This easy and extremely delicious recipe was given to me by Sameer’s mom, our beloved Ammi, may God rest her soul in peace. She was and remains in our hearts and memories as a strong and amazing woman, and of course one of the best cooks. I am so thankful to have written this delicious recipe and have this opportunity to share it with you all. I cook this recipe almost every month and eat it with khichri (rice + lentils) like Sameer’s family always does. Khichri? You ask. Yes, khichri, an unexpected, but exquisite combination!

Sammy’s Kitchen is a new cooking show privately produced by Sameer and Samreen Saadi (s2elements.com) where we try a variety of recipes given to us by our family, friends, found on the net or simply created by ourselves.

Music by: sifr (Thanks Sameer Saadi!)
Video Production, Camera Angulations, & Editing by Sameer

In this 2nd webisode, we bring to your kitchens, the scrumptious and absolutely delicious Hyderabadi Biryani (by popular demand/multiple requests).  ”Biryani” is a meat + rice + spice (or veggies + rice + spice) dish, originating from Persia, and was brought to the South Asian/Indian subcontinent mainly by Muslim merchants and travelers.  And interestingly, Biryani is not only eaten in Pakistan and India, but its many variations can also be found in Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, etc. to name a few more countries.

The meat/veggies are cooked separately from the rice and then layered and steamed (dum‘ified – dum daytay hain! – Main bhi kahoon tu bhi kahay, dum duma-dum!). Hyderabadi Biryani, mainly non-vegetarian, is cooked the same way, and uses fried onions and yogurt to create the meat masala and finally topped off with saffron. (This is different from the “Kachchay Gosht ki Biryani” or the Raw Meat Biryani, also famous in Hyderabad, where the raw meat masala and uncooked rice are layered and cooked together.)

This is our family recipe and has been passed down in my Dad’s family who are originally from Hyderabad, India. And although my Mom (born in Aligarh, India) only grew up in Hyderabad, it was after she and my Dad got married that she quickly learned and adopted the Hyderabadi styles and ways of cooking, still keeping her own “Hindustani” cooking alive.

And since my Dad loved to cook so much, I often witnessed this heavenly biryani (and many other amazing Hyderabadi/Non-Hyderabadi dishes) being made by both my Mama and Pops.  Their duo created, by far, THE BEST Hyderabadi Biryani I have ever, EVER eaten – the perfectly cooked rice bursting with the rich aroma of saffron, accompanied by the finger-licking good meat masala that was always balanced in salt and spice and tenderness and taste!

My lovely Mama & My beloved Pops – This one’s for both of you – for giving me your cooking genes. And I can’t thank both of them enough for passing the recipe on and giving me the opportunity to share it with you as well!

Comments, suggestions, critiques, likes, dislikes are welcome! The few sentences I speak in the “intro” are in Urdu, but in the Hyderabadi accent… an accent often made fun of because, well, it does sound funny! It doesn’t stop me from randomly throwing out a phrase here and a word there in Hyderabadi!

Bon Appetit and we humbly apologize for the delay in getting this 2nd webisode out!

(Thank you Shuja Bhai for the technical suggestions and feedback!)

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Sammy’s Kitchen is a new cooking show privately produced by Sameer and Samreen Saadi (s2elements.com) where we try a variety of recipes found on the net, created by ourselves or even family recipes that have been passed down from our parents’ generation.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Butter Chicken: Deeeeeelicious and Easy!

Sammy’s Kitchen is a new cooking show privately produced by Sameer and Samreen Saadi (s2elements.com) where we try a variety of recipes found on the net, created by ourselves or even family recipes that have been passed down from our parents’ generation.

Sameer & I both love to cook and enjoy the food to the fullest – And we mean, savor every bite with a “MMMM”, an “UFF” and a “WOW!” I guess that explains the 20+ pounds we packed on since we got married!  Nothing to be proud of, but we can definitely be proud of the many cooking techniques, skills and recipes we have picked up along the way.

This is the 1st episode/webisode and we are making the famous Butter Chicken.  Hope you like the recipe and our very first cooking show!

Comments, suggestions, critiques, likes, dislikes are welcome!

Bon Appetit!

Butter Chicken’s recipe can be found on: www.sharearecipe.net (Main Dishes)

Sammy’s Kitchen Webisode 01 – Butter Chicken (Part 1)

Sammy’s Kitchen Webisode 01 – Butter Chicken (Part 2)