Chicken Fried Rice

My son prefers Pulao to Biryani. When I made Egg Biryani, he didnt have much. So I made this Fried Rice with Chicken Stock; got the idea from Nigella. This is spicy but less hot, pleasing both our son and us.

Ingredients:

Chicken 400 g

Rice 1 ½ cups

Chicken Stock 2 ¾ cups

Green Chillies 2-3

Whole Garam Masala:

Aniseeds and Cumin ¼ tsp each

Cloves 4

Bay Leaves 2

Black and Green Cardamom 2 each

For Marinating Chicken:

Chilli Powder 1 ½ tsp

Coriander Powder 1 tsp

Paprika Powder ½ tsp (optional)

Turmeric Powder ¼ tsp

Vinegar as required

Coriander Leaves Few

Salt

Butter 

Oil

Preparation:

Slit Chillies. Cut Chicken into small pieces.

Method:

Heat Butter and Oil in a Pan. Add the Whole Garam Masala. When they turn slightly brown, add Green Chillies. Saute for a while. Now add the Rice. Fry for few more minutes. Now add Chicken Stock and Salt. Cook till done.

Combine all the Powders (given under marinating chicken) and Salt in a bowl. Add required Vinegar to form a thick batter. Now add the Chicken and keep it aside for 15 minutes.

Heat Oil in a Pan. Deep fry the Chicken Pieces. Keep it aside for sometime in absorbent Paper.

When the rice is done, add the deep fried Chicken Pieces and mix well. Garnish with Coriander Leaves.

Serves: 2

Serve with any Raita or Kurma.

Egg Biryani

When I prepare Chicken Biryani, I eat only the Rice and leave out Chicken for my Hus to eat. I got much interested when I saw this Egg Biryani Recipe by VahChef. I can eat both the Eggs and the Rice. I adjusted the recipe to my taste and convenience. This Biryani is simple and easy to prepare, does not require layering, yet tastes the best.

Ingredients:

Whole Garam Masala                                                 Whole Garam Masala

Eggs 4                                                                         Cloves 4

Onions Medium 3                                                        Bay Leaves 2

Chilli Powder ¾ tsp                                                      Black Cardamom 2

Coriander Powder ¾ tsp                                             Green Cardamom 2 

Aniseeds and Cumin 1/4 tsp each                               Cinnamon Sticks Few

Biryani Masala Powder 1/2 to 3/4 tsp

Cumin Powder ½ tsp                                                 Biryani Masala (to grind)

Turmeric Powder 1/8 tsp

Green Chillies 1-2                                                       Bay Leaves 4    

Yoghurt ¾ cup (200ml cup)                                        Black Cardamom 4

Finely Chopped Ginger and Garlic 2 ½ tsp                 Cinnamon Sticks 4

Basmati Rice 1 ½ cups (200ml cup)                           Cloves 8

Water 2 ¾ cups                                                          Cumin 1 tsp

Salt                                                                             Green Cardamom 10

Oil and Butter                                                             Pepper Corns 10

Coriander and Pudina Leaves Few

For Eggs

Besan Flour ½ tsp (optional)

Chilli Powder ½ tsp

Coriander Powder ½ tsp

Ginger-Garlic Paste ½ tsp

Preparation:

Chop Onions lengthwise. Slit Chillies. Grind Ginger and Garlic to a fine paste. Soak Rice for 45 minutes. Grind all spices under Biryani Masala.

Method:

Heat Oil in a Pan. When hot, add Whole Garam Masala, Cumin and Aniseeds. When they turn slightly brown, add Chillies, Ginger-Garlic Paste and fry for few seconds. Now add Chopped Onions. Fry till they turn golden brown.

Now add Coriander and Pudina Leaves, all the Powders and fry till its raw smell goes off. Add Yoghurt. Fry till it reduces a little.

Now add soaked Rice, Water and Salt. Cook for five minutes on a high flame, and then reduce to a medium flame. When most of the water has been absorbed (or 80% cooked), simmer the flame till done.

Combine beaten egg(1), Besan Flour, Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Ginger-Garlic Paste and little Salt in a Bowl and mix well . Dip the remaining eggs (3) in this mixture and shallow fry using butter until they get a roasted coating.

Add these eggs to the Rice. Mix carefully not breaking the eggs. Garnish with Coriander Leaves.

Serves: 2

Serve with any Raita.

Notes:

In the Original Recipe, to prepare Biryani Masala, 1 tbsp Pomegranate Seeds, 2 tbsp Fried Onions, 10 pieces dried Plums were also used. I didn’t use as I didn’t have them.

Biryani Masala Powder can be replaced by Store bought Biryani Masala Powder or even Garam Masala Powder.  Saffron can be used to give Color. Cashewnuts can be also be used to make it even more richer.

Usually to make Biryani, Rice and Water are used 1:2 ratio. Here I have used 2 ¾ cups of Water for 1 ½ Rice instead of 3 cups of Water. The reason is since rice is soaked, it would have absorbed some water and so can be reduced a little. This is the tip given by the Chef.

Cucumber Cream Shake

Usually Condensed Milk is added to make coolers like this. I didn’t get it here nearby. So I googled and found out that Condensed Milk can be replaced by Cream. I replaced and christened this as Cream Shake. But I could not find the correct difference between these two or is there any difference really??? If you know, please leave it as a comment.

Ingredients (for one serving):

Cucumber 2

Cream 1 ½ tsp

Sugar 2 tsp or to taste

Water

Preparation:

Peel the skin of Cucumber and roughly chop it.

Method:

Combine chopped Cucumber and Water and blend till smooth. Add Sugar and blend well. Add Cream and again blend.

Serve Chilled.

Serves: 1

Notes:

Adjust Sugar and Cream according to your taste. I peeled the skin so as to feed my little one. This can also be made without peeling the skin.

Drumstick (Murungaikkai) Rasam and Soup

Today, I was scrolling my WordPad to find out what to do with the Drumsticks lying in my Refrigerator for a long time. I found this Rasam noted down asking my Mom. This is my Grandma’s Recipe and my Mom’s Favorite. I gave it a try today as it was easy. It came out good and tasted very different.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Drumsticks 3

Ripe Tomatoes (Medium) 3

Pearl Onions 4

Garlic 4

Cumin ½ + ¼ tsp

Mustard Seeds ¾ tsp

Water

Salt

Oil

Preparation:

Cut Pearl Onions and Garlic into two equal pieces. Cut Tomatoes into four or six equal pieces. Cut Drumstick into medium pieces.

Method:

Combine Pearl Onions, Garlic, Tomatoes, Drumstick and ½ tsp Cumin, Water and Salt in a Cooker. Cook for 3-4 whistles.

In a Pan, heat Oil. When hot, add Mustard Seeds. When they completely stop popping up, add ¼ tsp Cumin. When they crackle, add Curry Leaves. Switch off the flame when they turn slightly brown. Pour this seasoning into the Drumstick Rasam in Cooker.

Serves: 3

Serve with steamed Rice.

Soup:

If you want to prepare this as Soup, remove the Drumstick pieces (after cooking) from the Rasam. Scoop out its flesh with the Spoon. Add it to the Rasam and stir. Now Soup is ready.