Dindigul Biryani
One of the rare times where the photo is as good as my cooking. Both are really average. But some days God is kind.
I have never had Dindigul Biryani, so I have no clue how mine compares with the original. I have never had any fancy Biryani in a fancy restaurant. But still I do feel that I have some sense of what is a good Biryani. I have prepared very good Biryani a few times. Hyderabadi Biryani, I think, is the ultimate. I have about 500 g of Hyderabadi Biryani masala packets at thome. Another 200 g of just the regular Biryani packets. Mad about Biryani yes. Mad about rice NO. Mad about health yes.
Used Aachi's Dindigul Biryani packet. Added some wilted cabbage and wilted cauliflower. Followed instructions by and large. It turned out awesome. Loved it.
If you look down upon me for using ready-to-cook packets, I will look up to you. I admire all house wives, house husbands, home chefs who cook from scratch! I am a home chef with a difference. I use ready-to-cook, ready mixes, ready-made sauces. I feel they are 90% healthy. But restaurant foods I think are 100% unhealthy. Yeah...I exaggerate.
30 minutes max in the kitchen is my motto/vision. I rarely spend 15 minutes doing the cutting and preparation. I usually cook one pot meals. Biryanis are a great one pot meal.
The whole shortcoming of this Biryani is that it lacks protein. I was tempted to add the lousy tasting protein powder that I have! But gladly I did not. I was tempted to add paneer! I would have added 9 g of protein, but 10 g of fat in 50 g of paneer. But good thing -- no carbs.
A good idea would be to add soya chunks. It would add taste, texture and proteins.
I had it with raita, so a little bit of protein did creep in. I had a glass of chaas (buttermilk), so another tiny bit of protein came in. 3 gm of protein in the raita, and 3 gm of protein in the chaas. A measly 6 g.
Made up the lack by having two slices of protein bread (10 g protein) with peanut butter (some measly protein addition, with greasy fat!) A protein drink would have been great, but I am a coffee "addict". An instant coffee purist in the sense, I think protein powder would ruin coffee!
Kakdi-Tomato-Chillies-Spring Onion Flower Leaves Raita
It was a good accompaniment to the Biryani. The yogurt helped "cool down" the mild tongue burning of the mildly spiced Dindigul Biryani.
Spring Onion Flowers / Pyaaz Koli are winter veggies, They are the tender green stalk with flowers of spring onions. You will see them with every veggie vendor in Mumbai! Rs. 20 for bunch of 5-6! Ullithandu is another name.
If you bite the leaf directly, you will get the taste of biting an onion leaf! But in raita...all its fire was gone! I could not even get the taste of it.
Nutritionist Aditi Prabhu has a nice blog post and recipe on Spring Onion Flowers. Er, I came to know the exact name thanks to her blog. Here is her blog on Spring Onion Flowers. (ji ....mere blog khatam hua....aap wahan padhar sakte hai. If you find any other recipe there....let me know.)