Chicken biryani – Malabar ishtyle.

Chicken biryanis are no longer a lot of hardwork. This was not always the case.

There used to be a time when cooking a biryani at home meant someone special was invited or something special was happening in the house. We would wake up in anticipation of the big day. “Today we are having biryani for lunch”- I would tell this to anybody who would care to listen. Then my father would go the market with the grocery list, of course, accompanied by me. See, it’s different in India. You have to travel a bit to get good quality Basmati rice.

“What?”, you say,”You don’t stock the biyani rice?We usually just buy a big bag from Costco.”

Ah! yes! But Basmati rice is quite expensive in India and unless you are really rich, you usually just buy enough for that one meal of biryani. A few years ago, there weren’t that many supermarkets. So you had to stop at one shop for the rice, another one for the chicken and then another for the herbs and lemon. It would take atleast an hour or more to get back home after a round of shopping.

Of course, things are different now and you can get all you want at any one of the many super markets that are popping all around. Sure is convenient but then you miss the walk in the chantha ( market), with all its varied smells and great display of veggies.

If Mastercard used this theme they would have said:

Biryani rice Rs. 50

Fresh chicken Rs.100
A walk in the chantha ( market ) Priceless

Making chicken biryani is a breeze after coming to the US. Take a few cups of rice from the Costco rice bag. Cut up the chicken in the freezer. Use the herbs that you have stored in the fridge. Chicken biryani is ready in an hour or so. And this is exactly what I did last Friday – actually Satish did go to the store for chicken.

I have had a brief touch with Malabar cuisine. My mother once worked for some time in Kozhikode. She stayed there for a few months or so. We went to visit her once and I had some amazing food at one of my father’s friends. I was convinced Muslim hospitality was the best. There was a whole table of food and all their relatives were in the house to welcome us. Made us all feel real special! I was really young but this episode is still clear in my memory.

Thanks to fellow bloggers Shaheen and Shynee, we are getting to know more about this cuisine.

For the chicken biryani, I followed Shynee’s recipe. I had seen Anita mention it. Thanks Anita!!!

Once you have made biryani you will see that it is more of a method than exact measure ( except for cooking the rice).

Here are some pictures to get you inspired.

Cooking the rice:

Soak the rice in water for 30min or so prior to cooking. Drain off the water.

Add ghee( a must for authentic taste), cloves, cardamon and cinnamon. Add the rice. Stir well. Add water and salt. ( For 3 cups of rice, I used 5 3/4 water). Cook covered. When all water is evaporated, shut off the flame and keep covered for a few more minutes. In the meanwhile avoid stirring. You can fluff with a fork after it has finished cooking

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Cooking the chicken

Layering the rice and chicken

Frying herbs to decorate the top

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Also fry onions, raisins and cashews.

Bake for 15- 20 minutes.

Serve warm with raita, achar, ulli surka and pappadam.

Chicken Jalfrezi

Is there anybody out there who hasn’t been bored by the ‘regular’chicken curry. By ‘regular’ I mean the version that you always make, the one you know how to cook without looking up a recipe… I was almost beginning to hate chicken when suddenly I looked at the chicken in the freezer and “Chicken Jalfrezi”jumped at me. I had heard about this recipe but never tasted or seen Chicken Jalfrezi and it was one of those moments when inspiration hits and there is no turning back. So on to the internet and then began the process of elimination of various jalfrezi recipes and finally found this one that looked authentic and doable.

This is the slightly modified version that I made
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlicchopped

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken
3teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 medium tomatoes diced

2.5 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Heat the oil and add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, and season with turmeric, chili powder and salt.Cook the chicken till it is slightly browned at edges.
Add tomatoes and cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover, and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the excess liquid evaporate.
Add the cumin, ground coriander, ginger and cilantro, and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes.

I was apprehensive about the 3tsp of turmeric as it seemed a little too much(compared with rest of the spices), but I guess that what was what made the Jalfrezi distinct…the ‘nicer’ color and that distinct taste.And the one other thing that was different from my usual chicken curry was the addition of cumin. I slightly decreased the amount of cumin. But I was glad to be free from the generic ‘chicken curry’ and to venture into new territory.