Calicut Chicken biriyani

This is different from all other biriyanis.  It gives the complete aroma all the spices used in it. Though we have many varieties of Biriyanis available in market, Calicut Chicken Biriyani stands apart.   It is the Trade Mark of Calicut City alongwith Calicut Halwa and Calicut Banana Chips.  I leant this unique recipe from my neighbor and family  friend Shahida Aunty who used to prepare it in its best taste and texture.

Ingredients :-

Basmati Rice – 1 kg
Chicken cut into big pieces – 1 kg
Thinly Sliced Onion- 500 gm
Sliced Tomato – 250 gm
Ghee – as needed
Broken cashew nuts – 1/4 cup
Raisins – 1/4 cup
Curd – 1 cup
Lime – 1 big
Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
Chopped Mint leaves – 1 small bunch
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Biriyani Masala Powder – 3 tsp

Rose water – 2 tbsp(optional)
Saffron – 1 gm(optional)
Boiled eggs – 2
Salt – as reqd

For Marinating Chicken

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
Salt – as needed

For Grinding

Green Chillies – 100 gm
Garlic – 50 gm
Ginger – 50 gm
Poppy seeds soaked in water for 5- 10 mts – 2 tsp

Grind them together to a coarse paste. Keep them aside

Method:-

Mix together the ingredients for marinating chicken. Apply the mixture thoroughly on chicken pieces and allow it to stand for half an hour preferably in refrigerator.

Wash and drain the rice well. Heat little ghee in a pan, and roast the rice for 4-5 mts. Add necessary water(Usually the measurement is like, for 1 cup rice – 2 cups water) and salt into it, cook rice till soft and all the water is absorbed. Spread the rice in a flat serving dish, and sprinkle 3-4 drops of lime juice, allow it to cool.

Heat a little ghee in a pan and roast cashews and raisins till brown and keep it aside. Now add half of sliced onion and fry them until they are well browned. Add more ghee /oil if needed. Drain them into a tissue paper and reserve .Now into the same oil, add marinated chicken pieces and shallow fry them for a while. Shahidha aunty..says this can enhance the taste and also make the chicken pieces more firm.

Now heat another vessel and heat ghee/oil (preferably ghee for more taste, or you can combine ghee and oil together), add rest of the onions and  fry  them till translucent. Mix in tomatoes, salt and the ground paste and fry them for 2-3 mts. Stir in curd and lemon juice and fry until oil separates. Now add fried chicken pieces, mix well, cover and cook.

When it is half done, add Coriander leaves, Mint leaves, curry leaves and 2 tsp Biriyani masala powder. Mix and allow the chicken to cook well in medium heat, until all water is absorbed and chicken pieces are coated with gravy. Switch off the stove.

Take a big vessel, spread chicken pieces along with the gravy in the bottom. Now add one layer of cooked rice over chicken. Sprinkle a little biriyani masala powder, fried onions, cashews, raisins and saffron(mixed in rosewater).Repeat the same for 2 more layers with chicken ,rice and fried cashew-raisins-onions etc. Seal the vessel with aluminium foil and bake it for 15 mts. 150 degree celsius).Mix thoroughly and serve hot with whole boiled eggs (in the middle),Onion Raita ,Pickle(dates/lime)  and Pappad.

For  chutney

Pudina  leaves  -- 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves   -- 2 tbsp

Green chillies    --- 5-6

Grated coconut   --- 2 tbsp

Curd                     ---  2 tbsp

Salt      

Ginger        1 inch

Grind all these into fine paste.

DUDDE PANNA PODI (PUMPKIN ROLLS)

I learnt this dish from my mother in Law.  She is a seasoned cook and expert in traditional Konkani recipes.    She used to pack this for us on our way back to Calicut.  Nowadays I get plenty of pumpkin leaves in my garden  and I have also started preparing various dishes of pumpkin leaves, stem, flower etc.  my son and hubby like this very much.

Pumpkin leaves.           10

Rice                                1 cup

Toordal                           ½ cup

Grated coconut           1tbsp

Uraddal                         2tbsp

Chilly powder                2tbsp

Salt to taste

Hing pinch

Method

soak rice and toordal  for  1 hour. Clean and wash pumpkin leaves.

In a pan dry fry the urad dal  till it become light brown.

Wash the soak rice mix..then grind it with coconut and fried uraddal (with little water) coarse  paste then add chilly powder,saltand hing..mix it well.

Then apply this paste to pumpkin leaves… layers by layer(like pathrode). Make roll from that.. cut in to round pieces .. roll it in rice flour and deep fry them..

Chilly Garlic Chutney

Garlic flakes           10

Red chillies             10
Tamarind small piece

Salt to taste

Coconut oil               1 tsp

Method

Fry red chillies in little oil for 5 minutes keep aside to cool.   Fry chopped garlics till dark brown.  Grind red chilly, tamarind in a mixer, after one round add the fried garlic  and add salt then make fine paste.   Pour ½ tsp coconut oil on top of it.

Green chilly Ginger Chutney

Grated coconut                   1 cup

Ginger chopped                   1 inch piece

Salt to taste

Green chillies                       6 – 8 nos

Method

Grind coconut, ginger and green chilly into fine paste. 

for tempering:-  add 1 tsp oil in kadai  add ½ tsp mustard seeds, curry leaves—fry for two minutes--- pour this into the chiily ginger paste.

Yummy yummy chutney is ready to eat with Dosa and Idli.

Mint -tomato chutney

Jeera                     ½ tsp

Mint leaves            ½ cup

Garlic  flakes          5

Til  (sesame seeds)   1tbsp

Red chilies               6

Tomatoes                 5

Oil                           1/2tbsp

Salt as per taste..

Method

Take pan,    dry roast the sesame   seeds   till   light brown  and keep aside to cool.

Add ½ tbsp oil in a pan add jeera, red  chillies ,   garlic flakes, and mint leaves fry it for 5 min.  when mint leaves become dry add tomatoes and salt  ..then cook it for 5 min. allow  to cool for 10 min.

In blender  add roasted sesame seeds make powder then add the tomato and mint mix in to it and blend till a fine paste.

Chutney is ready to eat with dosa,  puri  or u can eat it like sandwich spread too.

Cucumber Chutney

ingredients

Cucumber                1

Jeera                       1 tsp

Garlic cloves           4

Green chillies          3

Mustard seeds         pinch

Oil                             1tsp

Red chilli dry            2

Urad dal                   1tsp

tarmind                     ½ tsp

lime juice                  1 tsp (optional)

Method   

Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds and cut into pieces.

In a blender add cucumber,  green chillies,  jeera,  salt,  garlic,  tarmind  and blend in to coarse  paste.

For   tempering  : heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds, red chilli  and urad dal.    when urad dal  is light brown add  this to cucumber mix.  (add lime juice)

Serve this with hot rice..

Ras Malai

(I learnt this recipe from my friend Jayashree Divakar Kamath, but in this recipe there is a little variation)

Ingredients

Milk      1 ltr

Vinegar   1 tbsp

Water 1 cup

Sugar ½ cup 

Elaichi  powder ½ tsp (kesar can be added, since I am allergic to Kesar I did not includein my recipes)

Milk Powder    1 tbsp

Pista  --   10 to 15

Method:

Boil  ½ ltr milk, when it boils add vinegar till paneer separates. Then close the lid keep aside for 5 minutes. Strain the water through a muslin cloth  remove the excess water by hanging it or keeping weight on the paneer.  Remove paneer from muslin cloth, knead well till soft dough.

Divide the dough into equal sized balls and flatten a little.

In thick bottom pan make sugar syrup by adding 1 cup water and ½ cup sugar.  When it boils add paneer balls and elaichi powder and boil for 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove paneer balls from sugar syrup and keep aside.

How to prepare Malai……….

Boil ½ ltr of milk in a thick pan till it becomes 2/3 of its original volume.(you have keep it stirring all the time).  Take 2 tbsp of water mix the milk powder and sugar syrup and add this mixture to the boiling milk.  Boil till it becomes thick cream (malai).

Add the paneer balls to the cream boil it for 5 minutes.  Garnish with chopped Pista.

Keep in fridge for 2 hours before serving.

Wheat dosa

Wheat 1cup

White rice                ¼ cup

Grated coconut      ¼ cup

Salt to taste

Jaggery(optional)   1tbsp

Soak wheat for 5 to 6 hours.

Then grind wheat with coconut and rice .. batter is ready to prepare dosa..taste bhi health 

bhi..

Goes Well  with Onion Chutney

Surnali( curd dosa with methi (Uluva)seeds)

 

 

 

2cups of white rice

1 cup beaten rice

Half coconut grated

250gm   jaggerry (can vary according to requirement)

Salt to taste

Curd  1/4 cup

Methi seeds (Uluva)1tsp

Turmeric  (optional)

Method

Soak methi seeds in a bowl

Soak rice for 2-3 hours . 

Soak beaten rice for 5 min then take extra water from that and keep aside.

Grind cleaned and washed rice with coconut ,  curd and methi seeds,  when it becomes smooth paste add beaten rice and grated jaggery  grind it for 10 to 15 min. then add salt keep aside for overnight.

Heat dosa  pan pour one big spoon  dosa batter on the Pan,  dont spread it,  close lid  cook in low fire till it becomes spongy and holes appear on the surface.

Tastes good with Cut Mango Pickle or Ghee or Butter.

Thupa dosa(ghee dosa)

1 cup white rice

1cup urad dal

3 cup of maida

1tbsp sugar

½ tsp of baking soda

Salt to taste.

Ghee for making dosa

Method

Soak rice and urad dal in different bowl for 2 hours. Then grind  urad dal     in to smoth  paste then add rice and grind it. In another bowl mix maida   and make batter and keep aside. Next day morning take extra water form maida and add this to rice- urad dal mix and mix well.  Then add suga,  salt and baking powder mix it,  keep batter for 30 min.  Then you make thick dosa  and  roast both sides with ghee.

 serve with Coriander chutney

Egg roast

eggs   5

Chilly powder 1tbsp

Onion 2 big

Garlic 4 flakes

Green chilly 1

Tomatoes   2

 Garam masala   ¼ tsp

Pepper powder   ¼ tsp

Method :

Boil eggs and keep aside..heat oil in a pan  add chopped garlic flakes when brown add green chilly fry for a min  then add onions  fry it to brown  add chilly powder,  pepper powder, Garam Masala  powder fry till  aroma comes then add tomatoes  when it becomes soft  add  boiled egg and ¼ cup of water cook  in slow fire for 10 min..spicy egg roast is  ready to eat …