Pathiri

Ingredients:
Roasted Rice Powder (Puttu Podi) - 2 cups
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Oil - 1 table spoon
Cumin seeds - 1 tspoon
Fennel seeds - 1/4 t spoon
Shallots - 5 to 6 no.s

Preparation:

1. Boil water in a vessel and add salt and oil.
2. Once boiled slowly add rice powder and combine the mixture well. Keep it aside and allow it to cool.
3. When it is cooled, knead well with your hands. (Make sure you don't add water).
4. Crush grated coconut along with shallots, fennel seeds and cumin seeds.
5. Add this crushed mixture to the dough and mix well.
6. Make small balls and flatten it using chappathi roller.
7. Heat a frying pan and rub oil if needed and then heat one side of the pathiri until its cooked and then repeat the same with other side.
8. Serve hot with fish curry, chicken curry or any sort of non veg of your choice.

I thank Sangeetha chechi of Kothiyavunnu whose blog really taught me how to make this. This is her recipe.
Thanks a lot!!!

Varutharacha Kozhi Curry (Chicken Curry)

I rarely cook varutharacha kozhi curry, mostly because I am lazy to roast and grind the ingredients. So I mostly make chicken masala, stew or fries, which is much easier to make. But last weekend I decided to go for it as my hubby was home and was ready to help me :). I really love this with traditional kerala rice.

Ingredients:
Chicken - 800 gm (Chopped into medium cubes)
Coconut - 1 1/2 cup
Potato - 2 nos small (Chopped into cubes)
Onion - 2 medium (Sliced into half length wise)
Green Chilly - 2 nos (Split into half)
Tomato - 1 medium (Chopped into square shape)
Ginger - 1 inch (chopped into fine pieces)
Garlic - 3 cloves
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 t spoon
Red Chilly Powder - 1 1/2 t spoon (1/2 t spoon for roasting & 1 t spoon for marinating)
Coriander Powder - 1 t spoon
Chicken Masala - 1 t spoon
Dried Red Chilly - 2 nos
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Coriander Leaves - 2-3 sprigs
Salt - To taste
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch broken into pieces
Clove - 4nos.
Cardamom - 3 nos
Oil - 2 table spoon

Preparation:

1. Heat a pan and roast the coconut till light brown. Then add the dried red chillies, coriander powder, chicken masala and 1/2 t spoon of red chilly powder and fry for 5 mins. Keep it aside and let it cool.
2. Grind the roasted mix by adding a little water and make a smooth paste.
3. Marinate chicken with 1/2 t spoon of turmeric, salt, 1 t spoon of chilly powder and keep aside for 20 mins.
4. Heat a Chatti (Earthen Pot) & add oil. Add onion, green chillies and saute well.
5. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 5-10 seconds.
6. Add salt, turmeric and mix well.
7. Add potatoes and stir continuously.
8. Then add marinated chicken pieces together with the chopped tomatoes and mix well.
9. Cover the chatti with a lid and allow the chicken to cook over medium flame for about 10 minutes. In between open the lid and stir well.
10. Once the chicken is cooked, add the grinded paste, 3/4 cup of water and mix well and allow to cook for another 5 minutes with the lid open.
11. Add spices (Cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom), curry leaves and switch off the flame.
12. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Delicious varutharacha kozhi curry is ready. It is a great combination with rice, chappathi or porotta. This will be enough to serve 6 persons.

There are two ingredients missing here as I ran out of stock. Shallots and coconut slices.
Usually shallots will be sauted along with the onions and for tempering we use coconut slices.

Ghee Rice with Grilled Chicken Legs (Ney Chor & Kozhikkalu Porichathu) And Awards

Ghee Rice (Ney Chor)

Last week I was in great mood to make something special. Suddenly thought of Ghee Rice and Egg Masala. And my hubby volunteered to make some nice Grilled Chicken Legs which he is always so fond of. He was insisting "Not too much ghee in ghee rice and egg masala should not be too spicy.". He really don't like too much oily and spicy. So I made the ghee rice less oily and the egg masala a bit spciy!!! But my hubby made the grilled chicken super spicy!!! :)

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 2 cups (Washed and drained)
Ghee (Ney) - 3 1/2 table spoon
Onion - 1 medium (sliced lengthwise)

Fennel Seeds - 1/4 t spoon

Cashew Nuts - 5 nos
Raisins - 5 nos
Cardamom - 3 nos
Cloves - 5 nos
Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch (Break into pieces)
Aniseed (Flower) - 1 no
Water - 3 cups (boiled)
Salt - To taste

Preparation:

1. Heat a deep sauce pan and add 1 1/2 table spoon of ghee. Add cloves, cinnamon, cashew nuts, raisins aniseed and fennel seeds and heat till fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and keep it aside.
2. Add sliced onions to the same pan and saute well till golden brown. Transfer this also to the bowl.
3. Add remaining 2 table spoon ghee to the pan and add the drained rice and fry it till it becomes firm and start breaking.
4. Add 3 cups boiled water and salt to taste and cover it with the lid and cook over low flame.
5. When water is almost over you will see bubbles and holes appearing in rice. At that moment turn off the flame, but don't open the lid and keep it aside for 15 minutes, until the rice is completely cooked.
6. Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with the fried onion and spices.
7. Delicious neychor is ready to serve with Chicken, mutton, egg or any other varutharacha curries and also with fried items.

My combination with ghee rice was Egg masala and Grilled chicken legs (Given below).

Grilled Chicken Legs

Ingredients:
Chicken Legs : 4 nos
Chilli Powder : 2 t spoon
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 t spoon
Black Pepper Powder : 1 t spoon
Salt - To taste

Preparation:

1. Slit the chicken legs with knife so that it will absorb the masala well.
2. Mix all the above ingredients with very little water and apply uniquely over the chicken legs and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven in fan assisted mode for about 5 minutes at 220 C.
4. Keep the oven rack in 3rd level from below and place the chicken at the center and grill for 35-40 minutes in fan assisted grill mode.

Awards

Many thanks to Cicily Antony, Nithu Bala and Sowmya for presenting me these awards. I feel so excited.

I would like to share these with my following friends.
Priya (Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes)
Rachana (Veggi Fare)
Supriya (My Kook Book)
Nithya (Fourth Sense Samayal!)
Sushma (Authentic Food Delights)
Siddhi (Cooked Dil Se...!!!)
Viki (Viki's Kitchen)

Kozhukkatta

It is quite a long time I had kozhukkattas. In fact I have not even seen it for at least 2 years. Yesterday I was talking to my mom and she told she had kozhukkatas for breakfast. Mmmmm.... I decided I gonna make it. Just figured all the steps from mom and started straight to kitchen. Rest you know... :)

Ingredients:
Roasted Rice Powder - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
Green Chillies - 2 nos
Shallots - 10 nos
Cumin Seeds - 1 t spoon
Water - 2 cups
Salt - To taste
Dried Red Chillies - 3-4 nos
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Mustard Seeds - 1 t spoon

Preparation:

1. Grind grated coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies and shallots.
2. Add salt to the roasted rice powder and add boiling water in a progressive manner. Stir with a wooden spatula and make sure the rice powder paste doesn't form pellets. Ensure that it is not too watery.
3. Add the grinded paste and mix well and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
4. Make small balls out of the dough and steam it for around 5-8 minutes (The time depends on the size of the balls).
5. Heat a pan and splutter mustard seeds, red dried chillies and curry leaves.
6. Transfer these contents over the kozhukkatta.
7. The delicious kozhukkatta can be used as breakfast or starters. It is very healthy as it is steamed.

Tips:
While grinding, don't add any extra water as the water from shallots will be enough.
Allow kozhukkatta to cool before having.

Malabar Kozhi Biriyani (Chicken Biriyani)

Ingredients:
For Marinating Chicken:
Turmeric -1 t spoon
Red chilly - 1/2 t spoon
Salt - To taste

For Chicken Masala:
Chicken - 6-7 big pieces (Preferably leg, thighs or breast)
Onions - 4 medium (Sliced lengthwise)
Tomato - 3 medium (Chopped lengthwise)
Cooking oil - 2 table spoon
Chicken Masala - 2 t spoon
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Yoghurt - 1 table spoon
Fennel seed - 1/2 t spoon
Garlic - 5 clove
Ginger - 1 1/2 inch
Green Chilly - 3 nos
Cardamom - 3
Mint leaf - 10
Coriander leaf - 1

For Rice:
Rice - 3 cups
Ghee - 1 table spoon
Water - 6 cups

For Garnishing
Cashew - 15
Raisin - 15
Cinnamon stick - 2 inch (Break it into small pieces)
Onion - 1 small (Chop it lengthwise)
Flower spice -3
Bay leaf - 3 (Cut into pieces)
Oil - 1 table spoon
Ghee - 2 table spoon

Marination:
Mix salt, turmeric and red chilly powder with very little water. Apply it evenly on the chicken pieces and keep aside for 15-20 minutes

Preparation:
For Chicken:

1. Grind fennel seed, garlic and ginger in mixer.
2. Heat oil in a deep sauce pan.
3. Add onion and saute until it becomes soft.
4. Add chicken masala and stir well for 15-20 seconds.
5. Add tomato and one t spoon of the paste prepared in step 1 and stir for another 20-30 seconds.
6. Add the marinated chicken and rest of the paste and mix well.
7. Add yoghurt (Or lime juice), mix well and close the lid. Cook over medium flame
8. Once chicken is almost cooked add cardamom, mint leaf, curry leaf and coriander leaf
9. Chicken masala is now ready. Keep it aside for mixing it later with rice.

For Garnishing:
We will first prepare the garnishing item as we can use the same oil and ghee for frying the rice.

1. Heat cooking oil and ghee in a wok
2. Add sliced onion and saute it till deep golden brown
3. Then transfer it to a plate.
4. Add rest of the spices and heat it till fragrant
5. Transfer these to a plate.

For Rice:
Wash and drain the rice using a colander.
Heat 6 cups of water in a separate bowl and boil it.

1. Add one more table spoon of ghee to the wok after transferring the garnishing items out of the wok.
2. Once heated add the dried rice and fry it till rice becomes firm and rigid.
3. Add boiled water, salt and close the lid and cook over low flame.
4. When water is almost over, turn off the flame. But don't open the lid and keep it aside for 15 minutes, until the rice is completely cooked.

Layering:
For layering we need a vessel big enough to hold rice and chicken. Or you can use the wok itself.

1. Put rice and chicken in alternate layers starting with rice.
2. Add chopped coriander leaves while adding chicken
3. Garnish with initially prepared spices.
4. Cover the vessel with a well fitting lid (air tight) and heat over low flame for around 1 minute.
5. Keep the lid closed for another 10 minutes

Chicken biriyani is now ready to serve. I have just copied out my amma's way of cooking kozhi biriyani except that i didn't any colors. Last weekend i tried this & turned awesome.