Gosht Ka Khichra (Goat Khichra)

Dalia (wheat), Goat meat, lentils and spices are cooked together to make khichra, in which the taste of the spices and Goat blend with the wheat.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds mutton (Goat)
• 1 cup dalia (cracked wheat)
• ¼ cup masoor dal (split red lentil)
• ¼ cup chana dal (split Bengal gram)
• ¼ cup moong dal (split skinned green gram)
• 4-5 green cardamoms
• 1” stick of cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 large onion sliced
• 2 lemon slices
• 7-8 green chilies
• ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
• ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
• 1 tbsp ginger juliennes
• ½ cup crispy fried onions
• ¼ cup ghee

Method:

• Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker on medium heat.
• Add cinnamon, green cardamoms and cloves and sauté till fragrant.
• Add sliced onion and sauté till soft. Add green chilies, ginger paste and garlic paste and sauté for two minutes.
• Add mutton and continue to sauté for about 5-6 minutes.
• Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, half the garam masala powder and half the fried onions to the mutton.
• Now add all the dals and broken wheat and mix well. Add six cups of water and let it come to a boil.
• Mix in half of the coriander leaves, half of the mint leaves, and salt. Mix well. Cover the cooker with the lid and cook under pressure for four to five whistles. Open the lid when the pressure has reduced. Using a hand blender mash the mixture. Adjust the consistency by adding more warm water if required.
• Remove it in a serving bowl.
• Garnish with the remaining fried onion, garam masala powder, ginger juliennes, mint leaves and coriander leaves.
• Pour some hot sizzling ghee over the serving bowl and serve with lemon slices.

Do You Know?

Hyderabad cuisine is heavily influenced by North Indian cuisines like Awath, Mughlai and Tandoori, with considerable influence of the spices and herbs of the native Telugu and Marathwada cuisine, bringing in a unique taste to the dishes.

Hyderabadi Cuisine has different recipes for different events, and hence categorized accordingly, like banquet food, for weddings and parties, festival foods and travel foods. The category to which the recipe belongs itself speaks of different things like the time required to prepare the food, the shelf life of the prepared item, etc

Spicy Dalia

A delicious, easy-to-make dish in which cracked wheat or dalia is cooked with spices. Serve it in breakfast, especially during winters, when you like to have something hot and spicy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cracked wheat (Dalia)
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 2-3 green chilies chopped
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 lime / lemon
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger juliennes (optional)
• 2 tbsp ghee

Method:

• Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Fry onions on medium heat till the onions start to turn brown. Remove half of the onions with a slotted spoon and keep aside for garnishing.
• Add cumin seeds to the remaining onions in pressure cooker and let it splutter for few seconds.
• Now add dalia (cracked wheat) and toss it around so that everything is mixed nicely and dalia is covered with oil.
• Add chopped green chilies, half of the chopped cilantro leaves, red chili powder, garam masala and salt.
• Stir and add 4 cups of water; pressure-cook it up to 10-12 minutes. Turn off heat.
• Open the pressure cooker when its pressure drops naturally. Mash the mixture with round wooden spoon. Add water if needed.
• Simmer on low heat again for 3-4 minutes until spices and wheat grains are blended smoothly together.
• Remove from heat; serve in deep bowls garnished with fresh cilantro leaves, fried onion, ginger juliennes and lemon.
• Pour some more hot sizzling ghee over the dalia before serving.
  

Do you know?

Porridge was a traditional food in much of Northern Europe and Russia back to antiquity. Barley was a common grain used, though other grains and yellow peas could be used, depending on local conditions. It was primarily a savory dish, with a variety of meats, root crops, vegetables, and herbs added for flavor.

Arhar Dal Ki Khichdi

Khichdi is an easy to digest and quick to make healthy Indian food. Basically it is a rice dish made of rice, dal with or without vegetables and meat but there are as many recipes for khichdi as there are households all over India. It can be spicy or rich or plain bland dish, made with a single lentil or combinations of 2-5 lentils.

I take rice and arhar dal in equal proportion and cook it more like a ‘pulao’ so that rice and dal grains can be seen separately.

Pour lot of sizzling ghee over the khichdi if you really want to enjoy it more.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup Arhar dal/ Toor dal/ Pigeon pea
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch of asafetida
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2-3 green chilies
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• Butter or ghee to garnish
• 2 tbsp crispy brown fried onion
• Butter or Ghee to pour over khichdi
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak the rice and arhar dal in water for at least one hour.
• Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pressure cooker, on medium flame.
• Stir in bay leaf, asafetida and cumin seeds. Fry till cumin seeds stop spluttering. Add chopped onion and fry till onion is brown. Add rice, arhar dal, red chili powder, garam masala, salt, turmeric powder and green chilies. Stir and add 3 ½ cups of water (remember rice and dal are pre soaked). Place lid and pressure-cook it up to two whistles (pressure release).
• Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves, crispy brown fried onions and lots of butter or ghee.
• Serve hot with chutney, raita, pickle, and salad

Do You Know?

Kedgeree, often thought to be an Indian dish, is made up of flaked fish, boiled rice, eggs and butter. According to some highly disputed sources, the dish originated from Scotland and was taken to India by Scottish troops during the British Raj, where it was adapted and adopted as part of Indian cuisine.

It is said that Indian khichdi is a modified form of the Anglo Indian Kedgeree.

Namkeen Dalia (Spicy Porridge)

Namkeen Dalia, a Khichra without meat, is made of cracked wheat, lentils and spices. This dish is cooked for a long time so that spices, lentils and cracked wheat are blended together perfectly.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup cracked wheat (Dalia)
• ¼ cup split skinned moong dal ( dhuli moong dal)
• ¼ cup split moong dal (chhilke wali moong dal)
• 1 Medium onion thinly sliced
• 2-3 green chilies chopped
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 5 cloves
• 2 tsp lime juice/lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger juliennes
• ½ cup ghee

Method:

• Heat 4 tbsp ghee in a pressure cooker and fry onions to a golden color, remove half of the onions with a slotted spoon and keep aside for garnishing.
• Now add bay leaf, cloves and cumin in ghee and fry for few seconds.
  Add dalia (cracked wheat), stirring frequently, fry the cracked wheat for about 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
• Now add washed dals (both dhuli and chhilke wali moong dals), chopped green chilies, ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt.
  Add 5 cups of water and pressure-cook it up to 3-4 whistles (pressure release).
• Turn off heat. Open the pressure cooker when its pressure drops naturally.
• Mix lentil and wheat grains together. Put pressure cooker again on a very low flame and keep mashing the mixture rigorously using round wooden spoon. Add water if needed. Simmer for 10 -15 minutes until dals, spices and wheat grains are blended smoothly together.
• Remove from heat; serve in deep bowls garnished with fresh cilantro leaves, green chilies, pinch of garam masala, fried onion and lemon.
• Before serving, pour some hot sizzling ghee over the serving bowl.

Do You Know?

Wheat allergy is primarily common in children, and is usually outgrown before reaching adulthood.

Wheat allergy is sometimes confused with celiac disease, which is a digestive disorder that creates an adverse reaction to gluten. Individuals with celiac disease must avoid gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats. People who are allergic to wheat have an IgE-mediated response to wheat protein and may tolerate other grains. Symptoms of a wheat allergy reaction can range from mild to severe.

Read food labels carefully, even if you would not expect the product to contain wheat. Wheat has been found in some brands of ice cream, marinara sauce, play dough, potato chips, rice cakes, and turkey patties, and at least one brand of hot dogs.

Moong Dal Khichdi

Rice, lentils, spices and seasonings are thrown into a pot or pressure cooker and cooked until all individual ingredients are blended well together.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup split skinned moong dal
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• Butter or ghee to garnish
• 2 tbsp crispy brown fried onion
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak the rice and moong dal in water for at least one hour.
• Heat 2 tbsp of ghee (or oil) in a pressure cooker, on medium flame.
• Stir in bay leaf and onion. Add rice, moong dal, red chili powder, garam masala, salt, and turmeric powder. Stir and add 4 cups of water. Place lid and pressure-cook it up to one whistle (pressure release).
• Remove from heat. Garnish with coriander, fried crispy brown onions and butter or ghee.
  Serve hot with chutney, raita, pickle, and salad

Do You Know:

The word "khichdi" literally means "hodge-podge" or mish-mash. Hodge-podge or not, khichdi makes for a complete one-pot meal. The rice provides the carbohydrates, the lentils provide the protein, the vegetables add the vitamins and minerals and fiber. A dollop of ghee provides the right amount of fat and calories, which are as important in a diet as any other food-group