Natu Kodi Pulao

Pulav/Pulao is a rice based dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth sauce which may contain chicken, meat, fish, vegetables or dried fruits. In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices. Basmati rice is often used to prepare Pulav. Rice and all ingredients can be cooked together in the broth or rice is par boiled, the vegetables/meat/chicken, is cooked in rich spices and then the rice is added to stir fry with them.

The origin of this dish is from Middle East and it is a vast speard dish across Asia. Due to this, there are lot of variations to the recipe and its name viz. Pilav, palov, pilaf etc. In India, it is commonly known as pulav/pulao and again there are lot of variations to it due to many regional & cultural influences. I've seen many restaurants in Bangalore serving Chicken Pulao in the name of Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biriyani and people relish it considering the dish served to them is actually Hyd Dum Biriyani.


Cooking Time:  40 mins                                                                             Servings:  8
Preparation Time:  20 mins                                                                       Category:  Main Course - Non Veg
 
Here is the recipe of Kodi Pulav

Ingredients:
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Natu Kodi Pulav, served with dalcha & raitha

Chicken (bone/boneless) - 500 gms
Basmati Rice - 1 Kg
Sliced Onions - 2
Sliced Green Chillies - 4
Fresh Yoghurt - 2 TBsps
Chopped Coriander - 1 bunch
Curry leaves - fistfull
Ginger & garlic paste - 2 TBsps
Red Chilli powder - 1 Tsps
Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsps
Salt - to taste
Garam Masala - 2 Tsps
Bay Leaves - 4 or 5
Ghee/Vegetable Oil - 2 TBsps


Preparation Method:
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• Wash chicken thoroughly and take it into a bowl. Similarly wash & soak rice into a separate bowl.
• Add half quantities of onions, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, salt (to taste for the quantity of chicken only), coriander & curry leaves and whole of red chilli, turmeric powders to chicken.
• Now add yoghurt and mix all the ingredients well. Let this marinade for 15 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat ghee/oil in a vessel. Add bay leaves & remaining half of onions, green chillies, curry leaves and saute them.
• When the onions turn golden brown add ginger garlic paste, chopped coriander, salt (we already added for chicken, so now add for rice only).
• Now add the marinated chicken to this, mix well and cook for 10 mins. Stir once in a while to avoid the spices sticking to the bottom of the vessel.
• Add 2 cups of water and let the dish simmer for 10 mins on medium flame or cook until it forms a thick gravy.
• Now add water again (One rice : One & half water), remaining garam masala powder. Give it a quick mix and let it come to a boil.
• Add the soaked rice in this sauce, gently mix it and close the vessel with a lid. Cook on high flame until the rice is half cooked.
• Lower the flame & close the vessel with a lid again until the rice is completely cooked. Turn of the stove.
• Serve Chicken pulav hot with a raitha & dalcha as side dishes.

Shrimp(Prawn) Biriyani - Hyderabadi Style

Cooking Time:        1 Hrs                             Servings:  6
Preparation Time:  2-3 Hrs                          Category: Non-Veg

Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word berya which means "fried" or "roasted". For a non-vegetarian biryani, the main ingredient that accompanies the spices is the meat—beef, chicken, goat, lamb, fish or shrimp. The dish may be served with dahi chutney or Raita, korma, curry, or boiled egg and salad.

One of the most famous varieties of Biryani in India is Hyderabadi biryani. It is savored in all parts of India and forms an integral part of Indian cuisine.The Nizam's kitchen boasted of 49 kinds, which included biryani made from fish, quail, shrimp, deer and hare. The most famous of all, Hyderabadi Biryani is called the "Kacchi Yeqni" Biryani as both the marinated meat and the rice are cooked together. Biryani had not been a widespread dish in the North India until recently. North India has been making variants of Pullao as traditional main course dish. I have been to many restaurants in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kerala and other parts of Tamil Nadu. People often mistake pullao as biryani in these places and I feel they are being cheated by some restaurants as they serve pullao instead of original biryani.
The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao may be made by cooking the items together, biryani is used to denote a dish where the rice (plain or fried) is cooked separately from the thick sauce (curry of meat or vegetables). The curry and the rice are then brought together and layered, resulting in a dish of the contrasting flavors of flavored rice (which is cooked separate with spices) and intensely flavored sauce and meat or vegetables.

Btw, during Ramzan season in 2006, Green Park hotel (at Begumpet, Hyderabad) served 92 kinds of biryani over a 30 day biryani festival. 

Now lets see the ingredients and method of preparation for Shrimp Biryani - Hyderabadi style.

Ingredients
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Shrimps - 750 gms medium sized

Prawn Biriyani

Basmati Rice - 750 gms (wash & soak it for 1 hr)
Cloves, dalchini, elalchi, shahi jeera, biryani flower, biryani pattha
Yogurt - 150 gms
Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1-2 table spoons
Red Chilly powder - 2 tea spoons
Salt to taste
Fried Onions Big - 2 (chop onions vertically and fry thems in ghee it they turn golden brown)
Green Chillies
Coriander (cilentro)
Mint leaves (Pudina)
Ghee - 2 table spoons
Lime juice - 2 tea spoons
Garam masala powder 

Marination
-------------
Wash shrimps in salt water and keep them aside in a vessel. Add 1 table spoon ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, lime juice, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt (only for the marination). Mix it well and keep it in refrigirator for 3-4 hours so that shrimps will absorb all the spices very well.

Preparation
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1) Take out the marination. Add 2-3 tea spoon besan, beat 2 eggs and mix it well.Adding these are optional.
2) Now fry these marinated shrimps in oil till they are properly cooked.
3) Take a vessel and add 1 ltr of water. To it add biryani flower, 3-4 cloves, 3-4 small dalchini sticks, biryani pattha and salt (this time for the rice). Add the soaked rice to this when the water starts to boil. Don't cook the rice completly. It should be 80% cooked. This is because we cook it again later with shrimp (DUM/steam). Filter out the rice and keep it aside.
4) Take a big vessel and add the oil in which shrimps were fried earlier. 1 table spoon of this oil is sufficient. Add few cloves, dalchini, elaichi (cardamom) and fry this masala. Now add the fried shrimps to it and cook it for 5 mins. Now add fried onions, 3-4 chopped green chillies, chopped coriander & mint leaves and 100 grms yogurt(dilute is with some water) and cook the shrimps for 5 more mins. Turn off the stove.
5) Now add the rice to it. Remember we need to make layers of rice, onions, mint & coriander leaves. So dont add all the rice at a time. We shall make a min of 3 layers. So one portion of rice at a time.
6) Add garam masala powder. This depends on taste. If you want the biryani to be spicy then add according to your taste. Ideally 1/2 tea spoon of the powder per layer is sufficient. Then add the chopped chilles (2-3), few fried onions, little chopped mint & coriander leaves. Similarly make another 2 layers with the remaining rices.
7) Once all the layers are done pour the remaining ghee over the top and sides.
8) Mix some saffron in 1/2cup milk and pour it over the top of the biryani mixture. This will give nice & rich color. This step is again optional.
9) Close the vessel and cook it for 10 mins on high flame and for another 15 mins on low flame and turn off the stove.
10) Make sure the steam doesnt come out from the vessel. Once the stove it turned off, do not open the vessel for another 30 mins. The entire biryani will be properly cooked in the steam within and the spices will be absorbed thoroughly.
11) Serve the biryani with curd raitha, chopped onions and lime :)

Biryani is not complete unless you have a dessert at the end of the meal. My personal favourite is Gulab Jamun. You can have any other also but I feel no other sweet will satisfy your taste buds as Gulab Jamun does with Biryani. Try it yourself :)