Cooking Is Easy

Restaurant  style Hyderabadi chicken biriyani is easy and quick to make at home, and you can enjoy H yderabadi chicken dum biriyani  right in the comfort of your home this Bakrid . Hyderabadi dum biriyani is one of the most sought after dish in India. Personally, I love biriyanis and I am always trying out with variations, right from the first time I posted pressure cooker chicken biriyani , around four years ago. Last time we visited Hyderabad, I was introduced to a wonderful chef; who served us Shrimp Biriyani   which I had shared last year; many of you tried it and was happy with the recipe, at that time I mentioned in the post that; I will post Hyderabadi chicken biriyani soon, and though I have been making this at home often; the thought of posting it here was long forgotten until a good friend reminded me about it.  This is one of the easiest Hyderabadi chicken dum biriyani recipe and you just dont have to visit a restaurant to have it or you can surprise y

Kaplanga curry  or  raw papaya curry  is an easy and quick  Kerala side dish ; kaplanga or papaya is found in most backyards of Kerala. Raw papaya is used in coconut based side dishes for rice. Raw papaya is cut into cubes and pressure cooked; I like to lightly mash the cooked papaya, so that the curry will be a bit thickened. A very easy and simple curry and very light on the stomach. It is said raw papaya helps in digestion. A friend gave me this organic raw papaya and since Homey loves papaya curry; I made it for lunch and kids too enjoyed it so much; I hope you will also try this easy curry. Do check out these Kerala side dish too;  pineapple pachadi ,  nadan chembu asthram ,  chakka kuru (jackfruit seeds) manga curry . Step by step method: Serves: 4. The star of the recipe, kaplanga aka papaya. Peel the skin and remove the seeds, chop them up. Put the chopped raw papaya in a pressure cooker with turmeric, salt, and water....pressure cook to 4 whistles.

Achinga Mezhukkupuratti is an easy, healthy, and vegan side dish of Kerala. Achinga or long beans is one of the most common beans available through out the year in Kerala. Achinga payar is sauteed in coconut oil and is best served with rice. Mezhukkupuratti is a Malayalam term for slow roasting or slowly sauting something in oil. Coconut bits or thengakothu is added for an extra nutty flavor and some crunchiness; though it mostly depends on the availability or personal preferance. Achinga is a common vegetable, grown in the kitchen garden; and there is one dark green variety which is called as "nadan achinga". Amma, used to cook the beans with a bit of water, coconut bits, and salt at first and then put it in the kadai to saute, but these days the beans get cooked fast; so I generally skip that process. If the beans are mature (mootha beans) then, it is best to split open and take out the small seeds and add it along; this gives a more flavorful taste; my dad p

Easy vegetable pulao or pilaf   in pressure cooker  (with step by step tutorial) is my idea of a quick and easy one pot wholesome vegetarian rice pilaf , when I am not in a mood for an elaborate cooking. I learned that in some places this pulao is known as tahiri pulao; a much milder and easy pulao common in Uttar Pradesh; where the trio vegetables (cauliflower, peas, and potatoes) are fried in the oil, thus giving out a wonderful flavor and aroma. Yes, all it takes under 30 minutes. I had shared easy vegetable pulao   about two years ago, where I dunked the vegetables in my food processor and gave it a pulse for easy chopping and is a bit on the spicier side. This vegetable pulao which I am sharing today, is so easy and quick to make ....you will definitely be happy that you came across this recipe. Its no secret that I like to cook rice in pressure cooker, especially vegetable biriyani ,   pulao , and chicken biriyani. Vegetables used are mostly "whatever is availa

Pineapple Pachadi  or Kaithachakka Pachadi  is an important part of Kerala Onam Sady a a sweet and tangy yogurt/curd based curry with a tropical punch, yet so traditional and healthy and so easy to make. I know, you must be frowning why pineapple pachachi now?? Thiruvonam just breezed by and most of us are back to our daily routine (or so!). Well, I did plan to post this much before Onam; but then if everything goes the way we planned, life would have been so easy! This recipe was destined to share after Onam and so I let destiny take its course as it did with me. I am sure most of you had a wonderful Onam with friends and family and I hope you did try out my Pazham Pradham (banana payasam) ; and yes, you do not have to wait for onam to make payasam....for me it does not! Pineapple pachadi, is one of the easiest and quickest side dish, you can make in about 15 minutes, bachelors are you listening?? I used half a pineapple and chopped them and put them to cook, while it

The best thing about Onam is the variety of payasam that are made and I thought I will share my easy  Pazham Pradhaman Payasam otherwise known as Banana Payasam , so that you can try this and make and serve along with your Onam Sadya. Banana is locally known as Ethapazham or Nethrapazham and the star in this payasam. I made this payasam, for my MIL's birthday and it just took under 50 minutes to make the payasam and it tasted so yummy that I had to share it for you. Your, Thiruvona Sadya would be incomplete without this traditional payasam. The only difficult part is scraping out two whole coconuts  for coconut milk, so I did that a day before and refrigerated it. I first thought of making the payasam entirely with ripe banana , but after discussing with amma, I decided to add 1/2 cup of cherupayar parippu  and I have to tell you that amma was so right, it tasted so yum that my kids are demanding me to make again for Thiruvonam...yes, you have to try it and its a no excus