Chicken Biryani -Kerala Style

  
Ingredients:

For Cooking Rice:

• Basmati Rice-2 cups(I use Tilda)
• Cinnamon Sticks-2-3 small 1/2''pieces
• Cardamom pods-4
• Cloves-5
• Bay leaf-2
• Water-4 cups
• Lemon juice-1tbsp,freshly squeezed
• Ghee-2tbsp
• Salt to taste 

 For Marination:

• Chicken-750gm,medium pieces
• Turmeric powder-a couple of pinches
• Chilly powder-1/2tsp
• Black Pepper-1/2tsp,crushed
• Garam masala-1/2tsp,freshly crushed
• Salt to taste  

For Masala:

• Onion-3,thinly sliced
• Ginger-1tbsp,crushed
• Garlic-1tbsp,crushed
• Green Chilly-10-12(adjust as per ur tolerance level)
• Tomato-2,big size,chopped
• Turmeric powder-a couple of pinches
• Coriander powder-2tsp
• Garam masala-1tsp
• Mint leaves-1/4cup,chopped
• Coriander leaves-a handful,chopped
• Lemon juice-1tbsp
• Oil/ghee-as required
• Salt to taste

Method:
For Masala Preparation:

• Clean and wash the chicken pieces.Drain out the excess water completely.
• Marinate the chicken pieces with marination ingredients.Keep aside for at least 30 minutes.
• Shallow fry the marinated chicken pieces in oil,not more than 5 minutes,including both sides.Keep them aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, add crushed ginger,garlic and green chillies.Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.Add sliced onion and saute till it turns light golden colour.
• Add chopped tomatoes and saute well.Add turmeric, coriander,garam masala powders and mix well with all the ingredients and saute until the raw smell of the spices disappears.
• Once the raw smell is gone,add the shallow fried chicken pieces,mix well .Add some water and cook covered in medium-low heat until all the water is absorbed and the chicken pieces are coated with the masala.
• Add chopped mint leaves,coriander leaves and combine well.Sprinkle a pinch of garam masala and add 1tbsp fresh lemon juice and mix well.Switch off the heat.

 

 For Cooking  Rice:

• Wash and soak the rice in water for20-30 minutes.Drain the water completely.
• Heat ghee/oil in a pan and add half the quantity of whole spices and add the rice.Saute the rice for few minutes.
• Boil the required amount of water in a vessel with the remaining whole spices,bay leaf,salt.Add the sauteed rice to this and cook covered till the rice is done and the water is completely dried.Sprinkle a few drops of  lemon juice over the rice.Allow to cool and keep aside.

• Take a greased vessel,spread the chicken pieces along with the gravy in the bottom.Now add a layer of cooked rice over this.Drizzle ghee and sprinkle  garam masala powder,fried onions and chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves in between the layers.Repeat this process 3 or 4 times,depending on the quantity of the rice and chicken.
• You can also bake this in a  preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.Cover the vessel with aluminum foil.
• Reserve some nuts,raisins and fried onions for final garnishing before serving.Mix thoroughly.

NOTES:

• Do not overcook the rice.Once it is cooked, allow it to cool by spreading it in a tray or big vessel.
• You may use  crushed shajeera along with your garam masala powder in chicken masala.
• Make sure that the chicken masala should not be watery.
• you may use ground poppy seeds while making the chicken masala.  

Serve hot with Raita,Pickle and Mint-coriander chutney.....

  

Erachi Puttu (Steamed Rice Flour Cakes Layered With Minced Meat Mixture)

Puttu is a traditional healthy breakfast of Kerala.This can be made with rice,wheat,ragi flour etc.Today I am sharing the recipe of Puttu/steamed rice flour cakes with minced meat mixture and fresh coconut scrapings.This is a very tasty dish and can be easily prepared.The accompaniments to puttu vary from black chickpeas to ripe bananas or steamed ripe plaintains ,spicy meat curry or fish curry.Erachi Puttu is another variety.Hope you all will enjoy this breakfast dish.

Here is the recipe for Erachi Puttu ...                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                              

Ingredients For Puttu:

• Rice flour-2 cups(here I used chemba rice puttu flour)
• Grated coconut-3/4cup for layering
• Warm water-1/2cup(depending on the quality of rice flour)
• Salt-1/2tsp

Method To Make Puttu Mixture:

• Mix salt in required amount of warm water.
• Sprinkle this water slowly over the roasted rice flour and mix well using your fingers till the flour turns soft and wet.
• Do not use too much water.Make it almost like crumbs.
• When you take a handful of the wet flour and make a fist with it and if it holds together and then breaks when you open the fingers,then you have reached the right consistency.
• Keep aside this mix for 10-20minutes to get soft puttu.

Ingredients For Meat Mixture:

• Beef/chicken-100 gm
• Onion-1,finely chopped
• Ginger-1/2''piece,minced
• Garlic-3-4 pods,minced
• Green chilly-2,minced
• Coriander power-1tsp
• Turmeric powder-a pinch
• Gram masala-1tsp
• Fennel seeds/periumjeerakam-1/2tsp
• Coriander leaves-1tbsp,chopped(optional)
• Salt to taste
• Oil-as required

Method For Meat Masala:

• Cook boneless meat with salt,turmeric powder and pepper powder. Cool it and mince it.Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan,add chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent.
• Add ginger,garlic,green chillies and saute it for few minutes.Add salt and stir well.
• Now add coriander powder,pepper powder,crushed fennel seeds and garam masala and stir well until the raw smell disappears.
• Add the cooked minced meat to this and stir-fry for few minutes until the ingredients are well combined.Adjust the salt.
• Add chopped coriander leaves to this and stir well.
• Sprinkle 1/4tsp garam masala and stir well.Switch off the heat.
• Allow it to cool down in room temperature. 

Directions for final assembling of Puttu and Meat mixture:

• Use puttu kudam(pot) or pressure cooker with puttu maker.
• Fill the water in puttu kudam or pressure cooker.Allow to boil.
• Meanwhile put a layer of grated coconut(around 2tbsp)into the puttu maker first.Then put meat mixture as the second layer.Then add two handful of puttu flour.
• Repeat the process till the puttu maker is filled.
• Cover the puttu maker with the lid and place it on the puttu pot/pressure cooker nozzle.
• Steam it on a high -medium flame for 5-8minutes.Once it is done,transfer it to a plate without breaking it.

NOTES:

• You may use any type of puttu flour(raw rice or chemba rice flour)for making Puttu.
• Adding tomatoes to the meat mixture will prevent the steam to comes out.So avoid tomatoes.
• While making the puttu mixture,add  water slowly to the flour.
• Keep aside the prepared flour for around 15 minutes to get the soft puttu.  

  

Serve hot/warm with curry of your choice or without curry also.

Happy Cooking!!!

 

Mutton Curry - Kerala Style

Today I am sharing my mom's Kerala mutton curry recipe. Kerala mutton curry is our all time favorite.This is a simple mutton curry but yet very delicious.I hope you will enjoy this side dish with any kind of rice preparations or chapati, palappam,paratha etc.....

Try out this recipe if you want to relish the taste of Kerala food.This will definitely bring you the nostalgic memories of home cooked food.
Ingredients:

• Mutton-1kg,cut into medium size pieces
• Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
• Black Pepper-1tsp,freshly crushed
• Vinegar-2tsp(10ml)
• Small onion/shallots-20-25,sliced
• Big Onion-1,small chopped finely
• Ginger-1tbsp,minced (2'' size)
• Garlic-1tbsp,minced 
• Green Chillies-2,slit
• Chilli powder-1.5tbsp
• Coriander powder-1tbsp
• Bay leaves-1
• Cinnamon-a small piece(1/2'' piece)
• Cardamom-3
• Cloves-5
• Garam masala-1tsp
• Tomatoes chopped-2,medium size
• Curry leaves-2 sprigs 
• Salt to taste
• Oil-as required

 Method:

• Wash mutton pieces and drain it well.Marinate meat with turmeric powder,crushed pepper,vinegar,1/2tbsp ginger,1/2tbsp garlic,1/2tbsp garam masala,half of the chilly and coriander powders,chopped big onion and salt.Keep aside for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Cook  the marinated mutton pieces with 1 cup water in a pressure cooker or slow cooking method until the meat is cooked well. 
• Heat oil in a pan.Add bay leaf,cinnamon,cloves and cardamoms and saute for few seconds.Add thinly sliced small onions and saute in a low flame until it turns translucent.Now add green chillies, and 1/2tbsp ginger and garlic to this.
• Tear off half of the curry leaves and add to this.Saute it well for few minutes.Add half of the chilly and coriander powders to this and stir well till the raw smell goes off.
• Add chopped tomatoes to this and stir fry for few minutes,until the tomatoes are cooked well.   
• Now add the cooked meat along with gravy and stir well and bring it to boil.Now add the freshly crushed garam masala powder and mix well.
• Reduce the flame and allow it cook till the gravy starts to thicken a bit.Adjust the salt.Just before turning off the heat,add some more curry leaves and sprinkle a pinch of garam masala powder.
• Switch off the heat when the gravy is thick enough.
• Let it rest for 30 minutes before serving as it takes time for all the spices and masalas to mix together.

 NOTES:

1. I recommend to cook the mutton pieces slowly with covered for nearly 1hour.Keep stirring it occasionally and replace the lid.

 Serve warm with Ghee rice,plain rice,chapati,paratha or Kallappam(Laced Pancakes).  

Happy Cooking!!!


 

Athishaya Pathiri !! (Layered Pancake With Chicken) -A Malabar Dish

Athishaya pathiri is a popular cuisine among the muslims of North Malabar and Malabar in Kerala.It is mostly served with tea as a snack. 
I made this delicious Malabar dish for Kerala Kitchen's cook along for this month.When Rafeeda of The Big Sweet Tooth posted this recipe,I decided to try it very early.But I was worried whether the layers would stay together or fall apart.
But when I start preparing it was quite easy for me.I cook the pancakes and layering of the pathiri in the pan simultaneously.I was able to manage assembling and making pancakes at the same time.We really enjoyed this dish and had it for dinner today.

Here is the recipe for Athishaya pathiri

Ingredients:

• Chicken boneless-250g
• Coriander powder-1/2tsp
• Turmeric powder-a couple of pinches
• Black pepper powder-1tsp 
• Salt to taste 

For the filling:

• Onion-2,big,finely chopped
• Ginger-1''piece,finely chopped
• Garlic-4-5cloves,finely chopped
• Green chillies-3,finely chopped (as per your tolrance level)
• Fennel seeds powder-a pinch
• Garam masala powder-1/2tbsp
• Turmeric powder-a pinch
• Coriander leaves-1/4cup,finely chopped 
• Lemon juice-juice of half lemon
• Oil-as required

 

 For the pancakes:

• All purpose flour/Maida-1cup
• Eggs-1
• Milk/coconut milk-1/2cup
• Salt-a pinch 
• Water-1 cup

For egg mix:

• Eggs-3
• Crushed pepper-1/2tsp
• Salt-a pinch 

 

Method:
For the filling(chicken masala):

• Wash and cut the boneless chicken pieces.Cook it with coriander powder,turmeric powder,pepper powder and salt till it turns tender and all the water is evaporated.
• Shred the chicken pieces using your fingers or mince it in a grinder and keep aside.
• Heat coconut oil in a pan, add chopped onions and saute till it turns transparent.Add ginger,garlic,green chillies with a pinch of salt.Saute till the raw smell disappears.
• Add turmeric and pepper powder to this and stir for few seconds.
• Add cooked minced chicken to this and mix well and cook on low heat for few more minutes.Add garam masala to this and mix well.
• Add chopped coriander leaves and stir for few more minutes.Add few drops of lemon juice and stir well.Adjust the salt and switch off the heat.

Egg mixture:

• Whisk the eggs along with the pepper powder and a pinch of salt.

Pancakes:

• Whisk together flour,eggs,milk and enough water to make a smooth thin batter without lumps.
• Heat a flat pan and pour a ladle full of batter and make thin crepe/pancake.Swirl the pan in a circular way to turn a thin pancake.Cook for a minute.
• Do not flip,just cook on one side.Transfer them to a parchment paper or plain paper to avoid sticking to each other.
• You can make around 10 pancakes with this batter.

  Layering:

• Grease a pan or a cake tin in which the pancake fits with ghee and place the first pancake in the pan.
• Make a second pancake and dip it well in the egg mix and place it on the first pancake.Sprinkle chicken masala over it.(around 2tbsp)
• Place another pancake dipped in egg mix on top of the chicken masala.Keep repeating the process till all the pancakes have been used.
• When it reaches the top layer,keep 2 pancakes,just as how we did for the base of this.
• Pour the remaining egg mixture on the top of the layered pancakes.It covers whole assembly of the pancakes by itself.
• Keep the pan over medium-low heat with the lid tightly closed.Cook until the egg mixture is absorbed and golden brown on top for around 15 minutes.
• Now slowly flip this on to a flat plate and flip it back into the pan,the uncooked side is down.cook for another 5-10 minutes.Flip it on to a plate.
• You can also bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree Celsious for about 15-20 minutes or till the top gets baked well.

    NOTES:

• Make sure that the crepes/pancakes are very thin.Thicker crepes won't give the  real taste.
• You can use any vegetable oil instead of ghee.
• Make sure that the flame is low while cooking so that the sides don't get burned. 
• You can cook the chicken masala without adding chopped coriander leaves too.   

Flip it on to a serving plate and cut them into wedges and serve hot..... 

Happy Cooking!!!

   

Cheera /Thoran(Stir Fried Amaranth Leaves With Crushed Coconut)

Today I am sharing the recipe of Cheera/red spinach thoran.Cheera is an excellent source of many vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.It is available in different colours and textures.In Kerala we have the purple coloured kerala spinach with thin leaves.It has less water content and less nutrition when compared to palak(spinach)or amaranth leaves.

Many delicious side dishes and snacks can be prepared from cheera,among these cheera avial,cheera thoran,cheera pachadi and cheera cutlet are the most popular dishes.

Cheera Thoran Kerala Style

Here is the Recipe!!
Ingredients:

• Cheera/red spinach-1 bunch
• Grated coconut-1/2 cup
• Shallots/small onions-5-7
• Garlic-1-2 pods,finely chopped
• Green chilies-3-5,chopped finely(as per the spice level)
• Turmeric powder-a  couple of pinches
• Coconut oil-as required
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste

Cheera Thoran Kerala Style

Method:

• Wash cheera/red spinach thoroughly and keep it in a strainer to remove the water completely.Chop it finely.
• Crush the grated coconut along with 2-3 small onions,2 green chilies,turmeric powder without adding water.  keep aside.
• Heat coconut oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add chopped small onions, garlic,green chilies and saute for few minutes.
• Add chopped leaves and mix well.Stir for few minutes on a high flame.
• Add crushed coconut mixture to this and add salt,stir and cook on a high flame until all the water evaporates and thoran becomes dry.

NOTES:

• Do not overcook red spinach leaves.Drain off water completely and cook.
• Add less coconut than the measurement of cheera/ spinach leaves.
• We can cook thoran without grinding the coconut mix also.Saute chopped onion,garlic,green chilies and add grated coconut at the end.  

Cheera Thoran /Red Spinach Stir Fry With Coconut

Serve warm as a side dish along with Rice.....

Happy Cooking!!!