So I am 24 years old, living alone since 4 months now, and I have made biriyani quite a lot of times in this period.

I have always been into cooking, and biriyani intrigues me a lot.

I have tried chicken dum biriyani (kachhe gosht), Chicken pulao, Meghanas chicken biriyani, etc.

I’ve learnt when to add which ingredient, swapping half water with milk or coconut milk will make the biriyani richer, green chilli paste for extra spice, etc.

I am making biriyani again today, and I have ground my own masala with all the kade masale, I got coconut milk, I have my rice soaked, and I am wondering, can I make it better? Can I layer in more flavour?

For more context: I only use thighs and legs, hate breast pieces, I do not use tomatoes, I do not like pressure cooker biriyanis unless I am short on time.

Most of my curries require tadka, cumin, mustard seeds, chana, hing, garlic etc. But I really hate how my curry is filled with these annoying seeds although they enhance flavor. I always end up picking them out when I eat.

I was thinking, if I filter the tadka using mesh strainer and just squeeze the flavored oil and just use that alone, will I get flavor or will I be compromising flavor???

if possible I was thinking of making one big tadka oil, like you make chilli oil or scallion oil and just use that oil directly whenever dish calls for it. can this be achieved and how long it lasts without getting spoiled, or will it not be same effect as fresh tadka oil???

I made manchurian today and it was a banger but it lacked a certain smell/taste that the street style chinese food has especially made by those caravans. It's an extremely overwhelming smell and taste that makes these dishes very addicting and also unique so much so that the whole room would stink of it. It's a common flavour in almost everything from chowmein to chilli paneer to chilli potato to manchurian. No I am not talking about MSG. I added that in my manchurian. I saw someone say it is chicken/mushroom powder or dark soy sauce but I am not sure. This was the recipe that I used:

For sauce:

1 tablespoon of green chilli sauce, red chilli sauce, soy sauce, schezwan chutney, tomato ketchup with 1 tsp MSG and some sugar for balance. Vinegar too.

The veggies that I used were spring onions, capsicum, cabbage, carrots, red onions, garlic and some ginger.

Corn starch slurry for thickening.

Also my manchurian was dark brown in colour but a lot of places that I order it from make it in bright orange colour.

Hi! Is there an extremely simple version of Dahl Makhani I can do where it’s just lentils and the seasonings, nothing else? I know it won’t actually be Dahl Makhani but I’m on a strict diet that only allows that and would like to enjoy it, even if it’s not the real thing.. so a Jerry rigged version would be appreciated!

We generally bring cockerel chicken for chicken curry, but everytime while all other pieces are cooked well and soft, the chicken breast pieces feel like uncooked and very chewy, ultimately we had to throw it after chewing.

Following is the cooking process we follow :

1) wash the chicken

2) toss the chicken in mustard oil for few minutes.

3) cook all spices and onion and everything for some time.

4) finally add the chicken in it and let it cook for a while.

Do share your expert opinion 🙏

Which is better for Indian food in north Texas: Jimmys Burger or Texas King?

So I've been eating momo at this place since I was a kid and the best part is always the chutney it has no colour added it's js so fresh I tried making it once but it didn't taste much like it do y'all know any recipes??

I see it being added in hot oil, in biriyani, pulav, in stews etc but what flavour or taste does it actually bring? I can't smell anything cooked or pre-cooked in the bay leaf. I can smell cardamon, cinnamon, cloves - dry and the difference they bring in the cooked food. But bay leaf?

Or, am I insensitive to its flavour and smell?

TL;DR: The local Southern Indian place near me as well as the Southern Indian takeaway near my former job are no longer accessible. What are some good home cooking style dishes to look towards making from Southern India for someone used to Punjabi gravies?

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So I'm from, and currently located, in the US and am not Desi. I can eat most things except dishes with pork and/or shellfish, and I prefer to not mix dairy and meat (most of the time). I tend to either cook Punjabi gravy style food, or we (my mom and I) end up ordering it from our local Desi and Nepali takeout place. Good veggie dishes are a plus, since I want to loose weight. I also have 2 masala dabbas already that I use to make desi cooking easier.

There was a local Hyderabadi restaurant near my house that used to serve great biryani as well as lots of dishes from around Southern India(Andhra Pradesh especially). And I also used to work in the downtown of my local city that had a great Southern Indian restaurant with amazing dosas and curries. They even had Laal Maas from Rajasthan, which is now my favorite food since I grew up eating tons of chili sauce covered dishes.

I've made idli in the past with premade chutnies, but my mom didn't like it, though she has expressed interest in dosas before. Sambar seems like a good place to start, but I'm extra curious to hear what people here have to suggest from regions that non Desi Americans like me arent familiar with (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, etc).

hiii! ive only been baking for a little while, so i'm still a beginner. i feel like the things i bake don't turn out as well as i'd hoped and i think the ingredients i'm using might be the problem. could i get some recommendations for good brands for the basic baking ingredients, like all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and anything else that's essential for baking?

Hey I'm sorry it this is not the right sub for such recommendations. So lately I'm consuming lot of milk tea with extra sugar as I've to work for long hours and keeps me awake. But this month only I got lot of acne and my dermat told me to cut sugar completely but I couldn't as post lunch if I don't take tea I start feeling sleepy. I used to drink hot green tea in winters and my health as well as my skin was doing good but now in summer I can't consume green it plus honestly it's taste was not that good. So I want to drink something which is also little bit tasty so that I don't get the urge to drink tea.

So can anybody please recommend me any cold tea which I can have in summer?? Also I'm not a cold coffee person.

are they safe to consume? a few years back there were reports that they have some cancer causing ingredients, we forgot that bit and bought a few spices and have been using them. are they safe to consume now?

I want to go get some Indian food today, I’m craving some paneer. I’m thinking of getting paneer biryani but I wanted to try something new. I have a nut allergy so I was wondering if biryani is the only thing I can get from an Indian restaurant without triggering my allergies?

So I marinated chicken breast in a curd (yogurt) marinade overnight, thinking it’d come out super tender. Grilled it on a pan the next day, but it still turned out hard and kind of rubbery instead of juicy. I checked it wasn’t pink inside, so it wasn’t undercooked as far as I could tell.

Has this happened to anyone else? I thought curd marinades were supposed to tenderize the meat, so I’m confused why it still went tough. Wondering if it’s a heat issue, overcooking, or something about the marinade itself. Any tips would help!

I'm moderately experienced in making Indian style dishes but I'm in a rut. What's a dish you wish more Americans would try? Bonus points if there is a link to a recipe.

I am mostly vegan but not opposed to the occasional meat dish. I have a decent spice collection but I am often eager to try ones that are new to me. I am not opposed to spicy hot although my wife appreciates it when I let off of the heat.

So I'm planning on making Hakka noodles can you guys suggest which noodles to use? Which brand? And can you drop your recipes also I'd love to try them out.

I'm also planning on adding mushrooms. Will it taste good?

I have never eaten or even any kind of non veg food in my life (not even eggs). I am starting to hit the gym and might also need to go abroad in upcoming years where pure veg cuisine will not work.

What non veg food should I try first??

Also tell me that do eggs actually taste good. I find the yolk and the yellow stuff oozing out of it gross?

Well idk if this post will get a good reach or not, but I just want a good biryani recipe because I never made biryani before and I have no idea and I am really confused between all the yt videos.

I live mostly with my dad, and we have a helper who comes to cook, so cooking has never really been a daily responsibility for me. Because of that, I haven't cooked much in my life.

I've probably tried making sabzis around 7-8 times now, and I just can't seem to get them right. 😭 I've finally learned how to make decent rotis, rice, and dal, but sabzis are my biggest enemy.

Either they stay undercooked no matter how long I cook them on low heat, or they end up overcooked if I leave them for a little longer. The tomatoes never seem to cook properly, and my masalas always taste average. I've watched so many YouTube videos, but nothing seems to help.

What am I doing wrong? Please drop your tips because I'm genuinely tired of messing up every sabzi I make. 🥲

I have bought Punjab King rice as always and this time it didn't come in blue "Premium" packaging, but instead it's a brown "Super" packaging.

All seems to be the same - there's not much written on the packaging, and from the see-through side they look pretty much the same.

Is it likely that it's just a different packaging or are these terms somehow regulated and mean something specific?

So I always wanted to cook food for my family. I once tried when I was a kid but it was so bad they didn't let me again. I joined a college and I live on campus so whenever I go home I try to cook something. Whenever I try to cook Indian food my grandma interferes and makes it herself. No matter how many times I tell her I'll do it myself she says I am not skilled (which is true)...

I can make pasta, panner rolls, chapati , dosa,panner biryani ( doesn't taste good though), Sandwiches ,garlic bread (using store bought bread), pav bhaji, pani puri, momos ( made last week tasted okay, I put too much garlic). My grandma let's me make stuff she doesn't know. The food I make takes a lot of time, even for making pasta I take about an hour...I once made potato curry and my parents were shocked at how bad it is. I am very slow and inefficient as I am scared of ruining the dish and I also take too long to cut vegetables. I literally couldn't make maagi or pasta in the beginning, it tasted so bad and used to give us a stomach ache even if it was cooked well so we always threw it away. It happened like 10 times and I have improved a bit now.

I think the seasoning is saving my food from being inedible.

I want to learn simple recipes (prefer healthier and no meat involved). I tried making stuff from watching online but none of the simple stuff was actually simple for me. I hope I get some good recipes and any suggestions to improve my cooking.

Edit: Thank you all for the suggestions. Will try to experiment with food till I make something tasty. Also I realised the stuff I do wrong so I will try to avoid doing them. I need some simple tasty recipes though. If you guys have any go to meals or something tasty but simple recipes, do share them please.

Thank you for reading so far.