Holy month and a good old recipe

  Hearty Ramadan wishes to all my readers.

Ramadan is back..... the season of fasting followed by feasting......
While thinking about Ifthar's, what comes to my mind is the non ending array of pathiris (wafer thin rice pancakes) in its various stages of processing on the kitchen counter top in our family home with the women hovering around it with jokes and gossips... .The chicken curry would  be fuming in its pot over the stove, sending delicious aromas helter skelter, and the 'samosas'  and 'kozhi adas' sizzling in their abode and we children used to pray that the 'bank' (call for prayer to end the fast) be called early so that we all can have a share of these delicacies.


            In Ramadan mornings, kitchen is usually dormant with activities limited to preparing simple foods for the children or having a glass of water by the kids..........  It is the time when my kitchen goes to hibernation after a long year of perpetual cooking experiments. As I sleep the mornings off with a 'no worry',' no tension' demeanor, so does the kitchen, saving its fuels to light up a far too busy afternoon to meet up the hurry burry cooking buzz. It is just a lull before the storm. The dough need to be kneaded for the 'pathiris', the chicken to be cut, curry made, fruits to be juiced.... and the list of cooking chores goes on .......

          As a prelude to 'ifthar' specials, I decided to post something simple - a far less time consuming yet yummy affair. Yes, you guessed it right .'Kozhi Aleesa'. After almost a week of the same menu list I thought of making something different and after pondering over my lists, this is what I finalised. The rich soupy dish made delicious with whole husked wheat cooked along with chicken or mutton, would totally ward your fatigue away after a tiring day at fasting.



    

Chicken Aleesa

 







Vegetarian Aleesa



 

         Aleesa is a traditional dish of malabar, whose roots grows back to the Arab culinary, prepared by cooking whole husked wheat with coconut milk and seasoned with fried shallots and ghee.The non veg version is 'Kozhi aleesa' or 'Mutton aleesa', where you  cook chicken or mutton along with wheat.The vegetarian aleesa is usually served sweetened with sugar or jaggery,while the non-veg variety can be served either with sugar or salt.I prefer Kozhi aleesa served with salt because it gives it a soupy and rich taste.



        The recipe is simple..



    Kozhi Aleesa(Chicken Aleesa)

Things you will need:

1 cup whole or broken husked wheat, soaked

           (sooji wheat is the best)



3 cups of water

500g chicken

1 cup thick coconut milk

2 tbsp pure ghee

Salt to taste



Preparation:

        Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces.Wash and drain.Then cook the soaked wheat and chicken pieces along with 3 cups of water and adequate salt, in a pressure cooker or in a pot.Cook until the wheat is broken down and soupy and the meat easily comes off from the bones.It took almost half an hour for me in pressure cooker.Now remove bones from the meat and mix everything well.Boil the aleesa and add the coconut milk.Switch off the burner before it comes to boil.Adjust the salt if needed.

   Serve:

       Transfer the aleesa to the serving bowl,and make a pit in the center of it.Pour 1 teaspoon of melted ghee into it and serve hot.Enjoy yourself.. :)