THE FISHY STORY ---BIG BOSS MADRAS BIRYANI.
The very word Biryani, conjures a heady mixture of exotic spices, aromatic rice cooking, with fragrant smells which leaves one salivating. The Madras biryani is just that combining flavors of Dindigul, Madurai and Arcot.
Legends and ancient scriptures speak of, ambrosia fare, meant as an offering to the gods, made of the five elements and special elements from the three worlds. In modern times, Biryani is likened to it and has been adorned, with all the subtleties and intensity of all the spices, the richness of ghee and the elegance of basmati/jeera samba rice fused with, meat/seafood/vegetables. One of the most desired among all food, it has all the hard work and creativity of the 18th century, Muslim ruler’s ,cooks, who witnessed ,learnt the craft of biryani making and carried it to different corners of India. Each biryani was transformed infused with local flavors added and thus Madras/Chennai a city of seafood, could tell a 'Meen' Fishy story, through a biryani. .
Like the making of Biryani a recent, popular TV reality show on TV has enough spicy ingredients to cook up one of the most exotic Madras Biryani, using human emotions, behavior, acting skills and the talent and ingenuity of the channel and presenter .Kamalhassan. He is, the main ingredient in this spicy tale, called’ Big Boss season 3’ The mesmerizing voice of Big Boss, who remains a mystery, brings life and wit to what would seem a” Peeping Toms tale “. The voice of big boss, earthy, clear, and rich adds weight to the dish. The contestants with their individual personality, emotions, some falsehood, some truth, proffessional acting and overactive tear ducts, would put a sob story to shame. The whole show ,is keen competition for the spicy Tamil Madras, Biryani. From Vanitha to Mira, Gavin Sakshi Losiya triangle, to the young man Dharsan’s romance with the, much older Shirin, The loud judgmental Madhumitha to the insecure Abbhi, The double dealing Reshma to the witty Sarvanan, Talented Cheran to innocent Mugen, and the most entertaining Sandy, each add to the taste and flavor of this Tamil Masala show, which telecasts, every night to packed audiences, including famous stars like Surya and Jyotika. .
Knowing Kamal Personally and having interacted with him, in his troubled time, during, the late eighties, I see a mature and wise Kamal,now, answering and asking the right questions to set things going on the right foot. One of his favorite dishes, on sets, those days, used to be a good fishy biryani and so too, the mysterious Big boss’s.
When asked about their favorite dish, most of the contestants of this show chose a biryani and many, our very own special Madras biryani, as their favorite dish.
Biryani is either derived from the Persian word ‘birinj’ which means rice or from a Persian word ‘beryan’ which means fried. In Tamil Nadu, besides the Madras biryani, you have the Ranipet Biryani and the Dindigul Curry Biryani (which was painstakingly prepared for President Bill Clinton when he visited India.
The seeraga samba rice used in Madras biryani absorbs all the flavors of the ingredients and each, grain of rice is uniformly marinated in the masalas. And since the fish added to the biryani is always more than the quantity of rice, the seeraga samba soaks in the taste of all the spices and flavors of the fish.
Biryani recipes are no doubt age-old and the method of preparation too is. The biryani is always slow-cooked,best over firewood. Once the rice is semi-cooked, it is transferred to the dum style — hot coal is placed on the lid of the vessel so that heat spreads evenly on all sides; the fish inside becomes melting soft and succulent and the grains of rice stay separate.
Presenting the Big Boss’s Fishy story
Recipe Madras Fish Biryani.
Preparation time ---20 min.
Cooking time ---45 min.
Serves ----5
Calories per serving ---396cl.
INGREDIENTS:
1. Jeera/samba Rice - 3/4 kilogram
2. Fish (big pieces) - 1 kilogram
3. Egg - 2
4. Thinly slice chopped Onion - 4
5. Chopped Tomato - 3
6. Slit Green chili - 6
7. Chopped Mint leaf – 20 or ¾ cup.
8. Chopped Coriander leaf - 20 or ¾ cup.
9. Ginger garlic paste - 3 tsp.
10 Red chilies roasted and powdered - 2 tsp
10. Lemon juice - from 1 big lime.
11. Curd or yogurt - 1/2 cup
12. Rose water - 1 (tsp.)
13. Black pepper powder - 1 tsp.
14. Cumin pepper powder – 1 tsp.
15. Turmeric powder - 1/2 (tsp.)
16. Fennel powder - 1/2 (tsp.)
17. Biryani masala powder[fennel seeds, coriander, mace, javitri, big and small cardamom, cloves, poppy seeds,2 red chilies, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon stick all ¼ cupful, roasted separately and powdered together - 2 teaspoon (tsp.)
18. Tomato paste - 2 (tsp.)
19. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
20. Clove - 2
21. Cardamom - 4
22. Oil – ¼ cup.
23. Pure ghee ---1/4 cup.
24. Salt - as needed.
25. Ready Atta for sealing and some hot coals.
26. Kesar essence ---1 tsp.
27. Cashew nuts---8 cut into strips.
PREPARATION:
1. -- Preparing the fish--
1. Marinate the fish with 1/2 teaspoon (tsp.) of turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon (tsp.) of chili powder, egg, salt as needed.
2. Fry the fish both side so it's cooked 3/4.
2. -- Preparing the rice--
1. Soak the rice in water for 15 minutes, drain the water and keep it aside.
2. Heat water as needed in a pan; add half ghee, cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom, and salt as needed.
3. Once the water starts to boil, add the soaked rice and cook until it is 3/4th cooked.
3. In a heavy bottom kadhai, heat oil and remaining ghee. Now add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and sauté for 1 minute.
4. Now add onion and sauté on medium flame, until the onion turns translucent (golden brown).
5. Now add ginger garlic paste, mint leaves and sauté until raw smell is gone and it turns brownish.
6. Now add biryani masala powder, chili powder and sauté for 2 -3 minutes.
7. Now add tomato and sauté until oil separates.
8. Now add black pepper powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder, yogurt or curd, tomato paste, rose water, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of water mix well and bring to boil and boil for 2 minutes.
9. Now add the 3/4th cooked rice to the boiling curry and mix well.
10. Place the fish on top of the rice. Cover with a lid; simmer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes and serve.
11. Imp curry should be at right thickness (this is the tricky part) so when add rice, it should not be watery but a thick paste.
12. Now add the fish pieces on top, pour a tsp of kesar essence.
13. Place a lid on the tava, seal it with Atta, places it on a thick iron tava and cook on simmer for 10 mins.you can place a few hot coals on the lid.
14. Fry the cashew nuts in a little ghee separately.
15. Open the kadhai and pour cashew nuts over it.
16. Sprinkle coriander leaves and serve hot with a raita as side dish.
Kitchen tips.
1. Get top-quality ingredients. ...
2. Never overcook the rice. ...
3. Use saffron for a dash of color
Chef ramaa shanker aiyer.
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