Easiest way to prepare Biryani:

Biryani..I guess everyone especially from Hyderabad  might be craving for this. I make this atleast once in a week. All of family members including my 2 year old daughter love to eat this. This is the easiest recipe for biryani and taste equally good..I hope everyone tries this and please do comment. 

Ingredients: 

• Basmati Rice 2 cups
  
• Medium sized Potatoes 1
  
• Carrots 2
  
• Beans 15
  
• Peas ½ cup
  
• Medium sized Onions 1
  
• Cashews 15
  
• Garlic Cloves 10
  
• Ginger 2” piece
  
• Green chillies 5
  
• Garam Masala 1 teaspoon
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Oil 2 teaspoons 

Preparation:

 

• Cut all the vegetables into 1”  pieces Grind Garlic cloves, ginger and green chillies into fine paste. Wash the rice and keep it aside.
  
• Heat a deep frying pan or sauce pan. Add oil to the pan and once it gets heated up add the garam masala powder followed by ground paste. Fry for a few minutes until the raw garlic smell turns to fried garlic smell.(light brown). 
  
• Now, add the cut onions,and fry for a minute. Add all the remaining vegetables except for peas if you are using frozen peas.
  
• Fry this mixture far 2 mins in medium flame. Add the washed rice and fry for another minute.
  
• Now add the peas, salt to taste and mix together.
  
• Transfer this mixture into a rice cooker and 3 cups of water and let cook.
  
• Garnish the cooked rice with fried cashews. 
  
• A very delicious biryani is ready to be served. This tastes good with raita.  
  

Alterations: 

• Replace half of the oil used with ghee for a better taste.
  
• Vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli can be added to make it more nutritious. 
  

Warnings:

• Be careful when adding the Ginger, garlic and chilies paste as this makes the rice spicy, adjust according to taste.
  

Do not add more water as the rice gets sticky if more water is added. 

Bread Paneer Pizza :

Pizza!! My mouth waters once the thought of Pizza comes to my mind.  If we ourselves being a grown up would like to eat pizza always think of children, I guess they always would want to eat pizza. I make an alteration to regular style pizza as it easy and fast to make and the portion size will be better suited for children. Of course, adults can munch on it too. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Slice of garlic bread
  
• 1 small size tomato
  
• 1 shallot
  
• 1 clove of garlic
  
• ½ teaspoon basil leaves
  
• Paneer as topping
  
• Salt to taste
  
• ¼ teaspoon olive oil
  
• 2 teaspoons grated Mozzarella cheese
  
• 2 teaspoons grated American cheese 

Preparation:

• Cut garlic, basil, shallot and tomatoes into very small pieces.
  
• In a small pan add a very little oil and the garlic and basil to it. Sauté for a few minutes and add the shallots to the pan and cook the covered for not more than 1 minute.
  
• Now add the tomatoes, salt to taste and cover and cook until the juice comes out of the tomatoes.
  
• Keep this tomato sauce aside.
  
• Now cut the garlic bread into a diagonal slice. Heat a skillet and brush the garlic bread with olive oil and put that on the skillet for a few minutes.
  
• Turn the garlic bread and spread the sauce, add mozzarella and American cheese to it. Now place a few pieces of cut paneer on top of it.
  
• Now let this fry on the skillet without disturbing in a simmer flame until the cheese melts.
  
• A delicious mouth watering home made pizza is ready. 
  

Alterations:

• Store bought pizza sauce can be used instead of preparing the sauce but I recommend preparing it at home if feeding young children.
• Can add any other toppings desired but paneer is rich protein content so I recommend using that.  

Warnings:

• Let the pizza come to normal temperature before feeding young children.
  
• Thaw the bread before hand if using frozen garlic bread. 
  

Baby Foods

Mixed vegetable Kichidi:

Ingredients: 

• Rice 1 small cup
  
• Toor Dal 2 teaspoons
  
• Potatoes a few pieces cut into ½” size
  
• Beans 2 split into 1” pieces
  
• Carrot ½ cut into 1” pieces
  
• Peas 1 teaspoon
  
• Garlic paste ¼ teaspoon
  
• Green chilly 1 small size(optional)
  
• Jeera ¼ teaspoon
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Oil 1/2 teaspoon
  
• Ghee to garnish 
  

Preparation: 

• In a small frying pan heat oil and add jeera to the heated oil.
  
• When the jeera gets starts to change color, add the garlic paste and the green chilly.
  
• Add the cut veggies to the pan and sauté for a few minutes.
  
• In the meanwhile wash the rice and toor dal together and it to the veggies in the pan.
  
• Add salt to taste and fry all the above for a few minutes Add 2 cups of water to the frying pan.
  
• Transfer the mixture from frying pan to a pressure pan safe bowl if your going to use it and cook it in pressure cooker for 3 whistles.
  
• If you don’t have a pressure cooker let the kichidi cook in the frying pan by covering it with a lid and in simmer flame.
  
• Do not mix the rice while cooking otherwise it will get too sticky.
  
• Garnish the rice with ghee.
• A delicious and healthy rice item is ready for your baby to be server with plain yogurt or raita. 

Alterations:

• Any other vegetables like corn seed, lima beans and chick peas can be added. 
  

Warnings:

• Add chilly and garlic paste according to taste.
  
• Let the rice get to normal temperature before feeding children.