Chicken Jalfrezi

Chicken Jalfrezi is Britain's favourite Indian curry now. Recently it replaced the Chicken Tikka Masala  which was the most popular Indian curry says Times of India. I had this dish a couple of times after coming to UK, and this is our favourite now. The Indian restaurants here serve mildly spicy curries and so we always order it to be extra spicy. Extra spicy as per their standards is the normal spice level that we use at home. 

Coming to the recipe, I spotted it at 1 MB from Meena's Kitchen. The picture of her dish looked so attractive and delicious and I decided to try it. This is a very yummy dish with a different flavour and a lovely light brown colour. But in this photo, it looks very yellow as my kitchen lights are yellowish. I made it for dinner and missed the opportunity to take the picture in day light.

Ingredients:

1. Boneless chicken breast - 2, cut to bite sized pieces

Yoghurt/Curd - 3 tbsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

2. For cooking the chicken

Oil - 2 tbsp

Green chillies - 2, chopped fine

Garlic - 4 large cloves

Tomatoes - 2, chopped

Chilly powder - 1.5 tsp

Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp

Salt to taste

3. For second saute

Oil - 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Onion - 1 large, thinly sliced

Green Bell Pepper - 1, diced

Garam masala - 1/2 to 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Combine all ingredients in item 1 and marinate for 10 mins.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add green chillies followed by garlic and saute well. Add tomatoes and saute well till mushy.

3. Add chilly, coriander and pepper powders and salt and combine well.

4. Add the marinated chicken and cover and cook till chicken is done. As this is a dry side dish, no need to add water. 

5. In another pan heat oil and add jeera. Add onions and saute till they are golden brown. Add the diced bell peppers and saute for a minute. Add garam masala and mix well. Add the contents of this pan to the cooked chicken and combine well. Chicken Jalfrezi is ready. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves(optional).

Serve with roti, paratha, naan or fried rice.

Linking this to Iftar Nights

Easy Bread Pakoda

 

Bread Pakodas are usually made with a potato stuffing and/or green chutney. This is an easy version which can be done within few minutes. For me it is the easiest way to use left-over bread. I keep buying bread every week though we don't like it much. Finally when it gets close to the expiry date, I have to find some interesting recipe to pep it up. This pakoda was enjoyed by my little girl which made me very happy. She has these words 'Supaa'(Super) or Nummee(Yummy) when she enjoys food and this is the best appreciation I can  get.

Ingredients:

Bread slices - 4 or 5

Gram flour/Besan - 1 cup

Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Hing/Asafoetida powder - a pinch

Green chillies - 2, finely chopped OR Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Chopped coriander leaves 

Salt to taste

Water

Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, add besan, jeera, hing, chilly powder or green chillies, salt  and enough water to make a thick batter. Add coriander leaves and mix well.

2. Cut out the brown sides of the bread and discard. Cut the bread slices to rectangles or triangles. 

3. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Dip the bread peices in batter and then slowly drop to the oil. Deep fry on both sides till gloden.

 

Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

Linking to Anyone Can Cook: Series 31 , Monsoon Medley and Serve it - Fried hosted at OhTasteNSee and Krithi's Kitchen

Oven roasted Chicken

It was the first time I roasted a chicken breast and it was finger licking good. As a trial I used only 1 fillet, which I regret. Both of us were literally attacking it with our knives. It is a very easy recipe and requires minimal ingredients. I am going to make this again very soon.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast fillet - 1
Paprika - 1 tsp (You may use regula chilly powder, but Paprika gives a nice red colour)
Pepper powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Onion - 1, sliced fine
Lemon juice - a few drops
Oil - to grease the tray and for basting

You also need...

Roasting tray preferably glass
Spatula for turning the chicken
A pair of oven gloves

Note: You may also try this with fish like Salmon fillet or Kingfish slices. Fish takes lesser time to cook.

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, mix together paprika, pepper powder,salt and garlic paste. Coat the chicken pieces with this paste and rub well. Keep aside for half an hour or more.
2. Preheat oven to 200 C. Grease the roasting tray with a little  oil. Place the marinated breast fillet and brush the top with a little oil. Rub the sliced onion with a pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon juice. Spread this onion on top of the chicken and in the tray.
3. Bake in the oven for 10 - 15 mins and then turn it over. Bake again for 10-15 mins. Total baking time will be around 25-35 mins. It may vary in different ovens. Do not overcook as the chicken will lose the juices and get hard.

You may either serve it as it is or cut to pieces and use in wraps, pizza, sandwiches, salads or pasta.

This goes to Anyone Can Cook, Joy from Fasting to Feasting - IV, Iftar Nights and What's on your Kebab Platter

I am also sending Chicken Tikka for What's on your Kebab Platter

Corn and Mushroom Cups

The spicy corn and mushroom cups are a welcome change from the usual snacks we make at home. I had a roll of puff pastry in the freezer and was thinking of some recipe to use it up. That's when I remembered this idea of making cups which I had seen in Kurryleaves(the filling was with chicken). I made a filling of corn and mushroom in a tangy and spicy sauce.

Ingredients:

Frozen Puff pastry sheet - 1
Sweetcorn kernels - 1/2cup
Button Mushrooms  - 3 or 4, sliced fine
Red Chilly Flakes - to taste
Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp
Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp(optional)
Salt to taste
Butter or Oil - 2 tsp + to grease the tray

Preparation:

1. Heat a pan and add oil or ghee. Add sweetcorn and mushrooms and saute for a few minutes.
2. Add chilly flakes, salt and ketchup and toss well. The filling is ready.
3. Preheat oven to 200 C. Cut the puff pastry sheet to squares. I got 4 squares from the sheet. Grease the required number of cups of a muffin tray with butter or oil. Place the squares in the greased cups and press gently. Prick the base of the pastry sheet with a fork. This prevents the base from puffing up much. Fill each pastry cup with the filling. Sprinkle italian seasoning on top.Bake for 20-25 mins or till it is puffed up and golden.

Cool for few minutes and then serve with hot tea or coffee.

Linking to Anyone Can Cook: Series 31 , Monsoon Medley and to Iftar Nights

Red Hot Fish Curry

A spicy red fish curry that will bowl you over. The recipe was sent by our friend Nadeem who is from Goa. I have made a few changes to suit our taste. It is the simplest fish curry I've ever made and tastes great.

Ingredients:

Fish pieces - 500 gms
Fish Tamarind/Kodampuli - 2
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - a sprig(optional)

For the paste
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Kashmiri Chilly powder or Paprika (Optional. I added it for the colour)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 6 to 8 cloves
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Methi/Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Preparation
1. Grind all the ingredients for the paste with a little water in a mixer.
2. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions. When they start browning, add the ground paste and add enough water and salt for the gravy. Bring to boil and simmer for few minutes.
3. Add the fish pieces and curry leaves and cover and cook till fish is done.

Serve with rice or neer dosa or kappa(tapioca).

Linking to Anyone Can Cook: Series 30

Also to Iftar Nights

Kadai Mushroom

I love mushrooms and here comes another recipe :-)

Ingredients:

Button Mushrooms - 250 gms.

Onion - 1, diced

Capsicum/Bell Pepper - 1, diced

Tomato puree - of 1 tomato

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Dry red chillies - 3 to 4

Cumin/Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Chilly powder - 3/4 tsp or to taste

Garam masala - 1/2 to 1 tsp

Kasoori methi - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves - to garnish

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Wash the mushrooms and cut each to 4 pieces. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera followed by dry chillies. Saute for a minute. Add onion and ginger garlic paste and saute till onion is transparent. 

3. Add bell pepper and salt and saute. Now add coriander and chilly powder and saute taking care not to burn it.

4. Add tomato puree and combine well. Add mushrooms, garam masala and kasoori methi. Cover and cook for few minutes till mushroom oozes water and cooks. If you need more gravy, add some warm water and bring to boil. 

5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Roti or Naan

Linking with Anyone Can Cook: Series 30

Puli Kuzhambu

The second Blog Hop Wednesday is here and this time my partner is Sangeetha of Sangeetha's Kitchen. It was my first visit to her blog and I directly went to the Recipe Index and got lost in the long list of yummy recipes. It was very difficult to choose a single dish to try, because there were many I liked. I was more attracted to the tamilnadu style recipes and finally decided to try Puli Kuzhambu. I have tasted this at 'Annachi' restaurant in Bangalore a few years ago and I still remember my taste buds relishing its tangy and spicy taste. In this recipe, Sangeetha has not added any vegetables, but she mentioned that Okra,Brinjal,Drumstick etc can be added. I decided to go with Okra. Me and my husband loved this kuzhambu and it was a treat to our taste buds...

Ingredients:

Sambar onions/shallots - 8 to 10, peeled and sliced

Garlic - 6 to 8 cloves, peeled and chopped

Okra/Ladies Finger - 8 to 10 (optional). 

Tamarind - a lemon sized ball

Tomato - 1 small, finely chopped

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilly powder - 1.5 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp for frying okra

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Pepper corns - 3 nos

Sesame oil - 1 to 2 tsp (I didn't have it, so I used sunflower oil itself)

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Salt to taste

Getting ready

1. Soak tamarind in warm water for 10-15 mins and extract the juice.

2. Trim the ends of okra and cut to 1 inch pieces. In a non stick pan, add 1tsp of oil and fry the okra peices for few mins till they are coated well with oil. Keep aside.

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tbsp  oil in a pan and splutter mustard and fenugreek seeds. Add jeera,hing and pepper corns and saute till you get  the aroma.

2. Add onions,garlic and curry leaves and saute till onion becomes transparent. Add tomatoes and saute till they are soft.

3. Add turmeric,chilly and coriander powders and saute on low flame taking care not to burn it.

4. Add the tamarind juice, and 1 to 1.5 cups of warm water and bring to boil. Add salt to taste.

5. Cook on medium flame for about 10 minutes and the gravy thickens.

6. Now add the okra pieces and drizzle sesame oil and cook for few minutes. The oil starts appearing. As Okra takes very less time to cook, do not overcook as it turns mushy. Kuzhambu is ready, you may garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Serve with hot rice and pappad.

So, here it goes to Blog Hop Wednesday - Week 2. Meet the other blog hoppers here...

Also Sending to Herbs and Flowers - Garlic event hosted by Vardhini this month. Herbs and Flowers is a monthly event initiated by PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds

Sweetcorn Chicken Soup

Hot Soups are a comfort food on cold evenings. Though it is summer here, last few days have been rainy and cold. This is one of the easiest soup and I made it specially for my daughter who loves sweet corn and chicken. This soup is very healthy too as I have not added even a drop of oil, but it still tastes yummy.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken pieces - 1 to 1.5 cups(4-5 medium pieces).
    Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves finely chopped
    Pepper powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
    Water - 2 cups
    Salt to taste

2. Sweet corn - 1 can of 200 gms
    Corn flour/Corn starch - 1 tsp
 
Preparation:

1. Add the ingredients listed as item 1 to a saucepan and cook till chicken is done. I do it in a pressure cooker  to make it easier.  Drain the chicken pieces from the stock and keep aside.
2. Take 3/4 of the sweetcorns from the can and blend  in a food processor/mixer till smooth. Add this to the chicken stock along with the remaining 1/4th portion of sweetcorns and bring it to boil. If you are using creamed corn, there is no need to blend.
3. Meanwhile chop the chicken pieces. If you are using chicken with bones, remove and discard the bones.
4. Add chopped chicken to the stock and simmer for few minutes.
5. Add corn starch to a few tablespoons of water and mix well. Pour this to the boiling soup. The soup starts thickening. Do a taste check and add salt if required.

Serve hot.

Sending this to Souper Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen

This also goes to Iftar Nights at Jabeen's Corner

Also goes to Anyone Can Cook:Series 30

My 100th post - Buttermilk Berry Muffins

Hurray !!! this is my 100th post. I never dreamt of posting so many recipes in less than 3 months time. And there is one more reason to celebrate - my blog has 10,000+ hits now. So, this is a double dose of happiness to me. I would like to thank all my readers, friends,blogger pals and family members who encourage me with their words and comments that keeps me going.

I started baking just a few months ago and my husband gifted me a muffin tray this week.He is the one who encouraged me to start this blog. He is the food critic, official tester and taster of all the dishes in this blog.  This is the first set of muffins I baked in the new tray. My little daughter is very fond of berries, so I thought of starting with a berry muffin recipe.  She loved the muffins so much that she asked for more after finishing 2 muffins within minutes.

So, here are the berry-licious muffins from me to you...and a big THANK YOU...

These muffins are very soft and easy to make...

Dry Ingredients:
All purpose Flour - 2.5 cups
Granulated White Sugar - 3/4 cup (I used a little above 1/2 cup)
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Lemon or orange zest - I used zest of a medium size orange.
Mixed berries - 1.5 cups (I used raspberries and blueberries)

Wet Ingredients:
Egg - 1 large
Buttermilk* - 1 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

* - To make instant buttermilk for baking, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of milk at room temperature. Keep aside for 5 to 10 mins and then it is ready to use.

The above measurement yields 12 regular size muffins.

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 190C / 375F. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with muffin cases and keep aside.
2. In the first bowl, add the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine well. Gently fold in the berries.
3. In the second bowl, lightly beat the egg and then add buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract. Mix well with a whisk.
4. Pour the contents of the second bowl to the first bowl and gently combine them with a spatula. Mix till the ingredients are just combined and taking care not to break the berries. Do not over mix.
5. Scoop the muffin mix to the muffin cups and bake for 20-25 mins or when a toothpick/skewer inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 10-15 mins

Recipe Source: Joy of Baking.

Sending this to Friday Potluck #4 @ Show and Tell

Sending this to Healing Foods - Berries hosted by Smitha, an event series started by Siri.

Sautéed Babycorns

A dish that is as simple as its name...I couldn't stop munching on these spicy and crunchy babycorns.

Ingredients

Babycorns - 10, cut to strips

Onion - 1/2 of a medium sized, chopped

Pepper powder - 3/4 tsp or to suit your taste

Lime/lemon juice - 1 tsp

Oil  - 2 tsp

Salt

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and add onions and salt and saute till they are soft. Add pepper powder and mix well. Now add baby corns and mix well. Drizzle lemon juice and combine well. Saute till babycorns are cooked and browned.

Linking to Anyone Can Cook:Series 29 and Friday Potluck 3

Linking to Food Palette Series - Black @ Torview

Sambar Saadam

If you are looking for a healthy and easy lunchbox recipe, this is the one...I found this simple and easy recipe at Nags Edible Garden and bookmarked it to try on a lazy morning where I wake up late and have to pack lunch. In this recipe, rice is cooked along with dal, veggies and sambar powder in a pressure cooker. 

Ingredients:

Rice (Sona masoori/Basmati/Ponni) - 1 cup

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Tamarind - a small piece

Chopped vegetables - I took 5-6 green beans, 1 carrot, 1 potato and 1 tomato which was about 1.5 cups. You may add veggies of your choice.

Onion - 1 small, chopped ( you may use a few shallots instead)

Green chillies - 2, slit

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Sambar powder - 1 tbsp or more (adjust to suit your taste)

Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp (no need to add if your sambar powder is spicy enough)

Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp

Salt

Water 

For Seasoning

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

Preparation:

1. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup warm water for 10 mins. Extract the juice and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and splutter mustard seeds. Add onions, green chillies, hing, turmeric, chilly and sambar powders and combine well. 

3. Now add all the veggies and mix well. Add toor dal and rice and 1 cup tamarind juice. To cook 1 cup of rice, we need 2 cups of water. As  1 cup tamarind juice is added already, add just one more cup of water. I wanted rice to be a little overcooked and mushy like bisibele bath. So I added 1+1/4 cups of water. 

4. Add salt and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. The number of whistles may vary with the size of your cooker and the quantity you are cooking.

5. When the pressure gets released, open the lid and mix well. Sambar Saadam is now ready.

Sending this to Bookmarked Recipes - Every Tuesday Vol 53 and Anyone Can Cook:Series 29

Also linking to Rice Recipes

Tomato and Garlic Chicken

I tasted this dish at my friend Mridula's home on her daughter's birthday party and I just loved it. She has a lot of yummy recipes in her Facebook Page - Mila's Kitchen. Do check it out...

If you like tangy and saucy chicken, you are sure to love this recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Boneless chicken - 500 gms cut to bite size pieces

    Chilly powder - 2 tsp

    Soy sauce - 2 tsp

    Finely chopped  garlic - 1 tsp

    Salt

2. Corn flour - 3 tbsp

     Oil for shallow frying chicken

3.  Finely chopped Garlic - 1 tbsp

     Green chillies - 3, finely chopped

     Soy sauce - 1 tbsp

     Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

     Tomatoes - 2

      Chilly powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp

      Spring onions - to garnish

Preparation:

1. Marinate the ingredients in item 1 for about 1-2 hrs.

2. Add some water and pressure cook the marinated chicken for 1 whistle. When the pressure is released, drain the chicken peices from the stock and coat it with corn flour. Reserve the chicken stock for the gravy.

3. Heat oil in a pan to shallow fry the chicken. Fry till the chicken is cooked, but still soft. Drain and keep aside.

4. In the same pan and oil, add  garlic and saute till you get the aroma. Add green chillies, soy sauce and tomato sauce and combine well. 

5. Blend the tomatoes in a food processor or mixer and  add it to the pan along with chicken stock. Add a little chilly powder. Bring to a boil.

6. Add the left over cornflour used for coating the chicken. Add the chicken pieces and simmer for few minutes. Do a taste check and adjust salt and spiciness and the gravy consistency. Garnish with spring onions.

Tastes great with Fried rice, paratha and naan.

Sending this to Anyone Can Cook: Series 29 

Also sending to Iftar Nights

Linking to Joy from Fasting to Feasting-IV at Yummy Food

Egg Kothu Porotta

Kothu Porotta is a famous street food of Tamilnadu and Kerala. This is a very popular dish in thattukada (roadside eatery). The shredded porottas are mixed with the masalas, egg and/or meat on a hot iron griddle using a heavy iron spatula. When I make it at home, it tastes a little different than the street food ones. If you have a cast iron wok, it helps to recreate almost the similar taste. This is my version of kothu porotta which is easier to cook at home if you have readymade porottas (either fresh or frozen, fresh ones are the best). You can have it for dinner or weekend brunch.

Ingredients:

Malabar/Kerala Porotta - 5 (medium size)
Chopped Ginger - 1 tsp
Chopped Garlic - 1 tsp
Onion - 1, chopped
Tomato - 1, chopped
Green chillies - 3 or 4, slit
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chilly powder - 3/4 tsp (adjust)
Garam masala - 1/2 to 1 tsp
Eggs - 3
Curry leaves - a few
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt

Preparation:

1. Roughly chop the cooked porottas into small pieces. I used cooked and frozen malabar porottas (Neptune brand popular in UK) and microwaved it for 3 mins as per instructions on the pack and then chopped them.
2. Heat oil in a cast iron wok or a non-stick pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add onions, chillies, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and salt. Saute till onions are soft.
3. Add turmeric, chilly and garam masala powders and combine well. Now add tomatoes and saute till mushy.
4. Add the chopped porotta and combine well and saute.
5. In a bowl, beat the eggs adding a little salt. Pour this to the porotta mix and scramble well. Add coriander leaves and saute well. If you like the porotta to be crispier and dry, saute for some more time.

Notes:
1. Vegetarians can add capsicum and other veggies of their choice and avoid eggs.
2. Non-veg lovers can add cooked and shredded chicken or meat.
3. If you have left over chicken/meat curry, shred the pieces and add to the porotta along with some gravy.
4. In roadside eateries, they add a masala gravy while preparing kothu porotta. You may add it if you like.
5. You may use left over chappathi or roti or bread using same recipe.

Serve hot with raitha

Linking to Anyone can cook: Series 28 at Taste of Pearl City and  Iftar Nights at Jabeen's Corner

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen - August 2011 hosted by Vidhya of Sugar N Spice. Visit The Kerala Kitchen page here.

Also goes to Flavours of South India

Linking to Joy from Fasting to Feasting-IV at Yummy Food

Fish Biriyani

I am making Fish Biriyani after a long time. I always love to cook with fresh fish. Fish biriyani tastes best with King Fish and we get only frozen ones here. I was a little apprehensive of cooking with frozen fish, but the biriyani turned out very yummy.  We were really hungry by the time it was done, so I just took one click of it, so the picture is not that good. I'm planning to make this again when I go to my home in Kerala and will update a better picture here...

Ingredients:

1. King fish slices - 500 gms

    Kashmiri Chilly powder - 1 tbsp (Adjust the quantity if you are using regular chilly powder)

    Turmeric powder - a pinch

    Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

    Lime Juice - 1/2 tsp

    Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

    Salt

2. Oil - for shallow frying the fish

    Onions - 2, Chopped

    Tomatoes - 2, chopped

     Finely chopped ginger - 2 tsp

     Finely chopped garlic - 2 tsp

     Coriander powder - 1 to 2 tsp

     Chilly powder - to taste

     Biriyani masala powder - 2 tsp (or homemade garam masala)

     Thick Coconut milk - 1/4 cup (optional)

     

3. For the Biriyani Rice

   Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp

   Green cardamom -4

   Cloves -4

   Cinnamon - 2 inch piece

   Star anise - 1 small broken to pieces

   Onion sliced finely - 1 small

   Basmati Rice - 2 cups

   Lemon juice - 2 tsp

   Salt

4. For garnishing

    Coriander and mint leaves chopped - a handful

    Cashew nuts and raisins - as you like :-)

    Sliced onions deep fried - a handful

Preparation:

1. Wash the kingfish slices and drain. Mix all the ingredients in item 1 and marinate for 30-60 mins.

2. Heat oil in a pan for shallow frying the fish. Fry the fish peices f or a few minutes till it is about half cooked. Drain and keep aside.

3. In the same oil used for frying, add onions, ginger, garlic and salt. Saute till onions are soft. 

Add coriander powder and combine well. Now add the tomatoes and saute till they are mushy. 

4. Add pepper powder or chilly powder to adjust the spiciness. Now add the fish pieces and gently mix the masala without breaking the fish pieces. If you like to add coconut milk, add now and simmer for few minutes till the fish is fully cooked. The gravy becomes very thick now. Add a little coriander leaves and mint leaves and combine well and close it with a lid.

Cooking the Rice

1. Wash the rice well and soak in water for 30 mins and then drain.Heat Oil/Ghee in a vessel and add the cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon and star anise. Saute for a minute and add the onions. Saute for few minutes. Do  not let the onions brown.

2. Add the basmati rice and mix well. When the rice starts crackling, add 4 cups of hot water, lemon juice and salt. Note that the salt is only for the rice. We have used salt separately for the masala.

3. Cook till rice is done and the water is dried up.

Layering the Biriyani

1. Grease the bottom of a non stick/thick bottom vessel with some ghee.

2. Make a layer of biriyani rice. After that make a layer of fish masala. Repeat this process till the rice and masala is layered completely. The top layer must be of rice.

4. Deep fry sliced onion in oil/ghee and keep aside. Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee. Spread the fried onions, cashews and raisins on the layered biriyani.

5. Also add the chopped coriander and mint leaves.

6. Place the vessel on top of stove and lower the flame. Keep it for 5-10 mins.

7. You may also place a pan of boiling water on top of the biriyani vessel so that the heat is from both the sides.

Microwave option: Do the layering in a large microwave safe dish and cover with  lid. Microwave it for 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot with raitha.

Linking with Iftar Nights at Jabeen's Corner

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen - August 2011 hosted by Vidhya of Sugar N Spice. Visit The Kerala Kitchen page here.

Linking to Joy from Fasting to Feasting-IV at Yummy Food

Also linking to Rice Recipes

Koottu curry

Koottu curry is a traditional dish of Kerala and is included in Kerala Sadya. It is made with black/brown chana, Yam and Raw plantain. This is traditionally served with rice, but also goes well with roti.

Ingredients:

Black/brown chana (Kadala) - 2/3 cup
Yam - half of a small sized (after peeling and cutting to pieces it was a little more than a cup)
Raw plantain - 1
Turmeric powder
Salt

Shredded coconut - 3/4 cup
Whole black pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp (Coconut oil is preferred)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red chillies - 2 or 3
Curry leaves - a sprig

Preparation:

1. Soak chana overnight. Cook in a pressure cooker with salt,turmeric powder and water. Add just enough water to cook the chana, as this dish has a thick gravy. Keep aside.
2. Peel and cut the yam and raw plantain to small pieces. Cook it with salt,turmeric powder and water. When it is almost cooked, turn off the stove and keep aside.
3.Meanwhile grind together coconut, cumin seeds and pepper corns without adding water.
4. Add the cooked yam and plantain and the ground coconut to the cooked chana and combine well and cook for few minutes.
5. In a small pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add dry red chillies and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the cooked curry and immeditely close the lid. After 5 mins, open the lid and combine well.

Recipe source: My mother.

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen - August 2011 hosted by Vidhya of Sugar N Spice. Visit The Kerala Kitchen page here.

Linking to Anyone can cook: Series 28 at Taste of Pearl City

Also goes to Flavours of South India

Please do visit and send your entries for my Ongoing event - Fusion Food:Pasta