Chicken Biriyani

Among keralites 'Biriyani' will be top favourite food,either chicken,mutton or fish.Same with us,Partners may have different interest,But in case of having biriyani...we are one.I remember after our marriage,when ever we go to resturants,'S' orders only biriyani.I call him Biriyani FREAK!!! Before i thought making at home is a complicated and time consuming process.After coming to US,now biriyani is not meant for special occasions.Its became a part of our usual menu.Traditional way is 'Dum' process,I havent tried that.Instead I cook rice and chicken masala separately,layer them and baked in conventional method.Special thanks to Annita and Shynee for giving this wonderful Malabar recipe....

Ingredients....

Basmati Rice - 1 kg
Chicken cut into big pieces - 1 kg
Thinly Sliced Onion- 3 big
Sliced Tomato - 2 big
Ghee - as needed
Broken cashew nuts - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Curd - 1 cup
Lime - 1 big
Chopped Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
Chopped Mint leaves - 1 small bunch
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Biriyani Masala Powder 3tsp
Rose water - 2 tbsp(optional)
Saffron - 1 gm(optional)
Boiled eggs - 2
Salt - as req

For Marinating Chicken

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as needed

For Grinding

Green Chillies - 7-8
Garlic - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 2 tbsp
Poppy seeds soaked in water for 5- 10 mts - 2 tsp

Method...

1) Marinate chicken with ingredients listed.Apply well and let it stand for 1 hr or so in refrigerator.

2)Wash and soak rice for 15 mins.In a heavy bottomed pan,cook rice along with salt,cloves,cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and cardamom with enough water.when its 3/4 cooked,strain the excess water.Spread the rice in a flat serving dish,and sprinkle 3-4 drops of lime juice, allow it to cool.

3)Heat a little ghee in a pan and roast cashews and raisins till brown and keep it aside.Now add half of sliced onion and fry them until they are well browned.Add more ghee /oil if needed.Drain them into a tissue paper and reserve .Now into the same oil,add marinated chicken pieces and shallow fry them for a while. This can enhance the taste and also make the chicken pieces more firm.

4)Now add rest of the onions and saute them till translucent(add 1 tbsp of ghee/oil,if needed0.Mix in tomatoes,salt and the ground paste and saute them for 2-3 mts.Stir in curd and lemon juice and saute until oil separates.Now add fried chicken pieces,mix well,cover and cook.

5)When it is half done,add Coriander leaves,Mint leaves,curry leaves and 2 tsp Biriyani masala powder.Mix and allow the chicken to cook well in medium heat,until all water is absorbed and chicken pieces are coated with gravy.Switch off the stove.

6)Take a biriyani pot,spread chicken pieces along with the gravy in the bottom.Now add one layer of cooked rice over chicken.Sprinkle a little biriyani masala powder,fried onions,cashews, raisins and saffron(mixed in rosewater)U can even use leonjuice+turmeric powder mixture instead of safforn,here i used this.Repeat the same for 2 more layers with chicken ,rice and fried cashew-raisins-onions etc.Seal the vessel with aluminium foil and bake it for 15 mts at 300 F.Mix thoroughly and serve hot with whole boiled eggs ,Raita ,Pickle and Pappad or Ulli surka.

Inji-Poondu Kulambu

Inji-poondu kulambu /Ginger garlic curry is a curry made with Inji[Ginger] , Poondu[Garlic] and other spices,an authentic tamilnadu kulambu which is perfect for winter.Ginger and garlic added to kulambu gives wonderful flavour and of course good for digestion.Tastes good next time like vatra kulambu,even it stays good for a week outside fridge.Its basically a chettinadu recipe.When i was doing masters,all my friends loved this curry ,they ask amma for recipe.She makes this often for them.Great combo with curd rice and potato poriyal.Here goes Chettinadu special...
Ingredients..
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Tamarind- lemon size
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Salt
Oil 2tbsp
For seasoning..
Mustard seeds 1/2tsp
Urad dal 1/2tsp
Curry leaves
Garlic- 7-8 cloves
For grinding...
Ginger- a small piece,2 inch
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Dry chillies- 5
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
Method..

• Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 min,extract the pulp and keep aside.Chop onion into big chunks,pearl onions taste great.I used red onions here.Chop tomato finely and peel garlic.
• Heat oil in a pan,now fry ginger,cumin,coriander,dry chillies,pepper,fenugreek one by one carefully without burning it.Once its cool down,make a fine paste .
• Heat oil in a kadai,add mustard seeds,urad dal,curry leaves,garlic,onions,fry till golden color,add tomatoes,salt and turmeric powder,fry till they are soft.
• Now add ground paste,saute a while and add little water.Once the raw smell goes off,add tamarind pulp.cook on low flame for 10mins.when oil starts floating on top,switch off flame.Serve with rice,dosa/idli.

Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu

Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu/Bottlegourd Masala Dal is one of our fav dish ,healthy n easy to make.I was thinking about cooking something different for Linda's amazing event of JFI: Toor Dal,finally I'm rushing at the last minute with my entry.Toor dal has a mild, nutty flavor & cooked as a routine Indian dish which is rich in Vitamin B1,protein,dietary fiber and minerals.Bottle gourd is a common vegetable in India,an yellowish green vegetable, having the shape of a bottle. It has white pulp, with white seeds embedded in spongy flesh.Known as 'sorakkai' in Tamil,Chorakka in Malayalam,Sorakkaya in telugu and lauki in Hindi.I dont know how 's known in kannada.Bottle gourd is eaten as cooked ,it gives a feeling of relaxation after eating it.Its rich in essential minerals, iron, protein ,trace elements and fibre.Its a nice sidedish for rice and roti.Yesterday i had it along with Rice ,Inji- poondu Kulambu ,Vazakkai poriyal and carrot Kosumbari. I'll post the other recipes later.


Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu

Ingredients

Sorakkai/Bottlegourd 1/2cup

Toor dal 1cup

Tomato 1

Onion 1

Green chilli 2

Cumin powder 1tsp

Coriender powder 2tsp

Red chilli powder 2tsp

turmeric powder 1/4tsp

Cliantro 1/3cup

Ginger a slice

Garlic 2 cloves

Oil 1tsp

Salt

Method

Boil the toor dal in the pressure cooker for 2-3whistles with salt and turmeric powder.Mash it into smooth paste.In the blender, grind together1/2 onions chopped, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, tomatoes, cumin seeds, coriander powder and the red chili powder. Slice the other onion finely and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and fry the sliced onion. When the onions are turning a little brown, add the ground masala and fry around 15-20 minutes. All the water should have evaporated and the paste should be dry. Now add the boiled dal to it and add a little water if u need gravy. Add salt to taste. Boil for a while till you get the required consistency.Plz note fry the masala well.

Vinayaka Chaturthi

Vinayaka chaturthi or Ganesh chaturthi is an occasion of the birthday of Lord Ganesh,who has elephant head and human body."Vinayakan ",as the name indicates,is the Lord of beginning and Lord of obstacles,he's the "destroyer of sorrows and remover of obstacles" ,honoured with affection at the start of any ritual or ceremony and invoked as the "Patron of Letters" at the beginning of any writing.Ganesha has two Siddhis ,Siddhi (success) and Riddhi (prosperity). Wherever there is Vinayakan, there is Success and Prosperity.On the day of chaturthi,we decorate our house by drawing "kolams" with riceflour,flowers,mavela thoram at door step, make a clay idol of lord and decorate it with sandal , kumkum and a very special aurgampul malai( a type of grass,which is very special to lord) and a beautiful umbrella is placed behind the idol.Then idol is placed in plantain leaf or mandap.Then at the evening puja is performed by chanting "Ganesha Sahasranamam". Ganesha is very fond of sweets,therefore payasam,modhakam or kozhukattai ,sundal ,fruits and other sweets are offered.After 2 days,the idol is immersed in sea.we usually immersed the idol in river near our house.

Kozhukattai and sundal was my "naivedhyam".Grandma is my greatest inspiration in cooking.Most of my recipes are her contribution.Same in the case of "kozhukattai" also.Those who had no steam cooker or iddli set like me,can try this... forgot to bring from india...I'm searching for one, for last few months..hmmm couldt find....... search is still goin on ... when i was wondering 'how to cook modhakam',grandma gave me this simple version of kozhukattai,cooking in boiling water......i'd like to share with u...

Kozhukattai

Ingredients...

Rice 1cup

Jaggery or sugar 1/2cup (change to ur need)

coconut 1/4cup

cardamom 3

water less than 1/4cup

method...

Mix riceflour,grated jaggery,cococnut together.sprinkle some water if nesscery to mix the ingredients.Make small balls or rice dumplings and keep aside.In a saucepan,boil 2 cups of water.when water started boiling,put rice balls in it.cook for 10-15min.

Chickpeas Sundal

Ingredients.

Chickpeas 1 1/2cup

Grated coconut 3tsp

Salt 1tsp

Musturdseeds 1/4tsp

Urad dal 1/4 tsp

Red chillies 4 -5

curry leaves 5 -6

Asafoetida 1 pinch

Method..

Soak chickpeas overnight or atleast 8 hours before making sundal.Wash n pressure cook peas with salt for one whistle.Decant the water and let it stand for few mintutes.In a kadai,heat up the oil,musturd seeds,urad dal.redchillies,curryleaves and asafoetida.Remove from heat,now add cooked peas and coconut .stir to mix well.

Tips..

Instead of grated coconut,dry coconut or copra chopped can also be used.

This is my entry toEvent for Ganeshchaturthi hosted by LathaThe'yum'blog

KRISHNA JAYANTHI

HAPPY KRISHNA JAYANTHI!!!!

Krishna jayanthi is the celebration of the birth of lord krishna,in south india it's also known as Gokulashtami. Lord Sri Krishna was born on the 'Rohini' nakshatram (star) on Ashtami day,so it also known as Asthami Rohini In kerala.
Sri Krishna is Lord Vishnu's eighth avatar (incarnation) on earth. He is considered to be the Lord's most glorious incarnations.This festival occurs on the eight day of the dark half of the month Shravan. We decorate our house with flowers ,rangoli , mavela thoranam at doorstep and small feets are drawn with rice flour from entrance to puja room .It 's believed that baby krishna visits his devotee's house to bless them ,leaving behind his foot prints.i remember once my grandma dipped my infant brother 's legs in the flour n drew the foot steps.she takes ''vratham'' (fasting) till midnight chanting slokams n reciting prayers from bagavet gita.
Special dishes like appam,murukku,payasam,aval,seedai ,ladduu and butter are offered to lord.In the evening a special puja is done and people ask one another" kannan onga veetukku vandacha?" (Has Kannan come to your house?).At night we go to krishnan temple near our house ,kolattam is performed by kids dressed up as Krishna and Radha . It is a replete with love for lord krishna.
Yesterday we celebrated with Pal payasam and Aravanai as ''naivedhiyam''.I really wished to draw footprints ,but houses here in usa are laid with carpet.hmmm.....so I couldn't.At that moment I thought east or west india is the best.
Just tried mom's recipe and I like to share here.here it goes......

PAL PAYASAM
Ingredients...
Basmati rice /unakkallari(red rice) 1/4 cup
Milk 6cups
water 1 cup
sugar 1/2 cup
ghee for frying

Garnishing...

cashewnuts 10 nos
cardamom 5 nos
raisins 5nos (optional)

Method

Mix together all the ingredients in a pressure cooker.Cook on a high flame till the first whistle.Soon after the first whistle is heard, lower the fire and cook for half an hour.Fry cashews and raisins in ghee.Garnish the paayasam with the fried cashews and raisins.Serve hot or chilled

ARAVANAI PAYASAM /SWEET PONGAL

Ingredients

Raw rice - ½ cup
Green gram(Cheruparippu) - ½ cup
Ghee - ½ cup
Jaggery(Sharkkara) - 3 cups
Copra(dried coconut) pieces - ¼ cup
Cashews(chopped) - ¼ cup
Raisins(Onakka munthiri) - ¼ cup
Sugar candy(Kalkandam) - ¼ cup (optional)
Grated coconut - ½ cup(optional)

Method....
Lightly roast green gram, till a nice aroma comes and the colour changes.Wash rice and dal together.Heat up a pressure pan.Add rice and dal along with 2 cups of water.Close the cooker, keep the weight and cook upto 2 whistlesAllow it to cool.Add ½ cup of water to jaggery and heat on a low flame, stirring continuously, till the jaggery dissolves compeletely. Strain and add to the rice-dal mixture.Cook, adding ghee little by little.Add the copra fried in ghee.When the whole mixture becomes a mass, add cashew and raisins fried in littleghee.Remove from the flame.Add sugarcandy and freshly grated coconut.

Tips... It can be made only with rice without adding dal.You can cook the mixture for just one whistle and if thus made, rice will be slightly grainy.You can add 1 cup of ghee and 4 cups of jaggery.