Fish Biriyani

Here you go with another Biriyani special for this week, yeah its “Fish Biriyani”. It is a combination of spicy Biriyani rice with fried fish. Especially, making of this “Kerala style Fish Biriyani” is a unique process and served better with pickle and pappad (Pappadam). This Biriyani will be tastier when made with King Fish (Nei Meen) or Tilapia (Jilabi). I tried this for the first time and it made a real wonder at “My Kitchen”

Ingredients:

• Fish pieces cut into small pieces – 1.5 Lbs or 1 Kg
• Basmati Rice – 2 cups
• Bay leaves – 3
• Cinnamon -2
• Cloves – 1 Tspn
• Star Anise- 2 Nos
• Cardamom – half Tspn
• Large Onions (Chopped) – 3
• Tomatoes (Chopped)– 2
• Ginger Pieces
• Garlic Pieces
• Green Chillies chopped – 7
• Cashew nuts – one handful
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tspn
• Raisins – 2 tspn
• Coriander powder – 3 tspn
• Yogurt – 3/4 cup
• Garam Masala powder- 1 tspn
• Kashmiri Chilly powder (optional) or normal chilly powder– 2 tspn
• Mint leaves chopped-1 cup
• Cilantro chopped-1/2 cup
• Salt – to taste
• Oil/ghee – as needed
• Lime Juice- 4 Tspn

To marinade:

• Pepper powder – 1/2 tspn
• Kasmiri Chilly powder or normal chilly powder– 1 tspn
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tspn
• Salt – to taste

To Grind (As powder without adding water):

• Poppy seeds– 1 tspn
• Fennel seeds 1/2 tspn

Method:
Separate Frying and grinding:

• Clean and soak the rice at least for 20 minutes and set drain.
• Powder the poppy seeds and fennel seeds and keep aside.
• Heat oil/ghee in a separate pan and fry the cashew nuts, raisins and keep aside

Fish Frying:

• Grind all the ingredients for the marinade adding little water and marinate the fish pieces with the grinded ingredient at least for 30 minutes, after 30 minutes fry the marinated fish pieces for shallow fry (with less oil) and keep aside.

Cooking Rice:

• Heat little ghee in a pan and lightly fry the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaves for few minutes. Now add the drained rice and again fry for few minutes, then add 3 and 3/4 cup of water, salt and lime juice and cook for 2 whistles and keep aside.

For Fish Gravy:

• Add oil in a separate pan fry the onion until translucent, add ginger,garlic and green chillies and saute it .Add coriander ,turmeric, kashmiri chilly powder or normal chilly powder and sauté again. Add grounded poppy seed-fennel seed powder, now add yogurt, garam masala powder,salt, tomatoes. Now add the fried fish pieces to this and donot stir for long time as fish pieces may broke. add chopped coriander and mint leaves and remove from heat.

Layering:

• In a large heavy bottomed pan, pour a little ghee and spread the rice. Then, layer the prepared fish gravy on top of it and spread the rice once again over the gravy. Add the fried cashew nuts, raisins on it, followed by rice again.

Repeat the layering process and keep the pan covered with the Lid in the stove in low heat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the flame and transfer to a bowl without stirring as fish pieces may broke.

Tips:

"You can replace oil with ghee in all the process.

Adjust the chilly powder how much ever you need it as spicy.

While layering if you put a wet cloth on top of the lid will give you good taste and aroma however it’s purely optional.

Adding curd is also optional but it gives a good taste.

Since no water is added while layering process, keep the flame as low as it may burn at the base."

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Rasagulla (Step by Step Photos)

Rasagulla is one of the milk or cottage cheese based sweet, served with sugar syrup. The process of making this sweet may look lengthy or tedious but when you try this once, if you will understand the simplicity.The making of rasagulla will also help you to learn how to make home made paneer. These sweet little cheese balls are loved by everyone, especially kids. I thought, scripting alone may not help you to understand the better, so, given below the step by step pictures of making these sweet Rasagulla at your kitchen.

Ingredients:

• Milk (with Full Fat)-1 Liter
• Lemon Extract – 3 Tsp
• Sugar- 2 Cups
• Water- 3 Cups
• Elachi powder- 1 Tspn
• Pistachios- 5 Nos(optional)
• Saffron- a small piece (Optional)

To Make Home Made Paneer:

• In a heavy bottomed pan, heat milk when it starts boiling add lemon extract, when it starts curdling switch off the flame( step 1 pic)
• Transfer the curdled milk to a muslin cloth, show this towards cold water and clean it so that the lemon smell will go off (step 2 pic)
• Then squeeze the excess water gently and Hang the muslin cloth for at least 20 minutes (step 3 pic)
• Now kneed the crumble mixture (step 5 Pic) it like soft and smooth dough gently with hand and make small balls.

Method:

• Apparently in a pressure cooker add water, sugar, elachi powder and boil it till it becomes thick just as sugar syrup.
• Now add the small balls of prepared paneer one by one to the syrup, close the lid and cook for 2 whistles.
• After 2 whistles, open the cooker and show the cooker immediately to running cold water, as it will take off all the heat.
• When you open the cooker, as a surprise you could see those small balls has become double in the size (Step 6 Pic).
• Store in refrigerator and serve with saffron toppings.

Tips:

"You can add vinegar instead of lemon extract if the milk doesn’t curdles.
If you are using lemon extract make sure that it should be sour enough to curdle the milk.
You can also add some ice cubes along with lemon extract while milk curdles as it will turn the Rasagullas very soft."

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Egg Kothu Parota

Most of the kids loves this recipe and even mine too :). I make this recipe mostly in weekend nights as a request from my BF :).Kothu Parota is one of a delicious dish popular in Tamilnadu, everyone would have attracted by this sound of making this Egg Kothu Parota while crossing the fast food or road side food stalls. The better you follow the process in making of this Kothu Parota makes the taste better. This is primarily made of a Parota (shredded), cooked with egg served with chicken or mutton sauce (kurma or salna).

Ingredients:

• Egg - 2 Nos
• Frozen Parota - 2 Big
• Large Onion(Chopped) - 1 Nos
• Tomato (chopped) - 2 Nos
• Coriander leaves - a Bunch
• Chilly Powder - 1.5 Tspn
• Corainder Powder - 1 Tspn
• Garam Masala Powder - 1 Tspn
• Chicken Masala Powder - 1 Tspn
• Oil - As needed
• Salt - To Taste

To Temper:

• Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tspn
• Cloves - 2 nos
• Cinnamon - 1 small piece
• Poppy seeds - half Tspn
• Curry Leaves - 10 nos
• Green chillies - 3 Nos(Chopped lengthy shape)

Method:

• Make small pieces of parota and keep aside.
• In a pan, pour oil, add all the items under To Temper List.
• Add onion and sauté for few min then add tomato, now add all the powders and salt listed under the ingredients and sauté till the texture turns into pulpy and masala sm
• Reduce the flame to low, add eggs one by one and sauté slowly, make sure the texture is semi liquid; else the eggs will role up. Saute till the egg bakes well and make sure the base is not burnt, now add coriander leaves.
• To this add the parota pieces and saute again. Switch off the flame and serve hot with raitha.

Tips:

"You can add little water before adding egg if you want gravy in it.
You can add either garam masala or the spices mentioned in the ingredients however adding both will give the real taste.
You can add a little lemon extract at the end if you want to add a sour taste in it. "

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Moru Curry/More Kulambu

More Kuzhambu is one of a very popular sauce or side for rice across southern part of India. Kerala Style More Kuzhambu is one a simple recipe made with thick curd. This makes better when you make with winter melon or white gourd or okra or pumpkin. More Kuzhambu will be more delicious than plain curd, and it is really good for digestion.

The making of this recipe differs in both the states. The one which is given below is how it is made in kerala. This is a simple curry when it served with hot meen curry will be very delicious. 

Ingredients:

• Curd- 1 Cup
• Okra - 2 Chopped (Optional)
• Winter Melon/White gourd - Chopped (1/4 Cup)
• Tomato- 1 Chopped
• Salt – To taste
• Oil- As needed

To Grind:

• Shredded Coconut- 1 Cup
• Garlic Pieces- 3 Nos
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Cumin Seeds(Jeera/Jeeragam)- 1/2 Tspn

To Temper:

• Mustard- 1/2 Tspn
• Curry Leaves- 5 Nos
• Dry Red Chillies- 2 Nos

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients under the items in To Grind list to fine paste and keep aside.
• Mix the paste in the curd with little water with salt and keep aside.
• In a pan, pour oil and add all the item under To Temper list, and add the okra and Winter Melon/White gourd, add little water(just to bake this veggies) and cook for 10 minutes covering with a lid. Add the mixed curd in this and keep in low flame just for 2 minutes or until the sides starts boiling, transfer to serving bowl.

Tips:

"Do not keep the mixture in the stove for long time, as it won’t taste good.
While adding the paste to the curd, the texture should be thick else it may turn out watery.
Adding okra is optional. ."

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Onion Bonda/Vada

I never thought making a onion bonda or vada would be this easy. Its just like a readymade food and involves no process of draining the rice for hours nor a lengthy process as well. It goes well with coconut chutney and best for a Tea Time . It’s the most important and often seen cuisine in most of the Indian Tea shops.

Ingredients:

• Gram Flour/Kadala Maavu- 100 Grams
• Rice Flour- 2 Tspn
• Rava- Half Tspn(Optional)
• Onion- 1 Large(Cut to lengthy pieces)
• Green Chillies- 2 Nos
• Curry Leaves- 10 Nos(Optional)
• Coriander leaves- 10 Nos
• Asafetida- Half Tspn
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- To Fry

Method:

Mix all the ingredients by adding water and mix well.

Deep fry it in hot oil by flipping it both the sides and transfer it to a paper towel and set dry.

Tips:

"Adding curry leaves is optional.

Adding rava is also optional but it turns the vada to crispy.

You can add a little of baking powder if you want even more crispy."

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Tiffin Sambar

Sambar is the only cuisine which is served for many varieties of food, if its rice or a tiffin item sambar goes well. When I say the word of Tiffin Sambar I remember the big silver bucket full of it served in most of the Tamil Nadu restaurants :) for breakfast recipes like idly,dosa or pongal, It’s a real time magic added to these breakfast recipes which turns the dishes absolutely tasty. It is easy to make and tasty to serve as well.

Ingredients:

• Moong Dal/Paasi Paruppu-1/3 Cup
• Onion- 1 Nos (cut into small pieces)
• Tomato- 3 Nos (with sour taste) or Tamarind (1/4 lemon size) smashed in water- half Cup
• Brinjal- 2 Small
• Potato- 2 small 
• Carrot- cut into round shape -3 
• Chilli powder- 1 Tspn 
• Turmeric Powder-half Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Coriander Leaves
• Salt- To Taste

To Temper:

• Mustard- 1 Tspn
• Jeera- 1 Tsp
• Asafetida- Half Tspn
• Green Chillies- 2 Nos(Cut into lengthy shape)
• Curry Leaves- 10 nos

Method:

Pressure cooker moong dal for 2 whistles along with salt, after whistle goes off, add onion, tomato, brinjal, potato, carrot and again pressure cook for 2 more whistle (Reason behind is if you add all vegetables at first then it will be over boiled)

Open the lid of the cooker and cook it again in medium flame, add tamarind juice along with chilli, coriander, turmeric powder with coriander leaves and stir well.

In a separate small pan, pour oil and mustard, when it splits up add curry leaves, green chillies and Asafetida.

Tips:

"If you want reduce the time of cooking, bake all the veggies and the dal together and whistle it for 3 whistles and smash it well.

If you are using sour tomatoes then no need to add tamarind extract else, you need to use the tamarind extract."

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Chilly Chicken

This is from my Amma’s cookbooks, she prepares this so nicely and I enjoy it having when served with parota. It comprises lot of capsicum pieces and lifts up the taste and turns to a spicy dish. The name itself tempts all non vegetarians, Chicken recipes are all time favourite for all rite from kids to grannies. This is a only non veg recipe which has a combination of both crispy and semi gravy as well.

Ingredients:

• Chicken cut into small pieces- half Kg/1 Lbs
• Capsicum/Bell Peppers- 1 Large
• Green chillies(cut into lengthy shape) - 2
• Large Onion cutted into square shape- 1
• Soya Sauce- 1 Tspn
• Chilli Sauce- 1 Tspn
• Vinegar – half Tspn
• Tomato Sauce- 1 Tspn
• Pepper Coarse – 1 Tspn
• Lemon Extract- 1 Tspn(Optional)
• Oil- To fry

To Fry:

• White Chola Powder- half Tspn
• Maida/All purpose flour-1 Tspn
• Chilli Powder- 1 Tspn
• Red food color- a pinch (Optional)
• Salt- To taste

Method:

Marinate chicken along with the items under To Fry list atleast for half an hour.

After marinating, fry it till turns crispy to hot oil, transfer it to a paper towel and set dry and keep aside.

In a pan, pour oil, after it turns hot,add onion, add green chillies and bell pepper and stir it for 3 minutes, add pepper coarse  and stir again.

Now, add the fried chicken pieces into this and add Soya Sauce, Chilli Sauce , Vinegar,
Tomato Sauce and stir well again until all the sauces gets well into the chicken.

Add lemon extract to this and serve hot.

Tips:

"Adding lemon extract us optional.

Adding red color is also optional but it gives nice color to the texture.

You can also add chola powder mixed with a little water while adding the sauces to the chicken if you need a little gravy ( but chilli chicken recipe doesn’t need any gravy)"

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