in a medium bowl, add oil, vinegar, and seasonings, use your salad fork to give it a quick whisk
add arugula and use your hands to toss and coat the greens evenly; you can give them a bit of a massage to help soften, but nothing too rough
use a vegetable peeler to shave parm on top
serve immediately; this salad won’t be great if it’s sitting out for hours
Nutrition
whole recipe (1 serving): 139 calories
Notes
This recipe is suuuuper basic, resulting in an acidic, lightly dressed salad. Adjust all amounts to your preferences.
I prefer my salad dressings to be tart and not overly oily, but the standard vinaigrette ratio is usually 2 parts oil to 1 parts acid. Do whatever you like better. I also prefer very lightly dressed salads. If you like more dressing, increasing those ingredients or use fewer greens.
The greens can be whatever you have on hand: spring mix, spinach, dandelion greens, celery tops, carrot greens, etc. Use what you have.
The Acid
Feel free to swap out any acidic component for the balsamic. Fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, etc. Here I used a good quality Balsamic, which is a bit sweet naturally. If you’re using a low quality Balsamic (which definitely has it’s place), start with about half and build up from there.
Unfussy biryani made from leftover salan, on the stove top or the Instant Pot. Use any shorba or qorma wala salan that has a tomato onion masala base. See Notes section for a “salan” hack if you don’t have any on hand.
The stove top version is unfussy from using leftover salan and also from only making 1 layer, in a wide, shallow paella pan (if you have one). If you don’t have such a pan, use whatever pot you have, and you can do multiple layers if you want.
wash rice thoroughly 4-5 times, and set to boil with 1 tsp salt in medium sized pot; cook until 80-90% done
heat a large, wide paella pan, add oil until shimmering, add onions to brown along with the potatoes
add tomatoes and cook until they start to break down
add half the jalapeño and all the Shan masala, sauté a few minutes to infuse oil with flavor and mix thoroughly
add salan, mix thoroughly
add yogurt; mix
cook gravy down until mostly “dry” and oil starts to separate, reduce heat to minimal
gravy should taste a little too salty and overspiced at this stage
spread gravy out in an even layer
strain rice (should be about 85% done, but it’s not that deep), spread evenly on top of the gravy in a single layer
sprinkle cilantro, mint, and the rest of the jalapeño on top; cover with a tight-fitting lid, set to steam for ~15 minutes at lowest heat setting
fluff up and serve
Instant Pot
The instant pot version is even more unfussy, because there’s no layering whatsoever, it’s all cooked together, pulao style, and made in just one pot. No futzing about with getting the rice to 85% done, etc. Down side is that the rice will all be one color, not variegated like when it’s layered.
mode: sauté temp: medium
wash rice thoroughly 4-5 times, set aside to soak for 30-60 minutes
when IP is hot, add oil, onions, salt; cook until onions start to brown
add tomatoes, potatoes, half the jalapeños, cook until they start to break down
add Shan masala, mix thoroughly and cook for 1-2 minutes
add salan, mix and cook down
add yogurt; mix
cook gravy down until mostly “dry” and oil starts to separate; turn off sauté mode
drain rice and add to instant pot, along with 675g water
use your judgement; if your gravy is a bit wet (maybe you had to periodically deglaze with water), use slightly less water
sprinkle cilantro, mint, and remainder of the jalapeño on top, close the lid
pressure: high time: 4 minutes release: 5 minute natural release
open lid and fluff rice;
if it looks a little wet, leave the lid off and let the rice air out after fluffing, periodically fluff again so the rice on the bottom has a chance to air out as well
notes
The Sukhi’s brand chicken curries from Costco make a great base here; mango coconut curry flavor works better than the tikka masala, as it’s more mildly spiced. One pouch is enough for this recipe (the Costco pack contains 2 pouches).
Any tomato-based salan will probably work; I’ve even made leftover biryani from an Italian chicken dish I’d made, so don’t be shy to experiment. The biryani masala is quite strong and will overpower most existing flavors.
can be made vegetarian easily
can also add goodies like dried plums when making the gravy
Biryani Masalay
There are other biryani mixes available, even from the same brand, and I’ve used several when making this recipe—but none of them give the perfect biryani flavor that I get from the Shan Special Bombay Biryani mix, so I stick with it.
If you have others on hand, use them at your own risk. Here are some of my notes below:
Shan regular biryani mix is…fine, but nothing really to write home about, it’s missing whatever gives the Special Bombay Biryani its chatpata zing
National brand is ok but heavier on the laal mirch, so use a more sparing hand
Lazizah was basically all mirch, so use a very light hand; also, very few other notes could be detected; do not recommend
See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.
in a saucepot on the stove, gently melt butter and add garlic; cook until fragrant, a minute or two
add heavy cream and parm
add salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes; simmer gently as sauce thickens
add greens and sundried tomatoes
when sauce thickens to desired consistency, turn off heat, add lemon juice and stir
If adding to pasta, set pasta to boil before starting the sauce and add it to the saucepot along with a little bit of pasta water once done. Stir to coat thoroughly and serve.
Notes
if the sauce is too thick, thin with milk or water (whatever you have on hand)
can also use milk or half and half if you don’t have cream, but may have to cook down longer to thicken
This recipe was completely eyeballed, so all amounts are estimates; adjust to your tastes and preferences. If unsure, start with a little and add more if needed. Don’t be scared, it’s not that serious.
amount
ingredient
1 cup
strawberries, fresh, sliced
~15
mozzarella balls, fresh, small
2-3 T
basil pesto
to taste
salt
to taste
black pepper, fresh cracked
drizzle
olive oil
to taste
lemon juice, fresh
1 bag
spring mix
handful
arugula
2 T
balsamic vinaigrette
Process
Add all ingredients up through lemon juice into a bowl and mix thoroughly
In a separate bowl, mix the spring mix, arugula, and dress lightly with balsamic vinaigrette
To plate, fill individual salad bowls with salad greens and top with the strawberry caprese mix
Notes
toasted walnuts (or any other nut you prefer) would go great here
can pair with chicken breast as well for a protein boost
You can use any fresh mozzarella you want, I just had the little balls on hand, so that’s what I used; I tore them in half and squished them a bit
cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving
Notes
The covering and chilling is actual pretty vital to this recipe, although it’s tempting to skip the step. If you eat it right away, the flavors will feel off and disjointed, maybe too sweet or too tart. But once it’s had a chance to meld together in the fridge, everything becomes much more cohesive.
Also known as “chikad chole” or “chikar chole” which translates to “muddled chick peas”.
Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. If you cook desi food often, you likely already have them all on hand. I’ve broken the process down into its simple, individual components for the sake of clarity.
Because this is a recipe that uses interesting techniques, I highly recommend reading through the whole post before getting started.
Credits
Recipe adapted from Flavour of Desi Food. Watch the video linked to see the process and also if you’re confused on any particulars (like, “how much is 3 pieces of cinnamon?”). I’ve adapted the recipe from her, so there are some small changes, but the video is an excellent resource regardless.
Shoutout to user farzadalirdofficerscci4689 who dropped the written recipe in the comments. You a real one.
ingredients
amount
ingredient
500g
chickpeas, dry
1 tsp
baking soda
1 tsp
salt*
110g
oil
1 T
ginger garlic paste
1 small
onion
1 tsp
salt*
1 tsp
cayenne
1 tsp
chili flakes
1 tsp
turmeric
1 tsp
black pepper
1 small
potato
~½ cup
water
3 pieces
cinnamon
3
black cardamom
1 tsp
cumin powder
1 tsp
coriander powder
1 tsp
chole powder**
1
chicken bouillon cube
1 tsp
amchur powder
115g
yogurt, whole milk (dahi)
3 cups
chickpea cooking liquid (aqafaba)**
1 tsp
dried fenugreek (kasuri methi)
1
jalapeño, thin sliced
to taste
cilantro, fresh
*salt is listed twice, as it’s used in 2 places **see notes
Onion paste
Making the onion paste is easy: just blend 1 small onion into a smooth paste. I used a mini food processor that came with my stick blender, but you could use a stick blender, regular blender, or even a spice grinder.
I used a mix of red and yellow onions, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
Thickening paste
Boil the small potato until fork tender. Since this will be blended up, I did not bother to peel the potato (and I like potato peels, anyhow, so why do more work?). I just cut out any suspicious areas or eyes in it and set it to boil. Once done, let cool. You can cut it into a few pieces to help speed up the process.
To the potato, add a ½ cup of cooked chickpeas, and the ~½ cup of water. Blend until a smooth paste forms. I used the same mini food processor from the onion paste.
Naturally, because it uses some of the cooked chickpeas, this thickening paste must be made after the chickpeas are cooked, so it can’t be prepared ahead of time.
Spices
Everything was made easier by portioning out my spices ahead of time since the flavors are layered in different stages. I prepped as many things ahead as I could, particularly the dry ingredients so that I wasn’t worried about measuring or missing something during the cook.
I combine anything that’s going in together in the same bowl, no need for individual ramekins for each spice.
bowl 1
bowl 2
bowl 3
salt
cumin powder
chicken cube
cayenne
coriander powder
amchur powder
chili flakes
chole powder
turmeric
black pepper
I also took out and set aside the cinnamon and black cardamom.
Process
This recipe requires a bit of planning ahead, but does offer some downtime in which to multitask and prep ingredients (see previous section). I’ve listed the processes below with this in mind to help streamline everything.
Overnight soak
Add dry chickpeas and baking soda to a large mixing bowl and fill it with water. Yes, fill it—the chickpeas will expand considerably and drink up most of it. Cover the bowl with a dinner plate / tea towel / aluminum foil (whatever you have on hand) and let soak for 12 hours.
Cooking the chickpeas
After 12 hours, drain the chickpeas and rinse them under cold water. Add them to the Instant Pot along with 1 tsp of salt, then cover with water. There should be enough water in the pot to cover the chickpeas with and an additional 2″ of water on top of that.
pressure: high time: 14-16 minutes release: 20 minutes natural release
When done, DO NOT DRAIN!
This is a good place to make the thickening paste using ½ cup of the cooked chickpeas.
If you’re using your IP for the rest of the cook, then transfer the chickpeas with their cooking liquid back to the mixing bowl (you washed it, right?), cover, and set aside. Wash the IP insert and move onto making the base gravy.
Base Gravy
add oil + ginger garlic paste to Instant Pot
sauté: medium
spread paste around evenly and cook gently until fragrant, ~30 seconds
add onion paste and cook, stirring periodically, until it changes color to an even, toasty brown and most of the water has evaporated
sauté: low
add the first round of spices (bowl 1) and sauté for 1 minute; the heat is reduced so that the spices don’t burn
sauté: medium
add the thickening paste and sauté well until everything is nicely incorporated; this may take several minutes
if the potato mixture is quite thick, it may stick to the pan; if this happens, add water as needed (a few tablespoons at a time) and scrape the bottom frequently so nothing burns
add cinnamon and black cardamom, cook for 2-3 minutes
add the next round of spices (bowl 2) and mix thoroughly
crumble up the chicken cube and add it to the gravy along with the amchur powder (bowl 3); mix
Bring It All Together
add cooked chickpeas and yogurt; mix mix mix
add the aquafaba and stir to combine everything; it will be pretty soupy at this point
cook uncovered for ~20 minutes until the salan reduces to your desired consistency
stir regularly and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking
as you stir, crush the chickpeas against the sides of the pot to muddle everything together, make it thicker and give it the signature look
Finishing
Add all the fenugreek and half the cilantro + jalapeño slices (reserve the other half for garnish); mix thoroughly and cook for ~3 minutes.
Notes
be generous with the ginger garlic paste; I use a heaping tablespoonful
the original recipe listed “garam masala” but I dislike it a lot, so I substituted with a boxed mix (Shan or other brand) of generic “chole masala”…you could probably get away with using any sort of box mix spice blend here. Or use garam masala if that’s your thing. If you have none of those, skip it.
aquafaba is the sometimes foamy, cloudy liquid leftover from cooking chickpeas, which we’ll hold onto and won’t discard in this recipe; this is NOT the soaking water that the chickpeas sat in overnight (which had baking soda added to it)
I made this entire recipe in my Instant Pot (first cooking the chickpeas, and then the whole dish in it), but you could make it on the stove top just as easily. I do recommend using the IP or another pressure cooker to cook the actual chickpeas themselves because that will take a lot longer any other way. But apart from that, you can proceed with the rest using any pot you prefer.
See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.
