Chicken Kabsa Rice/ Arabian Chicken and Rice

Chicken Kabsa, is an Arabian style chicken and rice dish which can be prepared for any occasion. This dish is considered one of the national dishes of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. This is one method of cooking chicken along with rice the other method is after half cooking the chicken, remove the chicken pieces and grill them separately and at last place them on top of the prepared Kabsa rice. 

This classic recipe is from Saudi Arabia. Chicken and rice are cooked in a beautiful spice mix making this one pot dish that can be prepared in a zing. As there are lots of Arabian restaurants in my home town Kerala, I got a chance of tasting this amazing dish during my stay a couple of weeks ago. I tasted this dish which I fell in love with the first mouthful. It's a dish that will be loved by all. 

As the fasting is going on, one day my husband asked me to make this dish for Iftar. I searched for recipes and the combination of different websites which ended in a delicious mouth watering one pot Iftar meal. We will get Kabsa masala from the middle eastern store or you can make it at home with the spices you have. I had all the spices so I used them. 

While serving, add lots of roasted nuts and raisins. I didn't add as I made this for Iftar and I didn't get time to roast the nuts. This dish is much easier to make than it looks. Please try this recipe and let me know.

Ingredients:

Kabsa Masala:

1. Coriander Powder- 2 tsp
2. Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
3. Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
4. Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
5. Chili Powder- 1 tsp
6. Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
7. Pepper powder- 1 tsp
8. Salt- as required

For the gravy:

1. Oil-2 tbsp
2. Ghee- 1 tbsp
3. Chicken- 2 lb
4. Onions- 2 (chopped)
5. Tomatoes-2 (chopped)
6. Tomato Paste- 2 tbsp
7. Crushed Tomatoes- 2
8. Ginger and Garlic paste- 2 tbsp
9. Dry Lemon-3
10. Cinnamon Sticks- 1
11. Cardamom- 4
12. Cloves- 1 tsp
13. Bay Leaf- 2

For Rice:

1. Basmati rice- 2 Cups
2. Water- 3 1/2 Cups

Method:

1. Heat oil and ghee in a deep bottomed pan. Drop the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, stir well. Add the dry lemons along with the whole spices.
2. Add the chopped onions, stir till it turns translucent, add ginger- garlic paste, mix well.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and ground tomatoes, mix till everything gets blended well.
4. Add the cleaned chicken pieces and add the kabsa masala. Season with salt and fry the spices for a minute.
5. Close it with a lid and let the chicken pieces are half cooked on a medium flame. Just mix in between.
6. Meanwhile soak the washed rice for 30 minues and drain.
7. When the chicken pieces are half done add 3 1/2 cups of water and let it boil.Once the water starts boiling add the soaked rice, stir, cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium- low flame. After 20 minutes switch off the flame. Mix after 10 minutes and serve and enjoy.
8. When it is half done add 3 1/2 cups of water and let it boil, add the drained rice.

Shirin's Special Goat Biryani- A delectable combination of spiced meat & rice!!!!

Eid Mubarak my friends!!!!

We visited our friend's house for the weekend and they celebrate bakrid one day before us, so we got to celebrate Eid with them. We enjoyed spending time with our friends. Kids had lots of fun time playing, all nighter, watching movies and so on. 

Usually we make some easy breakfast and then start the biryani process but at my friend's house they prepare the biryani in the morning and will have it for breakfast. We thoroughly enjoyed the biryani for breakfast. It was a new experience. As my friend Shirin, made this in her version,  I gave this biryani her name.

My friend, marinated the meat with spices and yogurt, cooked the rice separately and deep fried the onions. She then assembled it by layering and adding lemon juice and saffron milk in between. For breakfast, a delicious, scrumptious, finger licking and mouth watering biryani was ready. We relished the biryani the rest of the day.

I noticed a thing that this biryani doesn't require too many ingredients like a normal biryani. Hope you like the recipe and try it out. Please let me know how it turned.

 Ingredients:

Marination:

• Goat- 3 lbs
• Green chillies (slit)- 10-15 numbers
• Ginger- Garlic Paste- 3 tbsp
• Yogurt- 2 Cups
• Garam Masala- 2 tbsp
• Salt- as required

1. Basmati Rice- 6 Cups
2. Water- 11 Cups
3. Fried onions (sliced)- 8 numbers
4. Garam Masala- 3 tbsp
5. Lemon Juice- 1/2 Cup
6. Saffron with Milk/ Orange food color with milk- 1/4 Cup

Method:

For Marination:

1. Marinate the goat, yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, slit green chilies, garam masala and salt. Keep this aside for almost 3-4 hours or overnight. Cook this on medium flame for almost 2 hours or the meat gets tender.
2. Deep fry the sliced onions in oil till it gets golden brown. Keep this aside on a kitchen towel. Reserve the fried oil for assembling.
3. Rinse and soak the rice for 30minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the rice. Heat water required for the biryani and when it gets boiled add the drained rice and salt, mix and keep the lid and let it cook for 20 minutes on low flame. After 20 minutes switch off the flame and keep it for 10 minutes without mixing. Slowly fluff the rice using a fork.

For assembling:

1. In a deep bottomed vessel layer with a tbsp of fried onions, spoonful of goat masala, tbsp of garam masala and cooked rice and repeat the process and make sure that the top layer is of rice. 
2. Poke holes and pour the lemon juice and saffron milk in each hole and close with a lid. Let it cook on low flame for about 15- 20 minutes.
3. After 20 minutes, open the lid, mix and enjoy with raita.

Chicken Tikka Biryani- A Finger-licking deliciousness..

Chicken tikka Biryani is a dish in which the marinated chicken pieces are baked in the tikka masala and the flavored basmati rice is added to the Chicken tikka gravy which is then served along with Raita.
Chicken Tikka Masala is a very popular Indian delicacy in which the boneless chicken pieces are marinated in the spice mix of curd and spices and baked till perfection which is then added to a rich, creamy gravy and can be had along with naans/ rotis/ pilaf. This is a perfect appetizer for any occasion.

For this Biryani, I have used chicken with bone instead of boneless, and I made the Biryani using small grain rice which is as tasty and flavorful as the long grain.

For a long time, Biryani has become a part of Indian cuisine and so many different varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian Biryani recipes are made. I have been thinking about making this tikka Biryani from a long time and so this weekend I tried it and surprisingly came out well.

The process looks a bit lengthy, but if the chicken tikka is made in advance like a day or two before then it will be very easy to prepare the Biryani. This will be an instant hit among guests if served at a party. This flavorful, spicy, aromatic Biryani will be loved by all. A little bit of foresight and planning for this dish and it can be made quickly.

I know that my last post is also chicken, but couldn't help it as I have to post this Biryani,  because this recipe I was longing to make and came out perfectly well.

I have marinated the chicken for 2 hours, you can marinate the chicken overnight, as the spices will be very well infused into the chicken. By looking at my preparation process don't panic, I will give some easy points to make the process easy and simple.

•  Prepare the tikka masala and store it in an airtight jar. This can be used for any other gravy or for paneer tikka masala.
• The day before making the Biryani, marinate the chicken pieces in the tikka masala and keep refrigerated till the next day.
• You can prepare the Biryani masala and store in the refrigerator.
• You will get perfectly cooked basmati rice if you follow the method which I explained below. You can make the long grain or the small grain rice.
• We ended the Biryani with a small glass of sulaimani/ black tea squeezed lemon. A great digestive drink.

Hope you all will try this out and let me know how it turned.

Ingredients:

For Tikka Masala:

1. Coriander Seeds- 3 tbsp
2. Cumin Seeds- 2 tbsp
3. Pepper Corns- 2 tbsp
4. Red Chillies- 10- 12 nos
5. Cloves- 8- 9 nos
6. Cardamom- 6-7 no
7. Cinnamon- 1" stick
8. Turmeric Powder- 1 tbsp
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
10. Dry Mango Powder- 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Method for tikka masala:

• Dry roast all the ingredients under the tikka masala and grind it to a fine powder. Keep this in an airtight jar and use the powder as required.

For Preparing the Chicken Tikka:

1. Chicken- 2 pounds
2. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
3. Lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
4. Tikka Masala- 3 tbsp
5. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
6. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
7. Salt- as required
8. Curd- 1 Cup

Method:

1. Wash and drain the chicken. Marinate the drained chicken using all the ingredients listed for chicken tikka and let it rest for 1 hour. Arrange the marinated chicken pieces on a parchment paper and store the remaining masala liquid for future use.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the marinated chicken pieces for about 20- 30 minutes, flipping in between. Keep this aside once done.

For the Biryani Masala:

1. Oil- 2 tbsp
2. Onions (chopped)- 3 nos
3. Tomatoes (chopped)- 2nos
4. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 2 tbsp
5. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
6. Turmeric powder- 1 Tsp
7. Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
8. Pepper Corns- 1 Tsp
9. Slit Green Chilies- 4 nos
10. Garam Masala Powder- 2 Tsp
11. Curd- 1 Cup
12. Coriander and Mint Leaves (chopped)- 1/2 Cup
13. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Heat oil, add the chopped onions along with cumin and peppercorns. When they turn translucent, add the ginger- garlic paste. Saute till the raw smell disappears.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, coriander and mint leaves. Stir well. Add the garam masala powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder with the required amount of salt.
3. Add the curd along with baked chicken pieces and the remaining tikka masala liquid. Mix well. Let this boil for about 5 minutes on a medium flame. Switch off and keep this aside till the rice is ready.

For the Rice:

1. Basmati Rice- 3 cups
2. Water- 6 Cups
3. Oil- 1 tbsp
4. Clarified Butter- 1 tbsp
5. Whole Spices (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise) - 1 tbsp
6. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Soak the rice for about 30 minutes. Drain and keep this aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil and clarified butter. Add the whole spices and pour 6 cups water. Cover with a lid and let this boil on high flame.
3. Once when the water starts to boil, add the drained rice and close with the lid, let it cook on low flame for exactly 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, switch off the flame, let this rest for 10 minutes. Open, fluff with a fork.

Assembling:

1. Clarified Butter- 1 tbsp
2. Fried Onions- 1/2 Cup
3. Coriander Leaves (chopped)- 1/4 Cup

• In a wide mouthed vessel, layer the chicken tikka masala and rice alternating with a tbsp of clarified butter, fried onions and chopped coriander leaves. Close with a tight lid and serve when needed.

Fish Biryani- An exquisite dish to celebrate the 8th blogiversary...

Happy to announce my blog's 8th anniversary
A classic fish biryani which can be devoured at all times. Fish biryani is a perfect combination of the spices, rice along with marinated fried fish. Rather than weekdays, I prefer weekends for preparing elaborate meals like the biryani, which everyone in the house can enjoy comfortably. Usually, I will be making chicken or mutton biryani, this is the first time I tried preparing fish biryani. I tasted the fish biriyani first when I visited my brother’s place. My SIL who is a great cook prepared this within no time and instantly I fell in love with this biryani but I never dared to make biryani at home. I have had a few disasters at first like the rice was undercooked or overcooked! But now I have perfected the art of making biryani and there is nothing like a good home cooked version.

Once I started making biryanis, I prepared this fish biryani and everyone in my house liked it.

We can use sear fish, or any fish fillet to prepare this biryani. This is easy to make and an extremely flavorful dish and will be loved by all seafood lovers.

This time for the MFB Challenge, we can prepare a dish which we repeated before as this month is the anniversary month of MFB Challenge. We started this MFB Challenge exactly a year ago. I choose this fish biryani for the anniversary special and also to celebrate my blog's 8th birthday. It's been 8 years since I started my little space and today I have more than 500 recipes and a lot of friends all over the world. Thank you, one and all for the wonderful encouragement.

Ingredients:

For Biryani Masala:

1. Cardamom pods- 3 nos
2. Cinnamon - 1 Stick
3. Cloves- 3 nos
4. Nutmeg Powder- ¼ tsp
5. Fennel Seeds- 1 tsp

Method:

• Roast the ingredients for the masala. When a nice aroma comes switch off the flame and when cooled grind to a fine powder.

For the Marinade:

1. King Fish Slices- 6-8 nos
2. Turmeric Powder- 2 Tsp
3. Red Chilli Powder- 2 tbsp
4. Pepper powder- 1 tbsp
5. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
6. Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
7. Salt- as required
8. Oil- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil. Meanwhile mix together all the ingredients in marinade except fish. Marinate the fish and set aside.
2. When the oil becomes hot, fry the marinated fish till it gets cooked and drain on a kitchen towel.

For the Masala:

1. Onions( Sliced)- 3 nos
2. Slited Green chilies- 4 nos
3. Tomatoes(sliced)- 2 nos
4. Ginger- garlic paste- 1 tbsp
5. Curd- 1 Cup
6. Coriander and Mint Leaves- a handful
7. Red Chilli powder- 1tsp
8. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
9. Biryani Masala- 2 tbsp
10. Lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
11. Oil- 1 tbsp
12. Ghee- 1 tbsp

Method for biryani masala:

1. Heat the fried fish oil and ghee in a pan. Add the sliced onions, fry till it turns golden brown in color. Add the slitted green chilies and ginger- garlic paste.
2. When the raw smell disappears, add the sliced tomatoes, lemon juice and stir till it turns mushy.
3. Add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, and the above-made biryani masala powder.
4. Throw the chopped mint and coriander leaves in the above masala. Add the curd and mix till everything gets well blended with the ingredients. Cook till the mixture thickens. Keep this aside.

For the Rice:

1. Small Jeera Rice- 3 Cups
2. Bay leaves- 1 no
3. Cloves- 2 nos
4. Cinnamon- a small stick
5. Cardamom- 2 nos
6. Clarified Butter- 1 tbsp
7. Oil- 1 tbsp
8. Water- 6 Cups
9. Salt- as required

Method for rice:

1. Wash and soak the jeera rice for about half an hour. Drain and keep this aside.
2. Heat oil and ghee in a deep bottomed vessel. Add the cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and cardamom.
3. Add water and enough amount of salt, on a low flame close with a lid. When the water starts boiling add the drained rice and stir well.
4. Close with a lid and let it cook on a low flame for exactly about 20 minutes. Switch off the flame and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
5. Open the lid and fluff it up using a fork. Keep this aside.

For layering:

1. Spread half of the cooked rice and sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and spread a half tbsp of ghee on top.
2. Spread the biryani masala gravy and layer the fried fish. Repeat with the cooked rice, chopped coriander leaves, ghee, biryani masala gravy and at last with the fried fish and the last layer it with rice.
3. Seal the top with a wet cloth and a lid. Place this on a tawa over a low flame for about 10- 15 minutes so that all the masala flavors will be incorporated well into the rice.
4. Switch off the flame and serve this delicious biryani along with raita.

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Awadhi Murg Biryani/ Lucknowi Chicken Biryani

Its biryani time in our monthly challenge. Every month, we have a challenge of making a dish with a particular item or any dish from any of the blogger's page. This time it is to make biryani.

After coming to the US, the preparation of biryani has much increased when compared that of India, because here not, as usual, we will go out to eat. My daughter and my husband are huge biryani fans. If given a chance, they would prefer biryani every day. Mostly I make biryani using chicken. Very occasionally I will make mutton biryani. But to tell you the truth, after coming to the US I have become an expert in making biryani.

Awadhi cuisine is an indigenous part of the city of nawabs, Lucknow. The chefs of Awadh had invented a dum style of cooking or cooking over low heat, which will enhance the flavors and texture of the dish. These dishes are filled with nuts, herbs, spices and full of flavors.

In this biryani, the meat is cooked slowly in aromatic and exotic spices till soft and tender. Meanwhile, rice is cooked in water infused with whole spices and ghee. Layered together, sealed and cooked on slow flame.

In Awadhi biryani, the spices are used in whole. This biryani is full of flavors, texture and aromatic with all the whole spices and rose essence and can be served with any raita of your choice.

Ingredients:

For Marination:

1. Chicken- 500 gms
2. Onions- 1 no
3. Ginger and Garlic Paste- 2 tbsp
4. Coriander Powder- 1 tsp
5. Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
6. Cinnamon, Cloves and Nutmeg Powder- 1 tsp
7. Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder-  2tsp
8. Yogurt- 1 Cup
9. Salt- as required
10. Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp

For Rice:

1. Basmathi Rice- 3 Cups
2. Rose Essence- few drops
3. Water- 5 Cups
4. Cloves- 3 nos
5. Cardamom- 4 nos
6. Cinnamon Stick- 1 “
7. BayLeaf- 2 nos
8. Star Anise- 2 nos
9. Ghee-  1 tbsp

For Sauteing:

1. Onions (sliced)- 3 nos
2. Ghee + Oil- 2 tbsp

Garnishing:

1. Red Food Colour- a pinch
2. Milk- 2 tbsp
3. Roasted Cashews- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Wash and drain the chicken well, before marinating.
2. Put all the ingredients for marination, except chicken in the food processor and process to a smooth paste.
3. Rub this paste over the well-drained chicken and let it marinate for overnight. Keep this in refrigerator covered.
4. In a deep bottom pan, saute sliced onions along with ghee and oil. When they turn golden brown in color, remove ¼ of the browned onions and keep aside for layering at the last.
5. In the remaining sauteed onions add the overnight marinated chicken, and let this cook well till almost all the water from the chicken gets drained and the chicken gets cooked.
6. Meanwhile, soak the washed rice for about an hour and then drain.
7. Heat a deep bottomed pan, pour 5 cups of water, add all the spices for rice and at last ghee.
8. When the water is about to boil, add the drained rice and a few drops of rose essence.
9. Lower the flame and cover with a lid, let this cook for about 20 minutes. Switch off the flame. By this time all the water for the rice gets drained off and rice will be cooked to perfect. Fluff the rice using a fork.

For Layering:

1. In a deep bottomed vessel, spread ghee, over that spread the prepared chicken with masala. Spread the half of the cooked rice, sprinkle browned onions, roasted cashews, and colored milk.
2. Repeat the process, till u end up with rice layer on top. Finish off with browned onions, roasted cashews, and colored milk.
3. Cover this with a clean wet towel and place a heavy object on top of the lid and cook for about 15- 20 minutes on a very low flame.
4. When done, uncover and enjoy hot along with raita.

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