Chicken Biryani



Ingredients
Biryani/Jeera  Rice      2 cups
Chicken                       250 gms
Onions                         3 medium size
Chillies                        15        
Ginger garlic paste      2 tbspns
Coriander leaves         2 small bunches
Mint leaves                  4-5 stalks
Fennel seeds (Saunf)   1 tbspn
Poppy seeds (khus-khus)½ tbspn
Cardamom                  3
Cinnamon                    1 inch
Cloves                         2-3
Nutmeg                       1/6 of the nut
Bay leaf                       1
Turmeric                      ½ tspn
Chopped Tomatoes     4 medium size
Curd                            4-5 tbspns
Lemon juice                ½ lemon
Colour (sunset yellow) a pinch
Vanaspati/Dalda         5 tbspn
Cashewnut/rasins        6-7 each

Method
Dry roast fennel seeds, poppy seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and powder.
Add green chillies, 2 stalks of mint leaves, ½ a bunch of coriander leaves to the above powder and blend to a paste
Marinate the chicken pieces with a tbspn of ginger garlic paste, curd, masala paste and some salt for 2-3 hours
Wash and soak the biryani rice
Heat 2 tbspn Vanaspati in a handi and caramelize handful of sliced onion and keep aside. Fry 6-7 cashewnut and rasins too and keep aside for garnishing.
Now sauté the remaining sliced onions in the oil until soft,
Add 1 tbspn ginger garlic paste to it and sauté until raw smell evaporates
Add ½ tspn turmeric and the chopped tomatoes and sauté
Now add the marinated chicken pieces and sauté for a while
Cook with the lid covered until meat is tender
Ensure that the gravy is not runny (let it evaporate)
Heat 2 tbspn vanaspati/dalda in cooking pot
Add 2 each of cardamom and cloves, ½ inch cinnamon stick and bay leaf
Transfer the strained rice into the pot and stir until the rice turns white
Add 4 cups of boiling water and cook with the lid covered
Once the rice is done, separate half the rice for gravy layering
Prepare a bowl of colored rice by soaking rice in a bowl of warm milk in a bowl with a pinch of sunset yellow colour and mix well
Finely chop 1 bunch of coriander leaves and 2 stalks of mint leaves for garnishing
Now spread the chicken & gravy evenly on half the fried rice, add a thin layer of colored rice, then garnish with chopped coriander and mint leave, sprinkle some lemon juice evenly.
Repeat this layering procedure once more and garnish with the caramelized onions and nuts.
Now place on low heat with lid for 10-15 minutes (place weight on lid to enable steaming under pressure-Dum cooking)
Serve hot with curd raita/ beetroot chutney

Rice Rotis ( Patthiri)



Ingredients
Rice Flour                   2 cups
Ghee/cooking oil         1 tspn
Salt                              As per required

Method
Add 1 tspn of ghee/cooking oil and required amount of salt to 3 cups of boiling water
Reduce the heat and add the rice flour gently and keep stirring until the rice flour is cooked
At this stage 1 tspn crushed fennel seeds, 1 tbspn of grated coconut and one small sized onion finely chopped can be added (optional)
Finely blend the rice lumps to ensure that excess water evaporates (cooked well)
Allow to cool by transferring the contents into a wide plate coated with ghee
Blend the lumps smoothly and make medium size balls (cover with a damp cloth to prevent drying)
Dab a plastic sheet with oil and flatten the rice flour balls into rotis
Heat tava and fry the rice rotis evenly until done (apply ghee/cooking oil)
Can be served with chicken gravy, aloo bhaji, or with ghee and sugar

Seer Fish Cutlets



Ingredients
Potatoes, Boiled, mashed       1 medium
Onions, chopped                     1 medium
Green chilles, finely chopped 4-5
Ginger, finely chopped           1 inch
Turmeric powder                     ½ tspn
Seer fish, boiled and deboned100 gm
Egg                                          1
Bread crumbs                          1 cup
Oil for shallow fry

Method
Saute onions in oil
Add finely chopped green chilles and ginger until the raw aroma evoprates
Add turmeric powder and the mashed potatoes, stir to mix well
Now add the seer fish that has been boiled, deboned by crumbling into small pieces
Saute to mix all the ingredients well and adjust the salt
Allow it to cool and then make cutlets of your desired shape
Dip the raw cutlets into a beaten egg  bowl
Coat the cutlet with bread crumbs
Shallow fry on a pan with 2-3 tbspn of oil
Fry both sides until golden rown and serve with sauce

Vegetable cutlets



Ingredients
Potatoes, Boiled, mashed       1 large
Onions, chopped                     1 medium
Carrot, grated                          2 tbspn
Corn, boiled                            1 tbspn
Peas, boiled                             1 tspn
Green chilles, finely chopped 4-5
Ginger, finely chopped           1 inch
Turmeric powder                     ½ tspn
Spring of coriander leaves
Egg                                          1
Bread crumbs                          1 cup
Oil for shallow fry

Method
Heat oil in kadai and saute onions
Add finely chopped green chilles and ginger until the raw aroma evoprates
Add turmeric powder, mashed potatoes and all the other vegetables
Saute to mix all the ingredients and adjust the salt
Allow it to cool and chopped coriander and then make cutlets of your desired shape
Dip the raw cutlets into a beaten egg
Coat the cutlet with bread crumbs
Shallow fry on a pan with 2-3 tbspn of oil
Fry both sides until golden rown
Serve hot with sauce

Steamed Rice Strings Iddiappam Nool Puttu


 Ingredients
Rice Flour                   2 cups
Ghee/cooking oil         1 tspn
Grated coconut           1 cup
Salt                              As per required

Method
Sieve the rice flour through a fine sieve
Add 1 tspn of ghee/cooking oil and required amount of salt to 3 cups of boiling water
Reduce the heat and add the rice flour gently and keep stirring until the rice flour is cooked
Finely blend the rice lumps to ensure that excess water evaporates (cooked well)
Allow to cool by transferring the contents into a wide plate coated with ghee
Blend the lumps smoothly and make into medium size balls
Use rice strainer as a steaming utensil by placing it on a vessel with water on the stove
Coat the rice strainer with oil and sprinkle grated coconut
Use a Murku maker and make rice strings into the rice strainer
Allow the steam to pass through the rice strainer for 3-5 minutes
Sprinkle some more grated coconut and transfer contents into a casserole
Can be served with coconut milk and sugar

Steamed Rice Nuggets Koyakatta



Ingredients
Rice Flour                   1 cups
Ghee/cooking oil         1 tspn
Grated coconut           1 cup
Salt                              As per required
Seasoning
Mustard seeds             ½ tspn
Redchilly                     3-4
Urad dal                      1 tspn
Channa dal                  ½ tspn
Curry leaves                1 stalk
2 tbspn oil


Method
Add 1 tspn of ghee/cooking oil and required amount of salt to 1 ½ cups of boiling water
Reduce the heat and add the rice flour gently and keep stirring until the rice flour is cooked
Finely blend the rice lumps to ensure that excess water evaporates (cooked well)
Allow to cool by transferring the contents into a wide plate coated with ghee
Blend the lumps smoothly and make small nuggets
Use rice strainer as a steaming utensil by placing it on a vessel with water on the stove
Coat the rice strainer with oil place the rice nuggets into the rice strainer
Allow the steam to pass through the rice strainer for 5-7 minutes
Transfer them to a separate plate
Heat oil in kadai/wok and add seasoning ingredients
Now add a tbspn of grated coconut and saute until golden brown
Now add the cooked nugets and saute to mix evenly
Transfer into serving bowl
Can be served just as it is or with aloo bhaji

Vegetable Pulav



Ingredients
Rice                             2 cups
Chopped Vegetables   ½ cup (beans, carrots or cauliflower, peas etc)
Ginger garlic paste      1 tbspn
Green chillies              3-4
Turmeric                      ½  tspn
Tomatoes                     1 large size
Garam masala              1 tspn
Mint leaves                  2-3 stems
Coriander leaves         handful
Bay leaves                   1
Cardamom                  2
Cinnamon                    1 small piece
Clove                           2
Vanaspathi/Dalda       3 tbspn

Method
Heat 3 tbspn vanaspati/dalda in cooking pot/pressure cooker
Add 2 each of cardamom and cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaf
Now put the strained rice into the pot and stir until the rice turns white
Now add the chopped vegetables, slit green chillies and stir with a little salt and garam masala
Add 4 cups of boiling water adjust salt and stir well
Add chopped tomatoes and chopped mint and coriander leaves and cook with lid covered.
Serve vegetable pulav with raita, bhagara bhaingan/ mirchi ka salan