Happy Eid-ul-Adha 2023: Amazing Recipes To Try Out With Your Loved Ones This Festive Season

Happy Eid-ul-Adha 2023: This is a season of blessings and peace, everything around Eid always seems blissful and prosperous. This is the festival to spend quality time with your friends, family and loved ones and what better way to unite everyone than food? Food is that lovely thread that can connect everyone with a lot of warmth and enthusiasm.

Here are a few amazing recipes that will make your heart sing, lift your mind and make you gastronomically pleased and elated. Check out the recipes-

CHICKEN RESHMI KEBAB:

Ingredients:

•  400 gm boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup curd
• 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon cashew nuts
• 1 teaspoon almonds
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
•  2 tablespoons fresh cream
•  1⁄2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil/butter
• Salt to taste

Method:-

1. Rinse the chicken pieces in running water and cut them into medium size chunks. Also, soak almonds in water for about 20 minutes.
2. Remove the skin from the almonds and keep them aside.
3. Now in a big bowl, mix the curd, ginger garlic paste, cream, salt, lemon juice, chopped coriander and spices very well.
4. Make the paste of almonds and cashew nuts and add to it.
5. Add about 1⁄2 tablespoon of oil to the curd mixture and marinate pieces of chicken in it.
6. Coat the pieces very well, cover the bowl and keep it aside at least for 1 hour. (In this way chicken gets the flavour and juice of ingredients of marination).
7. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees for 5 minutes and put the wooden skewers in warm water.
8.  Thread the chicken pieces into skewers and place them in the oven. Lightly brush with some oil.
9. Grill for about 20-30 minutes until chicken tenders become juicy. When the chicken is done, then remove out from the skewers.
10. Serve hot with coriander chutney and cabbage salad

Notes: This marination of Chicken Reshmi Kebab can be kept overnight in the refrigerator.

Tandoori Chicken:

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
•  1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
•  1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon sweet (not hot) paprika
• 1 cup plain yoghurt (can sub buttermilk)
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
•  2 tablespoons, minced fresh ginger
• Salt to taste
• 4 whole chicken leg quarters (drumsticks and thighs), skinless, bone-in.

Method:

1. Heat the spices in oil: Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat, then cook the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala and paprika, stirring often, until fragrant (approximately 2-3 minutes). Let cool completely.
2. Whisk spices into yoghurt, add lemon juice, garlic, salt, and ginger: Whisk the cooled spice-oil mixture into the yoghurt, then mix in the lemon juice, garlic, salt and ginger.
3. Cut deep slashes into the chicken, coat with marination, and chill: Cut deep slashes (to the bone) in 3-4 places on leg/thigh pieces. Just make 2-3 cuts if you are using separate drumsticks and thighs.
4. Coat the chicken in the marination. cover and chill for at least an hour (preferably 6 hours).
5. Prepare grill: Prepare your grill so that one side is quite hot over direct heat, the other side cooler, not over direct heat. If using charcoal, leave one side of the grill without coals, so you have a hot side and a cooler side, If you are using a gas grill, just turn on one-half of the burners.
6. Use tongs to wipe the grill grates with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil.
7. Shake off excess marinade, and place the chicken on the hot side of the grill: Take the chicken out of the marination and shake off the excess. You want the chicken coated, but not gloppy.
8. Put the chicken pieces on the hot side of the grill and cover. Cook 2-3 minutes before checking.
9. Turn the chicken so it is brown (even a little bit charred) on all sides.
10. Move to the cool side of the grill, cover and cook: Move the chicken to the cool side of the grill. Cover and cook for at least 20 minutes, up to 40 minutes (or longer) depending on the size of the chicken and the temperature of the grill. The chicken is done when its juice run clear.

Note: Serve it with lime and onion salad and with green chutney as you like.

Kolkata-Style Mutton Biriyani:

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice-3cups soaked in enough water for 30 minutes and drained well
• Green cardamom-6
• Cloves-5
• Cinnamon stick-1 inch
• Kala jeera-1/2 tsp
• 1⁄2 tsp ghee
• Water as required
• Salt to taste
• Mutton- 1 kg, cut into medium pieces
• Yoghurt- 1 cup
• Ginger garlic paste- 3 tbsp
• Chilli powder- 2-3 tsp
• Oil-2tbsp, Ghee-2tbsp
•  Onion-1/2-2 cup thinly sliced
• Garam masala powder- about 1-1/5 tbsp
• Alu Bukhara-5
• Hot Water-1/3 cup
• Potato-5 small, peeled, cut into chunks if large
• Orange/Yellow food colour- 1 pinch

Recipe: Green cardamom -17, cloves 10, cinnamon 1 stick, Javitri-1, Nutmeg-1/8 of the nutmeg, white/black pepper-1/4 tsp. Grind the above all whole spices in the small jar of a mixie. Transfer to an airtight container. You need only 2-3 tsp of garam masala powder for the recipe.

To Layer:

• Garam masala powder- a few pinches
•  Ghee-1-2 tbsp
• Saffron- 1pinch soaked in 3 tbsp hot water (add kewra water and Meetha Athar to this saffron water)
• Kewra water-2 tbsp
• Meetha Athar- 4 drops
• Grated mawa-2-3 tbsp

Method:

1. Marinate mutton pieces with yoghurt, ginger garlic paste, chilli powder and salt. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hrs.
2. Boil water in a vessel. Add salt,1 pinch of food colour, and whole gram masala (2 cardamom,3 cloves and an inch of cinnamon stick). Add peeled whole potatoes and boil for 3-4 minutes or till 50% done (it will cook completely during Dum cooking). Drain water completely. Set aside for 2 minutes till dry.
3. Heat 2 tbsp ghee and 2 tbsp mustard oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and fry lightly on all sides. Remove to a plate.
4. In the remaining oil, add whole spices-4 green cardamom,1/2 cinnamon stick and 5 cloves. Stir till fragrant.
5. Add thinly sliced onion and little salt. Cook until golden brown. Add marinated mutton and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add garam masala powder and aloo Bukhara. Mix well and cook for a minute. Add 1/3 cup hot water and mix well. Transfer this to a pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 5-6 whistles over medium-low heat,till the mutton is completely cooked and soft. Open the lid after 15 minutes. Add fried potatoes and mix well.
6. Meanwhile boil water in a large vessel adding whole spices, ghee and salt (remaining ingredients). Add soaked and drained rice and cook until the rice gets 75% done. Switch off and drain onto a colander.
7. Smear ghee in a heavy-bottomed oven-safe vessel. Add cooked mutton and spread on the bottom. Sprinkled 2 tbsp grated mawa on the meat. Top it with cooked rice followed by ghee, a pinch of garam masala powder, saffron-kewra water-meetha athar mix, grated mawa and a few drops of colour, if using. Cover tightly with an aluminium foil followed by a lid. Place a heavy weight on top of the lid.
8. Heat the Biriyani for 15 minutes. Take it out and set aside it for 15 minutes.
9. Or cook on dum-Heat the large tawa over high heat. Once hot, bring down to medium flame. Place the biriyani pot and cook for 4 minutes on medium heat. Now bring down the heat to the lowest flame and cook for 10 minutes. Switch off the flame. Let it rest unopened for another 10-15 minutes in the biriyani pot. Serve hot with boiled eggs, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and onions.

Inputs shared by Sarafat Ali from his Eid special recipes at Aminia.