Minced Meat Pulao

This is a delicious and easy alternative for a meat biriyani. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me and since then has been one of my family's favourite dish! The pulao consists of alternating layers of rice, minced meat gravy and coriander chutney.

For the Rice layer:-

Basmati Rice/Jeera Rice – 2 cups

Water – more than 4 cups

Cinnamon – 2 inch piece (optional)

Clove – 3 or 4 (optional)

Cook the rice with cinnamon and cloves with a little more water than required. Keep checking, when the rice is as soft as you prefer, remove from fire and drain the excess water.

For the Minced Meat layer:-

Minced Chicken or Beef – ½ kilo

Oil – 2 tbsp

Big onion – 3 chopped

Chilli powder – 2 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp.

Garlic – ½ a pod

Ginger – 1inch piece sliced

Green chillies – 5 nos

Tomatoes – 4 sliced or chopped into small pieces

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Put oil in a pan, sauté big onions with some salt and till it lightens and becomes brown. Add chopped green chillies, garlic and ginger. Then add chilli powder and coriander powder. When the fresh taste of chilli and coriander vanishes, add tomatoes, minced meat, garam masala and the stock (if available from previous cooking of meat). Cook well to a gravy form.

For the Chutney layer:-

Coconut – ½ grated

Ginger – 1inch piece

Green chillies- 6nos

Coriander leaves – a large bunch

Lime juice – from 1 lime/lemon

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients except lime juice. Then add just enough lime juice to get a tangy flavour.

Final Layering:-

Take a baking dish or glass bowl. Grease it with butter.  Spread half the minced meat and above that half the cooked rice. Now spread all of the chutney over the rice. Over the chutney layer, add the remaining rice, and on the top, the remaining minced meat. Garnish with slices of boiled egg, coriander leaves and lemon slices. Bake for few minutes or heat in microwave just before serving. Sprinkle few drops of lime juice on top.

Serve hot with raita and pappad.  

Easy Chicken Roast

When you wish to make a chicken dish in a hurry and with minimum attention!

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces - 1/2 kilo

Big onions  - 2 large chopped

Ginger  - 1 inch piece chopped.

Garlic - 1 pod crushed

Green chillies -5 nos.

Tomatoes  -2 chopped

Oil   - 2 Tbsp

Garam masala  - 1 teaspoon.

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method:-

Put all the ingredients in a non stick pan, mix well and heat, closing with the lid. When the curry begins to boil lower the heat and let the chicken cook.

When the chicken is cooked enough, open the lid and cook in low fire, stirring it occasionally and add some more oil if needed. When the gravy gets dried up, fry for some more time so that the chicken pieces get roasted.
 

'Pressure Cooker' Biriyani

This is an easy biriyani and there is not much ghee or oil. It was a favourite for all my kids, nephews and nieces when they were young, and now a big hit among all my grandkids!

 

Ingredients:-

Chicken pieces  - 0.500gm

Basmati/Biriyani Rice  - 3 cups.

Ginger  - 1” piece

Garlic   - 1 pod.

Green Chillies  - 6 nos (adjust according to your spice level)

Cloves   - 8

Cinnamon   - 4 or 5 pieces

Cardamom  - 6

Big onions  - 1

Cumin Seeds  - 1/2 teaspoon

Aniseed (Perinjeerakam or Somph)  - 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander leaves  - a large bunch

Mint leaves  - a large bunch.

Oil   - 2 Tbsp

Tomatoes  - 5 large chopped

Coconut milk  - 5 cups (mix of first, second and third extracts if you are making it fresh from grated coconut)

Method:-

Cook the chicken with salt, some turmeric powder and half of the spices crushed  and some water so that we get around 1 cup of stock.

Take oil in a pressure cooker or in a large non stick pan. Saute the big onions, crushed ginger, garlic  and green chillies. When it turns slightly brown, add  the remaining garam masala and the chicken pieces and sauté a little. Then add chopped tomatoes. Cook for a while, then add coconut milk and the stock (totalling to 6 cups). For biriyani, fried rice etc we normally add 2 cups of water for one cup of rice, but if you like the rice to be cooked very soft, add a little extra water in addition to coconut milk and chicken-stock.  

When the milk+stock boils, add a pinch of cumin seed and aniseed, chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves. When it boils, add the washed rice and cook for 10 minutes in a slow fire or until cooked to desired level. If you are using a pressure cooker, it is better to not use the weights so that you can check the rice and stir occasionally.When the rice is cooked enough switch off the fire and let it stay closed for a while.

Serve with raita/salad of your choice and pappadams.
 

Pork Vinthaloo

Let me start my blog with Pork Vinthaloo - an all time popular recipe at our home. It is a must-have on Easter and Christmas! Though the name sounds exotic, its easy to cook and would surely impress non-veg lovers!!

Ingredients:-

             Pork with some fat - 1 kilo

             Small onion - 20 nos 

             Big onion - 2 nos

             Garlic - 1 pod

             Ginger - 2" long

             Home-made Garam masala - 2 teaspoons or to taste

             Coriander powder - 2 tablespoons

             Kashmiri chili powder  - 3 tablespoons

             Pepper  powder  - a pinch

             Salt  - to taste

Method:-

Crush small onions and big onions or cut them into small pieces . Make a paste of ginger and garlic or crush them nicely.

Mix all the ingredients with Pork, salt and vinegar. The taste of vinegar must be slightly more prominent than others. Then place it in a pressure cooker. Usually, if the Pork is taken from the fridge and your cooker is in good condition, no water is required, else add small quantity of water. 

After the first whistle, reduce the fire and keep it for another10 minutes. Once the cooker is cool, open the lid and if there is extra gravy, cook in a slow fire till all the gravy thickens. 

If the Pork is very tender the time should be adjusted accordingly. After opening the cooker, if you find that the meat is not cooked enough, then keep it on fire for some more time. 

Ammamma's tips:-

For a tasty vinthaloo, the pork must have some fat. Else, you have to saute onions, garlic, ginger- garlic paste and all the powders in oil and then put the pork, salt, vinegar etc and cook as described earlier.

Our favourite combination is Bhattura and Vinthaloo. It can also be served with chapathi, fried rice or as a curry along with rice.