Malabar Meen Biriyani

One should say that Malabar Muslims have really contributed a lot to the moulding of a very distinct culinary culture, which is now identified as 'Malabar' style...During Ramzan our Muslim friends flooded our table with all those Muslim delicacies like Meen biriyani,Adukku Pathiri, Meen Pathiri,Kozhi porichathu,Kozhi Ada,Chatti pathiri,Unnakkaya, Muttamala,Alsa,Tharikanji,Kalathappam,Kinnathappam etc..I'm drooling here already!!(I shall blog some of these recipes soon) Festive seasons or on occasions like treating their 'Puyyapla'(Puthiya Mappila/New Bridegroom- who remains 'Puyyappla' even at 80!)....Treating 'Puyyappla' was a big ritual often....with many dishes prepared and all his comforts arranged ,But now things have changed tremendously...with education permeating the grass roots....people are more enlightened....and women more empowered......So here is the recipe for the famous Malabar Meen Biriyani.

Ingredients:
Serves-4
For Rice:
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Bay leaves-2
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seed powder-1/2 tsp
Cinnamon- 4 sticks
Aniseed-2 or 3
Cloves - 4
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Onion(sliced) - 1 (medium) onions
Basmati rice - 3 cups
Boiled water - 5 3/4 cups
Lemon juice-1/2 a lemon
Salt - as required
For fish masala:
King fish - 1/2 kg(Any Hard fleshed fish)
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tspOil - 100ml
Onion(sliced) - 3 large
Ginger-garlic-green chillies paste - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves+Mint leaves+Curry leaves paste-2tbsp
Tomato(chopped) - 2
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Curd - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice-1/2 a lemon
Thick coconut milk - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp

For garnishing:
Cashew nuts(roasted)-25g
Raisin(roasted)-25g
onion-1 medium size-(finely chopped)

Method :
Wash the basmati rice(long grain rice).Soak the washed rice for 5 minutes.Drain off the water completely.Boil water with salt.Heat ghee in a pan.Add bay leaves, cardamom, fennelseed, aniseed, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Saute it for a couple of minutes.Add onions and fry till golden brown.Add rice,lemon juice and stir for about 5 min or till the grains become soft when you bite it.Pour boiled water and cook till it is done.Then using a fork stir the rice so that the grains separate out and keep it open so that excess water, if any, will evaporate completely.

Fish may be cut into pieces, removing the bones. If it is really large fish like King fish you may retain the bone, for it adds to the taste.If served to kids it is better to remove the bones and cook.Marinate fish pieces with chilly powder, turmeric powder,pepper powder and salt for 30 minutes(pref. in the refrigerator).Fry the marinated fish pieces in oil.In the same oil used to fry the fish ,addd sliced onions and fry on a simmering flame, till it becomes golden brown.Add ginger-garlic-green chilly paste,coriander-mint-curry leaves paste, and tomato.Saute it for nearly 6minutes.Keep the flame medium.Stir it for 6 min.Add curd, coconut milk, and salt and stir it for 5 min.Add fried fish pieces and reduce the flame.Cook till it becomes a good thick gravy.
Roast cashew nuts, raisins and onion in a small wok(deep brown).Take a deep bottomed vessel and layer rice,fish masala,Roasted nuts,raisins& roasted onions alternatively.Pour 2 tbsp of ghee and tightly cover with a lid.Keep it on a very low flame for 10 min.(Alternatively you can bake it in an oven for 10 minutes at 180 degrees).Traditionally the lid is sealed with Maida, and coconut husk embers are kept on top.( 'Dum').Serve it,the Biriyani please! ; ) hot with Onion/Potato Raita.

Unnakaya-A Malabar Speciality

This is one of my all time favourite Malabar Snack-Unnakaya which my mom used to make so gorgeously....Yes the name owes to its shape, the shape of 'unnakaya' or the cotton pod....creative, isnt it, whoever has invented the name! ....In Malabar area you get this in many of the hotels as a snack...
Well many people hesitate to make this Unnakaya at home, for the mess it can create if a little bit careless during the preparation.Just a few tips to avoid the mess: the Kerala banana(Nenthrappazham) that you use should be semi ripe(Karimpazhukka).Too ripe bananas can create a mess.While grinding the modern mixer is very likely to make it more soft,it is better to use a grinding stone, if you have one or even the mortar and pestle will do.Or else while grinding in the mixer,dont add any water and dont overgrind it.If the consistency is not right you can have a real mess with the filling coming out or not being able to mould at all or bananas getting charred.

So much said, here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Indian Banana/Kerala Banana/Nenthrappazham-4(Half ripe)
Eggs-2
Grated coconut-150g
Sugar-2Table spoon
Raisins-25g
Cashewnuts-25 g(broken)
Ghee-1 tbsp
Salt-a very small pinch
Cardamom powder-1 tsp
Oil-For deep frying

Method:
Cut Bananas into 3 pieces.Blanch the pieces in boiling water,till the peel starts separating from the fruit.(Pazham Puzhungiyathu)
Peel off the skin,run a knife thro' the middle and remove the black seeds in the middle and mash it or grind it to a chappathi dough like consistency without adding any water for you should be able to mould it into the unnkaya shape.Keep it aside.
(In case you feel, the consistency is a bit loose, put it in the refrigerator for a while).

Now prepare the filling.Beat egg lightly, with sugar and a very small pinch of salt,just enough for scrambling.Heat ghee in a wok.Once the ghee is hot, add cashews, raisins,poppy seeds and saute for a couple of minutes till everything turns golden.Add the grated coconut.Saute it for a couple of minutes and finally add the beaten eggs. Scramble it and mix well with the remaining ingredients.Remove from the fire. Let it cool.
Grease your hands with a little ghee.Make a lemon size ball out of the banana 'dough',flatten it to small discs.Spoon in the egg(2tsp) filling.Close the edges,press lightly and roll it in your hands into the elongated shape of cotton pods(the edges tapering).Now heat oil in a wok.When the oil starts smoking, carefully slip the unnakaya into the oil.Wait for a minute before turning sides.Lower the flame or else the banana will get charred easily.Keep turning the sides till all the sides become uniformly golden.Enjoy the Royal Malabar treat!

Chattipathiri - Answer from Malabar for PIZZA

Chatti pathiri may perhaps be called the Malabar style layered cake!This can be a five layered or 10 layered or even 20 layered chattipathiri...depends on how big the occasion is !!This is a must for any big get together in a Mappila(Malabar Muslim) family and during special occasions like Ramzan. I am a Malabari who has grown seeing my mother and many of my 'ithathas' do these various recipes...I still remember those days.... during a 'Puyyapla thakkaaram(salkaaram)',a banquet for the newly married, my mother used to join the 'ithathas' in making all these delicacies...and they used to do the same for us wheneve we had a big get together...It was an amazing relationship that we had with our sweet muslim neighbours...Here is the recipe,
Ingredients:
For Pathiri:
AllPurpose flour/maida-100g(for making 6 layers)
Oil-1 tbsp
Water-as required
Salt-as required
Filling:
Eggs-3
Sugar-5tbsp(Can adjust according to u'r preferences)
Ghee-1 tbsp
Grated coconut-3 tbsp
Raisins-25g
Cashew nuts-25g(broken)
Poppy seeds/Khuskhus-3tbsp
Cardamom powder-1 tsp
For coating:
Eggs-3
Sugar-4tbsp
Cardamom-a pinch
Method:
Mix the flour with water,oil and salt and knead into a dough like that of Chappathi,medium thick.Using a roller pin roll it out into paper-thin chapathies of uniform size(~8inches diameter) on a dusted flour board.Heat a griddle and cook the chappathies lightly on a tawa.You can vary the size of the chappathi depending on the size of the pathiri chatti or the vessel in which you are baking it.
Beat 3 eggs with sugar,1tbsp ghee, and cardamom.Heat a wok.Add 1 tbsp ghee,saute raisins,cashewnuts,poppy seeds and grated coconut until they change the colour slightly.Now add the beaten egg and scrambled the whole mixture. Keep it aside.
Beat the remaining eggs, sugar and cardamom and keep aside.
Take a non-stick baking tray, spread 1 tsp oil or ghee all around(spray the nonstick oil).Keep one chapathi as the first layer.Now dip the second chapathi in the egg mixture,coat well and place it on top.Arrange the scrambled egg mixture. Keep another chappathi on top.Make a new layer.Keep adding the egg-coating at each step and finally pour the remaining egg mixture over the sides and on the top. Garnish it with cashew nuts and raisins and bake in an oven for nearly 15 mintues or till the whole pathiri turns golden.Traditionally the baking is done in a sealed container with the coconut husk embers on top....Though a little bit of a process the delicacy is definitely worth the trouble...especially for all those with a sweet tooth!!

Introduction

Inspired by My Mother who is an excellent in Cooking. The blogger aims to share the recipes that have been tested in lab conditions in her kitchen on her son like ME ...but shall not be responsible for any casualties arising from the trial of the ingredients.The blogger would also like to make a notice here that recipes are just guidelines and not absolute. One may add one's common sense and instinct whereever necessary. (Just kidding!!)This is just a democratic platform to share my knowledge and the acquired ones too.

Entering to My Kitchen

Malabar Muslims,have had a classic culinary culture,very distinct and unique,much influenced by the Arab,Moghul and the local Kerala cuisine.The recipes are very exotic like stuffed 'AaduPorichathu',Goat roast where Goat is stuffed with marinated chicken, and that chicken stuffed with eggs!!(Isn't that really exotic?);Stuffed mussels fry(Arikadukka),stuffed chickenfry(Kozhi(Koyi)NirachuPorichathu),Barbecued Fish(Meen chuttathu),KozhipidiMeenpathiri,AdukkuPathiri,Madakkiroti,Kuthappam,Nermapathiri,ChemmenMulakittathu,Gothampathiri,MuttonIshtuKozhicurry,Mutton curry,Beef chaps,Tharipayasam,MeenBiriyani,KozhiBiriyani,Jeerakakanji,Kalthappam,Kinnathappam,Muttamala,Alsa ,Unnakkayaetc etc....of which some I have made an attempt to post....and many remain!!