The Perfect Smoked Ribs Recipe

Cooking has been considered a form of art, just like making a smoked ribs recipe the right way. Smoking ribs is a favourite family dish, whether it is done in the comfort of the home or being ordered at restaurants. Smoked ribs recipe is simple and requires a good kind of pork or beef ribs that are smoke barbequed well on a griller or oven with a flavourful marinade that is applied onto the ribs.

The kind of marinade that is applied to coat the ribs is the cook's preference depending on the chosen flavor. The marinade could taste sweet, sweet and spicy or others prefer sweet and hot. The secret to attaining good smoked ribs recipe is in the method used in cooking the ribs. The initial consideration is whether or not to use a good quality wood to smoke the ribs with. The wood for this kind should be untreated, which means it is free of any chemicals and is not rotten.

The next thing to consider for cooking a smoked ribs recipe is the smoker where the actual cooking will be done. The smoker can also be used as a charcoal grill if preferred. With the smoker, start the fire by using charcoal rather than wood on the smoking section of the smoker. When the fire is ready, spread the racks of ribs by the meat compartment of the smoker, making sure that it is placed far from the heat source to prevent burning. If the smoker does not have a divider to separate the heat source to the ribs, use brick or large stones for this. The point created here is allowing the smoke to get into the ribs without it directly hitting the heat source.

To create a good smoked ribs recipe is to close up the air valves to allow minimal air to flow out and have a low fire. This will trap the toxic part of the smoke, which is carbon dioxide, to escape into the atmosphere. Every couple of hours the ribs should be turned to allow an even cooking of the smoked ribs recipe. If necessary, add wood or charcoal so as to keep the fire alive while still barbequing the smoke ribs. The more wood or charcoal is added to the smoker, the more the smoking process is achieved. When the wood burns down, the smoker's valve could be opened to allow the airflow to exit. Smoked ribs recipe will still taste good even if the airflow is not so consistent.

To achieve a good recipe, the fire in the smoker should never die out. Make sure that the ribs cool off in the smoker before cooking is done and then have it heated up again by restarting the fire. It takes about 3-5 hours for the recipe to cook. Allow it to cool down first before serving. It is also advised to wrap the smoked ribs in a good quality foil to seal its smoky flavor.

Chicken Biryani Recipe - Secrets of Making a Perfect Biryani

If I ask you, "which is your favorite Indian rice recipe"?, I am sure your topmost answer will be "a biryani". Even in biryanis the most liked of all is a chicken biryani.

So here is a recipe for you to make a perfect biryani.

Ingredients required

Ingredients for marinating the chicken

* 1 Kilo Chicken on the bone cut into 12-16 pieces
* 1 cup of curd
* 1/2 Teaspoon turmeric powder
* 1 Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
* 1 Teaspoon of coriander powder
* a little salt

Mix all of the above ingredients and let the chicken marinate for 6-12 hours, more the better.

Herbs, spices and condiments used are as follows

* 8 cloves
* 1 Cinnamon stick
* 6 green Cardamoms
* 2 Bay leaves
* 1/2 Teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds)
* a few pinches grated nutmeg and mace each
* 1 Teaspoon Coriander powder
* 1 Teaspoon red Chili powder (to taste)
* 5-6 Tablespoon of chopped fresh mint
* 2-3 chopped green Chilies
* 4-5 chopped Tomatoes
* a whole bunch of fresh coriander leaves

For fried onions

About 8-9 medium size onions

Other Ingredients
* 500 g good basmati rice
* Oil for deep frying and 3-4 tablespoon for cooking
* 1 Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
* 1/2 cup of milk
* a few strands of Saffron (kesar)
* Desi ghee (clarified butter) about 6-7 Tablespoons
* Cashew nuts ( a few or as many as you want)
* Raisins and almonds are optional
* Salt to taste

Deep fry the onions
While the chicken is marinating, slice the onions very thin. You can use a food processor for this or a slicer. Now heat oil and fry these sliced onions in batches. The heat should be medium. Definitely not high, otherwise the onions will get burned.

Stir the onions continuously for uniform browning. When they become light brown, drain them on kitchen paper. Keep them aside. They will get nice crispy as they cool down.

Cook the Chicken

Take a deep, wide mouth vessel and heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in it. In this add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, little bit of shahi jeera and allow to crackle. Now add a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste and stir a little. Now tip out all the marinated chicken and the marinade. Cook on a high flame so that the water gets evaporated quickly. Add the chopped tomatoes, mint, green chilies, all dry powders(coriander, chili), and salt. Cook till the chicken is cooked and the gravy (masala) is not watery. Add one third of the fried onions. Mix well. Keep aside.

Parboil the rice

Boiling rice is one of the most important part of cooking a biryani. The rice needs to be parboiled. Meaning, it should be three fourth cooked. The rest of it gets cooked on dum (when we layer the chicken and rice, seal it and put on a very slow fire).

To boil the rice take a big deep wide mouth vessel, add lots of water (at least 10 times more than rice). Add ample salt (this is very important because the rice needs to be salty when cooked). Also add a cinnamon stick, a couple of green cardamoms, a few cloves and the rest of caraway seeds (shahi jeera), for flavoring the rice.

Now boil all this for a few minutes on a high flame (7 minutes or so). This is how to check if the rice is done. Without burning your fingers, take a few grains of rice (use a clean spoon to take some out of the boiling water), break a grain, if it breaks into 3 parts easily, your rice is done.

Strain the rice and spread it on a clean surface ( a tray or something), so that it cools faster. If you want to pick out the whole spices which you added, you can do that now. Or else just let them be.

Keep all these ready

Now that the rice and chicken are cooked. Fried onions are ready. You just need to get a few more things organized, so that the layering can be done.

* Chop the coriander leaves
* Boil the milk and add crushed saffron in it. Give it a stir.
* In desi ghee, fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. Also the almonds and raisins, if using. Keep aside.
* Keep some melted desi ghee aside.

Layering the biryani

Take a heavy bottom pan with a lid (non stick is best).

Take some melted ghee and grease the bottom of the pan with it. Then

* Put a layer of rice,
* Then a layer of chicken
* followed by a layer of fried onions
* then a layer of chopped coriander.

Repeat and finish off with the rice layer. Lastly, sprinkle the leftover fried onions (if any), cashews and other nuts. Pour the saffron milk on top. Also pour some desi ghee down the sides of the pan and some on top of the rice. It will trickle down with the heat.

Yep, you are done. Seal the lid by sticking it with some chapati dough or simply fix a big foil before placing the lid. The idea is to restrict the steam from escaping. Place this pot on a very slow flame. Ideally place this vessel on top of another flat pan or tawa, so that the bottom of the pan doesn't come in direct contact with the heat source.

Leave for one hour. When you open it, what you get is the magical, flavorsome and aromatic chicken biryani. Please dig in. Don't forget to prepare a riata while your biryani is cooking. Enjoy hot biryani with a cold raita.

Cook Books - Guide For a Perfect Cooking Experience

A cook book necessarily relates to a particular kind of book which contains information regarding to recipes, ingredients to be used and also some tips and advice about the basics of cooking.A recipe book is often called as the Bible of the Cooks which helps them in keeping a proper direction during the food preparation.Cookery books for most of us will mean that we will become a decent cook and it will help us in increasing our culinary knowledge and skills.

The books related to culinary art have a rich historical background and have been written from times immemorial.They have differed from one region to another depending on the eating habits and cooking styles of that area.The earliest collection of recipes that has been found in Europe is De re coquinaria, which was written in Latin.There was an even earlier version of cookery book which was compiled in the 1st century.But all these historic books were more of a compilation of favorite recipes of the author or a training manual for the chefs who were trained to cook for banquets and elite households.They did not include the food and cuisines popular among the peasants and the common mass.The earliest cookbooks known in Arabic are those of al-Warraq (10th century) and al-Baghdadi (13th century).

But the modern culinary guides are more of a reference material and are widely used in almost all the kitchens.These came into existence in the later centuries.These books not only provided information about the recipes but also encompassed other relevant overall instruction for both kitchen technique and household management.Such books were written primarily for housewives and occasionally domestic servants as opposed to professional cooks.

These days, cookery books are far more than just a simple reference book for the kitchen.There are several types of recipe guides available that offer in-depth, step-by-step recipes aimed at the beginner and also those of us who require simple instructions to progress from one level to another one.

There are many types of cookery books which are available online as well as in the open market.The celebrity chefs have also given a major boost to this venture as most of the recipes that they have shown on their shows have been converted into books.There are many celebrity chefs like Nigella Lawson, Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, Jeff Smith, Madhur Jaffrey who have come out with a variety of cook books, each specializing in their own style of cooking.

Regional and ethnic setting also plays an important in a book related to cooking.The recipes and cuisines vary from one region to another and accordingly the ingredients and the procedure of cooking also changes.International Cookbooks focus on the recipes and cuisines of various countries and regions.

Some of the books focus on a single subject like the ingredients, cooking technique or a particular type of dish.Single subject cookbooks are highly focused and have the maximum amount of information regarding a particular subject.
Some of the recipe books focus on the Quick Meal Ideas and have a compilation of such recipes which can be prepared in a short time with the use of minimum ingredients.

Apart from this, a variety of culinary art material is available that focuses on the dietary specifications and is more used by people who have dietary restrictions and also by people who believe in eating healthy.Some of these books are mainly focused for the vegetarian readers and users and give information about different types of vegetarian dishes and their preparation techniques.

Some of the major cooking guides which are in demand in the market could be as follows:

The Pleasures of Cooking for One, by Judith Jones
Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More, by Andrea Nguyen
Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen, by Ruth Reichl
Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking, by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo,
The New Basics Cookbook by Sheila Lukins
Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages by Mario Batali
Flavor by Rocco DiSpirito
Thai Food by David Thompson
The Good Cook Book Series - 27 books by Time-Life Books

Cooking Perfect Risotto

Cooking Perfect Risotto

Risotto is an important part of Italian cuisine, but making the perfect risotto takes a bit of practice. Beyond that, risotto needs just the right timing and concentration. This could be why your risotto never tastes as good as the stuff you order in a restaurant, or why the restaurant cannot compete with your Italian grandmother's risotto.

How To Buy

Cooking the perfect risotto starts with buying the right rice. You should look for round or semi-round rice to start with. The best type for cooking risotto is Arborio. Long-grained rice is going to lead to inferior risotto because the strands stay separate. You should also avoid minute rice as it will also stay separate and will not absorb the condiments.

Cooking Risotto

When cooking the perfect risotto you will generally follow the same basic procedure, though there may be some minor variations in different recipes. You will start by mincing a small amount of herbs and/or onion as called for in the recipe. You will sauté this in an abundant amount of olive oil, to which you will add the rice. You will need to continue to stir vigorously to prevent the mixture from sticking to pan. Once the rice becomes translucent you will add in a ladle of broth. You will then need to continue to stir until the liquid is absorbed. Stirring is important.

If the grains of rice dry out too much they will flake. You will continue to add broth a ladle at a time as the rice absorbs it until you have reached al dente. Firm risotto should be timed so that the liquid is entirely absorbed, whereas soft risotto should have a little liquid left. Then, depending on the recipe, you will add butter and cheese, before turning off the flame and covering the risotto.

It will need to sit for a few minutes before serving. If you want perfect risotto that is richer, you could add about a quarter cup of heavy cream along with the butter. This is known as mantecato, and is smoother than traditional risotto.

Risotto Recipes

If you are looking to use risotto as a first course, here is a recipe that you can try:

Risotto with asparagus

1 pound of fresh asparagus
Half of a small onion, sliced finely
1 and 1/2 cups of rice
1/4 cup of butter plus an additional two tablespoons. You could also substitute ¼ cup of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter.
1 cup of grated Parmigiano cheese
Save the water that the asparagus was cooked in, along with enough broth to make a quart. This will need to be simmering.
Salt and white pepper

To make this perfect risotto, you will first need to clean and boil the asparagus until it can be easily penetrated by a fork. Remove from the water using tongs, and trip the tips from the stalks. The green part of the stalks should be cut into one inch lengths. The white ends can be returned to the pot with the broth.

Sauté the onion using half of the butter or olive oil. Once the onion has become translucent, you can add the rice. Once the rice has also become translucent, you should stir in the lengths of the asparagus stem. Add the liquid in a ladle at a time, being careful not to add any of the white stems.

Continue cooking as explained above, and when the rice is nearly cooked add in half of the reserved asparagus tips. Season the risotto as needed, and once it has reached al dente remove from the heat and add the butter and cheese. Allow to stand before serving, and then garnish with the remaining tips. This recipe will serve four to six people.

Secrets to Making the Perfect Cookie

If you've wondered about the secret to baking perfect cookies, keep in mind that there are several factors that contribute to making a cookie turn out just right.

First, begin by making sure you have all the ingredients asked for in your recipe and that you understand all the terms.

Be sure you have all the ingredients called for and that you understand the recipe clearly.

Get all your pots, pans and equipment assembled in one place. Clear out a work area or a portion of the kitchen counter before you start work. Baking demands accuracy in measurement as well as method. Makes sure you use standard measuring cups and spoons.

While measuring liquids like oil, water and milk use a clear glass or plastic measuring cup. To measure the level of liquid in a measuring cup, place it on the counter and bend down to check the liquid at eye level.

Check the expiration dates on both the baking soda and baking powder. Sift the baking powder and baking soda along with the flour before you add in any of the wet ingredients. This way the baking powder and soda will spread through the cookie dough evenly and you will not end up with cookies with large gaps in them.

Makes sure you do not use more baking soda than asked for in your recipe. Too much baking soda results in cookies that have a salty, chemical-like flavor. If you are cooking at a high altitude, leave out the baking soda completely. The lower pressure at high altitude areas makes the cookie dough spread automatically so the additional baking soda is not required.

Use the exact kind of flour specified in the recipe. Cake flour, all-purpose flour and bread flour all work differently. While measuring flour, make sure you use level off the top using a spatula so that your measurements are exact.

Before adding in nuts, smell as well as taste them to see they are fresh. Nuts contain oil that can leave a rancid smell if stored for too long.

Check that the eggs are within the expiration date. Ensure that you use the right size of eggs. If the recipe calls for large size eggs, don't substitute medium sized eggs.

To make a good cookie dough, you should ensure that the butter is at room temperature. Do not melt the butter in the microwave, as it will turn too soft. Take the butter out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you plan to start getting the rest of your ingredients together. If you are short on time, cut up the butter into smaller pieces or grate the butter. This will increase the surface area and help the butter melt faster.

In case you are using shortening, make sure it smells right. Many of the newer trans-free shortenings tend to have a very short shelf life and give out a bad smell. So make sure all your efforts do not go waste due to foul smelling shortening.