Mutton Biriyani (Kannur style)

Biriyani is an integral part of Indian cuisine and is savored in almost all parts of India . According to Wikipedia, there are about 49 varieties of biriyanis seen in India, of which those made from fish,quail,hare & deer are also included apart from the common mutton & chicken varieties. The method of preparation &  tastes of these are different depending upon the region and they (most of them) are named based on their regions too. Of them Hyderabadi Biriyani, Lucknowi Biriyani, Sindhi Biriyani and Kozhikode Biriyani are a few famous ones.

Talassery/Kannur biriyani has also found a prominent place among these. What differentiate a Talassery biriyani from others is that this is made using a small variety of rice named Kayama rice/Jeerakasala rice instead of Basmati rice. Before it was not available in the other parts of Kerala than Kannur. I still remember we used to take a whole big sack of this rice while visiting our friends in Tvm. We used to pack this to this part of the world (UAE) too. But nowadays this rice is easily available in supermarkets & thus made our part easier. Need not ve to get it all the way from India now. 

Fresh corianders are the one essential thing tha we can't avoid here. Years ago when huge amounts were not available at hand, they used to plant coriander seeds all over on wedding occasions and all..

Now, the recipe.. this is the basic one which is followed in our place in Kannur (Taliparamba). My mom makes it this way & so do I. 

 Ingredients: (for the masala)

Ghee 1 Tbsp

Oil 2 Tbsp

Onion 3 cups

Ginger Garlic paste 3 Tbsp

Tomatoes 1 and1/2 large

Green Chillies 10

Mutton 300-400gms

Salt

Pepper 1 tsp

Garama Masala 1 tsp

Curd 3 Tbsp

Preparation:

1.Marinate mutton in curd, ginger-garlic paste and salt for atleast an hour . Keep this marination in freezer for better & quicker results.

2.Heat oil & Ghee in a pan. Add onions and saute for a while  till the onions turn translucent. Add crushed green chillies to it. You can add chillies according to your spice level. I used bird chilli here and was enough spicy for me.

3.Now add the marinated mutton pieces into it along with the marinated gravy. Add tomatoes at this stage and some garam masala to it. Cook till it is done. Add 1 tsp of pepper to this.You can pressure cook the masala too.

4.Take care that not too much gravy is t left behind. If masala is too watery reduce it in high flame & if mutton is already cooked well, you can remove the mutton & then reduce the gravy. Check the picture how the masala looks just after opening the pressure cooker and then reduced to a thick gravy.

5.. You can add 1 tsp of Garam Masala, 1 Tbsp each coriander & mint leaves. The masala is done now.

Ingredients : (for the rice)

Ghee 1 1/2 Tbsp

Oil 3-5 Tbsp

Onion 1

Cashew a few (about 10 or more)

Raisins a few

Cardamom 3

Cloves 3

Cinnamon stick 1"

Rice 3 cups (preferably Jeearakasala/Kayama rice); u can use Basmati rice too

Lemon juice 3 Tbsp

Salt

Boiling water 4 1/2 cups

B.)Preparation:

1.Heat oil & ghee in a  deep bottomed non-stick pan & fry onions in it. These are the onions we use for garnishing at the end. So it should be dark browned just as in the picture. Always while deep frying onions, we should take them off  from the oil a little earlier as about 30% of frying is done after we took them off. This is applicable in case of snacks and definitely the onions. 

2.Once onion is fried, take them into a tissue paper. Now fry the cashews & then the raisins in the same oil. Remove them also once they are done.

3.Now add the whole spices (cloves,cardamom & cumin). Let them fry till you get a nice aroma from it (just for a few seconds)

4.The next step is to add rice into it & fry/roast them  until they are slightly browned; about 5-6 minutes in medium-low flame. You have to saute in between, but take care that the rice is not further broken into pieces. This is usually done so that the rice remains separated even after cooking. I think this is done only when using Jeerakasala/Kayama rice. Now add required amount of boiling water to it.  During the whole process, take care the oil is not left unattended in between frying onions or cashews or spices . Keep all these things ready by the side & do it all one by one. 

5.Add lemon juice & salt to it.

6.When the water & rice reaches the same level, close the lid and allow the rice to cook. Just turn the rice over once in between and then simmer in low heat till it is done.

For Dum (Layering):

Coriander leaves 1/4 cup

Mint Leaves 2 Tbsp

Garam Masala

Method:

Take a non-stick or deep bottomed pan for Dum process. This process is usually layering the rice & masala alternatively so that the flavor of masala is infused n the rice.The aroma is locked inside.  You can line the pan if it is not non-stick with Ghee. Now put some rice on the bottom and then the masala, a little garam masala and half of both the coriander & mint leaves metioned. Now again layer the rice and the remaining masala,garam masala and the leaves. Top with half of the fried onions,nuts and raisins.

Now prepare a dough with atta and lock the mouth of the pan with this dough and lid. Now this is the authentic technique used. Otherwise you can just keep a weight  or a big vessel filled with water over the lid. This is then kept on dum on very low flame. I used to keep a lid between the flame and the vessel so that the bottom of the rice is not burnt. Some use oven for the dum process. You have to keep it on dum for 15-20 mts . You can use rose water or saffron if you like the flavor while layering. Saffron is to be soaked in warm milk atleast 1/2 an hour before.

Garnish with fried onions ,nuts & raisins & serve hot with kachumber,raitas, achars,,,,,,.... 

*** Some like more masala & some others prefer less. While attempting for the first time, reserve some masala by the side and then put the remaining on Dum. You can later on mix with the rice or serve separately on the table if you feel that the masala is not enough.


***Remove cardamom,cloves and cinnamon from the rice while layering in Dum. Otherwise many won't like to bite them while having their rice.

Cappuccino Cupcakes

OMG!! I can't imagine that I've to type it all over again...Yeh Blogger bhi naa....grrr... I've posted this  a day before yesterday and now its gone..I was so excited about this as I ve baked something after so long..(after 3 months).. that I typed all these on a single day & published the same day.. If I would 've typed a day earlier this will be ther atleast in the editing section...but..ma luck!! :(

So coming to the recipe, the cakes themselves are a combination of strong instant espresso with a a hint of vanilla, whilst the tops (the froth on the cappuccino) is mostly made up of white chocolate. A wonderful combination!!

The words cappuccino, tiramisu, mocha or anything related with coffee tempt me always .. I've published some other related topics such as Pound Cake Tiramisu, Tiramisu Cupcake , Mocha Cupcakes & so on..

Ingredients: 

(Adapted from the blog named 'Baked')

3/4 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
7 Tbs. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 heaped Tbs. instant espresso
2-3 Tbs. milk

Ingredients: Icing
5.25 oz white chocolate
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs. sour cream
1 and 2/3 cup sifted confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
a little cocoa powder for dusting

Method: Cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. 
2. In a food processor add all the cupcake ingredients except the milk and pulse to combine. 
3. Add the milk and pulse again until the ingredients are well combined. 
4. Place 12 cupcake liners into a muffin pan. 
5. Spoon the batter into the liners.
6. Bake for around 20min (until a slight golden brown color).
7. Let sit for 5 min and then place the cupcakes onto a wire rack to cool down completely. 

Method: Icing
1. Melt the white chocolate and butter in the microwave. 
2. After it has cooled a tad, add the sour cream and stir.
3. Gradually add the sifted confectioners sugar until it is a good consistency (malleable, but not wet). 
4. Spread the icing on top of the cupcakes and then dust some cocoa powder on top. 

Caramel with Fresh Fruit (Baked)

Happy Mothers Day to one & all !! I thought of celebrating this day with an easy pudding which I think most of u all are familiar with.. That's the reason why I didn't post this one for so long.. These days I'm not into baking becos of ma pregnancy sickness & is away from both cooking & blogging.

A creamy caramel dessert is a wonderful way to  end the meal. This is light & delicious,  yet simple recipe.

Ingredients:

Caramel:
Sugar 2 tbsp
water 2 tbsp

Custard:

Medium eggs 6
Vanilla essence 4 drops
Sugar 8-10tbsp
Milk 3 cups/750ml
Fresh fruits for serving

Method:

1. To make the caramel, place the sugar and water in a heatproof dish and place in a microwae and cook for 4 minutes on high or until the sugar has caramelized. Or melt in a pan until pale gold in colour. Pour into a 1.2 litre dish or 5 cups. Leave to cool

2. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350F/Gas 4.

3. To make the custard, break the eggs into a medium mixing bowl and whisk until frothy.

4. Stir in the vanilla essence and gradually add sugar then the milk, whisking continously.

5.Pour the custard over the top of the caramel .

6. Cook in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 30 minutes or until set.

7. Loosen the custard from the sides of the dish with a knife. Place a serving dish upside-down on top of the cup and invert. giving a gentle shake.

7. Arrange any fruit of your choice around the caramel and serve. Strawberries ,blueberries, orange rings, banana slices and raspberries form the colourful array shown here.

Rava Payasam

Aah!! was planning to type this recipe for a bit long.. infact i would've done this earlier.. It is the easiest payasam ever.. Actually this is not so common in our place in Kannur (Taliparamba); but ma mom makes this always usually during iftars...  We've another version of it over ther in ma hometown... we call it Thari Kaachiyathu.. Both are made with the same ingredients..nly the difference is in the consistency .. Thari Kaachiyathu is usually served in glasses whereas this payasam in plates..

Ingredients:

Preparation time: 5 mts

Serves 4

Semolina/Rava/Thari 1/2 cup

Milk ** 2 cups

Sugar 4 tbsp

Salt 1/2 tsp

Shallots /Onion 2 tbsp,chopped

Cashews few,chopped

Ghee 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder a pinch

Method:

1. Heat a pan. Add Ghee & let it melt.

2. Now roast cashews in it till its slightly brown. Take off the cashews in a plate & add the shallots/onions to the ghee.

3. Now saute the onion till it is slightly brown.

4. Pour Milk into it & let it boil. Add sugar ,salt & cardamom powder to it.

5. Now add the semolina to it slowly that no chunks are formed. Keep on stirring. No need to roast the rava.

6. Remove it from fire at the right consistency. It will turn thicker as it cools down. So switch off the flame a bit earlier. The picture shown below is when it was cooled. This is served hot. You should keep the plates to be served before preparing it. We used to have it mostly during our Iftars & usually prepare it just 5 minutes before the Azaan.

**Milk can be fresh milk or coconut milk or a combination of both(1/2 cup milk & 1/2 cup coconut milk). You can use according to your tastes. I like fresh milk & ma mom likes coconut milk. So you can try both & pick the best one.