Recipes from Amitav's kitchen

Chicken Biryani - Biryani 1:1 ratio of meat and rice. I used 8 drumsticks and 1 kg basmati rice. Home made garam masala 4 black cardamoms 10 green cardamoms 2-3 inch cinnamon 10-12 black pepper 7-8 cloves 2 javitri flower 1 nutmeg 1/2 tbsp coriander 1 star anise 2 bay leaves Dry roast everything for 5 mins on medium heat. Take out, cool it down and grind to a fine powder. Wash and soak the rice for 30-45 mins For the chicken marination,  Place 8  pieces drumsticks (washed and patted dry) in a wide vessel. Add 2-3 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp turmeric, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, 3 tsp garam masala powder, 2 tsp elaichi powder, juice of 1 lemon, 1 inch cinnamon, 2 javitri flower, 1/2 nutmeg, 3-4 black cardamom, 10-12 black pepper and salt as per taste. Mix well and rest it for 30 mins. If you like spicy, add paste of 3-4 green chillies. In the meantime, fry finely chopped 2 onions until golden crisp. Dry it out. Chop a bunch of pudina and green coriander...

  Peri Peri Masala powder 2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 1/2 tsp black salt 1 tsp powdered sugar 1/2 tsp sugar powder 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder 1/2 tsp salt Put in an air tight container and mix thoroughly Red Chilly Chutney Soak 10-12 deseeded kashmiri red chilli in warm water for 30 mins Add in the mixie with 1 green chilli, 10 garlic cloves, 1 tsp jeera powder, 1 tsp black salt and salt as per taste. Grind to a smooth paste Final Sandwich 1. Paneer - make rectangular pieces of paneer. Apply a little mixture of mustard and peri peri sauce on both sides. Saute for 2 mins on each side on low flame. 2. Cut into cubes and place in a salad bowl. 3. Chop 1 capsicum and 150 grams cabbage and add to the bowl. 4. Slice 1 medium onion and add to the bowl. 5. Add 1 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp peri peri masala powder and 1 tbsp red chilly chutney. 6. Mix well and place in a bun, burger bread, normal bread, panini etc whatever you like. And last, don't...

  400 grams boiled boneless fish (I used bhakura with bones, boiled with salt and black pepper and then took out all thne bones) 1 medium size potato boiled and mashed 10 cloves garlic finely chopped 1/2 inch ginger finely chopped 1 medium size onion finely chopped Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add onions, fry for a min. Add chopped ginger and garlic and fry for another 2 mins. Add the boneless fish and mix well with the mixture until you get bhoorji/keema texture. Should not take more than 5 mins. Mix the boiled mashed potato, dry spices (a pinch of garam masala, 1 tsp chat masala, 2 tsp roasted coriander powder, 1 tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp roasted fennel powder). Mix well and fry for another 2-3 mins. Adjust for salt. Add a 1/2 cup chopped green coriander and 4 tbsp bread crumbs. Mix well. Switch off the heat and let it cool down. Make nice round tikkis out of it and shallow fry in butter or ghee. Enjoy with your choice of chutney!

  Dry roast 2 tbsp coriander, 2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp methi, 10 black peppercorns, 5 dry chilli, 3 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 1/2 inch cinnamon. Cool the mixture and grind to a fine paste with 8-10 garlic cloves and 1 inch ginger. Take 750 grams chicken drumsticks. Add the above paste, 1/2 cup curd, 1 tsp turmeric powder, salt and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Mix well and marinate for 2 hours. In a wok, add 5-6 tbsp ghee. When hot, add finely chopped 1 big onion. Fry until translucent. Add the marinated chicken and fry on high heat for 5 mins. Lower the heat and cook until well done. Adjust for salt. Serve hot with rotis.

  16 pieces medium sized prawns Marinade - mix mince of 6 garlic cloves, 4 tbsp maida, 2 tbsp corn flor powder, salt, a pinch of red chilli powder, a pinch of roasted cumin powder in 1/4 cup water. Mix well to a thick consistency. Adjust with water. Mix the prawns in this marinade and rest for 15 mins. Heat oil in a wok for frying. Fry the prawns for 4-5 mins and take it out. In another wok, add 2 tbsp oil. When heated, reduce the flame to medium. Add very finely chopped 1/2 medium sized onion. Saute for 2 mins. Add 1 inch very finely chopped ginger and saute for 1 min. Add garlic mince of 10 cloves. Saute for another 2 mins. Reduce the flame. Add juice of 1 lemon, 3-4 tbsp honey in the mixture and mix well. Fry for another minute or so. Taste and adjust the honey and lemon as per your taste. While this is going on, refry the prawns at high flame for 30 seconds. Add the prawns to the mixture on the wok and mix well so all the yumminess is coated on the prawns. Add 2 tsp crushed bla...

  1 kg desi chicken/mutton marinated with 1 tsp haladi, 2 tsp salt and juice of half lemon for an hour 250 grams sliced onions.  Heat 3-4 tbsp mustard oil. Add 2 green cardamoms, 1/2 black cardamom, 2 cloves, 1/4th inch dalchini, 2 bay leaves. Fry for 15 seconds. Add the sliced onions and fry till translucent. Lower the heat to between low and medium. Make a paste of 2 tbsp coriander, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 inch cinnamon, 3 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, 3 cloves and 4 green chillies. Except green chillies, all were soaked in water for 30 mins. Add 2 tbsp from this paste in the masala mix. Fry for 3-4 mins. Add 3 tbsp garlic paste. Fry for 2 mins. Add 2 tbsp ginger paste. Fry for 2 mins. Add 1 tsp each of turmeric and kashmiri red chilli powder. Now kassify for around 20-25 mins. Add the marinated meat and kassify for another 1 hour or so. Add hot water, mix well and cover. It should be well cooked in 30-45 mins.* Turn off the heat and sprinkle 1 tsp only dalchini powder. Done an...

  400 grams boiled boneless fish (boiled with salt and black pepper) 1 medium size potato boiled and mashed 10 cloves of garlic finely chopped 1/2 inch ginger finely chopped 1 medium size onion finely chopped Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add onions, fry for a min. Add chopped ginger and garlic and fry for another 2 mins. Add the boneless fish and mix well with the mixture until you get bhoorji/keema texture. Should not take more than 5 mins. Mix the boiled mashed potato, dry spices (a pinch of garam masala, 1 tsp chat masala, 2 tsp roasted coriander powder, 1 tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp roasted fennel powder). Mix well and fry for another 2-3 mins. Adjust for salt. Add a 1/2 cup chopped green coriander and 4 tbsp bread crumbs. Mix well. Switch off the heat and let it cool down. Make nice round tikkis out of it and shallow fry in butter or ghee. Enjoy with your choice of chutney!