Wednesday 14 March 2012

Biryani Rice (Nasi Briyani) - Recipe





Biryani Rice (Nasi Briyani)

Biryani rice (Nasi Briyani)

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati rice

2-1/2 Tbs Ghee or Oil

1 large Onion, finely chopped

1 pinch saffron powder

1 tsp Turmeric powder

5 Cardamom pods

5 Cloves

2 cm or 1 inch Cinnamon stick

1 Star Anise

1/2 tsp Ginger powder

2 tablespoons Rose water or 1 tsp Rose essence

1-1/2 tsp Salt

3-1/2 Cups Chicken stock

Garnish:

Toasted cashews or slice almonds

Sultanas

Method:

Wash rice well and soak for at least 30 minutes, drain and set aside.

Heat ghee or oil and fry onion until light brown. Add saffron, turmeric powder, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, ginger powder and rice. Fry stirring continuously until rice is totally coated with the ghee and spice mixture.

Heat the chicken stock, add rose water or essence and salt. Pour the hot stock over rice mixture and stir well. Bring to a boil.

Cover saucepan tightly, turn heat to very low and steam for 20 minutes. DO NOT lift the lid or stir while cooking.

Dish out the Biryani onto a serving dish. Garnish with cashews or slice almonds and sultanas and serve immediately.

Malaysian Roti Canai - Recipe


Roti Canai

The Malaysian, the Singaporean, Indian and the Austrian share the "stretching" the dough technique by way of their Roti Canai, Roti Prata, Kerala Parotta and Apple Strudel respectively. The concept is same in all of them, with very minor technical changes. If you learn one technique, you can pretty much conquer the rest. How about that for convenience? :) Whatever technique I learnt from making the Pizza dough, rumali roti, parotta and the strudel , they all came into play for making the famous Malaysian Roti Canai which is v similar to Singaporean Roti Prata ( Indian "Parotta" - Singaporean "Prata" - even names match!). Add a fried egg at the end to this Roti and you get Roti Telur.


Basic Information
 
Prep Time: 2 to 4 hours
 
Cook Time: Under 30 min
 
Serves: 3 people
 
Yield: Makes around 10 medium sized rotis

Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 cups ( 10oz or about 300 gms) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1/2 cup water, give or take few tbsp.
  • salt to taste
 
Method
 
1.
Method - for making the dough
Sift the flour and salt into a medium bowl.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
2.
Now add 1/4 cups of ghee into a hole made in the dough.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
3.
Mix well and gradually add enough water to bind the dough.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
4.
Next knead the dough on a greased counter top for 5-8 minutes.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
5.
It takes time and little muscle, but this step is necessary to make a pliable dough.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
6.
Place it back in the bowl and let it rest for at least 2 hours. This helps the dough to stretch well.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
7.
Method 1 - The Professional ( and traditional ) Method - Takes skill
Take a small ball of the dough.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
8.
With the hands, press it with the hands and lightly stretch it.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe

9.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
Method 2 - Mostly Traditional Method - No skill set required
Take a small ball from the dough.










10
On a very well greased counter top, place the dough and using a rolling pin,
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
11
roll the dough as much as you can.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
12
Then slowly using your hands, pull at one end of the dough. You can rest one hand in the middle of the dough and using another hand pull at the ends. Be gentle to avoid the dough getting torn ( not that it really matters that much ). Slowly do this at all the ends, until you can see through the dough.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
13
Now fold one end of the dough, by bringing the top end to the middle
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
14
Repeat with the bottom end.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
15
Now bring the right end
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
16
and then the left.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
17
Now slowly using your hands, stretch the dough a bit on all the ends.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
18
In a greased skillet, cook the prata for 1-2 minutes
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
19
until browned
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
20
Turn and then repeat.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
21
Method 3 - for making spirals/ round shapes.
The first 2-3 steps are the same. Take a small ball of dough and using a rolling pin roll it as much as you can until they are see through ( same as method 2)
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
22
Now start with the longer end. Start pleating the dough.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
23
Do this until you reach the end.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
24
Hold both ends of this dough rope. Slowly twist and turn it in the air, lightly. It will start stretching between your hands. Make it as long as you can.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
25
Now slowly circle the dough, starting from one end, until you reach the other end. BTW keep your hands greased throughout this process. The dough should not stick anywhere
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
26
Once twisted completely, press it lightly with your hand to make a flatbread.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
27
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough as much as you can and to desirable thickness.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
28
Cook in a skillet greased with ghee for 1-2 minutes until browned.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe
29
Turn and repeat.
Malaysian Roti Canai (Roti Prata) Recipe

Thosai - Plain Thosai Recipe


Dosa/ Dosai

 

Dosa (crispy savory pancakes) from South India is a staple food in its home region. In the rest of the country too, Dosas are hugely popular and Udipi restaurants serving them and other South Indian foods can be found in almost every suburb! Learn how to make them with my easy recipe. This recipe will make approximately 20 Dosas.


Prep Time: 12 hours

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 12 hours, 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups rice
  • 1 cup skinless split urad daal (skinless black gram)
  • 3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil

Preparation:

how to make Dosai Step - By -Step:
  • Wash the rice and urad daal well. Add the fenugreek seeds to the mix and fill enough water in the rice-daal bowl to cover them about 2" deep. Soak overnight. 
 
  • The next morning, drain all the water from the rice and urad daal. Now put some in a food processor and grind - adding very little water if necessary - to a smooth yet slightly grainy paste. 
 
  • When all the rice-daal mix is ground like this, put it into a large mixing bowl and add enough water to make a batter. The consistency of the batter should be such that it thickly coats a spoon dipped in it. 
  •  
  • Now add salt to taste and keep the Dosa batter aside in a warm, dark spot, covered, for 6-8 hours. After this fermentation, stir the batter well. It is now ready to make Dosas. 
 
  • Put some cooking oil in a small bowl and keep ready. You will also need a bowl of ice cold water, a large, flat nonstick pan, 2 sheets of paper towel, a ladle, a spatula and a basting brush. 
 
  • Fold one sheet of paper towel into a wad and dip lightly into the bowl of cooking oil. Squeeze out any excess and then rub the paper towel all over the surface of the pan to grease. The correct amount of oil is such that it is barely visible on the pan. Now turn on the heat/ flame at medium high. 
 
  • Fill the ladle upto the 3/4 level with Dosa batter. Gently pour this batter onto the center of the pan - just as you would for a pancake - till the ladle is empty. 
 
  • Now begin to spread the batter in sweeping circular motions to form a pancake of roughly 8" diameter. Do not be alarmed if the Dosa develops tiny holes as you spread the batter. This is normal. 
 
  • As soon as you have finished spreading the batter out on the pan, dip the basting brush in cooking oil and drizzle the oil all over the surface of the dosa and also around its edges. Now hold the pan by its handle, lift up and swirl it so as to make the drizzled oil spread all over the Dosa. 
 
  • When the upper surface begins to look cooked (it will no longer look soft or runny), flip the Dosa. By this time, ideally, the surface that was underneath should be light golden in color. Allow to cook for 1 minute after flipping. 
 
  • The Dosa is almost done. Fold it in half and allow to cook for 30 seconds more. 
 
  • Serve the ready Dosa with side dishes like South Indian Coconut Chutney, South Indian Gunpowder Chutney and Sambar. I like to make and serve Dosas immediately while I cook as this means they are crisp and fresh when eaten. This, however, is not absolutely necessary. You can also make, stack and serve the Dosas later. Just ensure you keep them warm till serving time by placing them - just like with pancakes - in a closed dish. 
 
  • Before you start making the next Dosa, fold another sheet of paper towel into a wad and dip it in ice cold water. Squeeze the wad to remove excess water and then rub it all over the surface of the pan to cool it slightly. This ensures your next Dosa will spread evenly and not break because the pan is too hot. Now proceed as you did for the last Dosa.