Fish Biriyani With Tilapia Fish Fillet

I have not been consistent in blogging these days and have almost lost touch with many of my dear blogger buddies and wonderful readers lately. Blame it on me, even if I have excuses like not getting much time to post while managing work and household together, believe me I have missed all the fun being here and had been trying real hard to find some time to blog. It is not the laziness that kept me away from here but three pair of starving eyes which gives me a wierd look when they see my intention to click pictures when they are are waiting eagerly for having something from the the time they are back from school/office just dont let my motherly instict to click any pictures. The sun light is not helping me in anyway as well, by the time I leave office it is already dark. But yes, since I've moved to a new job which is pretty much close to where we live and I have started commuting daily rather than travelling over the weekends, I am getting sometime to cook and click pictures which I am really happy about. I hope I will be active with blogging from now and will definitely make time to hop onto all my blogger buddies post. I request all my wonderful readers and blogger friends to please stay connected and give me the same support and encouragement which you guys gave me before.

Coming onto today's recipe, its the again one of the most family favorite - Fish Biriyani. I have already posted a Fish Biriyani, but the procedure for making this Fish Masala is a lot different which gives this biriyani a very unique taste. I've used Tilapia Fish fillet for making this biriyani, but you can use fish of your choice but try to use fish with less bone and more meat. So make it home today and Enjoy with family and friends!!!

Ingredients Used:-

For making Rice:-

1. Basmathi Rice or Kaima(Jeera) Rice - 4 Cups
2. Water - 7 Cups
3. Salt - 1 tsp(to taste)
4. Cinnamon sticks - 2
5. Cloves - 8
6. Cardamom pods - 4
7. Bay Leaves - 2
8. Whole Black Pepper - few(10 counts)
9. Ghee - 2 tsp(can add more ghee if desired)

For making Fish Masala:-

1. Tilpia Fish Fillet - 6
2. Turmeric powder - ¾ tsp + ½ tsp
3. Chilly powder - 1 tsp + ½ tsp
4. Salt -1 tsp(or more)
5. Fennel Crushed - ½ tsp
6. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
7. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
8. Coconut oil/Oil - 3 tbsp
9. Onion Finely sliced - 3
10. Tomato finely sliced - 3
11. Green chilly - 8
12. Ginger-Garlic crushed - 2 tbsp
13. Curry leaves few sprigs
14. Coriander leaves chopped - 3 tbsp
15. Water - ½ cup to 1 cup(as required)

To Grind: -

1. Cashews - ¼ cup
2. Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp

For Garnishing:-

1. Raisins few ghee roated
2. Cashews few ghee roasted
3. Onion sliced very thin and deep fried till light brown. 
4. Can use some saffron milk( I did not use)

How I made It:-

Fish Masala:-

1. Clean and cut tilapia into small bite size pieces. Wash once or twice. 
2. Make a marinade with ¾ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp chilly powder, crushed fennel and salt. Marinate the fish and set aside for an hour.
3. Heat up a skillet/tawa, pour 1 tbsp oil, shallow fry the fish pieces on both side and keep aside.
4. Grind the 'To Grind' ingredients to a smooth paste and set aside.
5. Pour 2tbsp of oil in manchatti/earthern ware(or any non-stick pan), add crushed ginger-garlic, curry leaves and saute for a minute or two.
6. Add onion, green chilly, salt and saute well in medium heat till the onion turns transkucent.
7. Add tomato and saute well till the tomato is fully cooked mashed up.
8. Add ½ tsp turmeric powder,½ tsp chilly powder, coriander powder and garam masala and saute well to mix.
9. Add the ground paste and mix well. Add water to get required consistency, stir well and let it boil.
10. Simmer the heat to medium and add fried fish pieces. Mix well with masala and let it boil for another ten minutes. Add coriander leaves and take off the stove.

For Making Ghee Rice:-

1. Heat up a thick bottom pan, pour ghee. Add cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves and saute for a minute.
2. Pour water, salt and whole pepper. Let it boil.
3. Add rice, with a saptula stir well till the bottom of the pan. Simmer the heat to medium, cover with a air tight lid and let it cook till the water is absorbed. 
4. Take it out of the stove and give it a gentle stir. Let it cool down for a while say let the steaming heat subside.
5. Move to two-three platters so that rice do not stick to each other and will be nice and fluffy.

Dumming the Biriyani and Final Process:-

1. 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 fish masala gravy, top with fried cashews, raisins, fried onions, coriander leaves and few drops of saffron milk.
2. 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.
3. Take them out to individual serving plate, garnish with more raisins, cashews and fried onion. Serve warm with pappads, pickles, chutney and Raita.

Kerala Fish Biriyani/Pomfret Fish Biriyani(Malabar Style Fish Biriyani)

Fish Biriyani is yet another specialty of Kerala Cuisine. It is more popular in malabar region I believe where fish is an integral part of daily diet. Being from Thalassery where fresh fish is abundant we used to have fish as a main or side dish every single day. Our lunch menu used to be Boiled Rice with a simple Vegetable Curry made with vegetables grown locally, a healthy Veg Stir Fry(Thoran) and a mandatory Fish Curry or Fish Mulakittathu or Fish Fry. Though the fish we get were simple fishes like Sardines(Mathi), Mackerel(Ayala), Stingray(Thirandi), Shark(Shraavu) etc, we kids were happy with one or two pieces of fish in the corner of our plate and the sniff of it helps us consume the rice without any tantrums unlike the cute little picky eaters now a days.

I prefer Fish Biriyani over any Chicken/Lamb Biriyani, my husband is a fish lover too especially this Fish biriyani. I remember him eating all the fish pieces and asking us for fish again and again when he visited us for the first time couple of days before marriage. I could see the embarrassment on my MIL's face and me and my MIL laughs everytime we discuss about it. My hubby is a person with zero formalities and I could see him 'trading' chicken for fish with my cousins when we came to my home first time(for Virunnu/Salkkaaram) after marriage ;) Those were some sweet memories of life. So I love to make this fish biriyani for him and kids and my Son absolutely loves it too.

As I mentioned before in Malabar, Kaima Rice also known as Jeerakasaala Rice/Jeera Rice is used for making Biriyani which tastes way better than the Basmathi Rice. It has a very good fragrance in its own and when cooked with spices and ghee the biriyani tastes fabulous. You guys might laugh at me when I say I carried some Kaima Rice/Jeera Rice last time when I flew back from India :-)  My FIL and my hubby were literally pulling my legs when I bought them from local store near our home. I made this fish biriyani with Jeera Rice and my hubby who was making fun of me before started appreciating me whenever I made Biriyani with this rice. You can definitely use Basmathi Rice which is also aromatic and tasty if you don't find this Jeera Rice in your local grocery stores. Try out this awesome Fish Biriyani and Enjoy!!!!!

For Rice :-

Ingredients:-

1) Jeera Rice/Kaima Rice - 2 Cups(Can use Basmathi rice instead if you don't have Jeerakasaala  Rice)
2) Cinnamon stick - 2 small
3) Cardamon - 2 to 3
4) Cloves - 4
5) Bay leaves - 3
6) Whole pepper -10
7) Ghee/Oil - 2 tsp
8) Water- 3 3/4 cup
9) Salt -2 tsp
10) Ghee fried cashews and raisins a handful

Preparation Method:-

• In a thick bottom vessel, add some ghee/oil in low-med flame. Add whole spices(ingredients from 2 to 6) saute for few minutes till they start to give a nice aroma, pour in the water and salt and get to boil.
• Add the rice, stir with a spoon till the bottom of the vessel, cover it with an air tight lid and let it cook till all the water evaporates.
• Switch off the stove and let it sit for few minutes say 10 minutes(don't put the spoon and try to sir the rice immediately, rice might stick when it is very hot and stick to the bottom). 
• Move the rice to two to three platters and let them cool so that rice do not stick to each other.

Preparing Fish Masala:-

Ingredients:-

1. Pomfret Fish sliced and cleaned ~ 2 lbs(you can use fish of your choice, preferably less bone fish like kingfish)
2. Turmeric pdr - 1 tsp +  ½ tsp
3. Chilly powder- 1 tsp + 1 tsp
4. Onion very finely sliced -2 big(~ 3 cups) 
5. Tomato finely sliced - 2 med(~ 1½ cups)
6. Green chilly slit into halves - 4
7. Ginger, garlic very finely chopped or crushed - 2tbsp each
8. Curry leaves a sprig
9. Coriander leaves chopped ~ 2 tbsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Garam masala - 1 tsp
12. Vinegar ~ 2 tsp
13. Oil -1 tsp + 2 tsp
14. Thick Coconut Milk - 3 tbsp(I used canned coconut milk, if using fresh coconut milk extract  ½ cup to 1 cup coconut milk. can use water instead as well but coconut milk gives a better taste)
15. Water ~  ½ cup(can add bit more according to the gravy required)

Preparation Method:-

• Marinate the fish with 1tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp chilly powder, salt and vinegar and keep aside for an hour if possible. 
• In a non-stick pan add a tsp of oil and slightly fry the fish both sides and keep aside.
• Add 2 tsp oil in a frying pan, add onions and saute for few minutes till they turn translucent, add green chilies, crushed ginger, few curry leaves, salt and saute till onion turns light brown. 
• Add the chopped coriander and tomatoes and saute well till tomato are soft and oil starts leaving the edges.
• Add ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp of chilly powder and garam masala and saute to mix. Dilute the thick coconut milk by adding  ½ cup of water, add to the masala and stir well till everything is incorporated.
• When the gravy start to boil add the fried fish pieces and mix with masala very gently taking care not to break the fish. 
• Simmer the heat to low-medium, cover the pan and let it cook for few minutes in low heat(10 minutes). 
• Take off the stove and let it cool for few minutes. 

Layering(Dumming) and finishing:-

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F in bake mode. 
• Take a baking tray add a layer of rice, followed by a layer of fish masala, cahews, raisins.
• Repeat the process with rest of the rice, masala, cahews and raisins. 
• Garnish on top with some fried cashews and raisins. Cover the top tightly with a silver foil.
• Bake it for around 25-30 minutes. Serve hot with raita, pappad and pickle.

Delicious Chicken Biriyani

Here comes my favorite recipe for chicken biriyani. Yet again Malabar is very famous for different types of Biriyanis. In Kerala, Biriyani is made with a very nice aromatic small rice known as Jeera Rice(jeerakashala rice) also known as biriyani rice. I could not find it in any Indian store here in US, so I have been using Basmathi rice which also gives great aroma and taste. This recipe I am adding here was made for a friends get-together, so the quantity may be high. Please reduce the amount of ingredients according to your requirement.

Ingredients:-

Chicken – 2lbs
Basmati Rice – 4 cups (wash and soak rice for about 15 mins)
Onion thinly sliced- 4(fry few onions and set aside)
Tomato- 2

Green Chillies- 6 slit into halves

Ginger, Garlic crushed - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves few

Coriander leaves few(chopped)
Mint leaves-few(chopped)
Turmeric powder- 1tsp
Chilly powder – 2tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Black Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder- 2 tsp
Yogurt- 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Water - 7 1/2 cup

Whole spices (Cinnamon sticks, Cardamom, cloves, Bay leaves, pepper corns)

Vegetable oil
Ghee -3tsp
Cashews and raisins(fry in some ghee and set aside).

Preparation Method:-

Cooking the Rice:

1) Heat up a vessel , add some ghee, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, pepper corns and fry for a minute.

2) Add water and salt to taste, when water comes to boil add rice, stir it with a spoon till the bottom of the vessel and close it with a tight lid.

3) Simmer the heat to med until rice is cooked(soft). Switch off the flame and let it stand for 30 mins(this will  help rice not to break when you try to take it out when it is very hot)

4) Spread the rice to two or three platters to cool down. Set aside.

Chicken Masala:-

                        

• Wash and clean the chicken and Marinate it with Turmeric powder, chilly powder, pepper powder and salt. Set this aside for at-least 30 mins.
• Heat a wide frying pan or non-stick vessel, pour some oil, add sliced onion, green chilly, ginger-garlic, curry leaves, salt and fry until onions are light brown in color.
• Add tomato and saute until soft. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves and stir till everything get mixed well.
• Add coriander powder and garam masala powder and sauté well.
• Add yogurt and stir until it mix well with masala. Add the chicken pieces and stir well so that chicken gets coated with all the masala. Close this with a lid and let it cook in medium heat for 15-20 mins.
• Open and check for the thickness of the chicken masala, if you feel to lessen the gravy cook it lid open for some more time so that water is evaporated faster and the gravy thicken. 
• Check for the taste and adjust the spices and salt as required. Add few more coriander leaves on top and remove from the flame.

Layering the biriyani:-

1) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F. Grease a baking tray with butter/ghee and set aside.

2) Start layering the biriyani with rice and chicken, start with half the rice, followed by chicken masala, fried onions, cashews and raisins.

2) Repeat layering by the rest of the rice and chicken masala topped by rice again until done. 

3) Garnish on top by adding few fried onions, cashews, raisins and chopped coriander leaves.

4) Bake it covered for 20-30 mins. Delicious chicken biriyani is ready to be served with raita, papad and lemon or mango pickle…

Note:- you can use the stove top method instead of a baking to get the dum effect. Add some ghee in a thick bottom vessel and do the same process as mentioned in layering. Cover the vessel with a proper air tight lid and top a heavy vessel(filled with water or something). Keep the flame on low-med and dum it for 15 - 20 mins..

Vegetable Biriyani

Normally I cook chicken or lamp biriyani at home and parties since my husband and many of our friends are non-veg lovers. We got a friend recently who is a veggie and we were invited to their home for their daughter’s 1st birthday party. Since she being a mom of two kids is tough to cook all the dishes alone we planned for potluck . I was told to make any kind of rice and she told me it is fine even I get some normal Basmati rice cooked. First I thought of making pulav, but then I decided to make veg biriyani. I was trying this recipe for first time and you guys might not believe me if I tell this recipe came out soooo good. All our friends in party were telling me that biriyani is veryyyyy yummy. My husband was like ‘ohhhh I never knew that veg biriyani can be this tasty’. Then I realized this an easy recipe and I can prepare it for my baby who just turned one yr old and it is really not much spicy for him too…

Ingredients:-

Basmati Rice – 2 cups(u can wash and soak rice for about 15 mins)
Mixed Vegetable (cauliflower, potato, carrot, beans) - 3 cupsGreen Peas- 100gms
Onion thinly sliced- 4

Onion Finely Chopped- 2
Tomato- 3Green Chillies- 6
Ginger, Garlic crushed- as required
Coriander leaves-1 bunch
Mint leaves-few
Turmeric powder- 1tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Black Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder- 2 tsp
Yogurt- 1 cup
Salt to taste
Water- 3-3/4 cup
Whole spices as required (Cinnamon stick-3, Cardamom-4, cloves- 4, Bay leaves-4)
Vegetable Oil for deep frying veggies (you can shallow fry it also if u r health conscious)
Cashews and raisins as required.

Preparation Method:-

1) To cook rice heat oil in a pan in medium flame, add whole spices and fry for 1-2 mins. Add water
and salt to taste. Add soaked rice when water comes to boil, stir it with a spoon till bottom and close the pan with a lid, simmer until rice is soft and tender. Turn the rice out 2 or 3 platters to cool down, cover it and set aside.
2) Fried Veggies: - Peel one large potato, and cut into small cubes. Heat some oil in a non-stick skillet, deep fry the potatoes until golden, drain and set aside and fry sliced onions until golden-brown. Also fry cauliflower florets, peas, diced carrots and beans. Fry some cashews and raisins as well.

3) Heat a frying pan to make masala. Add chopped onion, green chilly, ginger-garlic and fry until golden brown in color. Add tomato and sauté until soft. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves and stir. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder and aromatic garam masala powder and sauté well. Now add yogurt and stir in until it mix well with masala.

4) Now start layering the biriyani and the best part. Take a baking tray and grease it with some butter. Start with half the rice, followed by some fried veggies and onions, nuts, raisins and the masala followed by the rest of the rice. Repeat the layering till finished.  Decorate on top by adding few fried onions, nuts, raisins and chopped coriander leaves. Bake it covered by a silver foil for 30 mins at 350 degree Fahrenheit

6) You can serve it as it is or with raita and achar/pickle