Thenga Choru / Coconut rice – A Malabar Approach

         Traditional dishes have always had a place in the heart of a Malabari in Ramadan. It is one of the times when the old and forgotten dishes find their way back to the dining tables. Far back in our grannies era, before the biriyani started its reign in the Malabar muslim kitchen,   Thenga choru was the king and queen of special occasions (so says my granny). There would inevitably be a beef curry to go with it.

      The simplicity to prepare and the distinguished flavor of this simply delicious rice made me wonder why people don’t prepare it very often. May be coconut is not as abundant as it used to be. Coconut rice has a lot of variations in different regions. This is the northern Kerala variation which is mainly made in the Malappuram side..

Let’s go to the recipe right away…….

Things you need:

   for about 6 people

Par boiled rice                           -   4 cups

Pearl onions / Shallots, sliced     -   10 to 15

Fenugreek seeds                       -    2 tsp

Fresh grated coconut                 -    3 cups

Ani seeds                                  -    2 tsp (optional)

Water                                       -    9 cups

Salt to taste

Method:

    Mix all the ingredients in a vessel except water and salt and kneed well with your hands. Add water and allow to boil. After the mixture starts to boil add adequate salt. Then simmer the  heat and allow the rice to cook slowly by closing the vessel with a lid. It can also be cooked in a pressure cooker.Cooking in pressure cooker requires less water. You can reduce about one cup of water. Different type of rice requires different quantity of water. Before preparing the rice try to be familiar with the cereal you have so that you can decide how much water is needed. Thenga choru can also be made with basmathi or jeera rice. When the water dries up completely and the rice is well cooked, remove from heat. Serve hot with beef or chicken curry, coconut chutney and papad. 

Malabar Mutton Biriyani

                                          " Come delicious little dreams
                                      Become more and more yummy deals
                                                 So that you could heal
                                            All pretty unhappy kinda feel"

          I don't know why I am becoming poetic nowadays. I usually do when I am quite unparallely happy or totally devastated. Uncanny.. right? But that's what I am.. During the uneventful days I am quite normal. Unusual happiness or utter sorrow brings the Quixote out in me. No wonder most of the great poets were said to be a little out of their mind. Insanity brings outrageous rhythm to your thoughts which pours out as words with a complete twist. Actually I am pushed into such bizarre moods simply by the thoughts of home or by a homely food or hearing my son pronounce correctly a moderately difficult word without efforts. So what was it that let the Miss Loony loose in me this time?

        It was a very traditional goodie which actually send my palate (and mind) to extra ordinary ecstasy. Yes the 'Malabar Mutton Biriyani' is something which is more nearer to ecstasy.... if you are a biriyani lover. And like many others, I also think my mom makes the best biriyani . She makes it in the traditional "dum" procedure. 'Dum' is the process by which biriyani is cooked by retaining all its fragrance inside by sealing the lid with dough and keeping a weight on top of the lid so that the fragrant vapour is never going to escape out through any vent. Also hot embers of wood are distributed evenly under the pot as well as over the lid  so that the biriyani gets cooked equally over the top and bottom. So much to do for the traditional flavour lock technique... But I do not make it the traditional way because of lack of facilities in my little flat. I try to compensate it though, with resources I have... like aluminium foil to cover the vessel over which the lid is kept which is held intact by clothe pegs :) and keeping the whole vessel in the oven to get the 'dum' effect. Not bad in the outcome.  Actually it tastes almost its traditional cousin.
Here is the recipe...

Things you need:


For rice:
Basmathi rice or any other biriyani rice - 5 cups, soaked for 10 minutes and drained
Boiled water - 10 cups (it depends on the rice you use. some rice needs less than double the amount of water )
Salt to taste

For the masala:
Fresh  tender mutton  - 1 kg (cut into medium sized pieces, washed and drained)
Vegetable oil - 4 tbsp
Large onions - 5, sliced thinly
Ginger minced - 2 tsp
Garlic minced - 2 tsp
Green chillies, minced - 6
Tomato , sliced - 3
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds/ cus cus - 1/2 tsp
(Soak these two for at least 1 hour)

Grated fresh coconut - 3 tbsp (optional)
Lemon juice - of 1 lemon
Coriander leaves , sliced - 3/4 cup
Mint leaves, sliced - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Others:
Ghee / Clarified butter - 1/4 cup
Cashew nut - 50 g
Raisins - 50 g
Onion, sliced thinly - 1

Garam masala powder:

 4 Cinnamon sticks of 2 inch length

8 Cloves

8 Cardamom

1 Nutmeg

4-6 mace/ jathipathri

4 Star anise

1 tsp fennel seeds

Dry roast all these and powder. Store in an air tight container

Method:

Making the masala:
        Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the sliced onions and saute until translucent. Add the minced ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute. Now add the sliced tomatoes and saute until it becomes mushy. Add the turmeric powder, pepper powder,coriander powder and garam masala powder and saute for another 2 minutes. Now add the lemon juice, salt and the leaves. Cook for a couple of minutes with the vessel covered. Meanwhile grind the soaked fennel an poppy seeds into a very fine paste. If there is difficulty grinding them add a little coconut to it and grind.Add this fennel poppy paste to the masala and saute. Finally add the mutton and mix everything well. Now close the pressure cooker and cook with the weight on in high heat. After the first vistle comes simmer the heat and cook for another twenty minutes and remove from heat.

Making the rice:
      Heat another heavy bottomed deep vessel and add ghee to it . Add a thinly sliced onion and fry it until deep brown and crispy. Remove it from the ghee and keep aside. Now fry the cashews and raisins in the same ghee until brown and puffed up. Take out from the ghee and keep with the fried onion. Now add the basmathi rice to the remaining ghee and saute until it starts becoming translucent. Add hot water to it . When it comes to a boil add adequate salt and simmer the heat and cook it by covering the vessel. Stir the rice occasionally to ensure uniform cooking. Remove from heat when all the water dries up and the rice is almost cooked.

Layering:
      Heat a deep round vessel and add the biriyani masala to it. On top of it add a layer of rice about 3 inches thick. Spread some fried onion, cashews and raisins on top of it. Sprinkle a little garam masala powder also. Above this add another layer of rice, then the onion cashew mix and go on until all the rice is layered. Now press the top layer with a spatula in such a way that the rice forms a dome shape. This helps in retaining the spicy vapour of biriyani inside the rice layers and gives the rice a nice fragrance. Now cover the top of the vessel with an aluminium foil and place the lid tightly on top. Secure the lid with clothe pegs or any other clips. Place the vessel in oven and cook at 160 degree C or gas mark 2 for 10 minutes or simmer the heat and keep it on the stove for another 15 minutes. Then remove from heat. Do not open until you start serving.

Serve:
      Serve hot with coconut chutney , curd or pickles and salad. Mix the masala and rice before serving. Garnish it with fried onions, cashews and raisins.

Chemmeen Biriyani / Prawn Biriyani

   

  
           Celebrations in Malabar would not be complete with out a Biriyani. Whether it be chicken, mutton, beef or fish Biriyani, preparing one and presenting it to the loved ones is equivalent to saying 'this occasion is special. Enjoy!' It is as much as a synonym to celebrations that people would ask, "When will we get the Biriyani" instead of "When is the wedding due?" or  "When will your child come to this world?"

          Spicy condiments are a part  of malabar cooking... and there would not be another dish as uniquely delicious as this breath taking blend of spices and condiments. This must be why, no special occasion of joy nor a party where two souls join for life is left without  at least one item as the Biriyani in Malabar. When your stomach is content, so would your mind be ... "Elementary ! my dear Watson" :)

          No wonder the memories of Eid at home has the endearing flavours and fragrance of my mom's Biriyani. Till today she is the best to me. I haven't tasted more luscious biriyani elsewhere yet. And that is what I miss the most too in the solitary Eid celebration with my little family more than the hurly burly family gatherings back home. And so when ever I prepare Biriyani I feel like it is not as good as my mom's. Even my friends at college used to long for my mom's Biriyani and I can't help but smile at the memory of my friends snarfing it up when she at last brings it to our hostel, as if they haven't tasted food for a long long time...

         As for Prawn biriyani the preparation is much like Fish biriyani. Many people add curd to the masala to enhance the taste and thickness, but I don't. Here also my Ayurvedic knowledge is the villain. According to Ayurveda, curd should never be consumed along with fish. Not only that, eating curd after heating is considered to be 'virudda' or highly unhealthy,which may lead to the triggering of many skin diseases as well as auto immune disorders. If you plan to add curd to any of your dish you can add it after the dish is prepared and cooled. But you are not supposed to reheat it. Well, some of you might find this ridiculous but as for me experience is my teacher. While attending the OPs at the Ayurveda college hospital, we used to take the case history of patients. What I found from my 2 years of research was surprising. Most of the patients who came with skin diseases like psoriasis and eczema as well as diseases like rheumatoid arthritis had a long term association with one or more of the 'virudda ahara' habits mentioned in Ayurveda. So well, you can pitch my information in to your waste bin or follow my recipe :)  I add more lemon juice and cashew nut paste. This compensates the absence of curd,more or less.

      Coming to the recipe...

Chemmeen Biriyani / Prawn Biriyani



Things you need:

For rice:

Basmathi rice or any other biriyani rice  -  5 cups, soaked for 10 minutes and drained
Boiled water                                         -  10 cups
Salt to taste

For marination and frying:

Big to medium sized prawns      -   1 kg, cleaned,washed and drained
Turmeric powder                      -   1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder                      -   2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste                     -   1 tsp
Salt to taste
Fennel seed powder                  -   1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil                             -   1/4 cup

For the masala:

Vegetable oil                             -   1/4 cup
Large onions                             -   4, sliced thinly
Ginger minced                           -   1 tsp
Garlic minced                            -   1 tsp
Green chillies, minced                -   4
Tomato , sliced                         -   3
Turmeric powder                      -  1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder               -  1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder              -  1 tsp
Fennel seeds                             -  1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds/ cus cus                -  1/2 tsp
Cashew nuts                             -  1 tbsp
(Soak these three for at least 1 hour and grind into a fine paste)
Lemon juice                              -  of 1 lemon
Thick coconut milk                    - 1 cup
Coriander leaves , sliced            -  3/4 cup
Mint leaves, sliced                     -  1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Others:

Ghee / Clarified butter                -  1/4 cup
Cashew nut                                -  50 g
Raisins                                       -  50 g
Onion, sliced thinly                     -  1

Garam masala powder:

   4 Cinnamon sticks of 2 inch length
   8 Cloves
   8 Cardamom seeds
   1 Nutmeg
   4-6 maice/ jathipathri
   4  Star anise
   1 tsp fennel seeds
Dry roast all these and powder. Store in an air tight container


Method:

1. Marination and frying: Marinate the prawns with all the ingredients under marinade except oil. Keep it for at least half an hour. Heat oil in a frying pan and shallow fry the prawns. Do not deep fry it. Remove from pan when both sides are just cooked. Drain the remaining oil into a glass vessel.
2. Making the masala: Heat this oil along with another 1/4 cup of oil in a large saucepan. Add the sliced onions and saute until translucent. Add the minced ginger and garlic and saute. Now add the sliced tomatoes and saute until it becomes mushy. Add the turmeric powder, pepper powder and garam masala powder and saute for another 2 minutes. Now add the lemon juice, salt and the leaves. Cook for a couple of minutes with the vessel covered. Add the fennel cashew paste and saute. Add in the fried prawns and mix everything  well. Finally add the coconut milk and heat until the masala thickens.
3. Making the rice: Heat another heavy bottomed deep vessel and add ghee to it . Add a thinly sliced onion and fry it until deep brown and crispy. Remove it from the ghee and keep aside. Now fry the cashews and raisins in the same ghee until brown and puffed up. Take out from the ghee and keep with the fried onion. Now add the basmathi rice to the remaining ghee and saute until it starts becoming translucent. Add hot water to it . When it comes to a boil add adequate salt and simmer the heat and cook it by covering the vessel. Stir the rice occasionally to ensure uniform cooking. Remove from heat when all the water dries up and the rice is almost cooked.
4. Layering: Heat a deep round vessel and add the biriyani masala to it. On top of it add a layer of rice about 3 inches thick. Spread some fried onion, cashews and raisins on top of it. Sprinkle a little garam masala powder also. Above this add another layer of rice,  then the onion cashew mix and go on until all the rice is layered. Now press the top layer with a spatula in such a way that the rice forms a dome shape. This helps in retaining the spicy vapour of biriyani inside the rice layers and gives the rice a nice fragrance. Now cover the top of the vessel with an aluminium foil and place the lid tightly on top. Simmer the heat and keep it for another 15 minutes. Then remove from heat.
5. Serve hot with coconut chutney,' ulli surka'(onion in vinegar) and pappad.

Chicken fried rice

                     Like childhood days, I am still obsessed with Chinese.. I mean their food...  They have a way with simple foods. Have always wondered, how such simply prepared goodies could be that yummy...! Sounds far away from logic. right? Yet once you try them out, you get hooked! 

                     And they have those fantastic sauces which leaves each dish deliciously different from the other. Yum Yum!! Think about the Oyster sauce or Fish sauce or the universal Soy sauce. Recently I have got into this wacky habit of adding one of it simply to even stir fried veggies and LOL... suddenly you are "such a gifted cook...anything you prepare is finger licking good"... Wink ;)

                     So what about the 'fav' lists? Fried rice certainly beats others. Think about the preparation.. 'Stir fry everything.. mix them up..' it's that easy.. Wow! Have it for lunch with some Indo-chinese side dishes like Chicken Shezwan or Gobi manjurian... It's real bliss!
                     Fried rice recipe? Here you are...

Chicken fried rice

Serves 3-4
Things you need:

Basmathi rice or any long grain rice   -  3 cups
Water               -     6 cups
Vegetable oil     -    1/2 cup
Chicken breast   -     500g, cut into small rectangular pieces
Egg                  -     2
Carrot               -    1, diced into small pieces
Cabbage           -     1 cup, diced thinly
Green pepper     -     1 , diced into small pieces
Garlic                -     2 cloves, diced into small pieces
Spring onion       -    2 stalks ,diced
Celery               -    1/2 stalk, diced thinly
Salt to taste
White pepper powder  
Soy sauce (optional)

Preparation:

            Cook the rice with water and adequate salt and keep aside.You can add 1 table spoon of oil into the water while cooking to keep the rice from sticking. Now heat a medium sized wok or frying pan and 1 tbsp of oil. Saute the garlic and transfer to a large wok. Add more oil to the frying pan and saute the chicken adding adequate salt and sprinkling a little pepper powder, until well cooked.Transfer it into the large wok. In the same frying pan scramble the eggs adding adequate salt and pepper powder and transfer to the large wok. Then saute the vegetables one by one adding salt and pepper powder and transfer to the large wok. Finally saute the cooked rice in little oil and pour over the vegetables in the wok. Mix every thing well until evenly distributed. Add soy sauce if needed. I usually doesn't add soy sauce to rice because it dulls the white colour of rice. I prepare it separately by adding equal amounts of soy sauce, vinegar and water added with adequate salt and garnished with sliced green chillies. This is kept in small bowls to be used with the rice as desired.

Chicken Majboos

      
          Before coming and settling in Kuwait with my hubby, I had the faintest idea about Arab dishes.All I had heard off and had some acquaintance with was the S-dishes namely,Shavarma and Shavaya.That too,the Indian version.The little knowledge I had about Arab dishes was too much shadowed by hear says such as"They are dishes where neither taste makers nor spices are added.You could not even say if it is sweet or sour."Imagine you being given a whole chicken,simply boiled in water with out adding anything else and cheerfully asked to eat...Well, I had serious doubts about my chances of survival while flying to Kuwait.

       But the story was different when I started shaking hands with these dishes.At first they felt so plain and bland to my spice drenched Indian tongue.But later, when I had more chances to make friends with them,I slowly began finding sense in them.It was like old times,when a newly released Bollywood song would seem a nuisance to your ear,when you first listen to it,but later on when time and again you hear it, you start sensing the beauty in its tone...

           That was how,I too became a Majboos lover.Coming to the recipe,I have tried a lot of varieties and this is what I formulated after much researches and feed backs from my friends and family. This is a recipe I perfected out after a lot of help from my cousin sister in law Sajitha, who is a great researcher but doesn't have a blog yet. You could try differently by adding more oil and more spices if you like,according to your taste.

   Chicken Majboos

     

Ingredients :

              Serves 4-6

                    3 cups Basmathi rice(soaked for at least 3 hrs)

                    1 whole chicken with skin (1 kg)

                    2 medium sized onions-sliced

                    2 tablespoon black pepper seeds

                    4 cardamom

                    6-8 cloves

                    2-3 cinnamon sticks(of 2" length)

                    2-3 bay leaves

                    1 dried black lemon

                    2 pinches of saffron colour(optional)

                    4 1/2 cups of water

                    salt to taste
For garnishing:
                  Chana dal/ split chick peas  -  2 tbsp
                  white raisins , soaked for 2 min and drained - 2 tbsp

                  Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

             1.  Wash the chicken properly and cut them into halves or quarter pieces without removing the skin.Allow it to drain.

             2. Heat 4 1/2 cups of water in a vessel and when it starts to boil add sliced onions,black pepper seeds and all the spices into it.Add the dried lemon piercing a hole in it using a knife. Add salt to taste.

             3. Finally add the drained chicken to it.

             4. Cower the vessel and allow to cook for at least one hour in medium to low heat until the chicken is tender and well cooked.

            5. Now, take the chicken out from the spicy broth and keep aside. Sieve the broth into another larger vessel kept on medium heat and put the cinnamon sticks back to the broth

            6. Add the soaked and drained basmathi rice to the boiling broth and cook in low flame covering the vessel.Stir the rice occasionally taking care   not to break the rice. When the water starts to dry pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil over the rice and cover it up.When the rice is well cooked and all the water has dried up, carefully stir the rice once more and remove the vessel from heat.
          Transfer one fourth of the cooked rice to a bowl and add the saffron colour dissolved in one table spoon of water. Mix well with a spoon and keep aside
          Cook the chana dal in a pressure cooker with a little water, a pinch of salt and a pinch of saffron colour until tender. keep it aside.
          Heat a frying pan and add a tablespoon of oil to it. Add the raisins and fry until they are brown and puffed up. Remove from the pan and add this to the coloured rice.Now add the cooked chana dal to the same pan and saute for a few seconds adding garam masala powder.Add this also to the colored rice mixture

              7. Now grill the cooked chicken halves in the oven keeping it at the top rack,until the skin is brown and crispy.

                                  Or

            You can fry the chicken by adding some oil to a big pan and frying in medium flame.Make sure all the sides are evenly fried and crispy by turning it around.After taking the chicken out you can pour the remaining oil over the cooked rice so that it gets a nice flavour.

            8. Serve:

              Pour the cooked rice into a wide plate and keep the grilled chicken pieces on top of it.Garnish with the coloured rice mixture with raisins and chana dal. Serve hot with dakkoos and salad.