Kiri Bath (Milk Rice)

 Ingredients

4 cups of white rice
Cream of 1 coconut (or one 13 oz can)
salt to taste

Method

Clean and wash the rice. Put the rice in a pan, stick in the index finger on surface of rice and fill water upto slightly 

above the 2nd joint of the index finger. Cover and cook the the rice under low heat.

When the rice is almost done, mix the salt with the coconut milk and add to the rice stir and cook for a few more minutes. 

Serve the hot rice on to a platter and flatten it using flat spoon or spatula. Cut it into squares and serve with Seeni sambol, cutta sambol or jugglery.

Aappa (Hoppers)

Ingredients

1 tsp yeast granules
2 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 + 1/4 cups coconut cream
2 cups rice flour

Method

 Mix the yeast granules in 1 tsp sugar and the salt in half cup of warm water and leave for 15 minutes until frothy.

Mix 2/3 cups of coconut cream and 1 cup of water. Put the rice flour into a large bowl and add the yeast mixture. Next add the diluted coconut cream, little at a time to make a batter like pancake batter. If more liquid is needed, add more water. 

Now cover the bowl with a wet cloth and leave for about eight hours in a warm place. The batter should rise to double the original amount. 

Finally before preparation, mix 1/4 cup coconut crean and 2 tbsp sugar and stir well. If more liquid is needed, add more water. 

Soak a small piece of cloth in oil and a saucer. 

 

Heat the pan(thachhiya) on medium. When hot rub the pan thoroughly with the oiled-cloth. Add about 3 tbsp of the batter to the pan and turn the pan so that the batter sticks to the sides of the pan. 

Cover and cook for about a minute under low-medium heat. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the hopper and serve hot 

Note: If the hoppers difficult to remove from the pan, add a beaten egg to the batter and stir well. It is best to keep this pan solely for the purposes of making hoppers, 

Biryani

Ingredients
1 lb meat (chicken/mutton), cut into 1 1/2" cubes
2 cups rice, washed and drained
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup green peas (optional)
1/3 cup cashew nuts
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, finely grated
1 tsp chillie powder
1 tbsp curry powder
2 medium onions, sliced into rings
2 medium tomatoes, diced
5 mint leaves
1/2 tsp of turmeric
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
5 tbsp butter or ghee
3 cardamoms
3 cloves
2 inch stick of cinnamon
salt to taste

Method

Saute the onions and the cashew in the butter until golden brown,about 5-7 minutes. Add the green peas and raisins and fry for a few more minutes. Remove from the fire, and put them aside. Put the ginger, garlic, chillie powder, curry powder into the same pan used above and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the meat and saute. Mutton should be sauted for about 7-8 minutes, while the chicken will take about 4-5 minutes. The meat should be about half cooked at the end of this step.Add chopped tomatoes, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, turmeric, mint leaves and salt and sauté for 2 minutes. Add a little water and cook until the meat is almost cooked. Now add the rice and potatoes. Add the rest of the water and simmer covered, on a very low flame for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is cooked. If you are using a rice cooker the transfer the meat to the rice cooker, add the rice and sufficient water and cook according to directions.

Serve hot, garnished with the fried onions.

Grilled Cajun Chicken Pasta

Well there still are a few good things left about living in Florida that hopefully will never change. The beach and the weather. December 15Th, and I am out in the back yard after work grilling up some chicken and tomatoes in a balmy 77° breeze. Not to rub it in the face of all my northern domiciled brethren, but these are the days that help us forget the almost unbearable summers. Well I digress. Now back to the recipe. A wonderful spicy mixture of Cajun spice rubbed grilled chicken and fresh herbs, tomato and cream sauce over a bed of pasta. True comfort food for the chilly Florida nights when it dips below 60. Wink!

 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 12 oz bow tie pasta
• 6 tablespoons of my Angel Dust spice mix found
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 vermouth
• 3 tablespoon Crystal’s hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme leaves
• 4 green onions, chopped (optional)

 

 

 

PREPARATION

1. Clean and dry the chicken then rub with the Angel Dust spice mix. Let rest for 20 – 30 minutes in the fridge.

2. Boil your pasta according to instructions, drain and set aside.

3. Cut tomatoes into 3 equal sized slices and grill over medium heat until soft and slightly charred. When cooled, dice the tomatoes and set aside.

4. Grill chicken breast over medium high heat until done. When cooled slice the chicken against the grain of the meat a ¼ inch thick and set aside.

5. In a sauce pan over medium high heat, melt butter and then add garlic and cook for about 3 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the green onions, and bring to a boil. Let cook an additional 5 minutes to thicken a bit. Pour sauce over pasta then add a few slices of chicken and top with the green onions.