Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Hey CB I have a question...
whenever I make rice somehow they are not that soft. they turn out fine but not appear khilay khilay and that soft.
any tips? am using the 1 cup 1 glass ratio rice:water
thanks for all the help for us beginners :)
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
^ Don't do 1:1 for rice:water. If I am cooking 1 cup of rice, I will add almost 2 times the amount of water (MUST be less than 2 cups, so I go for 1 1/2 cups). Add butter/oil.
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
agar app few drops white viniger ke dal dain rice main tu wo bohut khiley khiley banay gay ....tried and tested tip hai
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Enigmatic , like Chalako said , Vinegar tip really works wonders ...
When i boil rice for zarda, biryani or simply boiled rice , I do them in tonns of water and when the grain is just about cooked , I drain it all in a strainer and leave them for five minutes . That brings out really nice rice.
For pulao's and stuff where you need proportionate water in the rice and you cant drain, I usually keep one cup rice to one and a half cup water ratio .. and then cook the rice on very low heat and covered . and add a sprinkle of water in the end if you think it needs more water ....
This should help.
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
In my observation there are the following stages of rice while cooking :
1- Add rice to extremely boiling water ... and lower the heat
2- Minutes later you will see grain half translucent
3- Few more minutes you will notice they seem cooked but havnt turned double in size yet ...
4- a few more seconds and you will see a visible difference in the volume of rice
5- some grains of rice will seem to be bouncing around , usually called dancing rice
Thats your hint that they are done ... if you think there is still too much water when the rice start dancing , high up the heat and let the water dry out immediately. If you can drain , drain the water immediately.
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 :@:
What about fried onions... you dont do that for this recipe?
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
What does bhoonifying mean?
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Desi Beauty, no fried onions ... Exactly as the recipe says , put the onions and other ingredients in a blender and make a fine paste of it.
Bhoono means , when you bring the heat to medium and start frying the food until it releases oil. It cooks the food from inside and helps it absorb the spices.
If you know the details of food bhoono process let me know .I wil write them down for you in a step by step process.
In my observation there are the following stages of rice while cooking :
1- Add rice to extremely boiling water ... and lower the heat 2- Minutes later you will see grain half translucent 3- Few more minutes you will notice they seem cooked but havnt turned double in size yet ... 4- a few more seconds and you will see a visible difference in the volume of rice 5- some grains of rice will seem to be bouncing around , usually called dancing rice
Thats your hint that they are done ... if you think there is still too much water when the rice start dancing , high up the heat and let the water dry out immediately. If you can drain , drain the water immediately.
thankyou so much :) I'd definitely keep these in mind :D
Hi CB
Thank you so much for starting this thread I am a regular viewer trying to pick up on bits and peices.
Can you or someone please put up the basic recipe for Alloo Ghost I want to surprise my mom on the weekend.
TIA
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Zash, Some time ago Bhenjee posted a recipe. Here’s a link to that one .. I really liked her recipe .. you might wanna try this one … If you have any questions ask me :
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/6589452-post9.html
Good luck :@:
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
hi CB
iv been busy at work,n havent tried any of ur new recipes..but yep,i made the chicken one again few days back,n my mum liked it..thnaks :)
iv got 6 weeks to my marraige..n im scared.i still dnt know anything except ur chicken salan..n thats it..cud u share some easy n tasty recipes??i wnt have time to make them before the wedding,so ill just take ur recipes with me n try them at my inlaws..need all the help,im really worried
For all those of you who need to learn the basic recipes of some of our regular salans and rice… I found this woman’s recipes a lot like my ammis and quick too…so no more standing for long periods and no extra hassle…easy and quick
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Princess, I am glad your mom liked it … 
…
Now , the important thing in cooking is that you must learn to do the basic masala right , if you know that , you will be able to do the rest of the stuff fine.
Would you like to learn koftay as your next recipe? if yes, let me know and i will write up a detailed recipe
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
yes please CB..sounds a gud idea..
n oh yes,my fiance luvs chicken grilled n bbq TYPE..WUD YOU TEACH ME THAT ASWELL??
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Yes sure Princess ...
Now for the Koftay Recipe:
Get half Kg Keema (lamb or mutton or beef ) .... and put it in a strainer. Add one teaspoon of vinegar in it , mix it once and leave it aside to drain. 15 minutes later, give it a quick wash in cold water and then leave to drain for 20 minutes.
Most people dont do the vinegar thing, and use the keema directly. But I dont like the smell of meat in food , so to kill it , I use Vinegar. Also make sure the keema is very well drained , otherwise the koftay wont stick together.
Peel 2 large onions and give them a quick run in the blender, keep aside.
Now heat a pot , then add quarter cup cooking oil and when its heated , add half teaspoon salt , half teaspoon zeera seeds and let it sizzle. A minute later add the crushed onions and lower the heat to minimum.. add some two cloves and once tiny piece of cinamon. cover the pot and let it cook... stir every few minutes.
While this is being done, lets prepare the koftay. Make sure the water is very well drained out of the keema. Press it against the strainer and see if any water comes out. Then in a blender add half of an onion , one teaspoon ginger paste, 4 green chillies, half cup fresh corriander, one teaspoon salt, half teaspoon red chilli powder and give it good two to three runs .... then add the keema in and half an egg and give it a run so that the onions and the spices are mixed well into the keema.
Be careful at this stage, if you over do the blending , the keema will become too runny. So make sure that you just give two to three runs and if you feel keema is still not mixed well , then do it with your hand rather then the machine.
finally , make small balls of the keema and leave aside.
Meantime , back to the pot , increase the flame to medium high and stir the onions every few seconds ... if it starts sticking to the pan , just splash a teaspoon of water and keep stirring. When the onions seem brownish and become a paste , add in one teaspoon of garlic paste ... stir for two minutes , then add one teaspoon of ginger paste .. stir again for two minutes .... then add one teaspoon of salt , one and a half teaspoon of red chilli powder, half a teaspoon of haldi , two to three tablespoon of water and start mixing it all , until you feel that the oil has separated from the masala.
At this point , add in about 4 medium sized, finely diced tomatoes and cover the pot. stir every few minutes ... until the tomatoes seem blended into the salan. now lower the heat, and carefully start adding the koftas into the salan... dont stir. Just cover the pot .... stir lightly after every 3-4 minutes. After about 15 minutes of bhooning the koftas on light fire , add two to three cups of water , cover the pot , increase the flame to medium ... cover the pot and let it cook. stir every 5-7 minutes.
after about 20-25 minutes, add two chopped green chillies and half a cup of fresh corriander in the salan , and a few minutes later the salan is ready for serving.
Good luck!
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
sounds delicious..ok im gona try it hopefully tomorrow..
we only eat chicken keema..does that make any difference to the recipe?
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
CB- I am going to try your Kofte recipe this week sometime :) wish me luck!!
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
Good luck Coolgirl :) let us know how it turned out.
Re: Cooking - The beginners guide ..
WEll undoubtly i can say this is a good thread for cooking learners like me.
Actually i know little bit abut cooking and can make some recipe well. But i hv only contenentel dishes. mean desi dishes like biryani, ckicken karhi or achr ghost etc.
i don't know abut italian or chiness. so may i ask the question abut them or no.
Also i wanna share my tips: hope u like it.
i hv read yougurt add good flavor in salan , its true but if u add left over yougurt (aik yah do din phaly ka ), little bit sour it make salan more tastier.
if we add yugurt in alu methi ., it gives good taste.