Assalamo alykum, we are almost to the end of Ramadan. Tomorrow will be the last Friday of Ramadan knows as Jumma tul Vidah. A farewell to Ramadan and sign of eid is just around the corners. Welcome to the Ramadan An Event to share. Today we have  Farzana   from Bangladesh and she blogs at Cook Your Own Way. She is sharing an eid recipe with us. 

 

Hi, I am Farzana. I am a food lover and I love to cook. I loved cooking since I was a kid and now I am following my passion for cooking and sharing it with the world through my blog. I love cooking all kinds of food but I love to bake breads most.Eid is the biggest festival in Bangladesh. After one month of fasting, Eid is the day of indulgence. Every family has their own Eid special dish. In my home it is Khichuri (rice and daal cooked together) served with spicy beef and pumpkin curry. Ramadan is also very special for us. Having a wide spread of food everyday, to break our fast is a must. I am from old Dhaka and it is particularly famous for its food. People come to old Dhaka from all around the city to buy iftaar from the biggest iftar bazaar. Old Dhaka is famous for its fragrant  Tehari and Biryani. The recipe I am sharing is called Beef Tehari. Its basically beef and rice cooked together in Mustard oil. It gives it a great aroma. Also the rice used for this, is short grain pilaf rice. You can cook it with basmati rice too. After long day of fasting this is a favorite dish in my family. I got this recipe from my mom. Its very close to my heart.

You will need:

• 1 kg bone in beef. Cut into small pieces.
• 1/2 kg good quality pilaf rice. (I use Bangladeshi chinigura rice)
• 2 medium size potato cut into cubes.
• 1 cup mustard oil (you can use vegetable oil. But mustard oil is better)
• 1 cup yogurt or butter milk
• 250 gram onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic paste
• 4 piece of cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 whole cardamom
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 1 teaspoon mace powder (its the outer husk of nutmeg. You can find in amazon or any Asian store)
• 2 tablespoon milk powder
• 6 green chili.
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• 1 tablespoon kewra water (you can find at Asian stores)
• Salt to taste.
• 
  Direction:

1. Heat the mustard oil in a pot.
2. Mix the ginger paste, garlic paste, nutmeg powder and mace powder with the buttermilk.
3. Now in the oil add the bayleaf, onion, cinnamon and cardamom first. Cook until onion is soft. 
4. Now add buttermilk mixture. Add salt. Let it come to a boil and cook until it thickens and starts to separate from the oil.
5. Add the meat now and let it come to a boil. Once it boils add plenty of hot water too cook the meat over medium low heat until meat is tender. Use plenty of water because when the meat will be almost cooked we will add potatoes. It will take about 1 to 2 hours. Depending on the type and the cut of meat you are using.
6. Once the meat is almost done add the milk powder, green chili and the potatoes. Cook until potatoes are soft. Make sure not to cook the potatoes too soft. They should be cooked through but still be able to hold their shape.
7. Take the potatoes out of the meat. (I know its hard to take the potatoes out from the meat separately but it gives better result in the end). The gravy should be really thick. If its still too thin and too much gravy left then put it on high heat and let it reduce). Take the meats out of the gravy now.
8. Wash the rice 3 to 4 times to get rid of extra starch. Now is the tricky part. Its tricky because you have to cook the rice in the gravy and you need to add water accordingly. The gravy makes the cooking liquid thick so adding too much water will make the rice too soft and adding less will keep the rice undercooked.
9. If you have a rice cooker then you can make it easily. I use rice cooker. What I do is, I measure the rice with rice cooker cup. I put the washed rice in the rice cooker and then I add the gravy.  I add the water as per the measurement of rice cooker until it reaches the line for the amount of water needed for that amount of rice.
10. If you are using stove top, cook the rice as you usually do but add water accordingly to the amount of gravy you are using and adjust it.
11. If there is not enough salt in the gravy, you have to add extra salt while cooking the rice. I taste the water and if I find it less salty, I add little more for the rice.
12. When rice is half way cooked, my mom always takes a spoon and gently rotate the rice. Bringing the top portion to the bottom and bottom to the top. It makes the rice cook evenly. I find that, its also useful to do the same, even when you are cooking in rice cooker, as the gravy makes the water so thick so it helps to cook the rice evenly. Use a spoon to mix the rice in the rice cooker.
13. When rice is almost done add the rose water, kewra water, and the meat. Mix it gently. Now add the potatoes on top and let it steam for further 10 minutes over low heat. If you are using rice cooker press the cook button again. There is always some gravy left with the meat once you press the cook button it will be absorbed.
14. Serve hot with tomato cucumber salad and fresh lime or lemon wedges.

Tips: you  can cook the meat day before and make the actual dish later. Which saves a lot of time.

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