Pineapple Chicken fried rice

Grill some slices of pineapple and set aside. I actually grilled the pineapple in a pan with a tbsp of oil. 

Then in the same pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and then add 1/2 of a medium onion finely chopped, egg, salt and pepper. Saute them well like making egg scrambles. Add veggies of your choice. I used frozen veggies and some broccoli. You can add carrots, beans, peas, capsicum. Once the veggies are half cooked (maintain the veggies crunch, do not overcook them) remove them off the pan and set them aside. 

To the pan now add some more oil and add chicken pieces (chopped to bite size pieces). I marinated these chicken pieces with salt and pepper for one hour. Once cooked, add the already sautéed eggs and veggies to this. Also add the grilled pineapple to this mix. Add soy sauce (1 tbsp) and vinegar (1 tbsp) and saute for a minute. Then add the already  cooked rice (2 cups basmati rice) to this and mix it well such that the rice is coated fine with sauce. Adjust the salt and season with pepper if need be. Garnish with some spring onions. 

Note :: Cooked rice should not be mushy but should be grainy and separate (like it is for biryani).

NV:Variety Rice -- Recipe Index

• Egg Fried Rice
• Chicken Biryani
• Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice
• Fish Biryani
• Shrimp Biryani
• Shrimp Pulao
• Pineapple Chicken Fried rice

Salmon Fish Biryani with a twist

Ingredients:

• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Basmati Rice - 1 cup (1 cup of rice : 1.5 cups of water)
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Cloves - 4
• Cardamom - 3
• Bay leaf - 2
• Cinnamon stick - 1
• Onion - 1 large
• Tomato - 1 large
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Salmon fish - Marinated for half an hour in spices of your choice - 2
• Coconut milk - very light coconut milk - 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves - for garnish
• salt - as req
• turmeric pdr - 1/4 tsp
• Chilli pdr - 1 tbsp
• Coriander pdr - 1.5 tbsp
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice - opt - as req

 Preparation:

In a pan, add some ghee and roast the rice for 5 minutes. Then cook the rice adding req amount of water. Once cooked, cool it and set it aside.

In the same pan in which you roasted the rice, add some oil. Add whole cardamom and then add onion. Saute till the onion turns golden brown. Then add tomato and saute for couple more minutes. Time to add Ginger garlic paste. Saute till the raw smell leaves and then add chilli pdr, coriander pdr, turmeric pdr, salt and garam masala. Mix the masala well to the curry and then add Marinated fish pieces. Add some coconut milk to it and then close the pan allowing the fish to get cooked. After 5 minutes, open the pan and cook the fish in the curry for another couple more minutes. Once the fish gets cooked, remove the fish from the curry and set aside. Now add the cooked rice to the curry made. Mix it well...add the fish again to the biryani and then garnish with some coriander leaves. You can also add some lemon juice if you want to.

This biryani was a super-doper hit at my place. Give it a try and I am sure you will love it. You can also try this with chicken and shrimp.

Note : Was too busy having my Biryani tat I totally forgot to take a click of it. Will click n post the pic next time I do it :)

Shrimp Pulao

Ingredients:

• Whole garam masala - as req
• cashews - as req (optional)
• Onion - cut as juliennes
• Shrimp - 10 raw (cleaned and unveined)
• Gingergarlic paste - 1tsp
• capsicum - 1/4 of medium
• Basmati rice - 1 cup
• soysauce - 1/2 tsp
• pulao pdr - any brand - 1 tbsp (opt)
• Garlic pods - 2 (finely chopped)

Preparation:

To heated oil, add whole garam masala(cloves, cardamom, bay leaf). Then add cashews, onions and finely chopped garlic pods. Saute till the onions become brown. To this add capsicum and saute for another 1 minute. Now add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell leaves from the paste. Add shrimp, soy sauce, salt as req and saute till the shrimp gets cooked. It should take abt 5 minutes. Then add the pulao mix. Pulao mix is optional. You can skip it and itz still gonna taste gud. Else if you are in need of some spices, try adding some turmeric pdr, chilli pdr and coriander pdr to it. Add cooked Basmati rice to this (cooked in 1 cup of rice : 2 cups of water proportion) and stir it well such that there is no lumps of rice. Garnish with some coriander leaves.

Note: Will get the pix of this dish next time I prepare it. Why? What happened now? Why the hell did I nt take a pix of it? If any of these is ur question :) then here is the reply....I FORGOT :( Thought will take the pic of the dish after hubby dear finished his lunch...n guess wat...he finished everything :D

Shrimp Biryani

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice - 1 cup
• Water for Rice - 1.5 cups
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - 1 small stick
• Cardamom - 2
• Bay leaf - 1
• Star Anise - 1
• Onion - 1 medium
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric pdr - 1/4 tsp
• Biryani Masala - 1 tbsp
• Mint leaves - 5 leaves
• Shrimp - Large deveined cleaned - 15 to 20
• Coriander leaves - for garnish
• Lemon juice - a splash

Preparation:

Soak Basmati Rice in water for exactly 15 minutes and then cook it. Water : Basmati Rice Proportion = 1.5 cup of water : 1 cup of Rice. Once the rice is cooked, spread it out and cool it. Keep this aside.

In a pan, heat some oil and ghee. To the heated oil, add whole garam masala (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, Bay leaf, star anise). Then add thinly vertically sliced onion. Once the onion turns translucent, add ginger garlic paste and saute for couple of minutes. Then add finely chopped tomato, Mint leaves and salt. saute for a minute and then add turmeric pdr, biryani Masala. Saute till the tomato turns mushy. Then add the shrimp and saute for 5 mins on medium flame. Once the shrimp is cooked, turn the flame to low and mix the already cooked basmati rice to the Masala. Make sure that the rice mixes well with the curry. Finally garnish the rice with some coriander leaves. Splash a lil of lemon juice if req. Yummy Shrimp Biryani is ready to be served.

Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Veggies (cabbage, carrot, beans, capsicum) - use as req. Make sure you don't use too much of veggies for the fried rice cos tat cud be dominating the taste.
• Egg - 1
• Chicken - 10 to 15 medium pieces
• Dry red chillies - 5 to 7 nos
• Vinegar - 1 tbsp
• Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Garlic pods - 4
• Butter or ghee - 1 tbsp
• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Water - 4 cups (Rice : water = 1 : 2 )
• Onion - 1 medium
• Green chilli - 1
• salt - as req
• Soysauce - 1 tbsp
• Spring onion - for garnish
• celery - for garnish
• coriander leaves - for garnish
• fried onions (opt) - for garnish
• fried cashews(opt) - for garnish

Preparation:

Slit Veggies vertically (cabbage, carrot, beans, capsicum) lengthwise and keep aside.

Fry Egg(like scrambles) and chicken in lil oil and keep aside.

Soak dry red chillies in vinegar for half an hour. Then grind it along with ginger + garlic to a fine paste. Soak Basmati rice in water for 15 minutes. In a pan, roast this rice with butter or ghee for 5 mins. Then cook it, cool it and keep aside.

In a pan, add oil. To the heated oil, add chopped onion. Saute till it becomes translucent. Then add green chilli + veggies + salt. Saute till the veggies get cooked. Make sure that a small amount of crunchiness is maintained in the veggies. Then add the ground paste + soysauce + already saute egg-chicken pieces + rice + spring onion + celery. Garnish with fried onion, fried cashew and coriander leaves.

Egg Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Egg (Veggies excuse)
• Basmati rice - 2 cups
• carrots (as req)
• Beans(as req)
• Cabbage (as req)
• Peas (as req)
• Spring onions - 1
• Onion - 1 medium
• Slit Green Chillies - 2
• Soy sauce - 1 tsp
• Chiili sauce (opt) - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato sauce - 2 tsp
• Ajinomotto (opt) - a pinch

Prepartion:

Soak Basmati rice in water for 15-20 mins and then cook it.Once cooked, cool the rice by spreading it on a plate. (Leftover) Rice which has been refrigerated overnight is also very much suitable to prepare fried rice. Proportion to be used for cooing Basmati rice is usually, 1 cup of rice : 1.5 cup of water

Chop veggies like carrot,beans, cabbage, onions, spring onions coarsely.

First make egg scrambles and keep aside. For veggies n vegans, u can skip this egg n go ahead to make Vegetable Fried Rice.

In a pan, oil+ onion + white bulb portion of spring onion + green chillies --> saute till oil leaves.

Then add ginger garlic paste + carrots + beans + cabbage + peas and saute it till it gets half cooked. For fried rice, the veggies should be half cooked. Add soy sauce + tomato sauce + chili sauce (opt) and stir for few minutes. Add lil Ajinimotto(opt) and salt as req. Now add the boiled, cooled rice to above and saute for few mins on a low medium flame. Finally add the scrambled egg and garnish with the remaining portion of spring onions and corriander leaves.

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

• Oil
• Cloves - 3
• Cardamom - 2
• Bay leaves - 2
• Onion - 1 medium
• Green Chilli - 2
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Chicken
• Biryani masala (Preparation given below)
• Mint Leaves - 10 to 15 leaves
• Garam Masala - 1 tsp
• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Salt as required
• Fried Onions (opt) for Garnishing
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

Biryani Masala Preparation (Blend the below mentioned ingredients) :

4 number bay leaf

• 4 number black cardamom
• 1 tsp black cumin
• 4 number cinnamon sticks
• 8 piece cloves
• 2 tbsp coriander pdr
• 1 tbsp cumin pdr
• 10 piece dried plums
• 2 tbsp fried onion
• 10 number gr cardamom
• 10 number pepper corns
• 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
• 1 tsp red chilli pdr
• 1/4 tsp turmeric

Preparation:

Soak Basmati rice in water for minimum 15 mins.

In a pan,

Oil + Whole Garam Masala (Cloves, Cardamom, Bay leaves) + Onion + Green Chilli + Ginger garlic paste + Tomato + Chicken + Biryani Masala + Mint Leaves + Corriander leaves (lil)--> Saute till the oil leaves, Masala smell goes and till the chicken gets cooked well. Add garam masala.

If using a pressure cooker,

add rice to the above curry (the proportion is usually 1 cup of basmati rice : 1/5 cups of water), add salt as required. When the water starts to boil, close the cooker and apply pressure to it. Leave for 2 whistles. Then keep the cooker in low flame for 2 mins before you switch off.

If using a electric cooker(I use this),

Put the curry, rice , req water, salt and then set on the cooker. I feel tat biryani comes best wen using an electric cooker. The rice is more separate wen cooked in it.

Garnish with fried onions, corriander leaves. Serve hot with raita.

P.S: If you are confused with the amount of salt to be added, after putting in all the ingredients and before closing the cooker, taste the biryani water. It should be a lil more saltier than req.