Prawn / Chemmeen Biriyani

Ingredients ( Serves 3 - 4)

 

Marinade

1. Prawns - 30 - 35 ( Around 400 g)
2. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
3. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
4. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Salt - As required

For the masala

1. Onion - 1 large, thinly sliced
2. Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
3. Fresh ginger-garlic paste - 2 - 3  tsp
4. Green chillies - 7 - 8, seeded
5. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
7. Coriander powder - 2tsp
8. Garam masala - 1.5 tsp
9. Mint leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped
10. Cilantro - 1/4 cup, chopped
11. Salt - To taste
12. Oil - As required

Method

1. Clean and wash the prawns. Marinate the prawns with the ingredients under marinade for at least 2 hrs in a refrigerator. Shallow fry the marinated prawns in oil until done. It won’t take more than 3 - 4 minutes on each side, at medium-low heat. Drain on to a paper towel.

 

 

2. In the same pan, add thinly sliced onions. Stir-fry until they turn light brown at medium heat. Now add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies. Stir fry for a few more minutes. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Stir-fry for a few seconds and add the chopped tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes get mashed up. Now add 1/2 cup water and mix well. Bring to a boil and add the fried prawns. Cook for a minute and add the chopped cilantro and mint. Taste check for salt. Switch off.

 

Cooking Rice

Basmati rice - 2 cups

    To cook rice I usually follow the draining method. Soak the basmati rice for around 30 mts. Drain and keep aside. Boil water in a deep vessel. To the boiling water add ghee – 2 tsp, whole spices (peppercorns- 10, cloves – 6, cardamoms - 2, bay leaves-2, cinnamon - 2, fennel seeds – half tsp, star anise- 2 and mace - 3). I usually add lots of whole spices. Add enough salt. The water should be slightly salty. Now add the soaked rice and cook it to the perfect consistency. It will take around 15 - 20 mts at medium heat.  Drain the water and allow the rice to cool.

To Garnish

Onion - 1 medium, sliced very thin and deep fried in oil/ghee till brown

Cashews and raisins - 1/4 cup deep-fried in oil / ghee

Cilantro - 1/2 cup

Mint - 1/2 cup

Layering

For layering you need a cookware which can be put on stove or which is oven-safe.

Smear the base of the cookware with ghee. Then add the fried onions, cilantro, cashews, raisins, mint leaves and prawn masala. Now add the cooked rice and repeat the process. You can sprinkle some fennel powder or biriyani masala and a little ghee on each layer. The topmost layer should be that of rice with the items under garnish.  Now seal the cookware with an aluminium foil (so that moisture won’t escape), cover with its lid and bake it at 350 F for around 10 - 15 mts (depending on the cookware you use). If you are planning to keep it for long, cook the rice only till it is 95% done or so. If you are using stovetop keep it at low flame for around 5 - 10 mts. Serve hot with boiled eggs, biriyani chammanthi, raita, pappad and lemon pickle. This recipe serves around 3-4 people.

Hari Bhari Biriyani (Vegetable Biriyani)

   We are back with yet another biriyani recipe....and trust me, the recipe is surely gonna find its way to your recipe collections, if you give it a try! This biriyani is simple to make, it’s nutritious and tastes yummy!!! I adapted this recipe from one of my borrowed cookbooks “Your rice cookbook”. The method is different from the usual biriyanis and has no time-consuming steps like layering or baking. Being an ardent lover of chicken biriyani and other non-veg biriyanis, I have never before tried the veggie version. But this simple recipe won my heart and am sure you guys will love it too!  

Ingredients (Serves - 4 - 5)

1. Basmati rice - 2 cups
2. Ginger - garlic paste -1 tsp
3. Tomato puree - 2 tbsp (You can seed and grind one small tomato)
4. Onion - 2 small, finely sliced
5. Paneer - 1/4 kg, cubed
6. Carrot - 2 small, cubed
7. Cauliflower - 3/4 - 1 cup, cut into small florets
8. Frozen green peas - 1/4 cup
9. Cilantro - 3 tbsp, chopped
10. Mint -3 tbsp, chopped
11. Whole spices - (Bay leaves - 2 - 3, Cinnamon stick - 2, Cloves - 6 - 7, Cardamom - 3 -4 , mace - 2 - 3, whole pepper - 5 - 6)
12. Garam masala  powder - 1 tsp
13. Cumin powder - 2 pinches
14. chilly powder - 1/ 4 tsp
15. Raisins - 3 tbsp
16. Cashews - 3 tbsp
17. Salt - To taste
18. Oil/ ghee - As required

Method

1. Wash the rice well and keep aside to drain.

2. Heat enough oil (around 1/4 - 1/2 cup) in a deep pan and fry the raisins, then cashews. Drain on to a paper towel. Add in the sliced onions and fry until brown.  Drain on to a paper towel. Now fry the paneer cubes until lightly browned. Drain on to a paper towel and keep aside.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy-bottomed vessel and fry the whole garam masala for a few seconds. Now add the ginger-garlic paste. Fry for a minute and stir in the tomato puree. Saute until oil separates. Add the garam masala powder, cumin powder, chilli powder, little salt and the vegetables (cubed carrots and cauliflower pieces). Saute for 4 - 5 minutes and add the drained rice. Saute for 2 - 3 minutes.  Mix in some of the fried onion, chopped cilantro and mint.

 

4. Add around 4 cups of  water to the pan. Adjust the salt. The water should be slightly salty. When the water starts boiling add the frozen green peas. Cover and cook the rice until done. (I usually transfer the rice - veggie mixture to a pressure cooker after step 3 and add around 4 cups hot water (in which enough salt has been added). Add frozen green peas. Mix everything well and check for salt. The water should be slightly salty. Cover the pressure cooker with its lid. When steam starts coming out continuously, put on the pressure cooker weight and switch off the stove. Let it sit there for at least 15 minutes or until the pressure is released. Open the pressure cooker. The rice would be cooked to the right consistency). Transfer the rice to a serving bowl. Stir in the fried paneer cubes, remaining fried onions, cashews, raisins, chopped mint and cilantro. Mix well. Serve with raita, pickle, chutney or any spicy curry.

Tips:

1) You could also cook this biriyani in a rice cooker after step 3.

Recipe adapted from “ Your Rice Cookbook” by Sharmilla Chandra and Richa Bery

Lamb Biriyani and Biriyani Chammanthi - Our 100th Post

  Finally, finally….we have reached our 100th post….hoorrraaaayyy! We are so so excited. Its been 5 months since we started our blog. We genuinely thank fellow bloggers, readers, friends & family for their support and encouragement without which we would not have reached here. Climbing up till here was fun, although the process was quite difficult. Blogging helped us know the different cuisines and we made a lot of friends too. We have tried  many great recipes from other blogs and our family loved those dishes. We are listing a few of them here. You could also try them sometime since they were so delicious. We tried dates-almond balls, pentagon chicken, chicken mughlai and okra stir fry from pazham pappadam payasam, oyster mushroom kuzhambu and prawn varuval from life is beautiful, Moru kachiyathu from collaborative curry, cucumber pancakes from Foodelicious, stuffed buns from Marias Menu, Fruit Cake from My treasure My pleasure to name a few. Hope to try and taste more of your yummy recipes soon!
  You all might have noticed that we kind of slowed down a bit and that was because we wanted to post a special recipe for our 100th post. So finally, after a long debate, we both decided that the special recipe got to be Lamb Biryani, which is an all time favorite of both of us!
  Also posting the recipe for raita and biriyani chammanthi/chutney. My mother used to prepare normal puli (tamarind) chammanthi for biriyani. I tried this interesting  chammanthi from Sarah's vazhayila and totally loved it with biriyani. We are always look forward to trying different biriyanis. So, If you have some biriyani recipes posted in your blog, which are way different from ours, please do share!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Ingredients (Serves 4 )

   Marinade

 

1. Mutton/Lamb - Around 2 lb cut to medium-sized pieces (I used 2 packets of lamb shoulder chops)
2. Fresh ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
3. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
4. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
5. Coriander powder - 1tsp
6. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Fennel powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Garam masala - 1 tsp (See recipe below)
9. Yoghurt - 1 tbsp
10. Salt - To taste

 

Marinate the lamb with the ingredients under marinade for at least 2-3 hrs or overnight if possible. 

 

For the lamb curry

 

Ingredients

 

1. Red Onion - 2 small sliced thin (If you are using pearl onions you will need around 15 - 20)
2. Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped
3. Garlic - 4 chopped
4. Green chillies - 7-8 (It might be too spicy for you so reduce the number if you wish)
5. Tomato - 2 small chopped
6. Curry leaves - 1-2 sprigs
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
8. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Biriyani masala powder - 1.5 tsp
12. Whole spices - (fennel seeds - 10-12, whole pepper corns-  10-12, cloves - 8-10, cardamom- 2, bay leaves- 2-3, star anise- 2, Cinnamon stick- 2, javitri/mace - 3)
13. Salt - To taste
14. Oil - As required

Method

 

1.  Pressure cook the marinated lamb for 2 whistles at medium heat adding very little water(1/4 cup water).

2.  Heat oil in a deep pan and add the sliced onion. Saute until it turns light brown.

 

3. Coarsely grind ginger, garlic, green chillies, 1 sprig curry leaves and the whole spices.  When the onion turns  brown, add in the coarsely  ground mixture and saute for a few minutes.  Now add the tomatoes.

4. When the tomatoes are cooked, add the turmeric powder, pepper powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and biriyani masala. Saute for a few minutes and add the cooked lamb and its gravy to the pan. Mix well  and cook for around 10-15 mts at medium heat till it has a really thick gravy and switch off the stove after checking for salt and masala. 

 

 

 

Cooking Rice

 

Basmati rice - 1.5 cup

 

    To cook rice I usually follow the draining method. Soak the basmati rice for around 30 mts. Boil water in a deep vessel. To the boiling water add ghee – 2 tsp, whole spices (peppercorns- 10, cloves – 6, cardamoms - 2, bay leaves-2, cinnamon - 2, fennel seeds – half tsp, star anise- 2 and mace - 3). I usually add lots of whole spices. Add enough salt. The water should be slightly salty. Now add the soaked rice and cook it to the perfect consistency. It will take around 15 - 20 mts at medium heat.  Drain the water and allow the rice to cool.

To Garnish

Onion - 1 medium, sliced very thin and deep fried in oil/ghee till brown

Cashews and raisins - 1/4 cup deep-fried in oil

Cilantro - A handful chopped

Mint - Half a bunch

 

Layering

 

For layering you need a cookware which can be put on stove or which is oven-safe.

Smear the base of the cookware with ghee. Then add the fried onions, cilantro, cashews, raisins, mint leaves and lamb masala. Now add the cooked rice and repeat the process. You can sprinkle some fennel powder or biriyani masala and ghee on each layer. The topmost layer should be that of rice with the items under garnish.  You can pour some gravy over it. Now seal the cookware with an aluminium foil (so that moisture won’t escape), cover with its lid and bake it at 350 F for around 20 – 25 mts (depending on the cookware you use). If you are planning to keep it for long, cook the rice only till it is 95% done or so. If you are using stovetop keep it at low flame for around 10-15 mts. Serve hot with boiled eggs, biriyani chammanthi, raita, pappad and lemon pickle. This recipe serves around 3-4 people.

 

 

Tips:

1. You can add coconut milk (2 tbsp) to the lamb curry.

2. Try using fresh home-made garam masala and biriyani masala for this biriyani.

Recipe for Garam masala (Yield - Around 3.5 - 4 tbsp)

1. Fennel Seeds (Perumjeerakam)-  2 tbsp
2. Cloves (Grambu)- 13 - 15
3. Cinnamon stick (Karuvapatta) - 2  inch
4. Cardamom (Elaikka) - 3 - 4
5. Star anise (Thakkolam) -  1
6. Whole pepper (Kurumulaku) -15 - 20
7. Poppy seeds (Kus Kus) - 1 tsp (optional)

Dry roast all the ingredients lightly in a pan at medium heat for about 2-3 mts. When they cool down, grind to a fine powder in a coffee grinder. Store in an airtight container. It will  be flavorful even if you do not dry roast them.

 

Recipe for biriyani masala (Yield - 1.5 - 2 tbsp)

1.  Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp

2.  Cloves - 4-5

3.  Cardamom - 1-2

4.  Cinnamon stick- 2 inch

5.  Star anise - 1/2 flower

6.  Whole pepper corns - 10

7.  Poppy seeds (Kus Kus) - 1/2 tsp

8.  Bay leaves - 1 leaf

9.  Mace (javitri) - 2

 

Dry roast all these spices lightly and grind to a fine powder.

 

 

Raita and biriyani chammanthi

 

 

Raita

1. Onion - 1/2 chopped
2. Tomato - 1 small, chopped
3. Cucumber - 1/2 (optional)
4. Green chillies - 2 - 3 chopped fine
5. Yoghurt - 1/2 - 3/4 cup or as needed
6. Salt - To taste

Beat the yoghurt well in a bowl and mix it with the other ingredients.

Biriyani chammanthi

1. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
2. Mint leaves - 1 tbsp chopped
3. Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped
4. Green chillies - 2, seeded
5. Garlic - 1 small
6. Yoghurt - 2 tsp
7. Salt - To taste

Grind everything except yoghurt in a mixer to a coarse or fine mixture depending on your  preference. Transfer to a bowl and add beaten yoghurt. Check for salt.

Spicy Kerala Style Fish Biriyani

    I was always reluctant to have fish biryani until one day I tasted it in my husband's aunt's place for our virunnu after wedding. It just shattered my belief that fish biryani cannot compete with the taste of other biryanis. So here I am sharing a fish biriyani recipe. The recipe is somewhat similar to that of the chicken biriyani recipe that we posted here. Although fish biriyani tastes best with king fish, I tried this biriyani with salmon which is our favorite fish. This recipe serves around 5-6 people.

Ingredients

 

1. Fish - Around 3/4 - 1 kg, cleaned and cut into medium-sized pieces

2. Basmati Rice - 2.5 cups

 

Marinade

 

3. Chilli powder - 2 tbsp

4. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

5. Pepper powder - 1 tbsp

6. Coriander powder - 2 tsp

7. Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 tbsp

8. Fennel powder - 1.5 tbsp

9. Yoghurt - 2 tbsp

10. Salt - To taste

 

For masala

 

11. Onion - 2 large, sliced (Use pearl onions(15-20) to make the gravy more tasty. Crush  them along with ginger, garlic, green chillies and the whole spices)

12. Tomato - 2 medium chopped

13. Green chillies - 6

14. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

15. Garlic - 5-6

16. Ginger -  2 inch piece

17. Whole Spices - Cloves- 8-10, Whole pepper corns - 8 - 10, Cinnamon Sticks - 2, Cardamom - 2-3, Bay leaves - 2, Mace - 3-4, star anise - 1, fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp)

18. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

19. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

20. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

21. Coriander powder - 1 tsp

22. Biriyani masala powder - 1 tbsp ( I usually use home-made garam masala but for this recipe I used bombay biriyani masala powder available in the stores here. I always add fennel powder, if I do not use my home-made masala since its flavour predominates my masala powder.)
23. Fennel powder - 2 tsp

24. Salt - To taste

25. Oil - As required

For garnish

26. Fried onion - 1/2 cup

27. Cilantro - 1/2 cup

28. Mint - 1/2 cup

29. Fried cashews and raisins - 1/2 cup

 

 

Cooking Rice

To cook rice I usually follow the draining method. Soak the basmati rice for around 30 mts. Boil water in a deep vessel. To the boiling water add ghee – 2 tsp, lemon juice – half lemon, whole spices (peppercorns- 10, cloves – 6, cardamoms - 2, bay leaves-2, cinnamon - 2, fennel seeds – 1tsp, star anise- 2 and mace - 3). I usually add lots of whole spices. Add enough salt. The water should be slightly salty. Now add the soaked rice and cook it to the perfect consistency. Drain the water and allow the rice to cool.

 

Method

1. Marinate the fish pieces with the items under marinade for at least 4-5 hrs. Keep it in the refrigerator.

2. Shallow fry the fish fillets in oil and keep aside.

 

3. Crush together ginger, garlic, green chillies and half of the whole spices mentioned under the ingredients for masala.

4. In a wide pan, heat oil and add the remaining whole spices. Saute for a few seconds and add sliced onion. When the onion turns brown add the crushed ginger-garlic-greenchilli-whole spices mixture and saute for a few more minutes.

  

5. Now add the chopped tomatoes, curry leaves and cook until the tomatoes are all mashed up. Lower the flame and add the masala powders mentioned under the ingredients. Saute for a minute and add 1/2 cup water. Boil the gravy and switch off. Now add the fried fish pieces to this masala and coat them well. Keep aside.

 

 

 

Layering

 

    Smear the base of the baking dish with ghee. Then add the fried onions, chopped cilantro, mint, cashews, raisins, and the fish pieces with some gravy. Now add the rice and repeat the process. The topmost layer should be that of rice with the items under garnish.  You can pour the gravy over it. Now seal the cookware with an aluminium foil (so that moisture won’t escape), cover with its lid and bake it at 350 F for around 25 - 30 mts (depending on the cookware you use). If you are planning to keep it for long, cook the rice only till it is 95% done or so. If you are using stovetop keep it at low flame for around 10-15 mts. Serve hot with boiled eggs, raita, pappad and any pickle of your choice. This recipe serves around 5 people.

 

 

 

 

Chicken Biriyani

 

Ingredients

 

1) Chicken - Around 10-12 medium pieces or 2 cornish game hen

Marinate the chicken pieces with the items under marinade for at least 4-5 hrs.

Marinade

2) Chilly powder - 2 tsp

3) Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

4) Fresh ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp

5) Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp

6) Pepper powder – half tsp

7) Garam masala – 1 tsp ( If your garam masala does not have fennel powder as an ingredient you can also add 1 tsp fennel powder since it gives a nice aroma and flavor to meat preparations. Find the recipe for home-made garam masala below.)

8) Biriyani masala powder – 2 tsp (Find its recipe below)

9) Yoghurt – 1 tbsp

10) Salt - As required

11) Rice - Around 2.5 cups of basmati rice

Cooking Rice

  To cook rice I usually follow the draining method. Soak the basmati rice for around 30 mts. Boil water in a deep vessel. To the boiling water add ghee – 2 tsp, whole spices (peppercorns- 10, cloves – 6, cardamoms - 2, bay leaves-2, cinnamon - 2, fennel seeds – half tsp, star anise- 2 and mace - 3). I usually add lots of whole spices. Add enough salt. The water should be slightly salty. Now add the soaked rice and cook it to the perfect consistency. Drain the water and allow the rice to cool.

Chicken preparation

Ingredients

12) Onion – 2 red onion medium sized, sliced lengthwise and thin

13) Tomato – 1 medium sized, seeded and chopped

14) Ginger – 1 inch piece

15) Garlic – 6-7

16) Thai green chillies – 10 (Adjust the chillies and spices according to your spice tolerance)

17) Curry leaves – 1 sprig

18) Pearl onion – 5-6 (optional)

19) Whole spices – cardamom – 2, Cloves – 5-6, cinnamon stick – 1-2, bay leaves – 1-2 , pepper corns – 5-6, mace -1, star anise -1

Method

1)Coarsely grind the ginger, garlic, pearl onion, green chillies and the whole spices in a mixer.

2)Heat around 2 tbsp oil in a deep pan and add the sliced onions to it. When the onion becomes light brown, add the coarsely ground mixture, curry leaves and sauté well for a few minutes.

 

 

3) Add the chopped tomato and cook for a few minutes.

 

4) Now add the marinated chicken, mix everything well and cover it with a lid and cook the it in low flame. It will take at least 45 mts - 1 hour for the chicken to be properly cooked. When the chicken is done, check for salt and masala. You can add 1/2 tsp fennel powder or garam masala if you wish. Mix well. Switch off the flame.

 

 

 

Garnish

I usually fry the cashews, raisins, onion, coriander leaves and then prepare the chicken in the same pan with just enough oil.

1. Fried onion – 1 onion sliced lengthwise. Fry it in hot oil stirring occasionally, until browned.

2. Cilantro – 1 bunch chopped and fried till crispy (It will take only around 5-10 mts and it will be crispy and deep green in color). You can use fresh chopped cilantro if you wish.

3. Mint leaves – Half bunch, chopped fine

4. Grated carrot – 1 (Optional)

5. Cashews , Raisins – Around 1/4 - 1/2 cup each, fried in oil

6. Julienned ginger – 1 inch cut lengthwise and very thin

7. Pineapple – Around 1/4 cup (I usually use canned pineapple tidbits)

8. Tomato - 1, Seeded, sliced lengthwise and then fried until cooked and lightly browned. Its also optional. We didn’t use it.

 

Layering

For layering you need a cookware which can be put on stove or which is oven-safe. I usually use a stainless steel stock pot to layer the rice and chicken since it can be used for both purposes. The biriyani can also be served in it.

Smear the base of the cookware with ghee. Then add the fried onions, fried cilantro, cashews, raisins, mint leaves, grated carrot, pineapple, julienned ginger, fried tomato and chicken. You can pour a little gravy over the chicken pieces. Now add the rice and repeat the process. You can sprinkle some fennel powder or biriyani masala and ghee on each layer. The top-most layer should be that of rice with the items under garnish.  You can pour the chicken gravy over it. Now seal the cookware with an aluminium foil (so that moisture won’t escape), cover with its lid and bake it at 350 F for around 15-20 mts (depending on the cookware you use). If you are planning to keep it for long, cook the rice only till it is 95% done or so. If you are using stovetop keep it at low flame for around 10-15 mts. Serve hot with boiled eggs, raita, papad and lemon pickle. You will never go wrong with this recipe :-) This recipe serves around 6-8 people.

 

 

Recipe for biriyani masala (Yield - 1.5 - 2 tbsp)

1.  Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp

2.  Cloves - 4-5

3.  Cardamom - 1-2

4.  Cinnamon stick- 2 inch

5.  Star anise - 1/2 flower

6.  Whole pepper corns - 10

7.  Poppy seeds (Kus Kus) - 1/2 tsp

8.  Bay leaves - 1 leaf

9.  Mace (javithri) - 2

Dry roast all these spices lightly, cool down and grind to a fine powder. Dry roasting is optional.

 

Tips:

1. You can sprinkle some saffron in coconut milk while layering. It gives an extra taste and color.
2. Cooking the chicken in ghee instead of oil will give an extra taste though it isn’t recommended health-wise.
3. If you deep/shallow fry the chicken after it is cooked, the chicken will remain firm and more tasty.
4. Adding cashew paste ( of around 10 whole cashews soaked in water for 10 mts or so) and/or coconut milk (around 1 -2tbsp) also gives an extra taste to the chicken gravy.
5. You can use store-bought fried onion for garnishing.
6. Use pearl onion (Around 15-20) instead of onion to make the chicken gravy more tasty.  You can crush it along with the green chillies, garlic, ginger and whole spices.

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