Fragrant Ghee Rice with Raita and Relish — Neychoru with Kachumber and Ulli Surka

A mug of tea is steaming at my elbow and I’m staring at the screen for a good opening. I've been scratching my head for a catchy jingle in vain. Admittedly, it is moments like this that I wish I were more articulate. I wish I had completed my masters in English language and literature. I wish I had pursued my interest in creative writing. I wish —— this is crazy, I’m no good at this. I know. So let me go straight to the recipe and save the chitchat for a better time. Be warned, I got carried away and snapped way too many pictures. Again.

Malabar ghee rice, or neychoru as we call it, is a staple dish of the Kerala Muslim community. It is on our table for a special occasion meal and it saves the day when we are entertaining and don’t have time to make the much elaborate biryani. In fact, served with a spicy meat curry and raita it makes an easy and delicious idea for lunch or dinner.

I like to use extra long grain, fragrant, Indian basmati rice for preparing ghee rice and biryani. At the same time, I can guarantee that the dish tastes equally delicious with the short grain kaima rice. I had a cook from Kozhikode who used to make the best neychoru and biryani with kaima rice—she’s the one who introduced me to this variety of rice. The dry spices are infused in hot ghee and steamed together with the grains in a closed pan—the result is a delicious, aromatic flavor. As a rule of thumb, for closed pan cooking, use 2 (plus a bit more) parts water to one part rice. Also, feel free to use more dollops of ghee, if you are not watching your waist, for a divine taste.

Fragrant Ghee Rice — Neychoru

Ingredients

2 cups basmati rice

4 ½ cups hot water

2 tablespoon ghee (or butter) and 2 tablespoon oil, combined

6 cardamom pods, slightly crushed

4 x 1 ½ -inch cinnamon sticks

1 bay leaf

6 cloves

1 onion, halved and finely sliced

2 large mint leaves

salt, to taste

For garnish

2 tablespoon ghee

¼ cup cashew nuts

¼ cup sultanas (golden raisin)

1 onion, halved and finely sliced

Directions

Rinse the rice in several changes of water to remove the excess starch. Soak in cold water for a minimum of 20 minutes; drain.

Melt the butter-oil mixture in a large saucepan over medium heat. Don't overheat as the spices and onion may scorch in the fat and the rice will lose its whiteness. Add spices to saucepan; cook and stir about 30 seconds or until aromatic. Throw in onions and cook, stirring gently, until soft and transparent but not browned, about 10 minutes. Then stir in rice and gently toss for 2-3 minutes or until the edges turn translucent. Add water, mint leaves and salt; bring to boil. (Remember that water should taste a bit salty than normal). Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 12 minutes until rice is done and studded with steam holes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Then remove lid, let rice sit for 3 minutes to lose the wet texture and dry up. Gently fluff grains with a fork and remove and discard the bay leaf and mint leaves.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat 2 tablespoon ghee over medium-low heat. Gently stir-fry the sultanas until they plum up; remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add cashews; cook and stir until golden brown. Remove cashews with a slotted spoon, set aside. Now add the onions and stir-fry until they turn crisp and golden brown, taking care not to burn them. Feel free to add extra fat to speed up the frying. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Reserve a few for garnish and mix the rest of the cashews and raisins with the rice. Serve hot topped with the fried onions, cashew and raisins. Kerala pappadams (crispy thin Indian flat bread), kachumber (raita) or ulli surka (onion and tomato relish), meat curry and parippu curry (lentil curry) are perfect complements to the ghee rice. Enjoy!

Onion and Tomato Relish — Ulli Surka

Ingredients

1 medium red onion, finely sliced

½  medium tomato, finely sliced

1-2 small green chilies, sliced

3 tablespoon vinegar

4 tablespoon water

salt, to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients with your fingers, crushing the chilies as you do. Chill for an hour or two until the color of the onion runs into the vinegar mixture.

Yogurt Dish with Chopped Vegetables — Raita or Kachumber

Ingredients

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

¼ red onion, diced

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 medium green chili, sliced

2 cups plain yogurt

salt, to taste

pinch red chili powder, for garnish

Directions

Whisk the yogurt and salt together until smooth, and then thrown in the diced vegetables and mix well. Scrape into a serving bowl and chill for 1 hour before serving. Serve sprinkled with a pinch of chili powder, if you like.