Hyderabadi Boneless Chicken Biryani {Kachi Yakhni}

This is an adaptation of the only biryani I ate growing up.  Whenever I make Hyderabadi Biryani, the aroma takes me back to my childhood.  For me, this is the easiest biryani to make as it's very hands off.  The original recipe I started with is from my cousin, Rizu appa. My mom usually would make this with veal on Eid.  The recipe is great but my husband and sons loves all their food spicy so when I first started making this, they enjoyed it but the big complaint was that it wasn't spicy.  So I adjusted the recipe to increase all the spices and they all loved it!  

Gajar ka Mitha {Carrot Halwa}

It is well known in our family that my mom makes some of the best Hyderabadi desserts.  Her Badaam ki Jaali and Puran Puri are two of the most loved desserts she makes.  The desserts are definitely labour intensive.  I remember growing up helping her peeling the almonds for desserts and always being asked to go give the mixture on the stove a stir.

Hyderabadi Tamatay Ka Salaan

Today I'm sharing the classic Hyderabadi dish, Tamatay Ka Salaan, which is essentially a very simple tomato and beef/veal dish.  It's a dump all the ingredients in the pot and cook recipe.  I actually don't remember having this dish growing up.  The first time I heard of it was when my friend, Sara, told me how it was her favourite dish and she couldn't believe I had never eaten it.  I asked my mom about this dish and she told me that my dad didn't like it so she never made it.

Few years later on after getting married, my husband and I had the Korma at Bamiyan Kebob and loved it.  When my parents were over we had ordered it and my mom said it was basically Tamatay Ka Salaan.  She made it for us and we've been hooked ever since!

I used to make this dish in a pressure cooker, but I find if you cook it low and slow on the stove the flavours develop much better.  Since there are a lot of tomatoes, it takes some time to cook because even after the meat gets tender there is a lot of water left that you have to dry out.  We love to enjoy this with roti or naan, but there is a good amount of sauce so it would go well with rice as well.

Chicken 65

When my boys come home from school the first thing they do is wash their hands and then check what's for dinner.  They always have to take a taste.  My eldest, Hasan, will then declare if it is Hasan Approved!  This Chicken 65 got a Hasan Approved +!  They absolutely love this dish.  If there are any leftovers, my kids like to take it for lunch in a sandwich.  This recipe is from my mom.  There is one major difference from the way she makes it from how I do. She deep fries the chicken.  I prefer to shallow fry in a skillet.  Of course, the deep fried one is more tasty and the chicken gets a little crispy from the cornstarch.  I shallow fry in an effort to try to make it a little more healthy.

I don't know where the name Chicken 65 originates from.  There are lots of theories from it being first made in 1965 to it having 65 chillies.  There are different ways of making it as well.  Some use soy sauce and some are very dry.  We've also tried Chicken 65 in restaurants but my mom's version remains our favourite.

Achaar Ka Kheema (Ground Beef in a Spicy Tomato Sauce)

Growing up I was a very picky eater.  I feel bad how much I bothered my mom.  I rarely ever took second helpings...but when my mom made Achaar Ka Kheema I always helped myself to some more.  I loved this dish growing up.  It is very easy to make..it smells amazing but the downside is that your home will smell like this dish for a couple of days afterwards. This dish tastes best with some hot roti or naan.  You have to make your own Achaar Masala which is very simple to do. I usually make a bunch and keep it in a jar so I have it on hand whenever I want to make this dish.  I also always keep a tin of canned tomatoes just so I can make this dish.  My version is basically the same as my mom's but I use a lot less oil.

Hyderabadi Shrimp Curry {#EidEats2018}

As always, Ramadan just flew by!  It feels like it was yesterday that we announced the details for Eid Eats 2018.  I hope everyone is having a blessed Ramadan and taking advantage of the last ten nights.  I would also like to wish everyone an early Eid Mubarak from my family to yours!

Hyderabadi Beef Koftay

I don't cook a lot of Hyderabadi dishes but when I do the aroma takes me back to my childhood.  These koftay were one of my favourite dishes growing up.  The way my mother makes it takes some time.  In her method, she strains the coconut milk and ground nuts which yields a smooth sauce.  I highly recommend doing this if you have the time.  A lot of times, I skip the step of straining the coconut milk and nuts to save time.  In the picture above, I have skipped this step and you can see it gives a more grainy texture but the taste is still wonderful!  I love to have these koftay with homemade roti!

Hyderabadi Tootak {Eid Eats 2016}

Today is the day for Eid Eats 2016!  We are almost at the end of Ramadan.  Every year it seems to go by just a little faster.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Ramadan and would like to wish all of you an early Eid Mubarak!

Hyderabadi Dum Kay Kabob {CorningWare Giveaway}

Whenever I make my mom's recipes, the aroma takes me back to my childhood.  The recipe I'm sharing with you today is a dish my mom would make every Eid when we would all get together for lunch.  It's a dish originating from Hyderabad, India.  Growing up, I also remember this dish being served at many family gatherings and weddings.  It's definite comfort food for me.  My mom would typically serve it garnished with sliced onions, coriander and lime wedges.  This dish is traditionally eaten with roti.  Our typical side dish is Maash Ki Daal, pictured in the top right.  I'm still working on getting the proportions right.  Hope to get it perfected soon so I can share the recipe with you!

Bhajji (Spinach and Yellow Split Lentil Curry)

I was looking at the recipes I've labelled Hyderabadi.  I only have one recipe.  I think there should be more.  I'm labelling this recipe as Hyderabadi...anything my mom made when we were growing up I'm going to consider to be Hyderabadi although I've seen this dish in restaurants and on cooking shows.

I loved this dish growing up.  It tastes great with some shaami, khatti daal and rice.  It's very simple to make.  My only difference from what my mom does is to use less oil.  You should chop your spinach otherwise it becomes stringy after being cooked.  I was lazy and didn't have a lot of time so I just dump it all in the pot....and got stringy Bhajji.  But it tasted good nonetheless...

Kali Mirchi Gosh (Black Pepper Beef)

When I bought that huge package of mushrooms I also bought a huge pack of green beans I almost forgot about.  So I decided to make my mom's Kali Mirchi Gosh with Beans and Potatoes.  The major change I did was how I cooked the beans.  My mom seperately boils then and salt and peppers them.  To me that meant another pot to wash so I just dumped them in the pot when the meat and potatoes were done.  My potatoes also didn't taste seasoned after cooking so I sprinkled salt and pepper on them.  Next time I would add 2 potatoes.