BisiBela Bath (Sambar Rice)

Bisi Bela Bath (Sambar Rice)

This was the first recipe I posted on my blog. This is my best friend G's mom's recipe...and since aunty is a super duper cook, I thought it is an auspicious sign to start off with her recipe... Even if I become half as good as her, I would be satisfied.

Ingredients:

• Rice – 1 cup (small cup)
• Tuvar Dal – 1/2 cup (same measure of rice)
• Water – 6 cups 3 ½ cups for the rice and 2 ½ cups for the dal – total 6 cups (same measuring cup)
• Shallots (Sambar Onions) - 1/4 kgs
• Tomato - 2
• Carrot - 1 (diced)
• Potato - 1 big (cut into square pieces)
• Beans - 5-10 (cut into 2 inch pieces)
• Double Beans - 15-20
• Any other Vegetables that you want to use (If you are using Brinjal, do not pressure cook it along with rice and other veggies)
• Sambar Powder - 2 tblsp
• Tamarind - The size of a big lemon
• Salt to taste
• Ghee – 6 tbsp
• Gingelly Oil (Nalla ennai) – 4 tblsp
• Turmeric – 1 pinch
• Mustard and curry leaves for seasoning.

For the masala:

• Corriander seed - 5-6 tblsp
• Red chilly - 10-15 (adjust as per your spice requirements)
• Channa Dal (Kadala Paripu) - 2 tblsp
• Asafoetida (Perungayam) 1/2 inch piece
• Fenugreek (vendhiyam/uluva) 1 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
• Cloves - 2
• Pepper - 1 tsp
• Garlic - 2
• grated coconut 1/2 coconut shell

Method:

• Sauté the onions and the vegetables in ghee.
• Wash the rice and dal and soak for 15 minutes in water.
• Add the required amount of water, the sautéed onions and vegetables, a pinch of turmeric, tomatoes and pressure cook for 5 whistles. (Do not pressure cook the brinjals)
• Fry the masala ingredients in a little ghee but make sure they do not get blackened as it will change the taste of the rice, dry grind them first, then add adequate water and grind it to a fine paste.
• Boil the tamarind water (add lots of water as it is bound to eventually become dry) and salt.
• Then add the ground masala and bring to boil again.
• Add the cooked rice, dal and vegetables and mix well adding ghee when required and a little bit of gingelly oil.

Season with mustard and curry leaves and ur bisi bela bath is ready!!!!!!!!!! Serve with Potato Fry!


Note: Use the same measuring cup for Rice, Dal and Water. Adjust the masala quantity according to the amount of rice, dal and vegetables you have. I used a small measuring cup. Since you add so many vegetables and water, this dish usually trebles in quantity. So use a small measuring cup and retain the masala quantity according to your taste buds.

Mushroom Biryani

This is a combination of the Malabar Egg Biryani recipe I'd posted earlier (which itself was taken from Mishmash's post Egg Biryani Finally Makes It to the Hall of Fame ) and the Brinji Rice that my cook makes when we are out of other options. I made a variation of the elaborate biryani masala (in a not so elaborate way). Here is how I made this afternoon's mushroom biryani.
For the Rice 


Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Water - 3 cups
• Coconut Milk - 1 cup

(Add water/coconut milk in a 1:2 ratio; if the coconut milk is too thick, adjust the water accordingly)

• Shajeera - 2 tsp
• Bayleaf - 2
• Cloves - 3-4
• Star Anise - 2
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Chilly Paste - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste 
• Yellow Food Color - a pinch 
• Ghee - 3tbsp

Method:

• Wash the basmati rice well and soak it in water for 20 mins.
• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan (I used my pressure cooker itself)
• Splutter the shajeera (you could use normal jeera if you dont have this), add the bay leaf, cloves and star anise and fry for 30 seconds. 
• Add the ginger garlic paste and the green chilly paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
• Add the rice and fry for 1 min.
• Add salt and the food color.
• Add 3 glasses of water and 1 glass of coconut milk and cook uncovered till the rice is almost done (By now the water would have evaporated and the rice would have been 80% cooked) - Take care not to add too much water;esp if the coconut milk is thick, you may want to reduce the water. The taste of the biryani is lost if the rice is over or under cooked.
• Set aside

For the Biriyani Masala:


Ingredients

• Onions - 2 large ones thinly sliced
• Tomatoes- 3 big ones (I had very small ones, so I used 5)
• Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
• Green Chilly Paste - as per taste (I made it out of 8 green chillies as I like it spicy)
• Biriyani Masala - 3 tbsp (a coarsely ground powder of the below ingredients)

• Cloves - 4-5
• Green Cardamom - 2
• Black Cardamom - 1
• Cinnamon Stick - 2
• Jeera - 1 tsp
• Shajeera - 2 tsp
• Star Anise - 2
• Nutmeg - 1/2
• Nutmace - 1/2
• Saunf (Perunjeeragam) - 1 tsp
• Peppercorns - 4-5
• Mushroom - Cut into 2
• Peas - 1 cup
• Potatoes - 2 or 3
• Sour Curd/Yogurt - 1 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Mint Leaves - a handful
• Curry Leaves - 2-3 sprigs
• I also added 1 tsp of Sakthi Biryani Masala as I had an opened packet
• Ghee - 3 tbsp
• Gingelly Oil - 2 tsp (it enhances the flavour)
• Any other veggies you want

Method:

• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan.
• Fry the onions till translucent
• Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears
• Add the chilly paste and fry well
• Add the tomatoes and cook till they are mushy.
• Add the biryani masala, salt, mushrooms and other vegetables along with the mint and curry leaves and cook covered (You may want to add a little water here-not too much as the veggies and tomatoes will bring out water on their own)
• When the mushrooms and veggies are cooked, add sour curd and cook till dry.

 For the Seasoning (Deep fry all the above individually in ghee/oil and set aside)

• Onions - 2 big thinly sliced
• Brown Raisins
• Cashew Nuts
• Ghee/Oil - for frying

Finally, making the biriyani

• This is a fairly simple step. All you have to do is layer it in a thick bottomed vessel. 
• Add a little ghee , place one layer of the masala, sprinkle some masala powder and fried seasoning and then layer it with the almost cooked basmati rice.
• Then  repeat the process (Veggie masala, masala powder, seasoning and then rice).
• Cover the vessel with a lid and then wrap it with a piece of cloth so that the steam does not escape (I had to use the help of my heavy chapati rolling stone and roller for this). 
• Cook this biryani on Dum for 15-20 minutes on low flame. 
• After setting it aside for another 20 minutes, open the lid and mix the biryani.
• It is now ready to serve.

Malabar Egg Biriyani

Biryani.... I think it is to do with Malabar Mallu's! I've seen my grandmother drool over Biryani at this age. I know of no wedding/birthday celebration in our part of the world without a "Biryani Party". Though I am not too fond of the Nei Chor (Ghee Rice) that is served, the Biryani is yummilicious!!!! The Calicut Moplah Biryani or Thalassery Biryani finds a mention in wikkipedia as well.

I found this recipe on Mishmash's site (Egg Biryani Finally Makes It to the Hall of Fame). I was not as patient as her, so I probably tried a few shortcuts and omitted a few items. The end result however was appreciated, more so, considering that this is the first time I am making Malabar Style Biryani (My grandmother and mum in law make the yummiest Chicken Biryani...will post that recipe some time soon.)

Right now, it is Malabar Egg Biryani, Thanks to Mishmash. Now, you may wonder why I would want to write down the whole recipe here instead of just directing the link to her site. Well, it is purely for my reference purpose - When I want to make the dish the next time, I wouldn't have to search for it... I'd have it in my own collection here. So here goes the ingredients and the method.



Step 1: Biryani Masala

Ingredients:

1. Black Cardamom - 1 (Not in the original recipe, I had it, so I added it)


2. Green Cardamom - 1


3. Cloves - 5-6


4. Cinamon - 2 inch stick


5. Star Anise - 1 (Not in the original recipe, I had it, so I added it) 


6. Saunf - 3/4 tsp


7. Jeera - 3/4 tsp


8. Nutmeg - 1/4


9. Nutmace - 1


10. Caraway Seeds - 1/4 tsp (I did not have this, hence I did not add it)

Method:

1. Dry grind all the ingredients together. I read in another recipe that you could dry roast them first, but I was scared of burning them, hence I powdered them without dry roasting.

Step 2 -  Chilly-Garlic-Ginger Paste

Ingredients:

1. Green Chilly - 10


2. Garlic - 15 cloves


3. Ginger - 2 inch piece

Method:

1. This one aint rocket science. Grind all of them together into a fine paste without adding water.

The original recipe does not go in this sequence,but I did this just to spare me the misery of going through a power cut at the most crucial time. I finished all the grinding early in the morning so that even if the power gets cut by mid morning, my biryani would be ready by lunch.

Step 3 - Making the rice

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice - 2 cups


2. Water - 4 cups


3. Ghee - 4 tblsp


4. Ground Chilly-Ginger-Garlic Paste- 1 tblsp


5. Onion - 1 finely chopped


6. Bay Leaf - 2


7. Green Cardamom - 4-5


8. Cloves - 5-6


9. Jeera - 1 tsp


10. Salt - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and drain rice


2. Heat Ghee in the pan


3. Splutter Jeera seeds.


4. Add bay leaf, cinammon and cardamom to this.


5. Fry for some time.


6. Add onions and fry till they turn translucent


7. Add 1 tablespoon of the ground ginger-garlic-chilly paste.


8. Fry till the raw smell disappears.


9. Add basmati rice and fry till all the water has evaporated.


10. Add salt and mix well.


11. Add 4 cups of water (same measure cup as rice) and bring to boil.


12. Reduce flame to sim and cover cooked till the rice is almost done and the water has evaporated completely

Note: At this stage, the rice may seem half cooked. It is okay, because you are going to let it cook more with the masala (Dum Style)

Step 4 - Making the Egg

Ingredients

1. Eggs - 4 for making the omelet


2. Eggs - 4 hard boiled


3. Onion - 1 chopped into small pieces


4. Green Chilly - 1 cut into small pieces


5. Salt to taste


6. OIl - 2 tsp


7. Biriyani Masala (refer step 1) - 1 tsp


8. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp


9. Chilly Powder - 1 tsp


10. Oil - 3 tblsp for shallow frying the hardboiled eggs.

Method:

1. Beat 4 eggs till soft and fluffy.


2. Add salt, onions and green chilly and mix well.


3. Heat a pan.


4. Add 1 tsp oil and pour 1/2 the mixture.


5. Reduce flame to avoid it getting burnt.


6. Turn side over and remove when it is done on both sides.


7. Repeat for the next omelet.


8. Shred the omelet into fine pieces.


9. Hardboil the remaining 4 eggs.


10. When cooled, remove the shell and cut into 2.


11. Add 1 tsp Biriyani Masala, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chilly powder and salt and shallow fry them.


12. Set aside.

I omitted the hardboiled eggs bit because it was an egg overdose for us today. We had Spanish Omelet for breakfast as well, so I thought it would be wise to do away with the hardboiled eggs this time.

 Step 5 - Making the Egg Masala

Ingredients

1. Onions - 3-4


2. Tomatoes - 3


3. Biryani Masala (from Step 1) - 2 tblsp


4. Ground Chilly-Garlic-Ginger Paste (from step 2) - 2-3 tblsp


5. Ghee - 4-5 tblsp (You could substitute it with oil)


6. Salt to taste


7. Mint - 1 cup chopped


8. Corriander Leaves - 1 cup chopped


9. Thick Curd (Yogurt) - 3 tblsp


10. Lime Juice - from 1 big lemon or as per taste


11. Shredded Egg Omelet (from step 4)

Method

1. Heat ghee in a pan


2. Add onions and fry till translucent


3. Add the ground chilly-garlic-ginger paste and fry till the raw smell disappears


4. Add tomatoes and cook till mushy.


5. Add the dry powdered Biryani Masala and mix well.


6. Add mint, corriander leaves and shredded egg and mix well.


7. Add lemon juice and salt to taste and mix well.


8. Add yogurt and mix well.


9. Bring to boil.


10. Turn off flame after 1 boil (else the yogurt will separate)


11. You could test the salt now and adjust accordingly.

This step gets over very quickly as you don't have to wait for any vegetable to get cooked. The time taken is for the onions and tomatoes to get cooked and become a semi-gravy consistency.

Step 6 - Mixing the Biryani

Method: (This whole step should be done on a low flame)

1. Heat Ghee in a pan


2. Layer with one serving of rice prepared earlier. (Step 3)


3. Top with one layer of egg masala. (Step 5)


4. Sprinkle Biryani Masala. (Step 1)


5. Repeat this once again.


6. Place hardboiled and shallow fried egg halves (Step 4).


7. Cover with lid and ensure that no vapor escapes the pan.


8. Keep in sim for 20-30 minutes. Ensure that the rice does not get burnt. Depending on how cooked/uncooked the rice is, this time could vary from 15 minutes-30 minutes.

Step 7- Making the Garnish

Ingredients

1. Onions - Sliced into thin long pieces


2. Cashew nuts - 2-3 tblsp


3. Raisins - 2-3 tblsp


4. Ghee - 4-5 tblsp

Method:

1. Heat Ghee and deep fry each of the above separately till it turns blackish brown.

Step 8 - Finally the Biryani is ready

1. Remove the biryani from the stove and mix it well.


2. Take care to ensure that you do not crumble the hardboiled eggs (You could also add it at this stage if you dont want to disturb them too much.)


3. Sprinkle the garnish.


4. Serve!
   
   [caption id="attachment_126" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Malabar Egg Biryani"][/caption]

Phew! I never realised it was such a long process. But the efforts did pay off. Thank you Mishmash for sharing this recipe on your blog. My family had a truly wonderful lunch today along with Papadam Thalichathu, again another recipe from the same blogger!