Sima's Kitchen Secrets

Sima's Kitchen Secrets 🌹Reviving forgotten Awadhi & family recipes
🌹 Top 12 (Season 8) Now all of you can get a taste of this awesomeness ❤️.

For the past several years, on every Sunday and on all special occasions, Sima Ahmed has served up the most delicious Awadhi biryani for family and friends in Kolkata. Her secret is the special mix of flavours and spices that she freshly grinds herself. After many years of badgering her to do this professionally - she's finally given in to pressure. For authentic, home-cooked Awadhi biryani by the

dekchi, call +91 87775 90538. She's also included chaap and halim in her menu...both equally delicious!

*All orders to be placed a minimum of 24 hours in advance*

Delighted to bring an exclusive Awadhi dining experience to Ranchi.Join me for two evenings of signature kebabs, slow-co...
04/06/2026

Delighted to bring an exclusive Awadhi dining experience to Ranchi.

Join me for two evenings of signature kebabs, slow-cooked classics, and treasured family recipes inspired by the rich culinary heritage of Awadh.

📍 Chanakya Hotel, Ranchi
📅 13 & 14 June 2026

Reservations are now open
Contact : 9279380723

[Awadhi Cuisine, Pop-up, Indian Food, Fine Dining, Ranchi, Chef Sima Ahmed]

30/05/2026

A good ingredient makes all the difference. Octorika's dried shrimp arrived neatly cleaned and required very little prep. What stood out even more was its mild aroma, allowing the natural flavour of the shrimp to shine through without an overly pungent smell.

Here's how I turned it into a quick Dried Shrimp Chutney.

Ingredients
- Dried shrimp – 200 g
- Onion – 1 large, fried until golden
- Dry red chillies – 4
- Garlic cloves – 5
- Cumin powder – ½ tsp
- Lemon juice – 1–2 tbsp
- Oil – 1 tbsp

Method
- Lightly roast the dried shrimp in a pan.
- Soak in water for 2 minutes, then wash thoroughly and drain well.
- Heat oil and fry the shrimp until aromatic.
- Coarsely pound together the fried onion, red chillies and garlic.
- Mix with the fried shrimp and cumin powder.
- Add lemon juice to taste and mix well.
- Serve as a condiment or alongside rice.

[Chef Sima Ahmed, MasterChef, Dry Fish Recipe, Octorika Fish, Quick Recipes, Protein Diet, Food Content]

08/05/2026

Zereshk Polo with Chicken

Ingredients
- Zereshk (barberry) – 150 g
- Basmati rice – ½ kg
- Chicken – 4 pieces (leg & thigh)
- Butter – 2 tbsp
- Olive oil – 5 tbsp
- White onions – 4 (thick slices)
- Garlic – 5 cloves
- Tomato paste – ½ cup
- Saffron – soaked in warm water
- Lemon juice – 1 lemon
- Turmeric – ½ tsp
- Black pepper – ½ tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Sugar – ½ tsp

Method
- Apply turmeric and salt to the chicken. Fry lightly and keep aside.

- In the same pan sauté onions in olive oil. Add tomato paste, black pepper and salt. Add a little water and bring to a boil. Add chicken, garlic and lemon juice. Cover and cook on low–medium flame for 25 minutes. Add a little saffron water and keep aside.

- Sauté zereshk in butter for 1–2 minutes. Add sugar and keep aside.

- Cook basmati rice. Mix half the rice with butter, saffron and zereshk.



[Chef Sima, MasterChef India, Turkish Recipe, Zereshk Polo, Chicken and Rice, Home Cooked Meal, Quick Recipes]

24/04/2026

Kolkata Mutton Biryani
Pichhle Itwaar humne ek daawat ke liye apni khaas Kolkata Biryani banayi thi. Ussi ki tayyari ki kuch jhalakiyan aapke saath share kar rahi hoon. Aur jo log ise ghar par banana chahte hain, unke liye puri recipe neeche di hui hai

Ingredients
- Mutton – 7 kg
- Basmati rice – 3.5 kg (soaked 2 hrs)
- Potatoes – 3 kg (large)
- Onions – 4 sliced + 4 for birista
- Ginger paste – 8 tbsp
- Garlic paste – 5 tbsp
- Red chilli powder – 5 tsp
- Coriander powder – 5 tbsp
- Yogurt – 2 cups
- Oil – 1 litre
- Ghee – ½ kg
- Bay leaves – 5
- Lemon juice – 2 lemons
- Sugar – 1–2 tbsp
- Milk – 1 cup
- Khoya – as required
- Saffron soaked in milk
- Kewra water & attar – few drops
- Salt – to taste

Whole Masala (grind)
- Black cardamom 5, black pepper 1 tbsp, cinnamon 1 stick, green cardamom 10, cloves 8, nutmeg ½, mace 1 tbsp, coriander seeds 2 tbsp, cumin 1 tsp, shah jeera 1 tsp, fennel seeds 2 tbsp.

Khushboo Masala (grind)
- ⅓ nutmeg, 15 green cardamom, 1 tbsp mace.

Method
- Heat oil, fry onions until golden (birista). Remove. In the same oil fry potatoes with a little salt, ginger and garlic until half cooked. Keep aside.
- In the same oil add black pepper and black cardamom. Add mutton and cook 15 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and bhuno well. Add chilli powder, coriander powder, yogurt, crushed birista and salt. Add little water, cover and cook on low flame until mutton is 90% done.
- Boil water with bay leaves, black cardamom, star anise and salt. Add soaked rice and cook 80% done. Strain.
- Remove roghan (oil) from the mutton gravy and keep aside. Arrange potatoes, mutton and rice in layers. Add sugar, saffron milk, khoya and fried onions between layers.
- Mix khushboo masala with the reserved roghan, little milk and lemon juice. Pour on top. Add saffron milk, kewra water and fried onions.
- Cook on high flame 20 minutes, then low flame 15 minutes.

[Kolkata Biryani, Mutton Biryani, Indian Cuisine, Chef Sima Ahmed, MasterChef India]

Thank you ItsGoa for the feature
15/04/2026

Thank you ItsGoa for the feature

29/03/2026

I always appreciate the passion and dedication that goes into building a small business. It's encouraging to see new ventures bringing creativity and craftsmanship to the table.

a budding brand creating thoughtfully designed ceramic pieces.

20/03/2026

Ingredients

- Sevai (vermicelli) – 250 g
- Sugar – 200 g
- Khoya – 100 g
- Ghee – 1 cup
- Almonds (chopped)
- Cashews (chopped)
- Dry coconut (chopped)
- Rose water – few drops
- Rose petals – for garnish
- Silver leaf – for garnish
- Saffron – few strands
- Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Method
- Heat ghee and lightly roast the semai. Keep aside.
- In another pan, boil 2 cups water with sugar and saffron to make a slightly sticky syrup.
- Add roasted semai, cardamom powder, and rose water. Cook till syrup is absorbed.
- Add crumbled khoya and mix gently.
- In a separate pan, fry chopped nuts and coconut in a little ghee and add to the semai.
- Garnish with rose petals and silver leaf.
- Serve warm.



[Sevai, Awadhi Cuisine, Indian Food, Chef Sima Ahmed, Lucknow Cuisine, Food Reels, Recipe, Eid Special Menu]

19/03/2026

Ingredients

Maida – 2 cups
Milk – 2 cups (warm)
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Green cardamom powder – ¼ tsp
Ghee – 1 cup
Saffron water – as required

Method
- In a bowl, add maida, salt, sugar, and cardamom.

- Add warm milk gradually and knead into a soft dough.

- Add ½ cup ghee and knead again until fully absorbed.

- Cover and rest the dough for 1 hour.

- Divide into portions, roll like a paratha.

- Apply saffron water and ghee on one side.

- Cook on a tawa on low-medium flame until done.

17/03/2026

Ingredients

Mutton – 1 kg

Onion (sliced) – 3 large

Mustard oil – ½ cup

Ghee – 4 tbsp

Ginger-garlic paste – 3 tbsp

Coriander powder – 2 tbsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Black pepper powder – ⅓ tsp

Red chilli powder – 2 tsp (or to taste)

Yogurt (well beaten) – ½ cup

Almonds – 10 pcs

Poppy seeds – 1 tbsp

Dry coconut slices – 5

Salt – to taste

Kewra water – 1 tsp

Whole Spices

Black cardamom – 3 pcs

Green cardamom – 5 pcs

Cinnamon stick – 1

Cloves – 4 pcs

Black peppercorns – 10

Method

Heat mustard oil and ghee in a heavy pan. Add the whole spices and let them release their aroma.

Add sliced onions and cook until slightly transparent. Add mutton and salt, and sear well. Remove the mutton and keep aside.

In the same pan add ginger-garlic paste and all powdered spices. Bhuno until the oil begins to separate.

Add the mutton back and bhuno well.

Add powdered almonds, poppy seeds, and dry coconut. Mix well.

Add yogurt and cook on low flame, stirring until the masala turns rich.

Add water as required and cook until the mutton becomes tender.

Add fried onions and cook for a few more minutes on low flame.

Finish with kewra water.

13/03/2026

Ingredients
- Mutton (thin slices, pounded) – 1 kg
- Ginger garlic paste – 3 tbsp
- Curd – 3 tbsp
- Raw papaya paste – 3 tbsp
- Roasted gram flour – 2 tbsp
- Ghee or mustard oil – 2–3 tbsp
- Salt – to taste

Pan-seared Spices (make powder)
- Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Black pepper – 1 tsp
- Black cardamom – 3 pcs
- Dry red chilli – 5 pcs
- Green cardamom – 5 pcs
- Nutmeg – ¼ piece
- Mace – ½ flower
- Poppy seeds – 2 tbsp
- Dry coconut – 6 slices
- Garlic cloves – 5 pcs
Lightly sear all the spices in a pan and grind into a fine powder.

Method
- Mix mutton with raw papaya paste and ginger garlic paste. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
- Add curd, prepared spice powder, roasted gram flour, salt, and ghee or mustard oil. Mix well.
- Marinate for 2–3 hours or overnight for best results.
- Cook on a hot pan or grill on skewers over coal until tender and lightly charred.
- Serve hot with onion, lemon, and chutney.



[Ramadan Favourites, Chef Sima Ahmed, Indian Kebabs, Eid Menu, Awadhi Cuisine]

Address

Chapel Road, Hastings
Kolkata
700022

Telephone

+918777590538

Website

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