Raitha

Ingredients:
Curd/yogurt - 1 cup
Cucumber - 1/2 finely chopped
Tomato - 1 medium finely chopped
Onion - 1  medium finely chopped
Coriander - finely chopped
Green chillies - 2-3 finely chopped (as per taste)
Salt to taste

Preparation:
- Just mix all the ingredients together and viola you have a tasty companion and a must for all India Pot meals!

Veg. Dum Biriyani

Ingredients:
Basumati Rice - 2 cups
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon stick - 1
Star Anise - 1
Cloves - 3-4
Everest Veg. Biriyani Powder - 3 tsp
Onions - 2 large
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 2
Curd/yogurt - 1 cup
Boiled vegetables - 1 cup (carrots, green beans, potato, cauliflower, peas)
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves finely choped
Oil - 4 tbs
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Saffron strands soaked in milk - 6-7 in 1 cup milk
Butter - 2 tbs (optional)
Dry fruits - almonds, cashews, raisins
Wheat flour - 250 gm
Salt to taste


Preparation:
- Wash and boil the rice with little salt and Bay leaf till 3/4th cooked and keep aside.
- Thinly slice onions, take a pan , pour in little oil, fry a portion of the onions till golden brown and crispy, drain keep aside.
- Similarly, fry all the dry fruits (cashews, raisins and almonds), drain and keep aside.
- In the same pan, add some more oil, add cinnamon, star anise, cloves and onion, fry them. Once the onion is cooked or is slightly brown add the ginger garlic paste and stir fry, then add veg biriyani powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, boiled vegetables and 2 pureed tomatoes.
- Cook till oil separates out, add 1/2 cup of yogurt and salt... mix well.
- When it becomes slightly thick, add finely chopped coriander leaves to it.
- Now grease a cooker or any deep vessel, spread a layer of rice, top it with the above veg. mix, sprinkle some saffron+milk liquid over, top with dry fruits+fried onions+some coriander and little butter. Repeat this layering till all the rice and veg. curry mix fills the vessel in layers.
- Now knead the wheat flour to make a nice dough. Take a right fitting lid for the vessel, cover and seal the lid to the vessel with the wheat dough OR cover the lid with aluminum foil, cover it with a lid and keep a heavy weight on top of it so that the layers inside cook in its own steam and no steam escapes out. 
- Take a heavy bottomed tava, heat it and put the gas on simmer. Now keep the vessel on the tava and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes. 
- Remove and garnish with fried onions, almonds, kaju raisins and finely chopped fresh coriander.

Chicken Dum Biriyani

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 4 large cups
Boneless chicken breast - 300 gm (cut into 1" cubes)
Large onions - 3
Large Tomatoes - 2
Medium size potato - 1 (cut into 1" cubes)
Fresh curd/plain yoghurt - 1 cup
Almonds - 8 to 10 pieces 
Cashewnuts - 8 to 10 pieces
Raisins - 12 to 15 pieces
Garlic - 6 to 8 pods
Ginger - 1" inch stick
Ghee/Oil - 8 to 10 tsps
Cinnamon - 1" stick
Green cardomom - 3
Big Black Cardomom - 1
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Shahi Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Kalonji - 1/2 tsps
Dry Red chillies - 5 no's
Kasuri methi - 1/2 tsp
Dry Dhania seeds - 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Star anise - 1 whole
250 gms wheat flour/ aluminum foil and a weight
salt to taste
Fresh green coriander chopped fine.

Preparation:
- Clean and wash the chicken pieces and keep aside.
- Heat 4 cups of water in a vessel and bring to a boil.
- Make deep slits at 1" gaps on the tomatoes and blanch them in boiling water. Drain tomatoes and peel the skin.
- Cut two large onions into big pieces.
- Grind the ginger, garlic, onion and tomatoes to a smooth paste.
- Heat a kadai and dry roast dry chillies, coriander seeds, jeera, shahi jeera, kasuri methi, star anise, cinnamon,  green and black cardamoms, kalonji, and before removing from gas just add the turmeric powder and mix well.
- Grind the roasted ingredients in a mixer to a smooth powder.
- Add this masala powder to the ground onion-tomato ginger garlic mixture along with one cup of curd/yoghurt and mix well.
- Add this masala mixture to the chicken pieces,salt to taste, mix well and set aside to marinate for atleast 3-4 hours.
- Meawhile heat 6 cups of water in a vessel, add a teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil.
- Wash the basmati rice and add it to the boiling water and cook till the rice is 3/4th to almost cooked. (Approximately takes 5 to 7 mins ). Drain in a collander and keep aside.
- Cut one large onion into thin long slices. Heat ghee/oil in a kadai and seperately fry the cashews, almonds and raisins. Remove and drain.
- In the left over ghee/oil fry the thinly sliced onions till they are crisp and brown. Remove and drain.
- Now add the marinated chicken pieces along with the marinade and saute for 10 minutes till chicken is cooked and tender and the ghee/oil seperates from the gravy.
Now take a heavy bottomed vessel and coat it with ghee/oil. Add a layer of rice, top it with a layer of chicken gravy, top this with a layer of the fried onions+cashews+raisins+almonds and repeat till all the rice and chicken gravy is layered.
- Now knead the wheat flour to make a nice dough. Take a right fitting lid for the vessel, cover and seal the lid to the vessel with the wheat dough OR cover the mouth of the vessel with aluminum foil place a lid on top of it and keep some heavy weight over it - bottom is to make sure no steam escapes out and the biriyani inside cooks in its own steam.
- Take a heavy bottomed tava, heat it and put the gas on simmer. Now keep the vessel on the tava and cook for approximately 20-25 minutes.
- Remove and garnish with fried onions, almonds, kaju raisins and finely chopped fresh coriander.

Kesar Doodh Peda

Ingredients:
200gm Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 litre milk
¼ tsp citric acid
1 tsp corn flour
½ tsp Cardamom powder
1 tbsp ghee/oil
A few drops yellow food colour (optional)

Sweetened condensed milk Substitute:

-In a electric blender, pour 2 cups of powdered milk, 2 cups granulated sugar, 3/4 - 1 cup of boiling water, 2 oz/60 gm of butter and few drops of vanilla essence into blender.

-Blend until sugar is melted and mixture is smooth.

-Pour into warm sterile jars .Seal and store in refrigerator.

Method:
-Heat ghee/oil in a pan. Add milk, sweetened condensed milk and citric acid (dissolved in a little water).
-Continue heating and allow the milk to curdle.
-Make a paste of corn flour with 2 tbsp of water.
-Add this to the milk after it has curdled.
-Continue the heating on slow fire till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
-Add the food colour and mix well.
-When cooled a little, shape in to pedas and decorate with cardamom powder/nuts.

Rice Kheer

Ingredients:
400 gm Sweetened Condensed Milk (1 tin of Milkmaid)
100 gm Rice (preferably Basumathi rice)
1 litre Milk
Chopped nuts
Elaichi Powder
Saffron strands

Sweetened condensed milk Substitute:

-In a electric blender, pour 2 cups of powdered milk, 2 cups granulated sugar, 3/4 - 1 cup of boiling water, 2 oz/60 gm of butter and few drops of vanilla essence into blender.

-Blend until sugar is melted and mixture is smooth.

-Pour into warm sterile jars .Seal and store in refrigerator.

 Method:
-Wash rice and pressure cook in milk for 10 min (or cook on slow fire, till rice is soft).
-Add condensed milk and cook for another 5 to 7 min, stirring constantly, until the kheer reaches the desired consistency.
-Remove from fire.
-Serve garnished with nuts / elaichi powder / saffron.

Mushroom Malai Khumb Matar

Ingredients:
200 gm Mushrooms diced
1 cup Peas boiled
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp butter/oil
3 tbsp oil
2 onions - ground to a paste (I like onions in the curry in small pieces so i ground one and chopped another)
1/4 cup malai beaten with 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp graram masala
a pinch of amchoor
1/2 cup milk
Salt to taste

Grind together:
1/2 stick cinnamon
2-3 carsamom
3-4 cloves
4-5 peppercorns
2 tbsp cashewnuts

Substitutes:
If you are calorie conscious and do not want to make the dish very rich then you can substitute:
-Oil instead of butter
-Milk/milk powder instead of malai

Method:
-Trim the stem of each mushroom. Leave them whole if small or cut them into 2 pieces, if big. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a kadhai and add the mushrooms. Stir fry on high flame till dry and golden. Add 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of white/black petter. Stir for 1 more minute and remove from fire. Keep cooked mushrooms aside.
-Grind together cinnamon, seeds to cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and cashew and some water into a wet paste.
-Heat oil, add onion and cook on low heat till oil separates. Do not let the onions turn brown.
-Add the freshly ground masala-cashew mix. Cook for few seconds.
-Add malai and milk, cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes till malai dries up.
-Add salt, red chilli powder, graram masala & amchoor. Stir for a minute.
-Add the boiled peas and mushrooms.
-Add 1/2 cup water if the gravy appears too thick. Boil for 2-3 minutes.
-Garnish with coriander/cream/cashew powder, server hot!