Chicken Handi

There is an Indo-Pak cuisine just across the road and we love to eat biriyani and chicken handi over there :) My husband is specially fond of their chicken handi dish and frequently brings that for dinner :D So on a special occasion I decided to give it a try at home. I searched for a recipe in the net but all were different from each other . The only common thing was cilantro. I have never cooked chicken with cilantro/coriandar before. The chicken handi that we are fond of , indeed has cilantro in it. So I prepared this delicious dish in the same way that i make chicken curry/kosha but added cilantro. And it turned out so good :) My hubby said it was actually as good as the restaurant preparation !! :P

I made this before I started blogging. So the amount of

the ingredients are a bit approximate. Here is the recipe...

Chicken Handi

Ingredients :

Chicken - 1 lb breast pcs

Tomato - 1 medium, chopped

Cilantro- half a bunch

Yogurt- 4 tbsp

Onion - 1 big,chopped

Cloves- 3

Green Cardamom-3

Cinnamon - 1" stick

Ginger paste-1tsp

Garlic paste- 1tsp

Turmeric-1/3 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander+Cumin power - 1 1/2 tsp

Mustard oil- 2 tbsp

Vinegar- 1tsp

Salt- to taste

Ghee- 1tsp

Procedure :

Cut the chicken breasts in bite sized pcs and wash them well. In a bowl , mix the chicken with yogurt, vinegar, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder, chilli powder, 1 tbsp oil and some salt and marinate for about half and hour.

In a pressure cooker [ which i bought recently :) ] heat 1 tbsp oil . Add a pinch of sugar and let it turn brown. This adds a nice brown colour to the curry. Then add the whole garam masala and fry for a few secs. After that add the chopped onions, fry for about 5-7 mins till it turns translucent. Then put the ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell is gone. Then add the marinated chicken and mix everything nicely. After some time, add the chopped tomatoes and keep stirring. Keep frying till oil separates out. It takes about half an hour. Then add the chopped cilantro and mix well. After it is cooked for some more time, add water according to consistency of gravy u prefer. Add salt. Then close the lid of the pressure cooker and put in high heat. Mine doesnt give whistles, the pressure regulator rocks after adequate pressure builds up. I cook chicken for 7 mins after it starts rocking. It takes about 12 mins after I add water. After its done, I do not open the lid immediately and wait till the pressure falls on its own. That takes about 10 mins.

The smell of cilantro was already coming thru the vent pipe :) After opening the lid, I added 1 tbsp of ghee and adjusted the salt. Chicken Handi is now ready !! :)

Before we bought the pressure cooker, I used to cook chicken for about 45 mins-1 hr after adding water.

We had this with Shrimp Biriyani, salad and raita !! If somebody has an authentic Chicken Handi recipe, do let me know :)

Shrimp Biriyani

I am back after my exam...I hope everything was okay !!

These days its soo hot over here...and no signs of rain at all !! Hope the weather gets a bit cooler soon !!

On a special occasion 2 weeks back, I made Shrimp Biriyani and Chicken Handi at home which we had along with salad and raita :) Today I am going to post the recipes ... :)

Shrimp Biriyani

Ingredients :

Basmati Rice - 2 cups

Water- 3 cups

Potato- 2 big

Shrimp - i gave about 10-15 pcs

Cloves- 4

Green cardamom- 4

Cinnamon- 1" stick

Shan Chicken Biriyani Masala- half packet

White Oil- 4 tbsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Procedure :

First, I washed and soaked the rice in 4 cups of water for about 45 mins. Then drained it and kept aside.

Then I peeled and cut the potatoes in half and fried them in 1 tbsp of oil and kept them aside.

I used small size cooked shrimp, so didnt have to clean them. I had these in my fridge so used them, though I like the fresh ones more.

After thawing, I shallow fried the shrimps in 2 tbsp of oil with little turmeric and salt. After it was done I added 1 tbsp of oil and fried the whole garam masala for few seconds.

Then I added the biriyani masala with little water and mixed with the shrimp and fried for some time till oil separated.

After that i added the potatoes and rice and mixed them well. Then I added 3 cups of water and some salt and mixed everything nicely.

I dont put the lid and let it boil in high heat till holes appear on the surface of the rice. Then i decrease the heat to the lowest setting and let it simmer for about 5-7 mins. After that I added 1 tbsp of ghee and mixed slightly.

Shrimp Biriyani is ready :) Shan biriyani masala gives a nice flavour and since I dont have joitri/jay fol etc. I use their chicken or mutton biriyani masala for any kind of biriyani.

It was quite spicy even without adding chilli powder.

We had this with raita and chicken handi... :)