Briyani is life

Hye there! Today i decided to share about one of my favourite food. It is non other than BRIYANI. Briyani also known as ¨spicy rice¨, is a South Asian mixed rice dish of the Indian subcontinent. It is popular throughout the Indian subcontinent and among the diaspora from the region. It is made with spices, rice and meat (chicken, mutton, beef, prawn, or fish) or egg is also added. In Malaysia it is popular with the name like nasi beriani, nasi biryani, nasi briani. Usually this 'nasi briyani' will be served at wedding reception. The main ingredients of "nasi briyani" include spices and condiments such as ghee, nutmeg, mace, cumin, pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bat leaves, coriander, mint leaves, ginger, onions and garlic. Most nasi biryani dishes are served with dahi chutney, korma, curry, a dish of eggplant, boiled egg, salad and also " Achar" (a pickled combination of cucumber, onions, red chilies and pineapple). I also would like to share about the simple briyani recipe to you guys so that you can try it out at your home.

Ingredients

 1 cup basmati rice

1⅓ cup water

½ cup coconut milk

1 onion

1 carrot

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp. minced ginger

½ tsp. turmeric powder

¼ tsp. coriander seeds

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

2 cardamom pods

1½ tsp. coarse salt

¼ tsp. pandan leaf extract

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

For the toppings:

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup toasted cashew nuts

1 small fried shallot

Directions:

Start by soaking the rice in 1⅓ cup of water and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Slice onion and carrot into thin strips.

In a pot, cook the onions and carrots along with 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil on a low heat until the carrots are soft and onions are translucent. This will take about three to four minutes. Once the onions and carrots are cooked, turn the heat up to high and toss in the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, coriander seeds and star anise, along with the remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil. Cook for one minute or until you can smell the fragrance from all of the spices. If you don’t have whole spices, you can substitute each with ⅛ tsp. ground spice.

Stir in the coconut milk and the soaked rice, along with all of the soaking water and turmeric powder. Cook until it comes to a simmer. Stir in the pandan leaf extract and cover the pot. Turn the heat down to low and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes. If you can find fresh pandan leaves, you can just tie two leaves into a knot and place it in the pot instead. For those who are not familiar with pandan leaf, it is a tropical plant that is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. It’s got a very unique, almost creamy and sweet flavor. You can find the extract in Southeast Asian grocery stores or online. However, if you want to skip this step, that’s fine too. I have made this dish without the pandan in the past and it still tastes very delicious with all the spices and coconut milk. But the pandan leaf is what will give it the unique Malaysian taste.

While you are waiting for the rice to be cooked, you can prep the toppings. Lightly toast the cashew nuts in the toaster oven or on the stove top until it’s brown. To fry the shallots, slice them into thin rings. Fry the shallot on medium high heat with 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil until it’s brown and crispy (about 1-2 minutes).

Once the rice is cooked, toss in the raisins and fluff the rice very gently. Cover the rice up again and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the raisins to infuse with the rice. After that, sprinkle the fried shallots and cashew nuts on top of the rice and serve.

This is just my version of briyani which is the simplest way to cook. You also have this briyani with chicken sambal and mutton curry.