Malabar's badshah of biryanis

The Malabar biriyani is a sophisticated treat for the tastebuds

February 16, 2012 07:39 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 12:46 pm IST

The ultimate biriyani , a sophisticated melange of flavours, nuances tempting dishes served hot 'n fresh with special appetisers. It takes time and effort but worth a try.

Serves 4

Biriyani rice (Jeeragashala) - 4 cups

Water – 7-and-a-half cups

Refined oil – 2 tbsp

Butter – 2 tbsp

Cashewnuts, kismis (fried in ghee) – 50 gm

Bread slices (toasted) – 6

Onion (to caramelise)– 1, to caramelise

Ingredients for the Masala

1. Onion – 3-4 , sliced

2. Ginger – garlic paste – 4 tbsp

3. Chillies ( green) – 6-7, shredded

4. Tomato – 2, sliced thinly

5. Curd – 2 tbsp

6. * Lemon juice - 1 tsp

7. Pudina ( mint) and coriander leaves – 2 tbsp each, chopped finely

8. White Masala – To be ground in curd

Khus-khus – 1 tsp, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water for 30 minutes

Grated coconut – 1 tbsp

Cashewnuts – 10-12

Biryani Garam Masala – Do not heat – Powdered dry or ground -

Coriander powder ( raw, unroasted) – 1 tsp

Red chilli powder – Half tsp

Turmeric – One fourth tsp

Cinnamon stick – A two inch piece

Clove – 5-6 no

Fennel – 1 tsp

Star anise – Half a star

Nutmeg powder (or mace) – One-fourth tsp ( any one)

Vegetables

Boiled potatoes – 1 big, diced

Carrot , beans – 1 cup, diced

Cabbage – 1 cup, cut into big pieces (add directly)

Cauliflower – 1 cup, cut into big pieces, cleaned separately . Soak in turmeric and salt infused water for a couple of minutes. Check for worms, small insects etc. Drain.

Dried green peas / Pattani – 1 cup, pre-soaked and boiled (Soak for six-eight hours. Pressure-cook for a whistle and simmer for two-three minutes. Remove from heat.)

Procedure

Soak the rice for 30 minutes.

Sauté ingredients from 1 to 7, add one after the other. Make sure the onion is golden brown before adding the rest of the ingredients.

After oil oozes out of the fried tomato, add the next listed ingredient. Next, add the white masala (no: 8) and sauté well until it is light brown.

Finally, add the biriyani garam masala. Sauté till it is reduced well. Add the diced, boiled vegetables to the masala and mix well. Make very dry. For Malabar Chicken Biryani, marinate 4 pieces of chicken with curds, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt for one hour. Allow chicken to cook in masala till dry.

For the rice

Boil the rice in water with salt, one teaspoon lime juice, a pinch of saffron, a tablespoon oil, five each of - cloves, elaichi, cinnamon and broken mace (a pinch).

When three-fourths done, drain it well. Add a pinch of saffron soaked in warm milk to the drained rice. Next, add one teaspoon rosewater and lemon juice (one teaspoon). Then add 50 gm butter. Next mix in the vegetables.

You have another option: Stir-fry the rice with the above-mentioned whole spices.

Then cook it in the rice cooker with the right amount of water. (Four cups rice – seven and-a-half cups water).

Then, mix the vegetables. Garnish with coriander, mint leaves, kismis, cashews and garam masala.

Toast the bread slices, dice and deep or shallow-fry.

In two tablespoon each of oil and butter, fry the cashews, drain and reserve. Add kismis. When it puffs, scoop out. Finally, sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar. Fry the sliced onion.

Alternately, add the sugar immediately to the spread out fried onion. Cover with a towel or a tissue paper. Decorate with caramelised onions, croutons, coriander etc.

Serve steaming hot accompanied with raita, pickle, date chammanti, coconut chutney and pappads.

Date Chutney

Dates - 8

Fried big onion - 2 tbsp, sprinkled with sugar

Big onion – Half

Ginger - A small piece

Red chilli powder - To taste

Sugar – Half to 1 tsp

Lime juice – Half tsp

Coriander leaves - 1or 2 stalks

Beetroot - a slice, the size of a small onion

Salt - To taste

Coconut Dip

Coconut - 1 cup

Green chillies - 2

Water - A few drops to sprinkle

Salt - To taste

Method

For both the date and coconut dips, grind all the ingredients together.

Serve in two small bowls fresh with piping hot Malabari biriyani.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.