Thalassery is a famous place of
Northern Kerala.Thalassery biriyani is known for its unique taste and preparation.The
main differences I noticed is that the
cooking of masala involves large number of tomatoes and it does not involve the
time consuming process of sautéing of onions. Here onions are deep fried and
lastly added into the masala. It gives the meat the wonderful brownish fried
look and taste even without adding a drop of oil. Also the Authentic recipe
uses special rice variety called ‘jeerakashla or kaima rice’, which is a small grain
rice with a wonderful aroma.(bur here I have used basmati).
This recipe is Shared by our Kannur
friend Shinoj ,he claims he makes the best thalassery biriyani :).Here goes the recipe….
Ingredients
1.
Rice-4cups
2.
Chicken- 1 kg,cut into medium sized
pieces
3.
Onion-4nos,( big) thinly sliced
4.
Green chilly-7big,crushed or 5 tbsp
crushed
5.
Ginger-2 ½ tbsp,crushed
6.
Garlic-2 ½ tbsp,crushed
7.
Tomatoe-5nos,medium sized, thinly
sliced
8.
Biriyani masala-1tbsp
9.
Lemon juice-2tbsp
10. All spices-cardomom-8nos,cinnamon stick-2nos,star anise-1no,cloves-10nos
11. Ghee-1/4cup+1tbsp
12. Oil-1/4 cup
13. Salt
14. Coriander leaves and ,mint leaves-one handful each+ few for layering
15. Cashew and kismiss-2 tbsp each
16. Rose water-1/2 tsp
17. Water-7 cups(see notes)
Method of preparation
1.
Heat a tbsp of ghee in a deep
bottomed vessel.saute all spices .when the aroma comes add mentioned amount of water,rosewater and salt.Let it
boil.add rice in and cook until the water dries up completely.
2.
Heat ghee and oil together in a
pan.fry kismiss and cashew till golden brown.Keep it aside.fry the sliced
onions in the same pan till brown.(take care not to burn the onions).Fry onions
in three batches. Reserve a handful of fried onions for layering.
3.
Cook tomatoes in another pan without
adding any water or oil till mushy.add the crushed green chilly ,ginger and
garlic into this and sauté until aroma
comes. Add biriyani masala.stir for
2minutes.Now add the fried onions and salt.Stir well. Lastly add the chicken
and mix well to coat well with the masala.Close the pan.Let it cook for 20
miutes.You don’t need to add any water. When the chicken is fully cooked add a
tbsp of lemon juice and give a nice stir.This is the masala.
4.
How to do dum-layer the bottom of the
pan with one batch of chicken masala.Spread
rice on the top .Sprinkle few coriander leaves,fried onions,cashew kismiss ,few
fried onions ,a tbsp of melted ghee and a tsp of lemon juice.Repeat the process
until the rice and the masala is finished.. the top layer should be rice. Add
plenty of cashew nuts,kismiss anf fried onions.
5.
Click here to know how to do dum
Serve with raitha,pickle and pappad
Notes: Rice can be cooked in two
ways:One I already mentioned.in this method you have to be accurate in the
amount of water to be added.If water is more rice would become mushy .
Other method is draining method- Cook rice by adding plenty of water (around
12 cups of water).when the rice is ¾ done transfer it into a strainer and drain
the water completely.
