wrote such along post , but it got logged out ! urghh
okay one more tip
whem making ghosht add very very little salt to begin with , i learnt it the hard wayyy ... i added my normal amount of salt and found out it was too much..
mum says that ghosht is already salty ..
hey thanks..ill try this one over the weekend..emm,do i have to add cream?i dnt like the cream,it makes me sick.
Yes cream in this recipe is an absolute must ... but since you dont like cream , let me tell you a really easy chicken karahi recipe ...
Chicken karahi recipe
Take 500 grams of chicken pieces, wash and keep aside.
Chop 8-10 tomatoes, blend them in the chopper/blender and keep aside
Chop 5-6 green chillies really finely and keep aside
Now take a pot , heat it for a good two to three minutes ... then add quarter cup oil and heat it for three minutes .. then add chicken to it , lower the heat and start stiring fast .. the chicken shouldnt stick to the pan... keep stirring..
The chicken takes about 20 minutes to brown ... it will initially become pinkish , then whitish and finally brownish ... when that happens , add half a teaspoon garlic paste and give it a stir ... then add one and a half teaspoon salt, one teaspoon black pepper powder , half teaspoon haldi, zeera and stir ...
a minute later add the blended tomatoes ... cover and let it simmer for a good 20 minutes ... keep stirring occasionally. you will notice that tomatoes will have blended nicely, oil will have separated, chicken cooked from inside ( check with a fork) ... then add the chopped green chillies and fresh cilantro half a cup ... cover and let it cook on very low fire for 10 minutes ...
The dish is done. Enjoy. Its a really really simple karahi dish . Only needs tomatoes and chillies and some cilantro :@:
Princess , try this recipe , its really really easy and very tasty .... once you have made this one , then we will make chicken the karahi way ... but for now try this recipe .. if you dont have a certain ingredient please tell me before hand ...
Yes and Princess make sure you follow the directions carefully...and don't mix 2 recipes into one :P lol
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
first of all thanks chicken biryani...i finally made the basic chicken salan today,and u wnt believe it turned out to be really gud mashALLAH :) im so impressed with myself,n now i think that if i follow recipes properly and pay some attention i shud be able to cook soon..but it wouldnt have been posssible without ur help and recipe.. :)
just few q's..emm when u put the ginger n garlic in,does it stick a bot to the pot?n can u put water in,like splashes of it??
n guess wat my onions took 25 mins to turn brown,the entire masala took over an hour,put i got gud results so im happy...thought i nearly got tired with all that stirring..
i made boneless chicken,just wanted to know if u want to make chicken with bone,do u do it the same way,or anything different to be done??
now that iv made the basic salan,i want to learn other dishes too please..in chicken,how about chicken karahi etc...
but yeah ,i dnt know how to make vegetables and daal..either
n oohh yeah,after my todays success my brother wants me to make rice with peas in them some time this weekk..but i dnt know how to make it,n mums out of town,plus i want to give her a surprise..so could u kindly tell me how to make it,with all the details,like amounts,falem etc..thnaks so so much... :)
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Princess , well done , we are really really proud of your girl 
…
Firstly , the masala took you an hour because you are still new at the process and I had told you to work on lower heat so that you wont burn the masala… but after you have cooked a few times , you will be able to work easily on medium and high heat inshallah … but for the first few times stick to low or medium low heat … 
Regards , ginger garlic , yes it does stick to the pan .. Avoid putting any water if you can , coz it changes the taste of garlic … it wont stick if you keep stirring a few moments and keep the heat to lowest for five minutes until garlic is done … but if its sticking badly then , give a tiny splash of water and keep stiring …
Regards Chicken bone wala .. exact same recipe .. but at the bhoono stage , you do the bone wala chicken longer … coz it tends to take a bit of time … like 20 minutes more then the boneless one ..
you need a recipe for Matar pulao .. I will come in a few minutes and inshallah write the exact recipe for you …
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
oh CB u rock....thanks a lot...iv just spoken to my mum,she was really shocked that i managed to cook something and didnt burn the kitchen down ;) she still cant believe that it turned out so well :)
yeah ur rite,i didnt want to make any mistakes thats y i used the low flame..i had ur recipe infront of my eyes all the time,reading every single line!
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
… yaara i will come back tomorrow morning and post your matar pulao recipe for sure , going to a dolki now 
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Princess, here we go ..
*Recipe for Mattar Palao *
Soak 2 cup rice .
Soak 3/4th cup frozen peas ...
Thinly slice one medium sized onion and keep aside
Now , heat a pot, add 3 tablespoon oil. As soon as it heats up add half teaspoon zeera seeds .... after a minute , add in whole masalas ( two whole black pepper, two cloves, two small cinammon bits ) ...
After a minute add in the sliced onions .. and start frying them on low heat ..when they start turning brown , wait until they start looking slightly dark brown ... then quickly add half cup water and cover the pot .... let it be for 3 minutes ....
Then when you remove the cover , you will notice that the onion will have released its color, add one and a half teaspoon salt , add the peas in cover the pot... keep stiring every 2-3 minutes ... the peas will be done in about 8-10 minutes ...
Then add four cups water and bring it all to a boil.. add two chopped green chillies ... add the rice and cover the pot.... let it cook on low heat .. dont stir too much ... just once with a very light hand ...
10 minutes later when the rice will start absorbing water , stir lightly and when you see that water is almost gone and the rice is cooked , cover the pot and leave it on the lowest possible heat until water is fully dry ....
Mattar pulao is ready ...
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Cb wont zeera seeds burn by the time onions are browned?
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
I've gone through this thread and undoubtedly I've found it extremely helpful. So far I think that cooking needs common sense along with the recipe and I don't have much confidence on my common sense :(
Anyway, I need some** Boiling Rice Tips **. Do let me know what if I don't want to drain the rice when they are done. I mean how much should be the exact quantity of water in that case?
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
oh thanks CB,i will try this in the next few days inshALLAH..just one question,for 2 cups rice you said to add 4 cup water.and if i make 3 cups of rice do i add 6 cups of water?
n do we not add tomatoes to rice??ahh i thought we do ;)
ill make it,n tell u how it goes..
n yep,how will i know when the water has dried up and the rice is ready??
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Princess , yes 1 cup rice = 2 glass water… make as many cups as you want …
Why not try to make this one first … you can make the tomato one as well .. but first practice this one , coz tomatoes can turn your rice into halwa 
… when you have managed to make simple rice a few times , then i will teach you how to handle tomatoes in rice ..
If you want I can give you the tomato wali recipe too .. what say? 
Cb wont zeera seeds burn by the time onions are browned?
CB you didn't answer my question :(
I want to make this today.
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Sorry Sumal ... no they wont ... The zeera seeds slow down in cooking , when you add onions ...
Infact , one of the important things in cooking is that you must put one ingredient at a time , coz if you put them all together , they will remain kachai and give you that taste in the khana later on !
So once the zeera seeds start sizzling, add the onions in .. and if you feel zeera is getting burnt just give a quick splash of water ...
Thanks CB!
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
What about my question?
SUFAID MAASH KI DAAL.
ING:
Mash ki daal / 1 cup,soaked fo 15-20 mins.
Ginger juilliene / 2 tbsp.
Salt / to taste.
Lal sabut mirch / 6-8 nos.
FOR BAGHAAR:
Oil / 3-4 tbsp.
Onion sliced / 1 small.
Hari mirch / 2-3 slits.
METHOD:
-Boil daal with ginger,salt and lal sabut mirch(pani itna add karein ke daal tender ho
jae aur toote bhi nahi).ready hai.
-Heat oil in a frying pan, add onion ,hari mirch ,fry till onions become golden.
-Put baghaar on daal n garnish it with ginger juilliene n serve it with ghar ki chappati.
I have tried this recipe so many times. it easy & always turns out yummy.
**source : orkut
**
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Anyone have another very simple recipe for a newbie that involves no meat??
Have some time on my hands...might as well give it a go!
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Guess what people...I just made mash ki daal AND its EDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :)
I wanted to let everyone know .. that thanks to this thread I made my first chicken dish.. Tondoori chicken dish the recipe was soo easy and yummy.. I just wanted to thank the thread for helping girls like me.. who are struggling in the cooking department..