6 Whole Kashmiri Red Chillies broken into smaller pieces (For a spicier version, use only whole Sankeshwari red chillies or a mix of Sankeshwari red chillies and Kashmiri red chillies).
• ¾ cup of grated dry coconut
• 2 tbsp of whole coriander seeds
• ½ tsp of cumin seeds
• 3 green cardamoms
• 2 medium sized onions thinly sliced
• One inch stick of cinnamon

For the Malvani Masala Powder

• 2 whole Kashmiri Red Chilly
• ½ tsp of whole coriander seeds
• 1 clove
• 3-4 whole black peppercorns
• A pinch of fennel seeds
• A small pinch of cumin seeds
• A pinch of caraway seeds (Shahi jeera)
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 inch stick of cinnamon
• 2 stone flowers (dagad phool)
• 2-3 nagkeshar
• A pinch of mustard seeds
• A small piece of dried turmeric (or directly use a pinch of turmeric powder while making the powder without dry roasting it first)
• A pinch of asafoetida
• A pinch of nutmeg
• 1 star anise

Other Ingredients

• 400 gms of cleaned and deveined prawns
• 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes finely chopped
• ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
• 1.5 to 2 tbsp of Malvani garam masala
• Salt as required
• ½ cup of thick coconut milk
• 2 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method

• For Marination

• Wash and pat dry the prawns
• Marinate the prawns with salt and lemon juice and refrigerate for 30 min

• For the Paste

• Dry roast the whole red chilly, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon and green cardamom on a hot pan on low heat until their aroma is released. Transfer them to a plate to cool.
• Dry roast the grated dry coconut on a hot pan on low heat until it becomes light golden in color. Transfer it to a plate to cool.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and sauté the sliced onions until they caramelize and turn a light golden brown color. Transfer it to a plate to cool.
• Once all the ingredients are cooled down, grind them to a fine paste using a mixer grinder. Use water as required so that you get a fine thick paste.

• For the Malvani Masala Powder

• Dry roast all the ingredients one by one on a hot pan on low heat until their aroma is released. Cool them and then grind into a fine powder. This should make about 1.5 to 2 tbsp of powder.

• Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a deep pan.
• Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame add the cumin seeds and after they splutter add the curry leaves.
• After a few seconds, add the chopped onion and sauté them until it turns light golden brown
• Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them until the tomatoes turn pulpy.
• Add the turmeric powder and the ground masala and the Malvani garam masala
• Add salt as required
• Cook the mixture on a low heat until the oil separates from the masala
• Add the prawns and mix everything well. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the prawns are perfectly cooked. Overcooking the prawns will make them hard. Hence take care not to overcook them.
• Once the prawns are cooked, add the coconut milk and mix everything together and cook for another two minutes
• Adjust salt as required.
• Remove the pan from the stove and add the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with white rice, appam, neer dosa etc.



Happy Cooking.

[archat68]

I was thinking of making breads at home.

1) In foreign recipes we come across various types of flour. Can anybody please tell me their Indian equivalents?
All purpose flour - I think this is normal flour or Maida
Whole wheat flour: Atta?
Bread flour??
Unbleached flour - Is it atta?

2) There are different types of yeast available in the market, one is active dry yeast and another one is available in a block like butter, wrapped in oil paper. It is frozen and soft.
Which types are mostly used?

3) Can we replace butter/margarine with Olive oil?

4) Does anybody has experience with multi-grain atta available commercially?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by archat68

I was thinking of making breads at home.

1) In foreign recipes we come across various types of flour. Can anybody please tell me their Indian equivalents?
All purpose flour - I think this is normal flour or Maida
Whole wheat flour: Atta?
Bread flour??
Unbleached flour - Is it atta?

2) There are different types of yeast available in the market, one is active dry yeast and another one is available in a block like butter, wrapped in oil paper. It is frozen and soft.
Which types are mostly used?
3) Can we replace butter/margarine with Olive oil?

4) Does anybody has experience with multi-grain atta available commercially?

I regularly make bread at home. Here are the tips

1) Bread is usually made from Maida. Pure maida rises the most. Adding atta makes the bread denser as it rises less. The maximum atta that you can use is 20% by volume. More than that you will get a low rise, hard bread.

2) You can use fresh yeast, available at some stores. I use dried yeast. We get it in 1/2 kg pack for between Rs. 250 and 300. After opening the yeast, pour some into a 50ml container, which can be sealed tight. The rest I seal with Cling Wrap so that no moisture enters. Both the yeast containers are kept in the refrigerator. 1/2 kg lasts nearly a year, as I use 1.5 standard TBS for 1 kg maida at a time.

3) Bread does not require any other additive. To enhance taste you can use the following (my quantities are for 1kg Maida).
- Milk : 1 cup
- Sugar : 3 TBS
- Salt : 1/2 TBS
- Ajwain/til/Kalonji : use any one at a time about 1/2 TBS max

I never use oil, except when I want to make buns.

4) Multi grain atta is a con. You can make your own (you are better off mixing - atta, bajra, maiz and soya bean atta at home. Just bear in mind that for bread the other flors should be less than 30% volume wise). At times I mix either atta or bajra atta with maida to make bread. 1 cup max for 1/2 kg maida. To enhance the look of your bread, you can roll it in either Kalonji, or til (sesame) or any other cracked grain.

NOTE

If you want to follow Western Recipes, then invest in one set of standard measure - 1/4, 1/2, 1 TBS spoons and 1/8, 1/3, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 CUP. These are available at major super markets.



Yeast mixed in a bowl. Add sugar to speed up the fermentation


Adding yeast to the flour. If you are adding milk, add it now.


Line the bread moulds with a bit of oil. That ensures that the bread will come out easily


Bread cooling off. Do not try to slice bread fresh out of the oven, it will crumble. Let it cool for at least ten minutes

[archat68]

Thanks Aroy!!

Yesterday made a Oregano bread. This was my attempt to bake bread after 20 years maybe when the results were pretty discouraging.
2 1/4 cup flour
1tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
2tbsp oil
Baked at 180 deg C for 20min followed by 160 deg C for another 20 min in my convection oven.
The recipe is for a small loaf. Just wanted to try first.

The result was pretty awesome. We ate the only the bread at the breakfast. Did not need anything to accompany it. Tasted good. However some cheese may be added to the menu.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by archat68

Thanks Aroy!!

Yesterday made a Oregano bread. This was my attempt to bake bread after 20 years maybe when the results were pretty discouraging.
2 1/4 cup flour
1tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
2tbsp oil
Baked at 180 deg C for 20min followed by 160 deg C for another 20 min in my convection oven.
The recipe is for a small loaf. Just wanted to try first.

The result was pretty awesome. We ate the only the bread at the breakfast. Did not need anything to accompany it. Tasted good. However some cheese may be added to the menu.

Glad that you got it right. Try to bake the bread in as hot an oven as you can get. Then you will have a soft fluffy inside with crisp crust. The lower the temperature, the harder the inside. That is why Pizzas are baked in very hot oven.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Glad that you got it right. Try to bake the bread in as hot an oven as you can get. Then you will have a soft fluffy inside with crisp crust. The lower the temperature, the harder the inside. That is why Pizzas are baked in very hot oven.

What is the ratio/ of flour to yeast you use? Can you please post one or two complete recipes?

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by archat68

... 1) In foreign recipes we come across various types of flour. Can anybody please tell me their Indian equivalents?
All purpose flour - I think this is normal flour or Maida
Whole wheat flour: Atta?
Bread flour??
Unbleached flour - Is it atta? ...

Whole wheat flour is atta. All the others, including unbleached, is Maida. The 'All purpose' is a tag to differentiate from 'Self-raising', which contains baking powder.

One gets Maida with 'improvers' (soya flour, etc. - <1% by weight) in India, but usually these are available only in bulk packs (10/25/50Kg) used only by bakers. I buy 10Kg bags from Metro C&C.

Originally Posted by archat68

... 2) There are different types of yeast available in the market, one is active dry yeast and another one is available in a block like butter, wrapped in oil paper. It is frozen and soft.
Which types are mostly used? ...

The one that comes in a block is the "Fresh Yeast". Professional bakers use this; "Active Dry Yeast" is preferred by home bakers as it doesn't go bad. Fresh yeast should be kept in a sealed box in the refrigerator, preferably the freezer. Nothing wrong with active dry yeast, but fresh yeast produces better and consistent results. Gloripan (China) and Mauripan (Sri Lanka) are the best dry yeasts, and they don't need the initial activation step in milk - just mix with flour.

Originally Posted by archat68

... 3) Can we replace butter/margarine with Olive oil? ...

You can, but that will be at the cost of the crispness and volume of pastry, and it will taste slightly different. Don't worry, use butter the way the French do without worrying about health. Even the Americans have realized that!

Originally Posted by archat68

... 4) Does anybody has experience with multi-grain atta available commercially?

To make what? For bread, it is better to make the mix yourself - you will be sure how much you have added and what was the result.

Originally Posted by archat68

What is the ratio/ of flour to yeast you use? Can you please post one or two complete recipes?

2.5% of flour weight if using dry yeast, and 4% if using fresh yeast. More yeast (as much as 12-14g per Kg.) will produce a faster rise in cold weather, but the flavors will not develop as much. Quite akin to photography, longer rise times (preferably overnight) enable better flavor development in the dough.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Had a hard time consuming the desi chicken the other day. Wife and MIL went to buy chicken and got this by mistake due to some communication issues. I bore the brunt of eating it! It looks like it takes a hell lot of time to cook unlike the broiler chicken. And is expensive as well.

This is what I eat and do not prefer broiler unless for mincing*/chilly chicken.

Once you get used to country rooster, there is no looking back. It is just so tasty over & above the broiler. We usually put equal amounts of onion (1kg chicken = 1 kg onion) and prepare it like mutton.


Then there is another country rooster. Ox = your typical country rooster. Bull = the one we dig for. Weighs 2+ kgs atleast & the meat is 2X harder than country chicken.
*Kebabs/stuffed meat etc, in short, if the boneless variety.