Naan Bread - Stovetop recipe

Ingredients

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour include wheat flour in it, plus more for rolling,

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons plain yogurt or curd

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kalonji (nigella seeds), optional,

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, optional,

Melted butter for slathering on the finished naans

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 37 degrees C).Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl.

Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and add the kalonji and fennel seeds, if using, and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm place for minimum of 2 to 4 hours.

When you're ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, narrower at the top than at the bottom. It should be 8 to 9-inches long, 4-inches wide at its widest point and about 1/4-inch thick. Once you've formed the general shape, you can also pick it up by one end and wiggle it; the dough's own weight will stretch it out a little. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough. (If you're making the gluten-free version, you'll have better luck pressing the dough out with your fingertips, than rolling.)

Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.

Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.

After about 1 minute, pour some olive oil on the skillet and rotate and flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened, don't worry - that's typical of traditional naan! Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Pour some olive oil on the skillet and rotate the naan. Remove the naan from the skillet, brush with a bit of butter and sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt. Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naans and serve.

Tips:

The kalonji(nigella) and fennel seeds are optional, they give the burst of onion and mild licorice flavor when added. You can find them at local Indian grocery stores.

** Recipe courtesy of Aarti Sequeira from FoodNetwork.com

Baklava

Sweets play an important role in the social customs of Syria as generous offerings of these sugary delights are brought by guests in appreciation of their friend’s hospitality. Pastry chefs and home-cooks make huge trays of sweets that are typically layers of filo pastry coated in ghee, or semolina cake with crushed nuts or clotted cream (ashta) fillings and dripping with sugar syrup.

Amongst the vast array of pastries, cakes and biscuits loved in Syria, baklava stands out as an all time favourite, particularly when made with pistachios from Syria’s beautiful orchards. This sweet is also available nowadays in Hyderabad, for the people who do not know it. Mostly it can be found in restaurants which serve Turkish or Lebanese cuisine so its not unknown to Hyderabadi people.

Ingredients

350g ghee or unsalted butter

375g pack filo pastry

2-3 cups of walnuts or pistachio

2 tbsp of sugar

2 teaspoons orange blossom water

1 tsp of rose water

Syrup

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

½ tsp rose water

1/2 tsp orange blossom water

Squeeze of lemon juice

Preparation:

Melt the butter or ghee. Using a baking tray, 10 x 30cm, brush melted butter on base of the tray and start layering filo sheets, by placing one sheet down on top of the buttered surface below, and brush melted butter on the top side of each sheet.

Once half the filo sheets (about 20) are layered it’s time for the filling. To prepare the filling, crush the nuts slightly. Remove the nuts and place in large bowl. Add sugar and orange blossom and rose water and mix.

Spread the nut filling over the top sheet to form an even layer to the edge of the tray. Then continue the layering and buttering the sheets of filo pastry. Carefully cut the pastry into diamond shapes. Pour some of the remaining butter over the pastry. Bake in a pre-heated oven 175-180ºC for about 55 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the pastry is baking, prepare the sugar syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil for 15 minutes. When the syrup becomes slightly viscous, remove from heat, add the rose water, orange blossom water and mix through, add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Pour the hot syrup over the hot pastry. Let it settle and cool before cutting it. Enjoy!!

Famous Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani

Biryani originated in Persia and was brought to the South Indian state of Hyderabad by the travellers and merchants. It is a dish made up of basmati rice and spices with a combination of either meat, fish, eggs or vegetables.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Spring Lamb or Sheep Meat with bone - 4 kilos

2. 4 cups or 1.5 kilos Basmati rice
3. 3 tbsp Shazeera

4. 3 dry Bay leaves

5. 5 Cloves

6. 3 Cinnamon sticks broken

7. 2 tbsp sunflower oil

8. 1/4 cup Ghee
9. 5 strands of Saffron for flavour and colour

10. 1/4th tsp Orange food colour

11. 1 cup milk

For Marination:

1. 4 Green Chillies

2. 4 tsp Coriander powder

3. 4 tsp Cumin powder

4. 3 tsp Chilli powder or according to taste

5. 3 tsp pepper powder

6. 1 Onion cut thinly and fried till golden in colour

7. 4 tsp Salt according to taste

8. 1 bunch Corainder leaves washed

9. 1 bunch Mint leaves washed

10. 2 tsp Shahzeera

11. 4 Black Cardimoms

12. 4 Green Cardimoms

13. 4 Cloves

14. 3 Cinnamon sticks broken
15. 1/2 cup lemon juice

16. 4 tsp Ginger & Garlic paste

17. 2 tsp dry Ginger powder

18. 3 cups fresh Curd or Yogurt

19. 1/4 cup sunflower oil

Preparation:

Cut the meat into medium sized pieces in a large mixing bowl and mix all the dry ingredients used for marination starting with salt. Traditionally in Hyderabad the marination is done in 'lagan', which is a wide bowl with slightly high rising edges. Mix them well with hands or with fork. Then add all the remaining ingredients into the meat and finally add the Curd and mix well again and let it marinate for 2 hours.

Meanwhile wash the Basmati rice properly and add water to it and let it soak for upto 1 hour. The Basmati rice preferred is India Gate Classic which is aged 1 year and has fine, long grains.
Mix milk, saffron and food colour into a mixture and keep aside.
Start the cooking with boiling 15 cups of water in a big vessel or 'deghcha' which is traditionally used in Hyderabad. Then, add salt, Shazeera, dry Bay leaves, Cloves, Cinnamon sticks broken, 2 tbsp sunflower oil into it. When the water starts boiling, then add the soaked Basmati rice into it.
Keep checking the rice while it boils and stop the stove when the rice is about 3/4th cooked and not fully cooked. Then, drain the water and transfer rice into a bowl working quickly. Add the marinated meat mixture to the big cooking vessel and layer it with some rice. Then sprinkle fried onions on it, mix some rice with the leftover marination spices mixture and layer it. Then, cover it with the entire remaining rice.

Pour ghee on top in a swirly circular way.

Pour the milk and saffron mixture in a swirly circular way on the top. Cover the vessel with a lid tightly and put some weight on it. Light the stove and heat this vessel on medium heat for 5 minutes and then on very low heat for about 45 mins to an hour.
During this time the fragrant Biryani smell will start spreading in the kitchen.

Tip for smoky flavour(optional):
Prepare an aluminium foil square box. Burn a piece of charcoal till its red and put it in the aluminium foil box and pour 1/2 tsp of Ghee on top of it and sprinkle some garam masala.
Put this box immediately on top of the cooked Biryani and close the lid. Let it remain there for 5 minutes, then remove this aluminium foil box from the Biryani vessel. This step will give an original charcoal, smoky flavour to the Biryani.

Remove the Biryani from heat and then you will notice the cooked rice grains standing vertically on top. Mix it from bottom to top and serve with cut boiled eggs, fried onions, and cashews on top of serving dish. Enjoy !!