Preparation Time : 30 minutes
Cooking Time : 50 minutes
Serving : 3 to 4 members
Description
An authentic dish very own to my in – laws place . This dish is actually made by Sri lankan Muslims . Sri Lankan dish made at my in – laws place ???? well my hubby’s grand father ( dad’s dad )established our current business from Colombo in Sri Lanka . I guess that’s how this dish might have landed up at my in laws place. My hubby’s fore father were in Burma as well. Think they followed the chettier community back then to go aboard to make money. This has helped to add a lot of Sri Lankan Muslim cuisine into my in laws place. iddiappam biriyani is a light yet fragrant and delicious dish apt to be packed for a picnic or take away while traveling. When ever you try out this recipe make plenty as they will be devoured in no time. Visited my hubby’s cousin sister Fathima at Colombo on a Holiday . We were invited to a relatives place where there were quite a lot of people but no sign of any arrangements being made for the dinner. Suddenly they spread huge spreads on the floor followed with huge round circle trays ( thalas as we call in Tamil ) with iddiappam biriyani piled like a mountain accompanied with chicken 65 and onion raitha beside . They placed these round Tray’s all around the floor spread leaving some gap between each round tray . I was blinking not knowing what is going on. All the guests started sitting around each round tray (5 people around one tray) and started eating . Only then did i know this method of having food is know as SAHAN SAPPADU which is practiced by the Arabs to share the brotherhood between muslims and feel all are equal. It was fun to grab your bit from the huge tray. The best part was the refilling was being done every 5 minutes once.
Ingredients
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Chicken | 1/2 kg cut into small pieces |
| Onions | 6 big sliced |
| Tomato | 4 big chopped |
| Green chillies | 15 slit |
| Coriander leaves | one hand chopped |
| Mint leaves | one hand |
| Ghee | 100 grams |
| Cinnamon | 1 inch piece , clove - 4 |
| Cardamom | 4 |
| Ginger garlic paste | 1 teaspoon each |
| Curd | 1 cup |
| Turmeric powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Chilli powder | 1 /2 teaspoon |
| Salt | to taste |
| Lime juice | 1 lime |
| Coconut | 1/4 cup grated , cashew nuts -10 , |
| Rose essence | 2 drops |
| Iddiappam | 15 to 20 |
Method
- Marinate chicken in curd, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt together and set aside .
- Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, top with cinnamon , cloves and cardamom . Once they crackle add the sliced onions and fry to brown for about 15 minutes . ( patience pays off ) add ginger and garlic paste and fry till they get crisp .
- Top with half of mint, tomatoes and green chillies and saute till it gets to a gravy consistency . Add the marinated chicken along with the coriander leaves and remaining mint leaves and toss well .
- Saute for 10 minutes till all the flavors infuse and let’s out its flavors . Pressure cook for one whistle adding 1 cup water .
- Grind coconut and cashew nuts together to a smooth paste and add it to the chicken gravy . Mix well adding lime juice and rose essence.
- Bring to boil, simmer till oil separates. Taste and adjust seasoning. The hotness , sourness and salt should be dominating and more than required only then when added to the iddiappam will it taste good .
- The chicken should be of a thick gravy make sure it’s not runny as the iddiapam’s might not take in all the gravy . Cool the gravy to room temperature . Reserve 5 iddiappams aside. Shred the remaining iddiappams and mix it with the chicken gravy .
- Once the iddiappams are mixed with the gravy it should have a little moisture stuck to the iddiappams as the iddiappams tend to suck in the moister as time passes by . You can add the reserved iddiappams if you feel the moister is too much . Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with onion Raitha ( Thayir chutney ) .
