Kaalu Uppittu - Broken Rice And Field Beans Upma

KAALU UPPITTU 

Once again it is Kaalu season! The  Kaalu obsession has taken over the  fanatics and  we love to exploit its flavour  in as many dishes as possible till the season lasts. I always wonder about how this simple and shiny green  bean is capable of lending a magical  aroma to any and every dish it touches! Even a simple straight forward Akki Uppittu is elevated to a  star status when a handful of  Kaalu is thrown in while cooking!

  

INGREDIENTS 

Raw rice - 1 cup 
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp 
Field beans / Kaalu ( cooked till tender but not mushy) - 3/4 cup 
Fresh grated coconut - 4 tbsps 
Salt - 1 tsp 
Sesame oil - 3 tbsps 
Mustard seeds - 1 pinch 
Black gram dal - 1 tsp 
Bengal gram dal - 1 tsp 
Broken red chillies - 3 
Asafoetida - 1 pinch 
Curry leaves - a few 

METHOD 

1. Dry grind raw rice using a mixer till it resembles Semolina. 
2. Add the cumin seeds and run the mixer for another 10 seconds. 
3. Heat the sesame oil in a heavy bottomed pan or kadai. 
4. Add mustard seeds. 
5. When the mustard seeds splutter add both the dals and fry till they turn golden in colour. 
6. Add broken red chillies, lower the heat and roast till the chillies become crisp. 
7. Add asafoetida followed by curry leaves and the cooked field beans.
8. Saute for two minutes and then add three cups of water, fresh coconut gratings, and salt to the seasoning and increase flame. 

9. When the water starts boiling, gently add the broken rice and cumin seeds mixture.

 

10. Keep stirring till the broken rice is cooked and all the water is absorbed. 

11. When the cooked Kaalu Uppittu comes together reduce flame and cover it with a lid. 
12. Switch off flame when it is thoroughly done.

Enjoy the flavoursome Kaalu Uppittu as it is, or with any pickle of your choice, and a cup of thick curd.

Mom’s Chicken Biriyani

By mid-December, I feel deeply vexed by the commercialism that threatens to swallow up Christmas. To cope, I meditate on places that are deeply meaningful to me: my parent’s kitchen, a friend’s comfy couch, a peaceful aisle at the public library. I also ponder places beyond my reach. High on that list is my grandma Amachi’s prayer room. 



Counting all the family trips we took to India and the one time she visited the states, I spent a year with Amachi at most. She was a boxy woman with soft, doughy cheeks. When anyone leaned in for a kiss, she gently inhaled as if trying to breath in their essence. Like other women of her generation, Amachi fastened her hair in bun and wore a white chatta and mundu which seemed to glow when she moved about her kitchen and other dimly-lit spaces.



Since Amachi never learned English and I spoke Malayalum like a toddler (‘patti’ (dog), ‘poocha’ (cat), ‘kozhi’ (chicken)) our communication rarely involved words. We pantomimed. We nodded. We laughed. We frowned. 



During our trips, I came to know Amachi best by observing her gentle, rhythmic ways in the kitchen and watching her undetected in the prayer room. By mid-afternoon, she began boiling water for tiffin. Around 4 p.m., she covered a section of the expansive table she had used to nourish 14 children with perfectly steamed plantains, unda rolled from avalose podi, and hot, milky tea. Even now, when I eat a ripe plantain I think of the safety of her kitchen
.


Amachi’s prayer room was the size of a walk-in closet. It had a Syrian Christian cross (with curly ends) and a large statute of Mother Mary with the Christ child, arms open wide. On occasion, I walked by it at night, having misplaced a book or a hairbrush. In shadowy light, produced by the bouncing of candles, I would see Amachi’s outline: head bowed, hands clasps, lips moving in prayer. 



Mom's Chicken Biriyani

Serves 6 to 8

Biriyani is a richly-flavored Muslim dish commonly prepared with lamb or mutton in Kerala. We always serve it at Christmas (swapping in chicken) and for other meaningful occasions. The ingredient list is admittedly long, but friends that’s what it takes to eat like a Mughal Empress.



For rice:

½ cup butter
10 cardamom pods
10 cloves
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cups basmati rice
4 cups water
Pinch saffron
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt

For chicken:

3 tablespoons coriander
1 tablespoon fennel
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
8 cardamom pods
10 cloves
3 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2½ teaspoon minced ginger
1 medium jalapeno, cut in half lengthwise
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
¾ cup chopped tomatoes
1 pound chicken, preferably bone-in
3 tablespoons yogurt
1/3 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice

For garnish:

3 tablespoons butter
½ cup thinly sliced onions
¼ cup roughly chopped cashew nuts
3 tablespoons raisons

INSTRUCTIONS

For rice:

Soak rice in water for 30 minutes. Rinse until water becomes clear. Drain. 

Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Add cardamom pods, cloves, and cinnamon. Cook for 1 minute.

Stir in onions and cook until they just begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. 

Add rice and stir to coat it with butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until rice granules separate and begin to look opaque.

Add water, lemon juice, salt, and saffron, pinching it to release its essential oils. Stir. Bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until rice is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Do not stir rice while it is cooking. 

For chicken:

Blend coriander, fennel, turmeric, cardamom pods, and cloves in a spice grinder.

Place onions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, cinnamon, tomatoes, chicken, yogurt, water, salt, lemon juice, and ground spices in in medium-sized stockpot or a Dutch oven. Stir together. 

Cover and cook on medium-low heat until chicken flakes when pulled with a fork, about 20 to 25 minutes. If there is more than 1/3 cup of gravy, remove chicken and reduce it to 1/3 cup. 

For garnish:

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. 

When it melts, add onions and cook until they begin to caramelize. Transfer to a bowl. 

Melt the remaining tablespoon butter and add cashews and raisons. Cook until cashews turn golden, stirring frequently.

You’re almost there (!):

Place a layer of rice in a large casserole dish (or one medium-sized casserole dish and a small casserole dish). Remove cardamom pods, cloves, and cinnamon stick. 

Top with a layer of chicken. 

Add another layer of rice, removing the rest of the cardamom pods and cloves. 

Add another layer of chicken.

Top with cashews, raisons, and onions. 

Bake at 400 degrees for an hour. 

Serve with cucumber tomato salad and lentil wafers.

Thaalagam - Winter Vegetables In A Spicy Gravy

THAALAGAM

It is late December and the Kaalu frenzy has started! Here Kaalu/ field beans mingles with other winter vegetables and transforms into a delicious and flavoursome dish called Thaalagam.

Thaalagam is another version of Yezhu Kari Koottu which is prepared along with Thiruvaadirai Kali.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE THAALAGAM POWDER

Sesame seeds - 4 tbsps

Split Black gram dal - 4 tbsps

Raw rice - 2 tsps

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp 

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Red chillies - 8

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Fresh grated coconut OR Dry coconut(Copra) gratings - 4 tbsps

TO MAKE THE THAALAGAM POWDER

1.Dry roast sesame seeds in a pan and remove it into a dry plate.

2. Heat a drop of oil in the same pan and add split black gram dal, rice, fenugreek seeds, pepper and red chillies.

3.Roast till golden in colour and add asafoetida.

4. Remove the roasted ingredients on to a plate when you get a pleasant aroma.

5. Add fresh coconut gratings to the same pan and roast on low flame till golden in colour.

( Dry coconut and sesame seeds are a flavoursome combination. If you are using copra instead of fresh coconut gratings, there is no need to roast the same.)

6. Cool the roasted ingredients and grind with roasted coconut gratings / copra into a moderately smooth powder.

OTHER INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THAALAGAM

Pumpkin - 1/4 kg

Field beans / kaalu - 2 cups

Broad beans/ Avarakkai( Chopped ) - 2 cups

Choyate / Chowchow ( peeled and chopped ) - 2 cups

Carrots ( peeled and chopped ) - 2 cups

Baby eggplants - 12

Taro - 12

Tamarind - The size of a plum

Powdered jaggery (Optional) - 1/4 tsp.

Salt - 2 tsps

Turmeric powder - 1 pinch

Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - a few.

TO MAKE THAALAGAM

1. Wash, peel and chop Pumpkin, Carrots and Choyate into big cubes.

2. String the Flat beans and chop them.

3. Remove the stalk and slit the Eggplants lengthwise into four taking care not to separate them at the bottom.

4. Wash and cook Taro till done, peel and dice into thick pieces.

5. Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the juice and keep aside.

6. Wash Kaalu and cook with Carrots with enough water.

7. When half done add Choyate and Flat beans and continue to cook adding more water if necessary.

8. After a while add the Pumpkin and the Eggplants.

9. When the Pumpkin is half done add tamarind juice, salt, turmeric powder and jaggery if you are using it.

10. Cook till all the vegetables are done and then add the cooked and diced Taro. Do not allow the vegetables to become mushy.

11. Mix Thaalagam powder with little water and blend the paste into the vegetables.

12. Switch off flame when the Thaalagam thickens.

13. Heat sesame oil splutter the mustard seeds and add the curry leaves.

14. Pour the seasoning over the Thaalagam.

Enjoy the delicious and flavoursome Thaalagam with Thiruvaadirai Kali after offering them to Lord Shiva.