myquestoyota
SILVER Star
Oooh, I just looked up a recipe for biryani and now I cannot wait for your take on what looks like a wonderful dish!
Building A Four Door FJ40
- Thread starter FouadHafeez
- Start date
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My71FJ40
SILVER Star
My vote 6H9 green!!! It is a Stock Toyota color too... DO IT!! 
Amazing work!! New to the site, as this is my first post. For what it's worth, my vote would be for the "family camo" approach as I completely understand your motivation. Wonderful job once again!!
Fouad,
What an amazing build and a great thread overall. I love 4 door conversions so that is how I ended up here, but it the thread has been so much more! Love all the photos of Pakistan and I must say that your command of the English language is incredible! Most people grow up here and don't have the vocabulary that you do.
My vote for the color is for Mustard, but I am biased as that is the only color 40 I have owned. (2 of them)
Can't wait for more pics and grandmothers recipe!
Thanks,
Don
What an amazing build and a great thread overall. I love 4 door conversions so that is how I ended up here, but it the thread has been so much more! Love all the photos of Pakistan and I must say that your command of the English language is incredible! Most people grow up here and don't have the vocabulary that you do.
My vote for the color is for Mustard, but I am biased as that is the only color 40 I have owned. (2 of them)
Can't wait for more pics and grandmothers recipe!
Thanks,
Don
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #245
Bey Ji's Biryani
As a child what I used to love the most, whilst watching my Grandma (we’d call her “Bey Ji”: “Beloved Mother”, in our local dialect) in the kitchen, would be her preparing all the individual spices and condiments with her mortar and pestle. The painstaking care into getting textures and aroma and tastes just right. Her tacit scorn of “modern” implements like frying pans, saucepans, and pressure cookers. The way she’d never truly “measure” anything…how she’d always cook from memory, in a whirlwind hustle-bustle of activity.
She was an incredible old gal, was my Grandmother. Widowed at the age of 24 with 5 children (the youngest of whom was 7 months old), she never remarried…and chose a frugal, simple lifestyle all her years. Opting instead, to keep her considerable inheritance (courtesy my Grandfather) “safe and untouched” for her children. And her children’s children, of course. Although she was illiterate herself, she realized (even way back when) the importance of education, and made sure that all of her children get a decent professional one. My Dad turned out to get a Master’s degree in Commerce, became a banker by profession, and went abroad to the UK to earn a name for himself in the world of corporate banking. I was 2 at the time, and being the eldest son of the eldest son (yeah, we’re thoroughly patriarchal, that way), the very apple of Bey Ji’s eye.
When I was 14, our nuclear family (Mum, Dad, us kids) moved back to Pakistan from England, with only a couple of intermediary visits (for a few weeks) after every three-four years. I can tell you...having grown up on Welsh Rarebit, Roast Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, and Rhubarb and Custard for all these years…the sights and smells and sounds of that dizzyingly-colourful, intensely-aromatic, frenetically-chaotic kitchen of hers (yes…it WAS in the village) were absolutely mesmeric.
Over and above all of this, though, perhaps my most endearing memory is that look on her face, when she’d have all her family seated together, and serve up this feast that’d be fit-for-a-king. Priceless, was that look. Absolutely priceless.
Her recipe can be reproduced. Or not. Those memories, though…are utterly unique.
Of course…the spices and chilies and condiments in this recipe of hers, are best used warily. To the untrained palate, they can be smokin’ hot!
Bon appetit!
Ingredients
2 x cups Basmati (extra long grain) rice
¾ kg boneless chicken
3 Onions, large, sliced
1 cup Yoghurt (plain, unsweetened. Save a cup for your “Raita”, too)
1 tsp Ginger Paste
½ tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp fresh Green Chilies (pulverized in a pestle)
½ cup Tomato Puree (de-skinned, and pulverised)
2 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seed (roasted, and ground in a pestle. Save a pinch for your “Raita”, too)
½ tsp Cardamom (pulverized in a pestle)
2 tsp All-Spice powder (available off the shelf, or ground by adding the right ingredients to a pestle)
½ cup Milk
A pinch of Saffron
1 tsp Coriander Powder (off the shelf, or can be ground in a pestle using whole coriander pods)
2 tbsp Green Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
3 ½ cups Water
7 tbsp Oil (Ghee, or vegetable oil can also be used)
Salt (to taste)
Preparation
1. Prepare a mixture of yoghurt, tomato puree, green chilli paste, ginger and garlic pastes, red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder, turmeric powder, All-Spice, coriander powder and salt.
2. Marinate the chicken meat in this mixture, allowing it to “sit” for 3-4 hours.
3. Wash rice thoroughly in a sieve under tap water, until the water runs clear. Soak the rice for about an hour prior to cooking.
4. Sautee the sliced onions until golden brown in a wok, or saucepan (although my Grandma would always use a deep-ish skillet thingamajig)
5. Add the marinated chicken, cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
6. Drain your uncooked rice, add 3 ½ cups of water to it in a pressure cooker (faster, this way. Although Grandma would use a deep-dish saucepan with a tight-fitting lid). Bring the water to a boil, and then turn the heat low.
7. Mix saffron with milk, and add to the rice.
8. Add the cardamom powder and the chicken mixture (along with the marinade) to the rice.
9. Mix all the ingredients gently, cover with the cooker lid and pressure cook until the “first blow” of the pressure cooker.
10. Garnish with some green coriander.
11. Serve hot with “Raita”; a concoction of yoghurt with a pinch of roasted cumin seed and a pinch of salt, well-mixed to a creamy consistency.
12. Rub your belly contentedly, after the meal. Remember to lick your lips and go “mmmm”. She’d LOVE that!
As a child what I used to love the most, whilst watching my Grandma (we’d call her “Bey Ji”: “Beloved Mother”, in our local dialect) in the kitchen, would be her preparing all the individual spices and condiments with her mortar and pestle. The painstaking care into getting textures and aroma and tastes just right. Her tacit scorn of “modern” implements like frying pans, saucepans, and pressure cookers. The way she’d never truly “measure” anything…how she’d always cook from memory, in a whirlwind hustle-bustle of activity.
She was an incredible old gal, was my Grandmother. Widowed at the age of 24 with 5 children (the youngest of whom was 7 months old), she never remarried…and chose a frugal, simple lifestyle all her years. Opting instead, to keep her considerable inheritance (courtesy my Grandfather) “safe and untouched” for her children. And her children’s children, of course. Although she was illiterate herself, she realized (even way back when) the importance of education, and made sure that all of her children get a decent professional one. My Dad turned out to get a Master’s degree in Commerce, became a banker by profession, and went abroad to the UK to earn a name for himself in the world of corporate banking. I was 2 at the time, and being the eldest son of the eldest son (yeah, we’re thoroughly patriarchal, that way), the very apple of Bey Ji’s eye.
When I was 14, our nuclear family (Mum, Dad, us kids) moved back to Pakistan from England, with only a couple of intermediary visits (for a few weeks) after every three-four years. I can tell you...having grown up on Welsh Rarebit, Roast Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, and Rhubarb and Custard for all these years…the sights and smells and sounds of that dizzyingly-colourful, intensely-aromatic, frenetically-chaotic kitchen of hers (yes…it WAS in the village) were absolutely mesmeric.
Over and above all of this, though, perhaps my most endearing memory is that look on her face, when she’d have all her family seated together, and serve up this feast that’d be fit-for-a-king. Priceless, was that look. Absolutely priceless.
Her recipe can be reproduced. Or not. Those memories, though…are utterly unique.
Of course…the spices and chilies and condiments in this recipe of hers, are best used warily. To the untrained palate, they can be smokin’ hot!
Bon appetit!
Ingredients
2 x cups Basmati (extra long grain) rice
¾ kg boneless chicken
3 Onions, large, sliced
1 cup Yoghurt (plain, unsweetened. Save a cup for your “Raita”, too)
1 tsp Ginger Paste
½ tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp fresh Green Chilies (pulverized in a pestle)
½ cup Tomato Puree (de-skinned, and pulverised)
2 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seed (roasted, and ground in a pestle. Save a pinch for your “Raita”, too)
½ tsp Cardamom (pulverized in a pestle)
2 tsp All-Spice powder (available off the shelf, or ground by adding the right ingredients to a pestle)
½ cup Milk
A pinch of Saffron
1 tsp Coriander Powder (off the shelf, or can be ground in a pestle using whole coriander pods)
2 tbsp Green Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
3 ½ cups Water
7 tbsp Oil (Ghee, or vegetable oil can also be used)
Salt (to taste)
Preparation
1. Prepare a mixture of yoghurt, tomato puree, green chilli paste, ginger and garlic pastes, red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder, turmeric powder, All-Spice, coriander powder and salt.
2. Marinate the chicken meat in this mixture, allowing it to “sit” for 3-4 hours.
3. Wash rice thoroughly in a sieve under tap water, until the water runs clear. Soak the rice for about an hour prior to cooking.
4. Sautee the sliced onions until golden brown in a wok, or saucepan (although my Grandma would always use a deep-ish skillet thingamajig)
5. Add the marinated chicken, cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
6. Drain your uncooked rice, add 3 ½ cups of water to it in a pressure cooker (faster, this way. Although Grandma would use a deep-dish saucepan with a tight-fitting lid). Bring the water to a boil, and then turn the heat low.
7. Mix saffron with milk, and add to the rice.
8. Add the cardamom powder and the chicken mixture (along with the marinade) to the rice.
9. Mix all the ingredients gently, cover with the cooker lid and pressure cook until the “first blow” of the pressure cooker.
10. Garnish with some green coriander.
11. Serve hot with “Raita”; a concoction of yoghurt with a pinch of roasted cumin seed and a pinch of salt, well-mixed to a creamy consistency.
12. Rub your belly contentedly, after the meal. Remember to lick your lips and go “mmmm”. She’d LOVE that!
- Thread starter
- #248
I would love for the Phantom to be a part of the Club's event! This would be its inaugural wheeling session!
You're always welcome, Boss. But be warned...my Biryani isn't anywhere near as good as Bey Ji's was. So beware!
- Thread starter
- #250
Absolutely right. It IS looking very good, indeed.
And is that a Dune Beige paint job? Hmmm
Fouad,
Awesome rig! If you don't mind my asking, how much has it cost to get the phantom to this point? I realize there is an exchange rate to USD - so maybe the appropriate question is 'how many labor hours do you have into the phantom?' In my region mechanics charge around $80 an hour. Even if you could do much of the work yourself I would have to image that to build a rig like yours in the U.S. would have to cost upwards of $75k.
Awesome rig! If you don't mind my asking, how much has it cost to get the phantom to this point? I realize there is an exchange rate to USD - so maybe the appropriate question is 'how many labor hours do you have into the phantom?' In my region mechanics charge around $80 an hour. Even if you could do much of the work yourself I would have to image that to build a rig like yours in the U.S. would have to cost upwards of $75k.
- Thread starter
- #252
Thanks for the words of appreciation, Gregor.
Let me put it this way...this rig has been continuously worked on for a minimum of 6-8 hours every day, 5 days a week, from 1st Jan till 14th August. Let's see...a minimum of 30 hours each week, and 30 weeks in total. Which means about 900 man hours. Multiply it by $80 for each hour and the total would come to about $72K. Pretty accurate estimate on your part!
Of course, out here it's somewhat cheaper. But not by an awful lot
Let me put it this way...this rig has been continuously worked on for a minimum of 6-8 hours every day, 5 days a week, from 1st Jan till 14th August. Let's see...a minimum of 30 hours each week, and 30 weeks in total. Which means about 900 man hours. Multiply it by $80 for each hour and the total would come to about $72K. Pretty accurate estimate on your part!
Of course, out here it's somewhat cheaper. But not by an awful lot
myquestoyota
SILVER Star
And while I was rifling through the billions of pictures of possible modifications I have on disk...I stumbled across this picture.
A befitting one for all FJ40 enthusiasts...and Shayaan and I have matching tee-shirts with this very logo stamped on it
Where do I order my t-shirt?
- Thread starter
- #254
Um...from your local tee-shirt manufacturer?
myquestoyota
SILVER Star
Um...from your local tee-shirt manufacturer?
Can I get that logo in a digital version? Someone here has the skills and printer to make that happen. Phantom Shirts!
myquestoyota said:
Just copy this one.
Last edited:
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You got a BJ/HJ one without the 40" mudders?
jim land
SILVER Star
you can change it the way you want it
like fenders and smaller or different tire
like fenders and smaller or different tire
jim land
SILVER Star
like this
