Mumma’s recipe of love

If we were to look back in time, for as long as I can remember, I grew up in a household that used only organic products. My family would grind our own masalas and use organic spices. My mother knows which mill to go to to get exactly what she’s looking for.

Many years later, that practice still continues. Well, at least, I don’t buy anything from the store; my mother sends them to me from Hyderabad. That’s probably my earliest memories of the culinary world.

Maybe it was the homemade masala and organic spices, or that my mother is a culinary genius, my neighbours always wanted to know what was cooking at home. The aroma of whatever was being prepared in the kitchen would travel across the streets. Even at that young age, I remember thinking to myself that I’d like to recreate exactly that when I am growing up.

But cooking wasn’t something that I regularly did before I got married. The first time I made my own dish was at the age of 14. I made a dry potato dish which my family said was better than the one my mother usually makes. To be honest, I think they were probably saying that only to boost my confidence, but it sure worked.

When my husband and I started living alone, we were more than happy to experiment with anything and everything.

Some days we’d have the best meal ever made and on other days, it would be terrible. But he’s extremely supportive and continued to encourage me even when I goofed up.

Eventually, I found my interest in blogging and started to record recipes that I created. My husband cheered me on to purchase a DSLR and make the dish look as good as it tasted. In the last year, apart from my full-time job, I work as a food consultant during the weekend.

Even without realising, my mother has inspired my cooking a lot. In fact, today’s recipe is one of her own creations, a dish I haven’t had anywhere else. ‘Qubooli Biryani’is a Hyderabadi dish for vegetarians. It actually came into existence during the time of Nawabs and made for those who couldn’t eat meat.

My mother taught me that qubooli means ‘acceptance’, to accept hurdles as they come, changes they bring along and the lessons that help us grow. This is a simple yet protein-rich, wholesome one-pot meal. Moms’ addition of dill leaves gives this a very subtle and distinct flavour. If you want to make a non-vegetarian version of it, make chicken or mutton kofta to add to the rice.

Recipe: Qubooli Biriyani

Ingredients

- Rice, 2 cups
- Chana Dal, 1 cup (soaked overnight)
- Curd, 100 ml
- Onions, 2 large (slit vertically into thin slices)
- Caramelised onions, ½ cup
- Ginger Garlic paste, 2 tbsp
- Oil for caramelised onions
- Ghee, 2 tablespoons + 1 tsp
- Dill leaves, 1/4 cup
- Mint leaves, ½ cup
- Curry leaves, 1 spring
- Green chillies, 3
- Kashmiri chilli powder, 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
- Coriander powder, 1 tsp
- Jeera powder, 1 tsp
- Raisins, ½ cup
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Salt to taste
- Whole garam masala
- Star Anise -1
- Bay leaves - 2
- Cloves - 5
- Cardamom - 5
- Cinnamon stick - 1

Method

- Pressure cook chana dal that has been soaked overnight with a little salt and curry leaves for about 10 to 12 minutes until it’s 90 per cent done.
- Cook the rice with whole garam masala, green chillies and mint until 80 per cent done.
- In a pan, add 2 tbsp ghee and tip in ginger garlic paste and cook till slightly golden. Now add yoghurt, chana dal, chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt per taste, coriander powder, jeera powder and mint leaves. Mix well and cook until the spices are cooked and ghee floats on top.
- In a heavy bottomed pan, add half of the cooked rice, and layer it with chana dal mixture, dill leaves, mint leaves, raisins and caramelised onions and pour half the lemon juice.
- Layer it with remaining rice along with dill and mint leaves, caramelised onions and the remaining lemon juice.
- Apply the lid and cook this for about 15 minutes and it’s ready.
- Can be paired with raita or mirchi ka salan.

Sameerra Anandhan