Rice To The Occasion

Chicken Biriyani A La Mummy




I never really like Biriyani until we moved to Bangalore in 1983 and were deluged by it at every wedding. Biriyani turned out to be more than we had bargained for and it soon became a family favourite. Nehru and the girls demanded it every month and I soon became adept at it serving it for many a party and occasion. It is a favourite amongst our Malaysian friends where it is called Briyani and I have cooked this always with different kinds of pachdi and of course the inevitable Stuffed Brinjal.

The Recipe

500gms Basmathi Rice, wash, drain, parboil with salt to taste and keep aside; 1 kg chicken, washed and cut into large pieces.
Grind masala :1 large onion, quartered; 1 1/2 pods garlic, peeled; 3/4 tsp corriander seeds; 5 cloves; 3 inch piec ginger; 5 cardamoms, seeded, 1 inch stick cinnamon.

Pressure cook chicken 2 minutes in 1/2 cup water with a large tomato, cubed, a pinch of haldi(turmeric) and salt to taste.

Fry 6 large onions sliced in 2 tbsp ghee mixed with 2 tbsp oil till brown and keep aside.
In the same oil fry the ground masala until water evaporates and masala leaves the side of the pan and the oil oozes out. Add chicken, stock and cook on low flame till dry.

Take a large dish (either casserole or rice cooker or dekshi) and alternate layers of rice, meat and fried onions, beginning and ending with a layer of rice. Sprinkle an additional tbsp of ghee (optional) over the top layer. Next squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime over the rice, followed by a few drops orange food colouring dissoved in 1/4 cup milk. Cover and cook till done. Usually takes 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot garnished with or without hard boiled eggs, curd pachdi and whole brinjal.

Pachdi: Mix one cup curds with 1/2 cup boondi, a few corriander leaves and salt to taste.

A Rose By Any Other Name is just as sweet! Found this Kenyan Recipe for Biriani and am including it in this post. Happy Eating.

A dish that originated from the Kenya Coast.

1 kg. Meat ( mutton leg, a lean cut of beef, goat or chicken)
1 kg. Rice
1 kg. Onions
1 kg. Potatoes
1 medium size unripe pawpaw (papaya)
300 ml. (1.5 cups) sour milk or yogurt
2 limes
1/4 kg. Tomatoes
1 small bulb of garlic
Small piece of fresh green ginger
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
2 small sticks cinnamon
1 teaspoon each of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and whole black peppercorns
Oil for frying
1 smallest size tin tomato paste (I used 100gms)

Peel pawpaw, remove seeds, and grate coarsely. Pound the garlic and ginger to a paste. Cut the meat into biggish pieces and put into a heavy saucepan with the pawpaw and garlic and ginger. Add the sour milk or yogurt, and the juice of the two limes. Set over a low heat and stir at intervals. Whilst this is cooking, grind all the spices together and set aside. Slice the onions and fry in oil until brown and crisp. Remove from the fat. Peel and slice the potatoes and fry in the same oil until golden brown. Remove and keep on one side - apart from the onions. Check the meat to see if it is nearly ready, then add the spices and the skinned tomatoes together with 4-5 tablespoons of the fat used to fry the onions and potatoes. Mix together well, then add the tin of tomato paste. Continue cooking over low heat until the meat is really tender and the sauce thick and creamy. It is almost certain you will have to add a little warm water before the meat is cooked. Cook for a final 15 - 20 minutes to make sure all the flavours have blended together.

Prepare and cook the rice. Put a good layer of the rice at the bottom of a fireproof dish or casserole. Pour over the meat mixture, and cover completely with another layer of rice. Now put in the fried onions, reserving a few for decoration, and cover them with the rest of the rice. Boil up the remaining oil and pour over. Take the sliced potatoes and tuck them at the edge of the dish, and across the top, pushing them into the rice. Sprinkle with the reserved onions about 30 minutes. Do not let it become dry. Biriani can be served at table in the casserole if it is decorative one, or else you will have to remove the meat and the vegetables keeping the layers as cooked and serve on a big platter.






1/2 kg small brinjals (I used green and purple), wash, make two slits crossways across bottom retaining stalk; 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste; 3 green chillies; 1 large onion; 1 1/2 tsp corriander powder; 1/2 tsp somph; 1/2 tsp jeera powder; 1 tsp garam masala powder; 3/4 tsp chilli powder; fffffew drops orange food colouring; 3 tbsp grated coconut; salt to taste.
Grind all the ingredients except the brinjals to a smooth paste. Fry the masala in 2 tbsp oil until thick. Stuff 1/2 a tsp of masala paste into each brinjal and arrange in a dish. Put the remaining masala on top and pressure cook with 1/2 cup water 5 minutes only. Serve with biriyani. A winning combination indeed.

Our Favourite Tradition

Ma's Prawn Pulav

Prawn Pulav is another family favourite. Coming from a coastal town, we always had plenty of sea food and prawns were always part of a celebration menu. More often than not, as kids we would pick out the prawns and leave the rice. Tradition continues and my girls do the same. Mummy's Prawn Pulav is no exception and we make it for many a family occasion.
The Recipe
500gms prawns, shelled, deveined and washed; 350 gms Basmathi rice, wash, drain and keep aside; 2 potatoes, cubed; 2 onions, sliced; 1 tbsp ginger, minced; 3 tbsp grated coconut; 1 tbsp garlic paste; 2 tsp corriander seeds; 2 tsp chilli powder or to taste; 1/2 tsp haldi; salt to taste; 3 tbsp oil.

NB: I always add a few vegetables as that was the only way to get my children to eat them.

Grind the ginger, garlic, coconut, corriander seeds and chilli powder to a paste. Heat oil in a non stick pan and saute the prawns and onions till golden brown. Add the rice and stir fry till all the grains are coated with oil. Stir in the salt, haldi, ground masala and 4 cups water (1 cup = 250ml). Throw in the potatoes as well. Transfer to pressure cooker or rice cooker and cook till rice is done. Takes about 5 minutes in the pressure cooker. Serve hot with curd pachdi (mix together 1/4 litre curds, salt, 1/4 cucumber sliced; 1 cubed tomato, 1 sliced onion, 1 cgreen chilli minced and corriander leaves). Great for a Sunday lunch.

Post Ramadhan

Aloe & Carrot Salad

Herbal Aloe Concentrate



The numerous buka puasas and Open Houses we attend during Hari Raya tends to take it's toll on our stomachs. Thank goodness for Herbal Aloe Concentrate which restores our digestive systems in a jiffy. We always have a lot of Aloe in salads, juices and marinades after Ramadhan to keep our systems in working order. It is so soothing and cooling and does wonders for an overactive stomach. In fact, nowadays aloe is the only dressing I use with my salads.

The Recipe

3 capfuls of Herbal Aloe concentrate; 1 medium cucumber, sliced thin; 3 carrots, grated; salt & pepper to taste.

Marinade the cucumber in the aloe concentrate for 10 minutes. Strain and reserve the aloe liquid. Marinade the grated carrot in the aloe liquid for 5 minutes. Drain and again reserve the aloe liquid. Arrange the cucumber and carrot on a plate in a decorative pattern. Add salt and pepper to the aloe liquid. Pour over cucumber and carrot and serve immediately.

Tender Coconut Delite

Coconut Craze

The puasa month of Ramadhan is a time for all kinds of Malaysian delicacies and the best time to see local fare in all its variations. Coconut is used abundantly in quite a few preparations and I was quite pleased to observe this because of the many similarities to Mangalorean food. One of my favourite desserts is tender coconut pudding. It is so light, delicious and of course easy to make and there are so many recipes that a dedicated cook will have the time of her life trying them all out. And still have room for more.
The Recipe

2 cups tender coconut water; 1 cup chopped tender coconut; sugar to taste; 3 tsp gelatine; 1/2 cup coconut milk(optional).
Add sugar to taste to the coconut water and stir. Sprinkle the gelatine over 1/4 cup hot water, and add to the coconut water when dissolved. Stir in the chopped coconut. Transfer to glass bowl and set overnight in refrigerator. If using coconut milk add to the coconut water before adding the chopped coconut. I have made it in different ways and love all of them.
Some variations: Place lychees at the base of the bowl and then pour the tender coconut water over.
Use cubed mangoes in the same way.
Instead of tender coconut water use coconut milk.
Use longans, rambutans, any other fruit or a combination of fruits for your base.
Experiment and find out the star of your creation.

Vicki's Gift From The Sea

Something Fishy
I could live off sea food for the rest of my life. So whenever Fairy Godmother Vicki descends with a load of frozen fish from her hometown, it is certainly time for that something special. This time I decided to make fried fish with Tom Yam sauce and take a good photograph of it. It is easy, quick and sure to be polished off. Thank you Vicki, this one is for you.
The Recipe
1 large fish (pomfret or snapper), scaled and gutted, head, tail and fins intact. Wash, drain, rub with salt and turmeric powder and keep ready for use.
2 tbsp flour to coat fish with; oil for deep frying fish; large platter to hold fish
For Sauce: 1 tbsp tom yam paste (those who like it spicier can use more); 1 ½ cup water; 1 tbsp cornflour;1 tbsp oil; 4 flakes garlic, cut fine; 1 inch ginger, minced; salt to taste; 1 medium sized tomato sliced and coriander leaves for garnishing.
Coat fish with flour and deep fry till crisp. Drain and keep hot.
To Make The Sauce: Heat the oil. Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for a minute on high heat. Lower flame and add the tom yam paste. Stir fry another minute till fragrant. Now add the water mixed with the corn flour, salt to taste and bring to the boil stirring continuously to avoid lumps. As soon as the sauce thickens (1 to 2 minutes), remove from fire. Transfer fish to serving plate and pour sauce over it. Garnish with coriander leaves and sliced tomato and serve hot with white rice.
N.B. Can also add 100 gms ladies finger(cut each into three pieces), stir fried in 1tbsp oil. (Optional)

The Treasure Hunt

Chilli Chicken Surprise

This is another delectable recipe which evokes mirth. Soon after we came to Kuala Lumpur I began to be fascinated by the varieties of cuisine one could see in every quarter. Since I love Chinese food, I decided to learn how to make it and beseeched all my new friends and acquaintances for recipes and demonstrations. One of the recipes I observed was the above and so I decided to make it myself one Sunday. The ingredients were bought and stored away. I finally made it and found that my dear daughters had found my hidden stash of cashewnuts and eaten it all up!
The Recipe
1 large chicken breast without skin, washed, drained and cut into cubes: oil for deep frying
For marinade: 1 tbsp cornflour; 1 egg, beaten lightly; salt and pepper to taste
Seasoning: 3 to 4 dried red chillies, broken into pieces; 2 tbsp peanut oil
For Garnish: 15 cashewnuts fried golden brown; 1 spring onion chopped fine
For Sauce: 1 tbsp cornflour and 1 soup cube dissolved in ½ cup water
1 red or green capsicum, cubed.
Marinade chicken in cornflour, pepper powder, salt and egg for 15 minutes making the pieces are coated nicely. Heat the oil and deep fry to golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper, cover and keep hot.
Heat 2 tbsp peanut oil and add the broken chillies to it. Stir fry a minute. Add the sauce ingredients and when it begins to boil, lower flame stirring all the while for a minute. Add the fried chicken and capsicum, mix well and transfer to serving dish. Garnish with cashew nuts and spring onions. Serve hot with Chinese Fried Rice.

Woman Of Substance

Appetite For Avocado


Avocados or butterfruit as they are also known, are one of my favourite fruits. And whenever I see one I remember my late mum-in-law Mercy Isaac (Pichamuthu). And have a good laugh over the story she told me. She was a force to reckon with. Have no idea how she managed to nurture eleven children, feed them, clothe them and give them the attention they each required, and also do her numerous good deeds and social work, when I had to juggle my time between two girls. She was always ready to help people and was a very good conversationalist. And was a wizard at cooking. She had a huge compound in which there were numerous avocado trees and apparently none of her family liked them, so the boys used the fruit for target practice. I love them and Nehru watched in horror as I devoured them in soups, sauces, dips, salads, cakes, smoothies, shakes, puddings and much more. One day I decided to trick him and served him a delicious pudding with pieces of mango in it. After he ate it with enjoyment, I told him it was his favourite bête noire.
The Recipe
2 cups low fat milk; 2 ripe avocados, scoop out the flesh and blend till smooth; 1 ripe mango, skinned & cubed; 3 tsp gelatine dissolved in ¼ cup hot milk; sugar to taste.
Add the sugar to the milk and stir till dissolved. Add the blended avocado, and gelatine and beat till smooth and creamy with an electric beater. Transfer to serving dish and gently add the cubed mangoes, reserving some for decoration. Set in refrigerator. Decorate with reserved mango before serving.

Avocados are a very misunderstood fruit. A lot of people detest them. They are a super food packed with essential nutrients, easy to digest and are rich in natural antibiotic and antifungal chemicals. Avocados contain monounstaurated fat, which is a healthy, beneficial fat. Research has shown that adding naturally fatty foods such as avocados to the diet is associated with optimal nutrient absorption.