The internet is a strange place - ask anyone here to name a four letter word starting with f, and the answer is food. Honestly, I am amazed at the number of foodies I have met on the net. And here's another one in that great line. She promises to be pretty prolific, and starts with a double whammy.

Working Mom's Pulao:
(Sucharita Mukherjee)

The real Pulao (or Pilaf, as the uninitiated call it), can be a lot of hassle. Here is a recipe that takes out the hassle without taking out the taste. (Maybe I am overselling a bit here, but you can use this recipe to get a very quick approximation of the pulao - great for dummies).

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice (500gms), Star Anis (joitri), Whole Cumin seeds, Onion (one big), Ghee for cooking.

Wash the rice and dry completely. Fry sliced onions pieces till golden brown. Add star anis(2) and cumin and fry. When fried add the rice and fry somemore. Add salt to taste. Add water and cook.

IMP Tip: Be careful about the quantity of water. So add less first and then when needed. Rice should not be over cooked. Try not to leave the kitchen when the rice is being cooked.

Dahi chicken:
(Sucharita Mukherjee, again)

This one is the perfect complement with the Pulao.

Ingredients:
Curd if you are in India or Yoghurt elsewhere (200 gms), whole garam masala (this is kinda important, gets you the flavour), one big onion (or two small ones) chopped, one big tomato chopped, grated ginger (1 inch piece) and chopped garlic (three cloves) (using ginger garlic paste might give you an inferior outcome), Korma Powder (Shaan is pretty good), and of course, 700-800 gms of chicken (thats a normal sized chicken, dressed).

Add three-fourths of the curd to chicken and refrigerate for two hours. Fry the onions in oil. Add whole garam masala and fry some more. Add ginger garlic (chopped garlic and grated ginger). Add achopped tomato and cook some more. Add the marinated chicken and cook. Add Korma Powder and keep cooking. When the oil separates, add the remaining curd to this and cook somemore. DO NOT ADD WATER.

NOTE: The Korma powder is optional, but it tastes damn good. You can use ghee as well and also a bit of turmeric.