Kitchen secrets

This week, The City Express reveals some of the secret recipes of the home-chefs.
Kitchen secrets

It's not just the five-stars or AC restaurants, where Chefs experiment with spices and herbs to serve you something new and scrumptious. The mixing, blending and experimentation are common to all Indian rasois. The 'ma-ke-hath-ka-swad' is never constant. It changes with the household you visit. So, The City Express decided to bring you some of the secret recipes of the home chefs. Well, they aren't just chefs. They are members of a social media group, FoodFindo, created by city-based blogger Rohit Srivastava. And, every hour, there's a new post on the group from these members, featuring delicious dishes.

A native of Rourkela, Swagatika Patel Singh, shares the trick of preparing Yakhni pulao in a pressure cooker. "I and my husband love Biryani. However, it takes a lot of time to prepare biriyani. Thus, I discovered this way of making Yakhni pulao in a pressure cooker. The most difficult part is getting the rice perfectly cooked in the cooker. Measurement of yakhni stock and the time of rice soaked in water is all relative and one will get it right after a couple of trials," she said.

Swagatika soaks basmati rice in water for 15 to 20 minutes. "You need to add two to three spoons of rice in saffron or coloured water. Make a potli of the whole garam masala. Put the potli inside the cooker along with whole garlic, onions, chicken, yoghurt and salt. These all have to be pressure cooked till four to five whistles," she explained. The home chef advises us to strain the water (yakhni) and keep it aside. "Take out the chicken and open the potli. Heat oil in the cooker and add the garam masala. Let it sputter. Add the rice and fry for some time. Add the chicken, yakhni water, garlic (squeezed and the residual part), onions (pressure cooked ones), lemon chillies and salt (as required). Add water if needed. Let it cook," she explained.

Binita Mangaraj of Bhubaneswar boasts of her expertise in preparing the Pakistani dessert, Mutanjan. "It's basically a rice dish cooked during Eid. It is prepared by the simmer method on slow flame," she said. The dish has a creamy texture and is loaded with tiny rasagolas. "Cook the rice three fourth done. Heat ghee in a vessel and then add garam masala and bay leaves. You will then have to add khoya, dry fruits and sugar. Cook the mixture on a slow flame to make a sugar syrup. Lastly, add the rice, toss it lightly. You can put three different food colours in three different parts of the rice. Add nutmeg powder and green cardamom powder for stronger aroma. Cook the rice for 10 minutes," she added.

Cooking is not just a woman's arena of expertise. Men have their secrets too. Tarinisen Patnaik, a city-based blogger, prepares a tangy curry with brinjals. But, there's no dicing or slicing allowed. "The dish is cooked with small-sized brinjals. You don't need to cut them into pieces. Cook it whole in a spicy gravy. For the tanginess, add tamarind paste to the dish," he said.

We learnt the art of cooking some spicy chicken stew from Prasant Panda. "I prepare the stew with chicken stock, onions, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, carrots, green bell pepper, tomato (pureed), red chili paste, slit green chillies, oil, salted butter, paprika powder and whole spices like cumin, fennel, bay leaves, cinnamon and cardamom. I season it with black pepper, salt and oregano. It is not a tasteless and drab chicken stew. It is rich in flavour and taste," he added.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com