No, this recipe is very definitely not culturally correct. So before people go shooting me down in flames for it not being X, Y or Z, please note that I make no claim that it is correct for a Biryani. In fact, I think it is probably closer to a Pilaff, but as "Biryani" is what we've been calling it for years, that's what it shall stay.
So, having said that, if you've ever made my Kedgeree you'll no doubt notice similarities in the way the making of this recipe is approached. It's basically a chicken Kedgeree with just a few differences.
Incidentally, it's worth noting that if you've got the other half of a roasted chicken with no job to do - it works very well in this recipe. Just add the chicken after the curry paste & spices and don't bash it about with a wooden spoon too much, to keep the pieces whole.
Oh, and prawns work well here too! If they're defrosted ex-frozen prawns, make sure to squeeze them between two sheets of kitchen paper to remove any excess water, then add them just before the rice etc. Just give them time enough to heat through but no longer and they won't turn all hard and rubbery.
As you can see, I served ours with a few Indian style snacks from the supermarket - samosas, pakoras and bhajis. This recipe has always worked well for us as a midweek dinner, I hope it can do the same for you!
QUICK CHICKEN BIRYANI (serves 4)
Ingredients :
4 eggs
1 tbsp coconut oil (groundnut oil works well here too)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped (remove the seeds if you want)
pinch of sea salt
pinch of black pepper
half a tsp of ground cinnamon
25g salted butter
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced small
2 tbsp Patak's korma curry paste
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
200ml hot water
2 tbsp flaked almonds
1 tbsp sultanas
1 flat tsp turmeric
250g cooked white basmati rice, hot
1 large tbsp fresh coriander, chopped - saving some for garnish.
Method :
Place the eggs into a pan of boiling water and cook until hard boiled. Set aside in cold water, to prevent the yolk turning grey around the outside.
Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add the onion, garlic and red chilli. Cook on a moderate heat until the onion is softened, transparent and just beginning to caramelise. Part way through the cooking, add the sea salt, black pepper and cinnamon.
Add the butter and allow it to melt, then turn up the heat to maximum and add the sliced raw chicken. Cook, stirring to prevent the onions and garlic from burning, until the chicken is all opaque and no pink areas are left.
Add the curry paste, ground coriander and garam masala and stir through. Cook on a moderate heat, again stirring to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pan, until the curry paste has released its oils. This should take around 4-5 minutes.
Add the hot water and stir through, creating a thick curry sauce. Now you will need to keep a close eye on the consistency until you combine it with the cooked rice and add a tiny amount of water each time it appears to be becoming too dry.
Add the flaked almonds and sultanas and cook on, gently simmering, for another 10-15 minutes, during which time you can peel the hard boiled eggs and quarter them.
Add the turmeric, cooked rice and three quarters of the chopped fresh coriander and stir through.
Serve onto warmed plates, with a quartered hard boiled egg on top and a sprinkle of fresh chopped coriander over everything. If you like that kind of thing, Mango chutney goes well by the side.
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Aaah, Kedgeree. If ever there was a recipe that puts a smile on everyone's faces, it's that. We're all very keen on anything that involves curry - and a Kedgeree that doesn't involve curry just isn't a Kedgeree, in my book. Of course, there is the added bonus of it also involving smoked fish - and as we all love fish and especially smoked fish, then it is a given that we're going to love Kedgeree.
In fact, it is my ambition to one day have Kedgeree for breakfast. I can't help but think that we'd have to go out tramping across the moors, wearing tweed and muttering about the damned beaters afterwards in order to justify the investment.
I have a very definite preferred type of Kedgeree, too. I've been making Kedgeree for what amounts to donkey's years now and have changed the recipe quite considerably from the days when I would poach the fish in milk, add turmeric to the rice cooking water and so on. These days, my recipe is fine tuned and designed to not lose even the tiniest iota of flavour. Today's Kedgeree is a fairly dry concoction of delicious flavours that guarantees clear plates at the end of the meal. In fact, I now know the recipe so well that this is the first time I've written it down!
29 July 2016
I'm still cooking Kedgeree and it's still one of our family's very favourite meals. I have taken the opportunity to edit the recipe slightly - for the better, I feel. I haven't changed an awful lot, just slightly altered the order of cooking and added some garam masala, so don't worry, it's still the same yummy Kedgeree and still easy peasy to cook.
KEDGEREE (feeds 3-4)
Ingredients :
2 eggs
Basmati rice : 1 cupful per person, plus half a cupful
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
a pinch of sea salt
a pinch of black pepper
half a tsp ground cinnamon
20-30g salted butter
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
a flat tsp ground coriander
a half a tsp ground turmeric
3 rounded dessertspoons of Korma curry paste
150ml warm water
400g smoked haddock or cod, skinned and cut into sections
half a tsp garam masala
a tablespoonful of fresh coriander, chopped.
Method :
Place a small saucepan of water on to boil. When boiling, gently add the eggs and boil for some 8-10 minutes, until hard boiled. Drain and refill the pan with cold water. Set aside.
Fill a large saucepan with water, add a little salt and bring to a boil.
Place the rice into a sieve and rinse under hot water until the water runs clear. Leave in the sieve to drain, in a colander.
In a large frying pan, heat the groundnut oil and add the onion and garlic along with the cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper and fry on a slow heat until the onion is softened and beginning to brown (around 10-15 minutes). Make sure to not let the garlic burn.
Add the butter and mushrooms and continue to cook until the butter has melted and the mushrooms have softened slightly.
The water for the rice should be boiling by now, so add the drained rice and cook until the rice is cooked through, but don't let it become too soft. It needs to retain some "bite". Once cooked, drain and replace into the hot saucepan until required.
To the vegetables, add the curry paste, ground coriander and ground turmeric and cook for some 5 minutes or so, stirring so as not to let it burn. Add the water and stir through to create a thick sauce.
Reduce the heat under the pan and add the fish and cover while it gently cooks. If the curry mixture has become a little dry, add a little more water.
Meanwhile, shell the boiled eggs and separate the yolks from the white. Chop the white finely - I usually mash it with a fork.
Slightly before the fish is entirely cooked through, roughly flake into large pieces. Add the garam masala, egg white, chopped coriander and drained, hot rice. Stir everything through with a fork, using as few mixing strokes as possible in order to avoid breaking up the rice.
Serve onto hot plates and sprinkle each serving with the crushed egg yolk.
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