Arunachal Pradesh food recipes

1. Kajjikayalu (fried sweet)

Ingredients:

• 150 gm white flour
• 2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

For stuffing:

• 100 gm jaggery or sugar
• 25 gm cashew nuts (roasted & crushed)
• 25 gm almonds (roasted & crushed)
• 25 gm Raisins
• 1 cup of grated dry coconut
• 2 teaspoon powdered cardamom
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• Vegetable oil for deep fry

Preparation:

1. Sieve the flour, melted ghee and knead to a smooth dough by adding
   enough water.
2. Cover and leave it for an hour.
3. Mix all the ingredients for stuffing.
4. Make small balls from the dough, roll them like a thin pooris, place 1-2
   tablespoon of the prepared stuffing on one side of the poori and fold the
   other side over and press the ends together firmly.
5. Heat the oil in a pan and deep fry the stuffed pooris till golden brown.
6. Store in an air tight container after cooling.

2. Dosakai Pappu (Cucumber Dal)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium size cucumbers
• 1 cup of toor dal
• 2 red chilies
• 1 tablespoon black gram (urad dal)
• 1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tablespoon red chili powder
• 2 tablespoon curry leaves
• 2 tablespoon tamarind pulp
• 2-3 tablespoon mustard oil
• Salt and sugar according to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel cucumber and cut in medium sized pieces & keep aside.
2. Wash & boil the toor dal till it soft.
3. Heat the oil in a pan, sauté the red chili, black gram, mustard
   seeds, cumin seeds and asfoetida.
4. Add cucumber, tamarind pulp and half cup of water, cook it on low flame.
5. When it is done, add pre-boiled toor dal, chili powder, salt and sugar to
   taste and stir well.
6. Cook it for 5 min on medium flame with cover.
7. Sprinkle the curry leaves on top and cover it for sometime.
8. Serve cucumber dal with plain rice.

3. Simple Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken (leg piece or cut in big pieces)
• 4-5 cup of milk
• 250 gm onion (cut in thin slices)
• 6-7 green chilies (chopped)
• 2-3 tablespoon kashmiri chili powder
• 100 gm butter
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• Salt & sugar according to taste

Preparation:

1. Wash the chicken properly and marinate for 5 hours with kashmiri
    chili powder and salt.
2. After 5 hours, Heat the oil in a pan and then add butter.
3. Add onion slices and fry it till the light brown.
4. Add pre-marinated chicken and fry it properly.
5. Add salt according to taste and cook it some time in a low flame with cover.
6. Add milk, chopped green chili, 1 tablespoon of sugar and cook it until the
    chicken becomes soft.
7. When the gravy becomes dry , off the gas.
8. Enjoy simple chicken with Paratha or Roti.

4. Rohu fish kalia (Rohu fish in thick gravy)

Ingredients:

• 500 Gm of dressed Rohu fish (kata pona-scaled off)
• 50 Gm of yogurt
• 2 medium sized onion (chopped finely)
• 2 spoonful of ginger garlic paste
• 2 medium sized potato, halved

Preparation:

1. Marinate the pieces of the fish in haldi powder and salt for few minutes
2. Then fry it lightly in mustard oil and keep it aside
3. Fry the chopped onion with teipata till the onion becomes golden brown
4. Lightly fry the ginger garlic paste with the onion in low flame (add one pinch of salt) otherwise the ginger will be over fried and become bitter
5. Add yogurt to it
6. Add 2 cups of water to it with a half spoon of haldi powder
7. Add salt according to taste and keep full flame
8. When the water start boiling adds the fried fishes to it and keeps it in full flame for 5 minutes
9. When the gravy become thick then add 3/4 crystals of sugar and turn off the flame
10. Rohu kalia is prepared and enjoy it with plain rice .

5. Pulihora (Tamarind Rice) 

Ingredients:

• 2 cup of basmati rice
• 1/2 cup of thick tamarind pulp
• 2 tablespoon curry leaves
• 2 teaspoon urad dal
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup of cashew nuts
• 2 dried red chilies (chopped)
• 2 green chilies (chopped)
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 4 tablespoon sesame seeds powder
• 4-5 tablespoon veg. oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Wash the rice and cook it with enough water (do not overcook).
2. Spread the cooked rice in a vessel and sprinkle turmeric powder, 2 tablespoon oil, salt,
   tamarind pulp and 1 tablespoon curry leaves.
3. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and sauté the urad dal, mustard seeds and cashew nuts.
4. Then add ginger, dried chili, green chili, asafoetida and curry leaves.
5. Fry for a while, remove from fire and add with rice.
6. Sprinkle sesame powder and mix it well and cover with a lid for an hour.
7. Tamarind rice is ready to serve with yogurt or any curry..

6. Prawn Jhal-Freji

Ingredients:

• 10 big prawns (dressed & washed)
• 1 big bowl mixed vegetables (cabbage, carrot, capsicum) (chopped)
• 2 big onion (chopped)
• 100 gm tomato (chopped)
• 4-5 green chili (chopped)
• 1 cup of onion paste
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 2 tablespoon garlic paste
• 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 tablespoon red chili powder
• Salt & sugar according to taste
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1-2 cup of Luke warm water

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a pan, lightly fry the pre-washed prawns and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, sauté the garlic paste and fry it well.
3. Add onion-ginger paste, turmeric-chili powder, cumin-coriander powder,
   tomato, salt and sugar according to taste.
4. Add chopped vegetables and fry it well.
5. Add pre-fried prawns and 1-2 cup of Luke warm water and cook it for
   10 min in a medium flame with cover.
6. When the gravy becomes dry and juicy, turn off the gas.
7. Serve prawn jhal freji with mixed fried rice or lemon rice or jeera rice.

7. Kulcha

Ingredients:

• 100 gm butter
• 500 gm white flour
• 100 gm semolina (suji)
• 100ml warm milk
• 2 tablespoon veg. oil
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2-3 tablespoon plain curd
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt to taste
• Lukewarm water or milk for kneading the dough

Preparation:

1. Soak semolina in the warm milk for half an hour.
2. Soak yeast and sugar in little warm water and keep aside for 5 min.
3. Sieve flour and mix it with salt to taste.
4. Make a hole in the centre of the flour and put the curd, baking powder,
   suji mixture, yeast solution, oil and mix gradually.
5. Knead to a soft stiff dough with warm water or milk and keep aside for 2-3
   hours with cover.
6. Make an equal sized balls and roll it into slightly thick rotis.
7. Grill it in tandoor till golden spots appear.
8. Every kulcha are polish with butter and serve with Chicken curry orPaneer curry.

8. Biriyani (Biryani)

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken (medium sized pieces)
• 1kg Basmati rice
• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 spoons ginger garlic paste
• 3 spoons red-chili powder
• 1/2 spoon Turmeric, 1cup coriander leaves
• 1 spoon garam masala powder
• 1 to 1/2 spoon salt ( according to taste)
• 1cup Ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2cup Yogurt, 1 cup oil
• 5 drops edible Saffron color
• 1 cup chopped onions(1)
• 1 cup finely chopped onions(2)
• 100gms Cashew nuts
• 4-5 Bay leaves
• 4-5 Lavang
• 3-4 an inch-long Cinnamon sticks
• 6-10 green chillis ground to paste
• 3-4 Cardamom pods
• 1-2 spoons shahjeera

Preparation:

1. Heat the spices in a pan on low flames for 5 minutes, then grind to make biriyani masala
2. Chicken Marination - Make deep incisions on the chicken flesh for spices to get absorbed. Mix turmeric, chili powder, salt, ginger garlic paste, yogurt.
3. Thoroughly apply this paste onto the meat and let marinate for an hour in room temperature
4. Heat about 100ml of oil. Roast shahjeera (a spoonful), cloves, cinnamon, depoded cardamom, bay leaves, 1 spoon coriander powder, and finally add chopped onions(2).
5. When onions turn slight brown, add marinated chicken and cook for about 20-30 min.
6. Add garam masala. Gravy should not be much, chicken pieces should look roasted.
7. Biriyani Rice - Meanwhile, while the chicken is still cooking, prepare the biryani rice.
8. Slightly rinse the basmati rice, and add water.
9. When it becomes half cooked, drain off the excess water. Also add 1-2 tea spoons of salt to it.
10. Take a few semi cooked grains of rice and color them with diluted saffron for garnishing.
11. The Biriyani - You will need a utensil preferably broad based (handi).
12. Apply ghee at the base of the pot.
13. First, put about half of semi cooked rice in it.
14. Next make a layer of chicken (use half the entire quantity) and top it with a layer of rice (half of the remaining rice). One more layer of remaining chicken, finally with layer of remaining rice on top ends the rice-chicken layering stage.
15. Spread the biriyani masala on each layer.
16. Heat oil and deep fry onions(1) to golden brown.
17. Similarly fry cashews.
18. Garnish the top layer of rice with these two along with 100ml ghee, saffron rice grains and coriander.
19. Lid the vessel and try making it air tight (applying flour putting).
20. Put on low flame.
21. Wait for 2-3 min and turn the vessel to heat other next part on its circumference.
22. This way, keep rotating the vessel every 2-3 min for about 20 min. Every time you turn it, carefully disturb the contents by a shaking.
23. Remove from the flame and wait for about 10 minutes before opening. Serve it with raita and enjoy... :)