Fish Biryani

So this isn't a completely authentic recipe. It's something I slapped together based on C's biryani expertise (gained solely through eating and not by actually, you know, cooking it) and mom's recommendation of a good biryani mix.

I use Sanjeev Kapoor's Bombay biryani mix as the rub for the fish and the seasoning for the rice. It smells and tastes amazing, so it's going to stay until they decide to discontinue the brand. When that happens, I will cry. But until then, I will make full use of this recipe! :)

Ingredients:

2 tilapia fillets (fresh, thawed whatever), cut into bite size pieces

1 cup + 1 tbsp Bombay Biryani mix

4 tbsps plain yogurt (I use nonfat, but as long as it's plain, it's ok)

1/2 tsp salt (and some for the fish)

1/2 cup cilantro

1/2 tsp fennel seeds (jeera)

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp saffron (optional)

2.5 cups basmati rice

1 small onion, sliced

1 tbsp oil

1. Cut fish into Add 1 tbsp mix and some salt to the fish. Make sure all the fish is coated and salted. Put aside.

2. Mix 1 cup mix with yogurt and salt to taste.

3. Prepare rice. Add cinnamon, jeera, and cilantro leaves to the rice cooking water. Add saffron if you have it by crushing it in the rice water.

4. Drain rice when it is half cooked. To me, the rice is half cooked if the water is boiling and the rice is 'dancing' or bubbling in the water. Also, when you look at it, it does not have the fluffy look of cooked rice.

5. While the rice is cooking, add 2 tsp of oil to a pan and cook the onion until it is caramelized .

6. Place oil in the wok(a wok is ideal, but any heavy bottomed pan with high sides will do). Layer fish in the wok . Spread half the rice on top of the fish. Spread the paste on the rice. Distribute the remaining rice on top.

7. When the lid goes on, make sure it is airtight. There should be no steam leaking from the sides. That steam is needed for the rice to cook completely. I place two paper towels and the lid on top of them to create an airtight container.

8. Cook for 20 minutes on medium low heat.

9. When it's done, mix so that the rice and fish are evenly distributed. Sprinkle onions on top and serve!

'Til the next dish...

Set dosa

There's a Hindu temple in Flushing, NY that has a canteen in the basement. When I used to live in NJ, and my parents would suggest a visit to the temple, I would jump at the chance because that meant I would get to eat at the canteen. Sounds irreverent, but I was never very religious, except when it comes to dosas. :)

The composition of the set dosa batter is slightly different from regular dosa batter in that the former has the addition of flattened rice. Regular dosa and masala dosa (posts to follow soon) batters have black gram (urad dal), rice (medium grain), fenugreek seeds (methi), split chick peas (channa dal), and pigeon peas (toor dal). Set dosas have urad dal, rice, fenugreek seeds, split chick peas and beaten rice. Almost the same, but not quite. In any case, it's supremely delicious!

The recipe isn't tedious, but it is time consuming. Most of it involves soaking the grains or letting the batter ferment. Nothing you can do about it other than let it happen.

Recipe:

2 cups medium grain rice

1 cup urad dal gota (black gram whole)

2 tsp chana dal

1/2 tsp methi seeds

1 cup beaten rice (poha)

1. Wash the rice a couple of times and cover with water. Place the urad dal, channa dal and methi seeds in another bowl, rinse and cover with water. Soak overnight (6-12 hours)

2. Reserve water in a measuring cup and place rice, urad dal, channa dal and methi seeds in a food processor. Grind to a fine paste while adding water to produce a batter with the consistency

of pancake batter (should be pretty thick, simple test: if you pour a spoonful in a pan, it should not rapidly increase in size, that's an indication it has too much water). At this point, add the poha and continue processing until the batter is smooth.

3. Pour out the batter into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm place for 6-12 hours. If that's not possible, heat the oven to 100F, let it cool a little and place it in the oven overnight. The dosa batter ferments best in a temperature similar to a hot summer day so if the oven temperature feels very hot, it will probably cook the batter. Unfortunately, this is not a step you can skip since it produces a unique taste in set dosas.

4. Pour out 1/4 cup of batter onto a well-oiled/seasoned pan. Cover with a lid until set dosa has bubbles on the surface. Place a few drops of oil onto the top surface and flip to cook the other side. Once done, you're ready to serve (or eat).

Yum, I just finished the leftover batter tonight and these pictures are making me drool... :P

Enjoy!!

'Til the next dish...

I'm back!!

Geez, the last post on this blog was in Oct of '09. '09! That feels like a lifetime ago...

Well, back to blogging! My professional life is finally settling down and I can devote more time to this blog. It was fun working on it two years ago and I'm hoping I can get to my original goal of increasing my repertoire of recipes as well as perfecting them for posting. :)

Random note: I've imagined writing this post for months now. I can't believe it took me so long to get an apology post in here. Ha, talk about procrastination. I definitely take it to a whole new level. *sheepish grin*