Malabar Meen Biriyani

 















Having spent a major part of my life in the Malabar region of Kerala,Malabar recipes have always been my top favourites.One should say that Malabar Muslims have really contributed a lot to the moulding of a very distinct culinary culture, which is now identified as 'Malabar' style...During Ramzan,as I said earlier in my

Ari Pathiri

post, our Muslim friends flooded our table with all those Muslim delicacies like Meen biriyani,Adukku Pathiri, Meen Pathiri,Kozhi porichathu,Kozhi Ada,Chatti pathiri,Unnakkaya, Muttamala,Alsa,Tharikanji,Kalathappam,Kinnathappam etc..I'm drooling here already!!(I shall blog some of these recipes soon)My mom had learnt this Meen biriyani from those good hearted Muslim friends that we had in Beypore, a port town in Calicut, which has plenty of history to tell....The legacy is passed on to me..... My husband says that he has never heard of 'Fish biriyani' before, and was thinking that it was one of my experiments! He wouldnt believe it when I said it is in fact a traditional dish which Malabar Muslims prepared during Festive seasons or on occasions like treating their 'Puyyapla'(Puthiya Mappila/New Bridegroom- who remains 'Puyyappla' even at 80!)....Treating 'Puyyappla' was a big ritual often....with many dishes prepared and all his comforts arranged. I have heard my 'ithathas' in Beypore telling that there have been occasions when many girls have been given 'talaq'(divorce) for the simple crime of not treating(feeding with all these delicacies) the Puyyapplas properly...but those are the stories of yesterdays when tradition ruled and women were lesser beings...but now things have changed tremendously...with education permeating the grass roots....people are more enlightened....and women more empowered...Perhaps the present generation cannot even believe that many traditions like 'Mootakalyanam' etc existed in the same society!...Let me not digress into those old stories...So here is the recipe for the famous Malabar Meen Biriyani.
  

















Ingredients:
Serves-4

For Rice:

Ghee - 2 tbsp
Bay leaves-2
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seed powder-1/2 tsp
Cinnamon- 4 sticks
Aniseed-2 or 3
Cloves - 4
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Onion(sliced) - 1 (medium) onions
Basmati rice - 3 cups
Boiled water - 5 3/4 cups
Lemon juice-1/2 a lemon
Salt - as required

For fish masala:
King fish - 1/2 kg(Any Hard fleshed fish)
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 100ml
Onion(sliced) - 3 large
Ginger-garlic-green chillies paste - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves+Mint leaves+Curry leaves paste-2tbsp
Tomato(chopped) - 2
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Curd - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice-1/2 a lemon
Thick coconut milk - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp

For garnishing:
Cashew nuts(roasted)-25g
Raisin(roasted)-25g
onion-1 medium size-(finely chopped)

Method


Wash the basmati rice(long grain rice).Soak the washed rice for 5 minutes.Drain off the water completely.Boil water with salt.Heat ghee in a pan.Add bay leaves,cardamom,fennelseed,aniseed, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Saute it for a couple of minutes.Add onions and fry till golden brown.Add rice,lemon juice and stir for about 5 min or till the grains become soft when you bite it.Pour boiled water and cook till it is done.Then using a fork stir the rice so that the grains separate out and keep it open so that excess water, if any, will evaporate completely.


Fish may be cut into pieces, removing the bones. If it is really large fish like King fish you may retain the bone, for it adds to the taste.If served to kids it is better to remove the bones and cook.Marinate fish pieces with chilly powder, turmeric powder,pepper powder and salt for 30 minutes(pref. in the refrigerator).Fry the marinated fish pieces in oil.In the same oil used to fry the fish ,addd sliced onions and fry on a simmering flame, till it becomes golden brown.Add ginger-garlic-green chilly paste,coriander-mint-curry leaves paste, and tomato.Saute it for nearly 6minutes.Keep the flame medium.Stir it for 6 min.Add curd, coconut milk, and salt and stir it for 5 min.Add fried fish pieces and reduce the flame.Cook till it becomes a good thick gravy.

Roast cashew nuts, raisins and onion in a small wok(deep brown).Take a deep bottomed vessel and layer rice,fish masala,Roasted nuts,raisins& roasted onions alternatively.Pour 2 tbsp of ghee and tightly cover with a lid.Keep it on a very low flame for 10 min.(Alternatively you can bake it in an oven for 10 minutes at 180 degrees).Traditionally the lid is sealed with Maida, and coconut husk embers are kept on top.( 'Dum').Serve it,the Biriyani please! ; ) hot with Onion/Potato Raita. 

Of late RP and I seem to be having a lot of telepathy.She has posted on Idli Sambar while Idli was sitting idle in the draft,I had posted a prawn fry while she too had one...Interestingly now she too has posted a Fish biriyani recipe,slightly different from that of mine...So for another variety try

RP's Fish Biriyani