15 Marbles

Moments.Musings.Memories. ❤️Gathering little marbles from ordinary days and keeping them for our memory jar. ❤️

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  • Chicken Biryani- Instant Pot version

    Slightly hazy photo because it was piping hot!

    [In a hurry?] Jump straight to the Recipe

    💕You can always come back for the story later💕

    My family loves my chicken biryani. It’s one dish that is often requested and makes an appearance when the kids’ friends are visiting.

    I have it on good authority that the resident teenagers are slightly biased towards my biryani over the restaurant versions.

    Maybe it’s because the spice levels are tailored to their taste buds. Or maybe it’s the warm cooking aromas floating up to their rooms or greeting them as they walk into the house.

    And just for that, I want it to turn out right – at least 99% of the time. 😃

    So, when I first got the Instant Pot, of course I had to try making biryani in it.

    I asked Google and AI, studied a couple of recipes and then worked out a version that suited my own cooking style of “just wing it.”

    It was one of the first dishes I made in the Instant Pot – my motto being, Go big or go home!

    It worked well. Luckily, because it was my first time making it, I had actually noted the timings.

    Except I didn’t release the pressure in time.

    Mushy rice.

    And I do not like mushy biryani rice.

    So I cooked it and re-cooked it until I perfected it to my liking – each grain of rice separate, just the way I like it.

    And when the husband asked me what I’d been doing differently with my biryani lately, I knew it was time to share the recipe.

    The amount of water may seem low, but trust the process. Of course, feel free to adjust the spices – and anything else – to suit your own taste.

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 500 g chicken breast, diced
    • 1.5 cups basmati rice
    • 1.5 cups water
    • 2 medium red onions
    • 1 medium tomato
    • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
    • 3–4 tbsp yoghurt
    • 2½ tbsp tandoori paste
    • 2 tbsp crushed fried onions
    • 1 tsp kasuri methi
    • 2 tsp ground coriander
    • 2 tsp ground cumin
    • 1½–2 tsp red chilli powder — add more if you like it hotter
    • 1 tsp meat masala or garam masala
    • ¼ tsp turmeric
    • Salt, to taste
    • ½ tsp cumin seeds
    • Oil, for frying and cooking
    • 8–10 strands saffron, soaked in a little warm milk
    • Fresh mint and coriander leaves, to garnish

    Preparation

    Marinate the chicken with the tandoori paste, yoghurt and crushed fried onions. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

    Wash the basmati rice well and soak for 30–40 minutes. Drain before using.

    Thinly slice 1½ onions.

    Finely chop the remaining ½ onion and the tomato in a food processor.

    Cooking

    1. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté – High. Add oil and the thinly sliced onions. Fry until golden brown and caramelised, then remove and set aside. FYI : Mine’s set for 6 minutes & I continue cooking at that temperature till I am ready to change the mode – restarting or extending time if needed .
    2. Add a little more oil to the pot, followed by the cumin seeds and ginger-garlic paste. Add a splash of water to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
    3. Add the finely chopped onion and tomato mixture, followed by the coriander, cumin, chilli powder, meat masala or garam masala, turmeric and kasuri methi.
    4. Sauté until the onion and tomato mixture is soft and mushy and the spices are well combined.
    5. Add the marinated chicken, salt and a small splash of water – I usually rinse out the marinade container. Cook for 3–4 minutes. If you use leg pieces or thighs pieces, you may need to cook the chicken longer.
    6. Add a layer of the caramelised onions over the chicken.
    7. Add the drained rice, spreading it evenly over the top, then add 3 cups of water. The rice should be fully covered. Do not stir or mix at this stage.
    8. Cancel Sauté mode. Secure the lid and cook on Pressure Cook – High for 8 minutes.
    9. Release the pressure immediately, but leave the lid closed for another 5 minutes before opening.
    10. Pour over the saffron-infused milk and let the biryani stand with the lid closed for 2–3 minutes.
    11. Gently fluff and mix, then garnish with fresh mint and coriander leaves.

    Serve hot with raita or even plain yoghurt. Enjoy !

    If you do try this recipe, do leave a comment with your feedback and any tweaks that you might make.

  • Why 15 Marbles,though?

    I have been asked this question often – almost every time I share the link to my blog.

    Some have wondered if it has something to do with how unhinged I can be – you know, the number of marbles I may have lost – while others have wondered if it has something to do with a secret hobby I may have.

    Sorry to disappoint both sides, but it literally came from a place of permanence.

    Or maybe, my desire for permanence.

    At one point, I even called myself – and my blog – The Gypsy Mumma because that’s how frequently we moved : first as a child with my parents and later with my husband.

    For work. 🙄 Nothing overly exciting, in case you were curious.

    I had moved my blog URL nearly as many times as I had moved myself from place to place. So when life finally felt a little more settled, I wanted the blog to have a permanent home too.

    And 15 Marbles became it.

    I moved all my old posts there, much like I had carried little souvenirs collected along the way from one home to another.

    Whether anything in life is ever truly permanent remains to be seen.

    But the name stayed.

    And over time, the more I read my posts – both old and new – the more I realise that the name has taken on its own meaning.

    This blog has become a holding space for my thoughts, recipes, stories and memories.

    Sort of like a memory jar.

    I keep bringing little marbles back to it – no matter how big or small, special or mundane.

    Precious to me regardless.

    I share my thoughts here mostly unfiltered. It’s probably the one place where I let that mental filter drop almost completely.

    I do that to keep my voice true, and in the hope that when you – and eventually my girls – read these posts, you’ll recognise my voice in them.

    Maybe you’ll relate.

    Maybe you’ll feel heard too.

    Or maybe you’ll simply know me a little better.

    So there you go.

    Now you know why 15 Marbles.

    Well… sort of. 😉

    What would you name your blog, journal or memoir if you had to choose today?

  • Memory keeper

    I am the self-appointed memory keeper for my family, my sister, and my own life.

    I take photos, insist on them taking photos, despite them all objecting – because photos are memories. I plan trips and I tell them the ‘remember when’ stories.

    When you lose a parent earlier in life, you rely on your surviving parent for remembering, sharing and reminding you of your life when it was complete – you know when everything was right, despite the everyday mayhem.

    My dad was that surviving parent.

    He regaled us with stories of ‘when your mummy and I were younger’; ‘when you were little’; ‘when we went to this place’; ‘your mummy used to tell me…’

    He was the one I called when I couldn’t remember a silly little detail, or when I couldn’t recall what a treat was called. You know that odd moment when your mind suddenly remembers the taste of a rare treat you tried on a vacation, but you don’t remember anything else about it? My dad was sure to know.

    That being said, he couldn’t remember if I had had chickenpox, and we both got sad about the fact that mummy would definitely know.

    But barring a few odd occasions, his memory was fantastic. And I am proud of the fact that I inherited it.

    I remember the smallest of details, which is great on most days.

    I often get memory flashes where I can clearly see our old homes – yes, there were a few because my father had a transferable job. I can see our old homes, where things were kept, people talking, interacting – almost like watching a movie.

    I have toyed with the idea of writing it all down, so I don’t forget, but also because I want to know that it was real and not a fragment of my imagination.

    I wish there was a way to preserve the voices too.

    It breaks my heart that I don’t have any voice notes from either of my parents.

    Anyhow, about the idea of writing my memory flashes as and when I can – I am still mulling over it. I don’t know yet if I will share it publicly.

    Or maybe I will.

    Because I want the world to know and remember my parents.

    I started writing this without planning, so there is no real reason for this post but to just empty my mind and to put my thoughts into words.

    Because some how, that makes them real.

  • Conversations with the teens

    “Oh my God! I would happily trade the teenage years for the newborn phase,” I say in frustration some days.

    On other days, I walk around with a goofy smile on my face and a spring in my steps, because the said teens texted or called to share something about their day.

    If you are looking for advice on raising them and doing everything right, I probably don’t have much to say – except wish you well and wave you off 😃

    If you are going through the roller coaster of raising teens, growing with them and surviving this phase together , you are in the right place.

    With my girls, sometimes I breathe wrong and that’s the end of us being friends.

    We walk away frustrated and I wonder, What did I do now? Maybe you’d prefer it if I didn’t breathe? Or look in your direction? I mutter.

    Then, on other days, we hang out together, plan outings and meals, tease their dad and we are back to being besties again.

    🤎🥨

    One buys me fancy lotions and sweet treats , sends me reels, photos and links to cool places we will like to eat.

    🎤

    The other overloads my brain with K-pop idol facts and I can never remember which one is which . She also makes me listen to TWICE songs every morning, which I absolutely mix up.

    One comes to my bedroom to chat with me at 10 PM where my brain is ready to switch off and my body is ready to crash.

    She stands in the doorway and shares the tea, sits on the edge of the bed, while spilling more thoughts.

    My tired brain loves it .

    Because she is sharing.

    The other tells me how a classmate asked her to explain the meaning of a hard word or the stories from her day – usually when we are in the car.

    I won’t lie. I secretly look forward to these moments.

    I have often ignored phone calls or messages when they are talking to me or when we are listening to music together.

    Because literally everything else in the world can wait.

    I say secretly because I am cool like that. If they ever read this, they will roll their eyes at me for:

    1. admitting that I look forward to our chats; and
    2. calling myself cool. 😃

    Sometimes in those moments, I accidentally discover a secret crush or an insecurity.

    Sometimes I find a little window of opportunity to share my worries – or sneak in a life lesson.

    Yes, I get eye-rolls for the life lessons.

    Just like I rolled my eyes at my dad, even at the age of 44.

    But mostly, it’s about keeping the lines open.

    So that, amongst the eye-rolls, the slammed doors, the K-pop facts I will never remember and the moments when apparently even my breathing is offensive, they still know they can come and sit on the edge of my bed at 10pm and tell me the tea.