How to cook corn

Some foods are so addictive that we cannot go without it if it comes to season . Corn is one such addiction . I always felt that  grilled corn is really yummy but having them cooked at home is much better . Last time as we had visited my brothers home in banglore and we just went on having corn soups grills patties .Inshahaallah i will be adding  them soon . Alhamdulillah, we had a lovely time. Even though it did rain for just few hours but then we never stopped going out and having fun . , the trip was much wanted by us . We needed a break from work and kids wanted to see cousin Zain.  Banglore always has nice climate and i jsut love the everlasting cold weather there .never dries out . My mom always says who ever visits Banglore will never return home .
Heres the recipe for my corn.
This is for beginners to cooking corn at home .

Ingredients

• 4 corns
• Salt to taste 
• A sprinkle of maggi masala

Method 

• Peel the corns 
• Cook the corns immersed in water in a pressure cooker to 4 whistles. 
• After done serve the corns with salt  and maggi masala powder. 
• You can also add pepper or butter too. All to ones tastes and trials

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Masala chickpea fry

We have a craze and thats for chaats . Mom makes paani poori and all the sides to go for it. Actually my daughter zehna loves chaats  and so we all join in to make to my relief from having to make something for tea time. But normally i never have chaats just tea  and something light as in biscuits and occasional fries. But my kids and Aj are not too much into fried snacks but they would love some tummy filling variety once in a blue moon . But eventually the only thing I used to love is the homemade simple tea munchies. Though i love cooking to the core i do get lazy at times . And chai and kaddis (snacks ) in kerala is a soothing past time . My kids are the most hunger striken at this point of time . No five star hotel would have such kind orders as these three give me their own ways of having tea . Zamee would have a strong 'teabag' tea. Zehna goes for horlicks milk . Faizan loves Hershley milk ..but i dont give it to him everyday ... but he is my angel boy so i fall for all his demands .  So u see i have a hard time to meet all their damands. But chaats is  one  thing they all .... no ... we all have a common admiration to.
So went ahead and made this chaat .

We always have a frozen chickpeas and peas for the breakfast process to go easy .
So if  you freeze up boiled peas  its very likely you would end up making chaats quite often  . I love eating raw cooked chickpeas and when i had this chaat i just loved it . It is very spicy and strong tea is a perfect match.. Do try it out.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup  chickpeas 
• 1/4 teaspoon   masala powder 
• 1 green chilli slit 
• 1/4 tsp pepper powder 
•   1 tblspn Onions 
•  1 small sized chopped finelyCoriander leaves  Salt – as required

Method

• Soak chickpeas  overnight for atleast 6-8 hours.Pressure cook chickpeas   until done.
• In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil .
• Add  chickpeas combine it with masala powder, chilli powder, salt,   and mix well.Just toss and cook the masala till done. Remove to serving dish .
•  Finally add onions and garnish with coriander leaves on top.

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White promfret biryani

We had our getogether yesterday . We had our oldies to a corner to catch up with their petite talk of yester years  Just to cheer up, we had to bring all the 50 members of family together , still many couldn't make it . We went bonkers with the fun and noise . Music and dance that filled the beach hotel with night getting colder, all had a fun night . But the next morning was a little  tiring . Hehe i lost my mind last night thinking who cares how old i am ,we get to be kids only in such times . Body was aching but thats it .. I just managed the day with leftover home chores and light lunch prepared  in 1/2 hour. Having a harthal is cool as we get to catch up on home and kids . Schools have  started and the mornings are getting busier and   InShaAllah, I am hoping to get back to my blogging routine from today as well. Thinking about everything is making me excited  but I have to get my anxiety levels low  guess I take it as it comes…

Food has a lot of nostalgia associated with it. So is this fish biriyani that Aj loves the most .  SubhanAllah, life is moving really fast and so is our changing appetite for the taste of fishes here …alhamdullillah fish is also cheap here.... after eons we have started getting fresh ones   we have really spicy masala but if  the spice level doesnt satify do add more . So you can add some chilli powder while preparing the masala if you need a little bit of spice there. Its difficult to grab the complete satisfaction  from Aj ..But he enjoyed it and said he would pack some to office ! Off to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

FOR MARINATION:

• 500 gm avolli fish ,cleaned
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp coconut oil for fry

FOR MASALA:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 large onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoon chillies, paste 
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 4 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• 4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 2 strands curry leaves 
• Salt and pepper to taste

FOR RICE:

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 3 cardamom, split
• 1 pc cinnamon3 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp peppercorn
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cups waterSalt to taste
• 2½ cup ghee rice, soaked for 15 minutes, washed and drained

FOR DUM:

• 3 tbsp ghee
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 15 cashews
• 15-20 raisins
• 1 tbsp garam masala powder
• 4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 4 tbsp chopped mint leaves.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine all ingredients except oil in the "for marination" section till well combined. Allow to marinate for at least one hour
• .Fry the marinated fish in the coconut oil flipping the sides, till browned and almost 75% cooked. Set aside.
• In a saucepan,  start making the masala by heating the coconut oil. 
• Add the onions and few curry leaves  and saute till the onions are soft.
• Add the ginger garlic crushed  and cook till the raw smell goes away .
• Add in the turmeric and saute well. Continue to cook till the tomatoes are totally cooked.
• .Add in the fried fish and cook for a few more minutes. Sprinkle in some water if the masala looks too dry.Add in the garam masala powder, mint leaves, coriander leaves and seasoning. Mix well and switch off.
• While the masala is getting cooked, make the rice. 
• Heat the ghee and fry the whole spices.
• Add the curry leaves and onion and saute till witled.
• Add the water and bring it to boil. 
• Add salt.
• Add in the drained rice and keep on high flame till the water comes to a rolling boil.Keep it on the lowest flame possible and cook on closed lid till the water is absorbed and the rice is almost cooked .
• Switch off
• .For the garnish ingredients, heat the coconut oil and ghee in a deep frying pan
• .Add the sliced onions with a sprinkle of salt and fry till browned. 
• Drain and set aside.
• Fry the cashews and then the raisins and set aside. Keep the frying oil aside.
• Now for the dum ..
• Spread one layer of rice . Transfer the fishes on a plate and layer only  masala on top. Sprinkle half fried onions, cashewnuts, raisins, chopped mint and coriander leaves and garam masala.Layer the remaining rice over the masala. 
• Layer the fishes on top .
• Sprinkle the remaining dum ingredients, the leftover fried oil .
• Cover with foil and close the lid tightly. 
• Keep on high flame for 5 minutes, then reduce to the lowest and keep it for 20 minutes. Switch off.Open the lid and remove the foil at the time of serving. Mix well and serve hot with raita and pickle.

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