Koyikkal Aka Kozhikkal - Tapioca/Yuca Fritters

So are you checking out for some Chicken Legs/Kozhikkal. Do not get fooled by the name. Even though in Malayalam Kozhikkal means Checken Legs, there is no Chicken or any meat in this recipe. This is Malabar’s own snack known as Kozhikkal or Tapioca/Yuca Fritters .

So here is the Recipe for this delicious Malabar Snack, Koyikkal Aka Kozhikkal aka Tapioca/Yuca Fritters, Enjoy!!

Ingredients:-

• Tapioca/Yuca – 2 lbs

For Batter:-

• Gram flour/Besan – ¾ Cup 
• Rice Flour – ¼ up
• Garlic crushed – 6 to 8 cloves 
• Red chili powder - 3 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½  Tsp
• Green chilly finely chopped - 4
• Asafoetida - a pinch 
• Salt - to taste
• Curry Leaves chopped - 3 Sprigs

Preparation Method:-

1. Peel the skin of tapioca. Cut into half first. From the first half slit them into thin strips. Repeat for the rest of the tapioca
2. Pour water in a bowl and add tapioca strips. Wash it once and drain in a colander
3. Mix all the items under 'For the batter', by adding water to a consistency of dosa batter.
4. Heat oil for deep frying, keep it in medium flame.
5. Add a palm full of tapioca strips to the batter. Take less than a handful of the mixture, shape it in the form of chicken legs, and deep-fry it in oil.
6. Drain the kozhikkal/tapioca fritters to a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
7. Serve immediately with a Cup of Chai/tea!

Kozhi Nirachathu Malabar Style/Stuffed Chicken Roast in Spicy Gravy Malabar Style

I had been planning to post the recipe of this wonderful dish from not sure how long, every single time I make this delicious Kozhi Nirachathu/Stuffed Chicken, I take pictures and save them but then compiling and editing pictures and composing this post took me for ever. Better late than never right?? 

Kozhi Nirachathu is one of the most popular dishes of Malabar region of Kerala (Northern Kerala). The whole chicken is first marinated in spices and then either braised or broiled(even pressure cooking works). The broiled chicken is then stuffed with some boiled eggs well coated with sauteed onions, raisins and cashews. OK.. mouthwatering isn't it? The process is not done yet.. The whole chicken is then cooked in spicy onion tomato sauce to perfection. Now without delaying further let me go ahead a post this very delicious, Malabar Special Recipe - Kozhi Nirachathu - Akka Stuffed Chicken in Spicy gravy.

Ingredients Used : -

To Marinate:

1. One Whole Chicken ~ 2.2lbs/1 Kg (or use two small Cornish hens)
2. Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
3. Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
4. Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp
5. Salt - 1tsp
6. Lemon/Lime juice from 1 lemon/lime

For Filling:

1. Boiled Eggs - 2
2. Raisins few (optional)
3. Cashews few(optional)
4. Onion sliced fine - 2
5. Greens chilly chopped fine - 2
6. Freshly crushed Ginger-garlic - 1tsp
7. Raisins, cashews - 1 tbsp each (optional)
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp(or red chili powder)
10. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Garam Masala - 3/4 tsp
12. Curry leaves few
13. Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbsp
14. Coconut Oil/Veg Oil - 2 tbsp

For Gravy: 

1. Red Onion Sliced fine – 3 (~3 Cups)
2. Tomato – 2(~2 Cups)
3. Ginger chopped fine - 1tbsp
4. Garlic chopped fine –1 tbsp
5. Green Chilly slit into halves – 3
6. Curry leaves – 3 to 4 sprigs
7. Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
8. Chili powder – ¾ tsp (optional)
9. Crushed fennel seed – ½ tsp
10. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
11. Garam Masala – 1tsp
12. Coconut Oil/Veg Oil

 Preparation Method:-

1. First step is making the chicken ready for the preparation. Take out the chicken parts/giblets packet that comes with whole chicken from the cavity and set aside.
2. Peel off the skin and make incisions on the whole chicken especially on chicken breast and legs.
3. Squeeze a lemon/Lime, add a spoon off salt and apply all over the chicken. Wash the whole chicken one or two times and pat dry with paper towel.
4. Make a marinade of items listed under marinate list. Marinate the whole chicken by rubbing  all parts of the chicken and making sure the marinate get inside the incisions. Set aside for 1 or 2 hours.
5. Now you can either braise(fry or slow cook in reduced heat) the chicken or  pressure cook it according to the time availability. Pour coconut oil in a deep and wide pan big enough to hold the whole chicken. Add Curry leaves and saute. Now add the whole chicken
6. Reduce the heat to medium and Cover with a lid. Let it cook for seven-nine minutes. Open the lid and turn over the chicken slowly making sure the chicken don't stick onto the pan and start breaking.
7. Cover and cook again for another five-seven minutes or until chicken is well cooked inside. Take off the stove and set aside.

Egg Masala for Stuffing:-

1. Heat up another frying pan, add coconut oil to it, add raisins and saute till it pop up, strain and set aside. Add cashews saute till golden, strain and set aside.
2. Add curry leaves and saute for few secs, add onion, ginger, garlic and salt and saute till onion turns light brown.
3. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and saute well to blend everything. Add the garam masala and saute well to combine.
4. Add the boiled egg, fried raisins, cashews and combine well to coat the boiled egg with masala. Set aside to cool completely
5. Stuff this egg masala into the braised chicken cavity.

Chicken Gravy:-

1. Heat up a kadai, preferably the same one used for braising so that the gravy gets all the chicken flavor. Add more oil if required, add curry leaves, onions, ginger-garlic, green chilies and saute well till onion turns golden color.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till they are fully mashed up.
3. Add turmeric powder, crushed fennel, chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and saute well till everything is combined.
4. If the masala is very dry add some water or coconut milk to add gravy and let it come to boil
5. Now add the braised whole chicken and spread the gravy  on the whole chicken. Cover and cook on medium heat for three-five minutes.
6. Open the lid and turn the whole chicken over. Stir the gravy making sure not to stick on the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook again for three-four minutes. Remove from the stove. Sprinkle some more curry leaves and keep it closed until ready to serve
7. Drizzle some lime/lemon juice just before serving.
8. Serve warm with Rice/Roti/Chappathi. Enjoy !!

Kallumakkaya Biriyani/Mussels Biriyani ~ Another Malabar Delicacy

Ingredients:-

To Marinate:-

1. Kallumakkaya/Mussels Big - 2lbs(before shells removed)
2. Turmeric powder - ½tsp
3. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
4. Salt - ¾ tsp(adjuslt to taste)
5. Fennel seeds crushed/coarse ground in a mortar - ¼ tsp

For Stir Fry:-

1. Onion very thinly sliced - 3 Cup(4 Med Size)
2. Ginger and Garlic chopped fine/Crushed together in a mortar - 1 tbsp each
3. Green Chilly Chopped fine - 8
4. Tomato sliced fine - 1½ to 2Cup (2 Med)
5. Salt - ½ tsp(to taste)
6. Turmeric powder -  ½ tsp
7. Garam Masala - 1½
8. Curry leaves two sprigs or more
9. Coriander Leaves chopped - 2 tbsp + to garnish

To Garnish(optional- I didn't do it this time):-

1. Cashews a handful
2. Raisins a handful
3. Deep fried Onion - 1(~ ½ cup)
4. Chopped coriander leaves ~ 2tbsp

Preparation Method:-

• Wash the mussels two-three times to remove all the dirt stick on the shell. Place them in a wide vessel/Pot with water to cover the mussels and bring to boil with lid on.
• You will see the shell open and mussel leave the shell from one side and form shape instead of sticking on both sides of the shell.
• Take off the stove and drain off water. Let it cool 
  

  

  Mussels cleaning Process in Pics

• Separate the flesh from the shell and discard the shell. Remove the black color dirt inside the mussel meat. Remove byssus(a strong group of filament like hair) inside the mussels as well.
• Pour water in a bowl and put mussel meat in it. Rinse gently to remove any sand/dirt in the meat once or twice.
• Marinate with Salt, turmeric, chilly powder and crushed fennel seeds. Set aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat a tsp oil in a pan, place the mussels and shallow fry on both sides till they are light brown. Move them to a bowl and set aside.
• Pour oil in the same pan, add curry leaves, minced ginger and garlic and saute till raw smell goes away for a minute or two.
• Add Green chilies, sliced onions, salt  and saute very well in medium heat till they turn translucent. 
• Add tomatoes and saute till they start releasing water content. Break the tomatoes as you saute and let everything blend together well.
• Add turmeric powder, coriander leaves and saute well to mix. Add the shallow fried Mussles/Kallumakkaya and saute well to combine. 
• Cover and let it cook for three-five minutes stirring occasionally.
• Add garam masala and more curry leaves, saute well, cover and let cook for another two-three minutes. Check for salt and adjust. Switch off the stove and set aside till you prepare rice. 

For Ghee Rice:-

1. Jeera Rice/Basmathi Rice - 3 Cups
2. Water - 5 ½ Cups 
3. Cinnamon Stick - 2 inch size broken into halves
4. Green Cardamom Pods - 4
5. Cloves  - 6
6. Bay leaves 2(optional)
7. Whole Pepper corns ~ 7 nos(optional, I like to add them though normal recipes do not call for it)
8. Curry leaves a sprig
9. Ghee ~ 1 tbsp
10. Freshly squeezed Lime Juice ~ 1tbsp(optional)
11. Salt to taste ~ 2 tsp(check and adjust accordingly)
12. Garam Masala - ½ tsp

Making Ghee Rice:-

• Wash rice three to four times in water till you get a clear water, drain the rice fully and set aside. 
• Heat up a wide vessel, add ghee, saute the cashews till light brown and set aside. Add the raisins and saute till they pop up, take out and set aside. 
• Now add cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, pepper corns and saute well till you start getting a nice aroma of spices. 
• Pour water to it, add salt, squeezed lime juice, few curry leaves and bring to boil. Add rice, stir gently with a spatula till the bottom of the pan just to remove any sticky rice from the bottom. Simmer the heat to medium, cover with an air-tight lid and let it cook until almost done.  
• Open the lid once the water is absorbed(rice should not be fully cooked, but will continue to cook during the dum process) and take off the stove.
• Let it cool for couple of minutes, say around 10-15 minutes, if you try to flip or toss the rice when it is very hot it will tend to break and stick. 
• Stir gently with a spatula when the high steam subsides, move to two-three platters so that they don't form lumps and don't stick together. This way you will get a very nice non-lumpy, non-sticky rice. Proceed for the final stage of layering and dumming :-)

 Dumming the Biriyani in low heat:

• Heat up a thick bottom pan, add 2 tsp oil(or ghee), simmer the heat to medium. 
• Spread some rice on the bottom of the vessel, top it with mussels masala gravy, topped with fried cashews, raisins, fried onions, coriander leaves and sprinkle a pinch of garam masala powder

                                               

• Repeat the process with remaining rice, masala, fried cashews, raisins, onions and garama masala.
• Cover it with an air tight lid or place a kitchen towel flatten on top of the vessel and cover to seal tight with the lid. Cook in low heat until you see steam releasing from the sides of the vessel. 
• Move to a serving plate, garnish with  more raisins, cashews and fried onion. Serve warm with pappads, pickles and chutney.

Note:- 

1. You can dum biriyani in the conventional oven the same way by layering rice and masala. Use a microwaveable tray and cover it airtight using the proper airtight lid or the heavy duty silver foil sheet.

2. If you look at the recipe, I've used very less chilly powder instead have added lot of green chilies where the spice comes in. If you want them more spicy you can add chilly powder or increase the amount of green chilies as this recipes is a medium spicy one.

Kallumakkaya Masala/Mussels Masala ~ A Malabar Delicacy

Ingredients:-
To Marinate:-

1. Kallumakkaya/Mussels Big - 2lbs
2. Turmeric powder - ½tsp
3. Chilly powder - 1½ tsp
4. Salt - ¾ tsp

For Stir Fry:-

1. Onion very thinly sliced - 1 Cup(2 Med Size)
2. Ginger minced - 1 tsp
3. Garlic Minced - 1 tsp
4. Green Chilly Chopped fine - 3
5. Fennels Seeds crushed/coarse ground in a mortar - ¼tsp
6. Coriander Leaves chopped - 2 tbsp + to garnish
7. Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs or more
8. Salt - ½ tsp(to taste)
9. Turmeric -  ¼ tsp
10. Garam Masala - ¾ tsp(optional)
11. Chopped coconut pieces/kothuthenga - 1tbsp

Preparation Method:-

• Wash the mussels two-three times to remove all the dirt stick on the shell. Place them in a wide vessel/Pot with water to cover the mussels and bring to boil.
• You will see the shell open and mussel leave the shell from one side and form shape instead of sticking on both sides of the shell.
• Take off the stove and drain off water. Let it cool 

  

  Mussels cleaning Process in Pics

  
• Seprate the flesh from the shell and discard the shell. Remove the black color dirt inside the mussel meat. Remove byssus(a strong group of filament like hair) inside the mussels as well.
• Pour water in a bowl and put mussel meat in it. Rinse gently to remove any sand/dirt in the meat once or twice.
• Marinate with Salt, turmeric and chilly powder. Set aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in a Wok/Kadai/Pan, add curry leaves and chopped coconut pieces and give a quick saute. Add minced ginger and garlic, saute till raw smell goes away for a minute or two.
• Add Green chilies, sliced onions, salt  and saute very well in medium heat till they turn translucent.
• Add turmeric powder, corriander leaves and saute well to mix. Add the marinated Mussles/Kallumakkaya and saute well to combine.
• Cover and let it cook for five-seven minutes stiring occassionally.
• Add garam masala, coarse ground fennel and more curry leaves, saute well for two-three minutes. Check for salt and adjust. Switch off the stove and move to serving plate.
• Garnish curry leaves and coriander leaves and serve warm with Rice/Roti.

Malabar Style Prawns Biriyani ~ Malabar Chemmeen Biriyani

Summer Time!!!! Kids are having Summer vacation and I'm having hard time running behind them :-) I've let my son play and have fun this summer without putting him for any summer camps and study classes. These days he comes to me saying 'Amma enikku pa(di)kkanam' meaning Amma I want to study. He is learning to write Malayalam little by little these days though he makes a lot of mistakes, I love the excitement in his face, joy in his eyes and the 'hurray' scream when he get the letters right. His little sister is really happy to have her 'Ettan'(big Bro) around whole day to play, fight, act and have fun. I'm sometimes amazed to watch the little one learning things so fast from her big bro.

Though kids love to enjoy summer outside, the sun is so very hot here which don't let us stay out for long at daytime. We wait till eve to go out for any outdoor activities. To keep kids engaged in some physical activities we took membership in YMCA, elder one is enrolled for swimming classes while my little one get to play in the play area for more than an hour. As usual I'm doing my Chauffeur job taking them in and out everywhere :-)  We took a beak from all these and had a nice weekend last week in Edison, NJ with my little sister and BIL. It was fun, especially for kids, they were well pampered by Elemma/Chachi and Elayachan/Chachu. It was totally an unplanned trip just for two days but it ended up being so good, relaxed a bit, went for a small beach trip, ate out, watched a reasonably good action movie 'Singham' online and reached back home by yesterday evening. 

I feel terribly bad sing my empty space without much posts these days, I'm getting hardly anytime to reach out to my fellow blogger's space as well. I know many of my blogger friends have passed on many awards to me as well, thanks dear friends, I will definitely try to post them asap. Today's recipe is yet another Malabar delicacy, the delicious Malabar Chemmeen/Prawns biriyani. As I have mentioned before, we prefer fish over meat, seafood like Prawns and Crab being the favorite. When ever we have unexpected or sudden guest I make this Prawns Biriyani or my Prawns Masala or this Prawns Roast as I know, no matter what Prawns will never go wrong in the making even if I'm in hurry. Prawns are really a great rescuer as they get cooked so fast and tastes just fantastic. I use homemade Garam Masala which my MIL made, which do not have fennel seeds. So I add some crushed fennel seeds and this fennel powder add an extra aroma for the prawns. So here comes the Malabar Chemmeen(Prawn/Shrimp) Biriyani, do definitely give it a try and Enjoy this Malabar delicacy :-)

Ingredients:- 

To Marinate Prawns:-

1. Big Prawns(or Shrimp) - 1lbs( ~ 500 gms)
2. Turmeric powder ~ ¾ tsp
3. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
4. Pepper powder ~  ½ tsp
5. Salt to taste (~ ¾ tsp)

For shrimp Masala:-

1. Onion Very Finely Sliced - 4 Med(~ 3½ cups)
2. Tomato - 2 Big(~ 2 Cups)
3. Ginger - Garlic paste, crushed or finely chopped ~ 2 tbsp each
4. Green Chilies crushed or finely chopped - 5
5. Turmeric powder -  ½ tsp
6. Fennel seeds crushed and coarse ground to powder ~ ¾ tsp
7. Garam Masala - 1 ½ tsp
8. Fresh Lime Juice ~ 1 tbsp
9. Curry leaves a sprig or more
10. Chopped coriander leaves/Cilantro ~ ¼ cups
11. Chopped mint leaves ~ 2 tbsp 
12. Oil ~ 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp(to shallow fry + to saute and make Shrimp Masala)
13. Salt to taste

For Ghee Rice/Flavorful Rice:-

• Basmathi Rice/Jeera Rice - 3 Cups
• Water - 5 Cups
• 1 inch Cinnamon Sticks - 2 nos
• Cardamom pods - 4
• Cloves - 6
• Salt to taste (~ 1tbsp)
• Ghee ~ 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp(for layering and doing dum)
• Oil ~ 1 tbsp
• Garam Masala ~  ½ tsp(used while layering the rice)
• Curry leaves a sprig
• Onion very thinly sliced - 1 
• Cashews few (optional)
• Raisins few (optional)
• Chopped coriander leaves ~ 1 tbsp

Preparation Method:-

Making shrimp Masala:

• Peel and devein the prawns. Wash it well two-three times and drain completely. 
• Marinate prawns with 'To Marinate' ingredients ie Turmeric, Chilly powder, Pepper powder, Salt and set aside for at-least 30 minutes(or more if possible) 
• Heat up a non-stick pan or kadai, pour 1 tbsp oil, spread the prawns. Reduce the heat to medium and shallow fry the prawns slightly on both sides for around five-seven minutes. Take them out and keep aside.
• Add 1 more tbsp of oil to the same pan(in which you shallow fried prawns), add onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, few curry leaves, salt and saute for a while till onion turn light brown.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and saute well till tomatoes are soft and mashed up to release the juices. 
• Add mint leaves, chopped cilantro and saute. Add turmeric powder, 1 tsp garam masala and saute well to mix.
• Add the shallow fried prawns (I kept couple of them to garnish) and saute well to mix with the gravy. Cover with a lid and let it cook for few minutes around five-seven minutes in medium heat.
• Add fresh lime juice and saute to mix. Add remaining ½ tsp garam masala, fennel powder and saute well to mix everything. Take off the stove and set aside till Ghee rice is ready.

Preparing Ghee Rice/Flavored Rice:-

• Pour 5 cups of water in a wide vessel and bring it to boil.
• Mean while wash the rice two-three times till you get clear water, drain completely and keep aside.
• Heat up a wide thick bottom pan, add 1 tbsp ghee, add cashews saute till light brown, take them out and keep aside. Add raisins, saute till they pop up, take them out and set aside.
• Add remaining 1 tbsp ghee along with 1 tbsp oil, add cinnamon sticks, cardamom and cloves and saute till you get a nice aroma. Add sliced onions and saute till translucent. 
• Add rice and saute for couple of minutes till rice absorbs the aroma of spices say for about five-seven  minutes. Pour the boiling water to the rice, add salt, curry leaves and bring it to boil. With a spatula give it a gentle stir till the bottom of the pan to make sure rice don't stick to the bottom.
• Simmer the heat to medium, cover with a tight lid and let it cook till the rice is almost cooked and the water is fully absorbed. Switch off the stove and let it sit without any stir for a while till the high steam in the rice reduces.
• Stir the rice gently and move to two-three platters to make sure rice is not sticky and remain as individual grains. Proceed for layering and Dum process.

Layering and doing Dum:-

On Stove Top:-

• Place a thick bottom vessel on the stove, drizzle ½ tbsp of ghee in the bottom of the pan, spread half the rice, sprinkle a generous pinch(¼ tsp) of Garam masala all over the rice, followed by Shrimp masala, raisins, cashews and ½ tbsp coriander leaves.
• Spread the next layer of rice, sprinkle the remaining Garam masala(¼ tsp) all over the rice followed by cashews, raisins,  ½ tbsp coriander leaves and remaining ghee. 
• Cover the vessel air-tight with a clean kitchen towel or silver foil, put on the lid tight to infuse the full flavor and cook it in low-medium heat for approx 20-30 minutes or till you see steam releasing from the sides of the vessel. Take off the stove and let it sit undisturbed for 10-15 minutes.
• Now with a sauce pan(or spatula), gently stir the entire dish to mix rice and Chemmeen/Prawns masala. 
• Scrape out a saucepan full of Shrimp Biriyani and move to the serving dish. Garnish with the set aside shallow fried Prawns and nuts. Serve warm with Onion Raita, Biriyani Chammanthi, Pickles and Pappads.

Sending this to The Kerala Kitchen Event hosted at Erivum Puliyum and linking it to EP Series ~ Basil and Cardamom started by Julie

                          

Thalassery Chicken Biriyani/Malabar Chicken Biriyani

I have been getting plenty of request for Malabar Chicken Biriyani recipe but it got postponed mainly because I didn't have some good pictures. I don't believe I still have some great pictures but yes I'm always trying to click the very best possible with a normal Point and Shoot digital camera. I try to add the detailed description or step-wise pics if possible which kept me away from posting this awesome Biriyani till now. Even though I still don't have a really satisfying picture I thought of posting it at-least now since I've been planning to post this from so long, in-fact every time I make it at home I decide to post it immediately and that happens on almost every Friday eve. I know some of my best buddies are even a bit offended for not posting it till now (so sorry for posting it late Deeps). Now a days I see a lot of variations in Malabar Biriyani itself, I remember last time when I went to India, for my sis wedding the biriyani was made with brick red color chicken which looked like tandoori chicken(was fried chicken pieces with masala I guess, yet to find out the recipe), it was just awesome. Malabar Bistha Biriyani(Bistha is nothing but fried onions) is yet another delicious and well known Malabar Biriyani which I love to prepare for a change from regular biriyani.  

In Malabar and many parts of Northern Kerala, Biriyani is normally made with a small rice called Kaima Rice also known as Jeerakasaala Rice or Jeera Rice which is approx half the size of Basmathi Rice. I love to make biriyani's with Jeera rice which in itself have a very nice aroma and a very unique and great taste that adds the best taste and special aroma to make the authentic Malabar Biriyani.  Its hard to find this Jeera rice in USA(though some particular Indian stores have it), I use Basmathi rice instead to make Biriyani. You can make the Chicken masala in advance and make the rice at the time required. Don't make the rice first or make the rice and keep it for long time as it loose the freshness and the aroma of ghee and spices. Biriyani is always garnished with ghee fried onions, cashews and raisins(I fry onion in normal oil only). It is mostly served with raita, beetroot pickle and coconut-coriander chutney.

Not much spice powders are used in Malabar biriyani, it is very simple and straight forward recipe. Though many people don't marinate chicken before cooking I prefer to marinate fish, chicken and Mutton atleast with salt and turmeric as I believe with salt even the inner meat get a well balanced season and turmeric helps keep poultry free from any bacteria. Normally a generous amount of Ghee/RKG is used to make Biriyani and even onions are deep fried in ghee to get a better taste. Since I make it often I use minimal amount of ghee, you can increase the amount of ghee to add more taste or reduce ghee or even substitute with low fat/cholesterol free oil(like olive oil) if you are on any specific diet. Curd/Yogurt is not used in the preparation of chicken masala, tomatoes brings in the required sourness and I generally add some freshly squeezed lime juice as well. Orange food color is mixed in water or milk and is sprinkled on top of the rice to get a yellowish mixture of rice but I use Saffron instead. You can dum the biriyani either by layering the ghee rice and chicken masala alternatively or add the masaa at the bottom of the vessel and top it with the whole rice and then dum. Now off to the Malabar Chicken Biriyani recipe, do definitely try out and Enjoy the delicacy :-)


Ingredients:-


For Chicken Masala:-

1. One Chicken(bone in) cut into medium size pieces ~ 2.2 lbs(1Kg)
2. Turmeric ~ ¾ tsp
3. Chilly power ~  ½ tsp(optional, I add them mostly)
4. Salt ~ 2 tsp(Will have to check  for the salt at the end of masala preparation and adjust)
5. Big Onions finely sliced - 4(~ 5 cups)
6. Tomato finely sliced - 2(~ 2 ½  to 3)
7. Fresh Ginger crushed or finely chopped or paste ~ 2tbsp
8. Fresh Garlic Crushed or finely chopped or paste ~ 2 tbsp
9. Green chilies crushed or paste or finely chopped - 12 to 14 numbers(can add more to make it more spicy, I make it medium spicy)
10. Garam Masala powder ~ 1½  tsp
11. Coriander leaves chopped ~ ¾ cup
12. Mint leaves chopped ~  ¼ cup
13. Curry leaves two sprigs
14. Freshly squeezed Lime Juice from a Lime ~ 2 tbsp
15. Oil ~ 2 tbsp

For Ghee Rice:-

1. Jeera Rice/Basmathi Rice - 4 Cups
2. Water - 6 to 6 ½ Cups 
3. Cinnamon Stick - 2 inch size broken into halves
4. Green Cardamom Pods - 5
5. Cloves  - 8
6. Bay leaves 2(optional)
7. Whole Pepper corns ~ 10 nos(optional, I like to add them though normal recipes do not call for it)
8. Curry leaves a sprig
9. Ghee ~ 2 tbsp
10. Freshly squeezed Lime Juice ~ 1tbsp(optional)
11. Salt to taste ~ 2 tsp(check and adjust accordingly)

To Garnish:-

1. Cashews a handful
2. Raisins a handful
3. Finely sliced Onion - 1(~ 1 cup)
4. Oil to deep fry onion (~ ½ cup)
5. Saffron ~ 1 tbsp(can use orange food color instead)
6. Milk ~ ½ cup
7. Chopped coriander leaves ~ 2tbsp
8. Ghee/Oil ~ 2 tsp(used at the end for layering and doing dum)

Getting Ready:-

1. Deep fry the onion(using ½ cup oil mentioned) till golden color and set aside(don't fry till brown color as they tend to cook and change color even after taking out from the oil).
2. You can fry cashews and raisins in the same oil if you like or saute it in ghee before making rice.
3. Bring  milk to boil by adding saffron, simmer and let it boil for 3-4 minutes. Take off the stove and set aside.

           

4. Clean the Chicken, wash well, drain of the water and pat dry. Marinate with 1 tsp salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder and set aside for 30 minutes or more if possible.

Preparation Method:-
Making Biriyani's Chicken Masala:-

• Heat up a thick bottom vessel, pour 2 tbsp oil, add the onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies, curry leaves, remaining 1 tsp salt and saute in medium heat till onion turns translucent. 
• Add tomatoes and saute again well till they become soft and start to breakdown leaving its juice. 
• Now add the chicken pieces, stir well to mix everything, cover with a proper lid and let it cook till chicken is almost done in low-medium heat. It should be a slow cooking process where chicken will cook in its own moisture along with onion-tomato gravy. So always let it cook in low heat.(Chicken should not be fully cooked here, It takes around 10-15 minutes and will continue to cook another 5-10 minutes after adding other ingredients)  
• Open the lid, add the chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, lime/lemon juice and stir well to mix. Add the garam masala powder and saute again to mix everything. Cover it with a tight lid and let it cook again so that chicken absorbs all the flavor of garam masala and other ingredients and is fully done. It takes around 5-10 minutes in low-med heat.
• Take off the stove and set aside till ghee rice is ready.

Making Ghee Rice:-

• Wash rice three to four times in water till you get a clear water, drain the rice fully and set aside. 
• Heat up a wide vessel, add ghee, saute the cashews till light brown and set aside. Add the raisins and saute till they pop up, take out and set aside. 
• Now add cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, pepper corns and saute well till you start getting a nice aroma of spices. 
• Pour water to it, add salt, squeezed lime juice, few curry leaves and bring to boil. Add rice, stir gently with a spatula till the bottom of the pan just to remove any sticky rice from the bottom. Simmer the heat to medium, cover with an air-tight lid and let it cook until almost done.  
• Open the lid once the water is absorbed(rice should not be fully cooked, but will continue to cook during the dum process) and take off the stove.
• Let it cool for couple of minutes, say around 10-15 minutes, if you try to flip or toss the rice when it is very hot it will tend to break and stick. 
• Stir gently with a spatula when the high steam subsides, move to two-three platters so that they don't form lumps and don't stick together. This way you will get a very nice non-lumpy, non-sticky rice. Proceed for the final stage of layering and dumming :-)

Final stage: Layering and Dumming the Biriyani in low heat:-

• Now Stove top Layering can be done in two ways

1. very simple and my favorite way is:

• Heat up a thick bottom pan, add 2 tsp oil(or ghee), simmer the heat to medium. Now Dump the chicken masala to the bottom, top it with half the rice, fried cashews, raisins, fried onions, coriander leaves, drizzle few drops of saffron milk all over the rice. 
• Top it with the remaining rice, followed by cashews, raisins, fried onions, coriander leaves. Pour the rest of the saffron milk all over the rice. 

Just before doing dumm, look at the saffron milk floating on the raisins n cashews :-)

• Cover it with an air tight lid or place a kitchen towel flatten on top of the vessel and cover to seal tight with the lid. Cook in low heat until you see steam releasing from the sides of the vessel. Its is the right time to take them off the flame, the rice will be cooked fully absorbing all the flavor of chicken masala and will be very light, fluffy with individual grains.

See the steam coming from the top sides of the vessel, not that clear though :-)

After the dum process, looks yumm right?

• You can gently move the rice with a sauce pan or spatula from the top to the sides, take the biriyani masala from the bottom and  move to the serving plate.

•  Now take a generous amount of rice with the saucepan/spatula and top over the chicken masala. 

• Spread some more raisins, cashews, onions, and coriander leaves and Serve with pickle, pappads and raita. Yummy yumm 

                                                                 OR

2.  Layer Rice and Biriyani masala alternatively and dum.

• Heat a wide vessel, keep in low heat, pour 2 tsp of oil, spread half the rice on the bottom of the vessel, top it with masala gravy and chicken, topped with fried cashews, raisins, fried onions, coriander leaves and few drops of saffron milk.

                                    

• Repeat the process with remaing rice, masala, fried cashews, raisins, onions and saffron milk. Cover with an air tight lid and cook in low heat till steam starts to release from the sides of the pan.

• Move to a serving plate, garnish with more raisins, cashews and fried onion. Serve warm with pappads, pickles and chutney.

Note:-
Conventional Oven Method:- You can do dum the biriyani in conventional oven also. Pre-heat the oven to 350 Degree F in baking mode. Take an oven proof dish or silver foil tray, layer with half the rice, top with half the chicken masala, nuts and onions. Repeat the same process alternatively. Seal it air tight with the oven proof lid or silver foil sheet. Bake around 30-40 minutes.

Sending this to The Kerala Kitchen Event hosted by Jehanne at The Cooking Doctor

Irachi Pathiri - Meat stuffed Roti

Irachi Pathiri is a very popular food snack in Malabar region and is a very important Ramadan dish. Me and my sister was a die-hard fan of this dish when we were kids. Achan(dad) used to get this for us from one of the Thalaserry bakery or 'Thattukada'(Street food stall). Having this spicy meat filled rotis with a hot cup of 'Chai'/Tea gives you a different experience which I really cannot put together in words, the spice and the hot is just a wonderful combination. I used to have slight wet eyes sometimes when I have it. The only complaint we had was we used to get very less bites of meat, onion always tried to outsmart the meat. I'm sure bakers were more interested in making money by putting less meat and more onion along with customer satisfaction. Guess what I hope now a days onion being costlier than meat they might be adding more meat and less onion for making this dish ;)

It was in my teen when I realized that these are just deep fried rotis stuffed with meat masala. Don't really remember when we started making this at home but these were made only over the weekends then. After coming to US I hardly made it once or twice, if you observe my menu I will have very less deep fried dishes. So this was made couple of days back when my sister who is in India for a vacation told me that she is having 'Chicken Pathiri' and I couldn't stop myself making it. I did not made it very spicy considering my two little ones, but still it simply tasted great. So friends lets go through the process of making this awesome Chicken masala stuffed Irachi Pathiri. Enjoy!!!!!

Ingredients used :-

For Chicken Masala Filling:

Chicken breast - 2 halves(if u can get minced chicken that's better)
Onion - 2 finely chopped
Garlic minced - 3 pods (a tbsp)
Ginger minced - 1 tbsp
Green Chilly - 2 finely chopped
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp
Curry leaves a sprig
Oil for deep frying + 2 tbsp for making masala
salt to taste

For Roti's:

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt - 2 tsp
Water as needed to knead the dough

Preparation Method:-

• Knead the dough by adding water and salt as of for Chappathi/Puri. Cover and set aside till Chicken masala is done.
• Wash and clean the chicken. Cut it into very small bite size pieces. Marinate with salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder and pepper. Set aside for 15-20 mins.
• Cook the chicken in medium heat until soft without adding any water. Shred the chicken with your fingers if you feel they are bigger bites
• Now heat up a frying pan, add 2 tbsp oil and saute onion, ginger, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves, salt and saute till onion turns translucent.
• Add the chicken and saute well for a while, add garam masala and stir to mix everything evenly.
• Cover and cook for another 5-7 mins in medium heat. Switch off the flame and let it cool.
• Make small lemon size balls out of the dough and roll into small round rotis of puri size.
• Top up with a tbsp of chicken masala, now place another roti on top of the masala and seal the edges by pressing with your fingers or folding a small portion of the edges of the bottom roti towards top and closing it. Repeat the process with rest of the rotis and masala.

                                                     

• Heat a wok or kadai, pour oil for deep frying and wait till the oil is hot enough. Add each pathiri in the oil and fry on both sides. Take out and place oin an absorbent paper and press to remove excess oil if any. Repeat the process with rest of the pathiris.

                                     

• Serve warm with a hot cup of Chai/Tea. Enjoy!!!!!

Note:-
1. Seal the edges properly, otherwise oil will go inside the stuffing and Pathiri will become very oily.
2. You can use mutton(lamb), beef or any meat of your choice to make the filling. I personally like mutton masala and feel thats the best for making Irachi Pathiri.

Ari Unda/Sweetened Rice Balls

This post comes after a small  break, I think almost after two weeks. Our internet was was fully down almost for two weeks. So I had been off browsing, getting a bit more time to cook and I had been making some of  my favorite typical 'Thalassery dishes' these days. I'm glad that my internet is up and running good and I can share some of those lovely recipes here. So here I'm sharing the 'Ari Unda' a very nice evening snack which kids and adults like to munch alike.

Ari Unda, ufff a lot of memories connected with this snack. Snack that is made with roasted rice, freshly grated coconut and dark brown Jaggery- just three ingredients and your snack is just yummy. This is one of my favorite snack, wait.. wait... my favorite snack?? What about my dear big bro then, the most naughty and loved fellow of our home. My grandma used to store the snacks in our little store room, till she figured out some of them missing by its own. She started moving them to her so thought to be 'more secure' places like kitchen, store room and even in the rice/lentil containers by digging  them inside the rice(Those containers used to be big Aluminium one's called -Chembu) but all were in vain. My bro who runs back home in the middle of his cricket matches/swimming/cycle racing and much more games just picks up some of them and munch it every time he passes that corridor. And Ari Unda was one of his favourite snack, even after being grown up I have seen him having it with the same passion.

Back in Kerala Ari Unda/Rice balls are made by roasting the rice and pounding them in 'Ural' - a wooden piece almost cylindrical in shape with a round opening on top with some depth to hold rice, with 'Ulakka' - a long piece of wood to crush the rice to powder. It is actually a bigger form of Mortar and Pestle which we use in our Kitchen. My grandma, Mom and aunts used to make it together by chit chatting, seeing them doing it is really a wonderful sight even though the process was hard and required lot of manual labor.

Those were childhood memories,now I still see them being prepared in the same way as then when my brother goes abroad and also when I start packing up my baggage to US. Without making Ari Unda before a day of my travel back from India is almost like an in-complete ritual and yea my grandma and mom makes two or three very big Unda/Balls, wrap them in banana leaves and again wrap it in newspaper taking utmost care and love not to break them or get spoiled till I reach here.

So friends those were some beautiful stories from my memories about Ari Unda/Rice balls. I have tried my best to match up with traditionally way of making it and give them the awesome authentic taste of Ari Unda. So lets Enjoyyyyyyy making this awesome snack!!!!

Ingredients:-

• Parboiled Rice/Kerala Matta Rice - 2 Cups(I used parboiled rice)
• Grated Cocomnut - 1 cup
• Grated Jaggery - 3/4 cup

Preparation Method:-

Heat up a frying pan/Kadai/Wok. Dry roast the rice in medium heat till it is crisp and golden brown by taking care not to burn the rice. Set aside to cool. Grind it into a powder(it don't really have to be very fine powder, better of like 'Puttu Podi') and move into a big bowl.

               


Crush the grated coconut in the Mortar little by little with Pestle as much smooth and fine as possible and set aside(you can coarse grind the coconut in the mixer as well, but this gives you better taste)

Melt the jaggery with 2tsp of water and strain off the impurities and set aside(if you are sure the jaggery you get is very clean you do not have to melt the jaggery, normally jaggery is not melted-its just pounded with roasted rice and coconut. You can crush it in the mortar or mixer and add as well)

Now mix well the roasted rice powder and coconut with your hands. Pour the Jaggery syrup on top and mix well. Take a fistful of the mixture and make balls out of it by rolling it under the palm to make the surface as smooth as it can be.

                       

Serve immediately with a cup of hot Tea or warm milk for kids.

Store them in air-tight container up-to two-three days. Since grated coconut is added it will not stay outside for long. You can refrigerate it in an air tight container for a long period of time but it surely taste better when served without being refrigerated as it is very soft and juicy.

Note:- You can add some roasted nuts as well if desired

Sending this to The Kerala Kitchen Event hosted by Khusi @ A girl's Diary