Alisa /Arees

I can see ma biriyani weeping without Alisa... :) ..Both goes really well.You can hardly see any malabar wedding without these two dishes . Coming all the way from the middle-east ,this has turned to be an unavoidable dish in malabar functions. Arabs usually make this during special occasions such as Ramadan,Eid or weddings. When they make it in bulk, dig a big hole outside and dump the vessel inside to cook Harees in dum. We make it hassle-free in pressure cookers. But the taste slightly differs. They use lots of mutton & fat in it compared to us.

Back home, people have it with sugar sprinkled on it. But we hate to eat it that way. We usually have it plain or with some delicious chicken or beef fry. Branless wheat is used in this recipe. Vegetarians can avoid chicken .






































Ingredients:

Wheat 1 1/2cups (branless/without skin)
Chicken 1 piece (preferrably leg with thigh)
Garlic 7 pods (whole)
Onion 1 (sliced)
Cinnamon 1" stick
Cardamom 2-3 (i don't use)
salt
Water 4-5 cups

Garnish:

Onions 2
Ghee 1/2 cup
Cashews/rasins

Method:

Soak the wheat overnight for best results. You can cook otherwise too, but will take lesser time if soaked.
 

Boil water in a pressure cooker, add all the ingredients in it & let it boil.

Close the lid & after the first whistle, turn the fire to low & leave it to cook for about 1/2 an hour. The time varies between soaked & unsoaked one. So take care of that. Check that after 20 mts.

Now when the wheat is done, switch off the flame & remove the chicken & whole spices from it.

Remove the bones of the chicken & put the chicken back to the harees/alisa.

Now start whipping the alisa using a wooden spoon, a potato masher at times , a foodprocessor or an egg beater too.... But take care while using a blender or foodprocessor...Just pulse it & don't grind all the wheat; also harees should be cooled enough before using a blender.

Now fry the onions, cashews and raisins in ghee. Serve harees garnished with these along with ghee.