Raw Jackfruit Biriyani

Jackfruit biriyani (kathal biriyani) is a mildly spicy and aromatic rice preparation in which the delicious raw jackfruit gravy is topped with basmati rice. It is prepare like the normal dum biriyani method and of course a great treat for the veggies.
Ingredients:

1. Tender Raw Jack-fruit- 1/2 kg 
2. Onion-2 nos
3. Tomato-1 large
4. Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp
5. Green chilly slit-2 nos
6. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
7. Chilly powder-1 tsp
8. Coriander powder-1 tsp
9. Garam masala powder-1 tsp
10. Chopped coriander leaves- 1/4 cup
11. Chopped mint leaves- 1/4 cup
12. Thick curd- 1/2 cup
13. Salt-to taste

For Cooking rice:

1. Basmati rice-1 cup
2. Cardamom-2 nos
3. Clove-3 nos
4. Bay leaf-1
5. Cinnamon-1 small stick
6. salt-to taste

Other Ingredients for garnishing:

1. Fried onion-1
2. Fried cashews-few
3. Fried raisins-few
4. Coriander leaves-few
5. Mint leaves-few
6. Kewra water / pineapple essence- few drops
7. Ghee-1 tbsp

Preparation:

• Chop the tender jackfruit in to small pieces (by discarding its outer green skin and seeds).
• Wash them properly and drain it.
• Heat a pan with oil; saute onions until transparent.
• Add ginger garlic paste  and green chilly slit; saute for a minute.
• Add tomato chopped and saute until mashed well.
• Add all the powders along the jackfruit pieces; mix well.
• Stir cook for about 8-10 minutes on low falme.
• After that add curd; mint leaves and coriander leaves,
• Mix well and cover cooks it on medium flame for another 10-15 minutes or until the jackfruits get cooked well and gravy thickens.(Meanwhile prepare the rice.)
• Boil 4 cups of water by addind cardamom, clove, bay leaf, cinnamon and enough salt.
• When it boils add washed (and drained) basmati rice and cook until done.
• Drain the cooked rice.
• Add it on top of the prepared jack fruit masala.
• Above that spread the garnishing ingredients.
• Cover the lid tightly and slow cook it for about 15 minutes in simmer mode.
• Switch off the flame and rest for another 10 minutes.
• Open the lid and give a nice mix.
• Serve hot with  raitha and pickle!!!

Cococnut Rice

 Coconut rice is one of the most simple pulao in which the cooked rice is tempered with freshly grated coconut. The nice and rich aroma of coconuts and curry leaves makes the rice really flavorful.

Ingredients:

1. Cooked rice-2 cup (basmati rice or white any white rice)
2. Coconut oil-2 tbsp
3. Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
4. Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
5. Urad dal- 1/2 tsp
6. Roasted chana dal-1 tbsp
7. Roasted peanuts-1 tbsp
8. Curry leaves-2 springs
9. Dry red chilly splitted-2 numbers
10. Freshly grated coconut-3/4 cup
11. Salt-to taste

Preparation:

• Heat coconut oil in a pan; splutter mustard seeds followed by cumin seeds.
• Add urad dal, chana ldal and pea nuts.
• Add dry red chilly and curry leaves.
• Add grated coconut and salt; roast in slow flame for a minute.
• Add the cooked rice in to; mix well for a minute and serve hot with the choice of your curry; pickle or along with raitha!

Note: You can also use frozen grated coconuts; if fresh one is not available.
          Use the choice of  nuts for seasoning.

Macau-Style Portuguese Chicken Rice

I only needed one bite of the Portuguese Chicken Rice from Double Chin to know that I needed to figure out how to make it at home.  I hadn't even ordered it myself; my friend Alvin was nice enough to let a bunch of us try his, and I'm so grateful he did.  Sadly, it's not a very photogenic dish, but once you try it, you won't care.

It starts with a layer of chicken fried rice topped with a mild coconut curry sauce and finished with a sprinkling of shredded cheese.  Then everything goes under the broiler until it gets all bubbly and gooey.  I know it's kind of strange to have cheese on an otherwise Asian dish, but it works so well in this case.  I think the key is to use a mild, melty cheese so that it doesn't overpower the rest of the dish.  I ended up using a mix of mozzarella and provolone.  I thought it was interesting that when I was looking for recipes on-line to use, a lot of them just listed "shredded cheese" as the ingredient without any reference to what kind of cheese.  Perhaps in Asia there is just one kind of shredded cheese available!

I ended up referring to Lady and Pups' version because I love everything else she does, and it seemed the most similar to what I had at Double Chin.  The modifications I made were that instead of fish I used chicken and marinated it beforehand.  I used chicken breast because I prefer white meat, but feel free to use chicken thigh meat if you prefer dark meat.  I also made a couple of other modifications to her recipe based on what I had on hand (less scallions and water instead of milk) and taste preferences (half the amount of shallots).

Please note that this makes quite a bit of food.  Mandy's original recipe said that it serves 2, but it would probably be more like 6 Joy-sized servings.  And if you're wondering why it's called Portuguese chicken rice, I think it has to do with the fact that Macau was a Portuguese colony up until the end of the last century.  Apparently this dish is very popular in Hong Kong cafes, and I remember seeing something similar at one of my favorite eateries in Taiwan.

Macau-Style Portuguese Chicken Rice (heavily adapted from Lady and Pups)
serves 4-6

For the chicken:
1 lb. boneless chicken, cut into 1" pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients except for the oil and marinate for 20 minutes.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the chicken until lightly brown.  Save 2/3 of it for the fried rice and finely chop the rest for the sauce.

For the fried rice:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2-3 eggs, beaten
3 cups day-old cooked rice, refrigerated
1/2 cup chopped scallions
Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pan and add the eggs.  Immediately add the rice and mix to coat.  Once the rice is heated through, add the scallions, salt, and white pepper to taste.  Add the reserved chicken and mix until even.  Remove from heat and set aside.

For the coconut curry sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons finely shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
13.5 oz. can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups mix of shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese, divided

Use a small blender to puree the oil, shallot, and garlic cloves.  Mix with the grated ginger and butter and cook over medium heat in a saucepan for a few minutes until very fragrant.  Add the curry powder, onion powder, coconut, and flour continue to cook for a few more minutes to toast the spices.  Whisk in the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5-7 minutes until thickened.  Stir in the chopped chicken and 1 cup of the cheese.

Preheat the broiler.  Transfer the fried rice to a buttered casserole dish or oven safe pan.  You can also use multiple smaller dishes.  Pour the curry sauce over the rice and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.  Broil for a few minutes until browned in spots and bubbly.  Serve immediately.

Next:  Caramelized Honeycomb Ice Cream
Previously:  Extra-Crispy Tortilla Pizza
Two Years Ago:  Taiwanese Taro Swirl Mooncakes
Three Years Ago:  Brown Butter Vinaigrette Lobster Buns
Four Years Ago:  Caramelized Onion and Swiss Chard Quiche

Curry chicken rice bake 咖哩雞焗飯

Who doesn't like curry chicken with rice? This recipe is slightly different, it's east meets west. It's curried rice topped with a saucy chicken curry and cheese. This fusion (or bastardised if you prefer) curry chicken rice bake can be found in Hong Kong/ Macau cafe style restaurants 茶餐廳. I think Japanese also have similar recipe. Curry and cheese does not sound matching but this combination is

Lap cheong rice 臘腸飯

This simple rice is something I can indulge quite often since I know how to make my own lap cheong. DIY lap cheong is so much cheaper and I know there are no hidden ingredients or preservatives. The is a simple meal, steamed lap cheong with rice and some steamed/blanched green vegetable. To add more flavour I added a dollop of ginger spring onion sauce.

Cook rice using a rice cooker or on the

Tomato egg fried rice 西紅柿蛋炒飯/ 蕃茄蛋炒飯

Simple lunch today, tomato and egg fried rice. Tomato and egg are such good combination, universal favourite. I am sure there is at least one dish made with tomato and egg in every country. Just Chinese dishes I can count at least half a dozen classics with just two simple ingredients like:

Stir fried egg and tomato 西紅柿炒雞蛋/ 番茄炒蛋
Omelette crepe and tomato soup 番茄煎蛋湯/ 西紅柿煎蛋湯
Tomato and egg geda