Kerala Chicken Biriyani

Biriyani is very popular all over the world.The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) which means "fried" or "roasted". It is a very delicious dish usually prepared for special occasions such as weddings, parties and holidays. Very time consuming but definitely worth cooking. 


Preparation of Rice 
Basmati rice - 4 cups
Water - 7 cups
Cardamom pods - 4
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon sticks - 2 pieces
Bay leaves - 2
Butter or Vegetable shortening - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 Tbsp

For Masala
Chicken - 1 Whole chicken cut in to big pieces
Onion - 3 - 4 medium chopped
Ginger - 1 small piece
Garlic - 1/2 tbsp
Tomatoes - 2- 3 medium
Green Chillies - 5 - 6
Yogurt - 1/4 cupCoriander/ Cilantro leaves - A bunch
Mint leaves  - a bunch
Garam Masala- 1 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste

For garnish
Cashews - 10 - 15
Raisins - 1 pack (small)
2 medium onions sliced thin and fried
Biriyani essence - 1 or 2 drops
Pineapple - 1/4cup chopped
Tomatoes - 1/4cup chopped

How to prepare Rice
Wash rice 2 - 3 times and keep it on a colander to drain off the excess water. Add butter or Vegetable shortening in a large vessel. Add the spices and then the rice. Saute for 5 minutes. Add boiling water to the rice. Sprinkle salt and let it boil for sometime. Keep it on medium flame for another 10 minutes. As soon as the rice is cooked, remove it to another vessel. Add chopped cilantro and close it with a lid. If you follow the instructions correctly, you should get good textured rice that doesn’t stick to each other.


How to prepare Chicken
Wash chicken well and keep it in a colander to drain off the excess water. Put Onion, chilli, ginger and garlic in a mixer and grind it.  Heat oil in a pressure cooker. When it is medium hot, throw in the onion mixture and saute for a while. Add the chicken to it along with the spices. Add the chopped herbs and tomatoes. Pressure cook it for one whistle. Keep it aside.If there is lot of liquid, remove the chicken pieces and boil the gravy until it becomes thick.

How to layer biriyani
Add half of the chicken masala to a big vessel. Pour rice on top of it. Add the rest half of the masala and complete the layering by adding the remaining rice. Sprinkle with cashews, raisins, pineapple and tomatoes.Cover the entire vessel with foil or tissue paper and close the lid tightly.This is to infuse the flavor of the biryani masala into the rice and the process is called "Dum". After some time, you can see steam coming from the top Garnish with fried onions and boiled eggs.


The secret ingredient is lemon juice. The key to make a good biryani lies in the way how you cook the rice. Adding the juice of a lemon to the boling water will prevent the rice from sticking.

Crispy Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients

Boneless chicken – 1/2 pound

Onion – 1 big

Ginger – 1 tsp

Garlic - minced 1 tsp

Green Chilli – 2-3

Potato – 2 medium boiled & mashed

Black Pepper – 1 teaspoon

Garam Masala – 1/2 teaspoon

Bread crumbs – 1 cup

Egg - 1 whisked

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Oil – for frying

Cook the chicken in little water and shred it after it is cooled. Add chopped Onion, chilly, ginger and garlic in a chopper and mince it. Cook the potato and mash it in to chunky pieces.

Heat oil in a skillet and splutter mustard seeds. After that add the onion mixture and saute for few minutes. Finally add minced chicken. Mix well. Add salt, pepper & garam masala and curry leaves. Stir for 5 more minutes & remove from from fire. Allow the mixture to cool.

 Once it is cooled add mash potatoes & mix well. Beat the egg. Make small balls with the mixture & dip them in egg liquid. Roll each cutlet in bread crumbs.Heat oil and fry them carefully. Serve hot with tomato sauce and sliced onions.You can also use flour instead of egg. In that case, make a batter with water and flour.

Ok I know what you guys are waiting for. The secret ingredient is  .......................................                                    

Rosemary. Adding few sprigs of Rosemary to the breadcrumbs give the cutlet an extra aroma and flavor.

Stuffed Banana with Raisins

Stuffed Banana is a popular tea time snack in Malabar (a place in Kerala, India). It is also served during the festival season of Ramadan to break the fasting.


Ingredients:
Ripe Plantains - 2 - 3 cut in halves
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Raisins - a small pack(Golden raisins, Black or combination)
Cardamom powder - a Pinch
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Poha or Aval - 1/4 cup (You can also replace Aval with dry coconut flakes)
Salt to taste
Water - 1/2 cup
Oil for deep frying


In a small bowl mix together Poha or Aval (these are dry rice flakes that are available in any Indian stores), raisins and some cardamom powder. Keep it aside. Peel the plantains. Cut them in half and make slits lengthwise from one end to another leaving around 2 inch from both the ends. Stuff the banana with this filling. Make sure not to over stuff them as it can break the banana.Make a thick batter with all purpose flour, sugar, salt and water. 
Heat oil in a pot and when it is medium hot, dip the plantains in the batter and fry it in oil until golden brown. Drain the oil with a paper towel and serve warm with a cup of tea.


The secret ingredient is bakingggg powder. A pinch of baking powder to the batter will give the banana an extra crispiness.

Spice it up with Chilli Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken –  1 pound (1 ½ kg) boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Onion – 3 - 4, medium size, chopped
Ginger / Garlic Paste – 1/2 teaspoonGreen chillies – 4, medium size, sliced
Capsicum or Bell Pepper -  2, sliced length-wise (You can use  Red, Green or Yellow Bell Peppers)
Red chilly powder – 1/2  teaspoon
All purpose flour – 1 tablespoons
Soya sauce – 1 teaspoon
Ketch Up – 1 teaspoon
Salt – ½ teaspoon
water - 1/4 cup
Oil – 1 tablespoon

For the Marinade

Ginger / Garlic Paste – 1/2 tbsp
Red chilly powder – 1 teaspoon
Soy sauce – 3 teaspoons
Ketch Up – 3 teaspoons
Salt – ½ teaspoon
Red Color - A pinch(Optional)

Method: Marinate the chicken with the ingredients under marinade. Keep it aside for for few hours.
Heat oil in the pan. When it is medium hot, shallow fry chicken pieces for 5 minutes on each side. Keep it aside. On the same oil, first add chillies and then ginger garlic paste. After 2 minutes, add the chopped onion and saute for few minutes. Finally add the sliced Bell Peppers.
Meanwhile, make a batter with all purpose four, chilli powder, soy, tomato sauce and water. Once the onion/bell pepper mixture turn transclusent, add the fried chicken pieces to it. Mix it well and pour the flour batter to it. Cook it for few more minutes. You can add more spices at this time if you want it really hot. Serve it hot garnished with spring onions and fresh green chillies. This can be used as a main entrée or as appetizers. I'm sure your family will enjoy it.

The secret ingredient is Cheeeseeeeee!! Add a teaspoon of parmesan cheese to the chicken marinade to make it extra special.