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Potpourri of flavours

This Sunday, try the mildly spicy Erra Biriyani or the sweet and chilled Vennai puttu

EASY TO MAKE, GOOD TO EAT Erra Biriyani and Vennai Puttu PHOTOS: T. SINGARAVELOU

Erra biriyani is easy-to-make, light and tasty. The blend of prawns, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and coriander could leave you asking for more. This dish is made in many Pondicherry homes on Sundays. Few spices are used in it and it is usually served with vengaya pachadi.

Erra biriyani

Serve 6 to 8
Time 1 hour
Ingredients
Big prawns - 2 kg, shelled
Basmati rice - old harvest - 1kg
Onions - 3 big, cut fine
Green chillies - 6, slit
Yoghurt - half kg
Ginger-garlic paste - 3 tbsp
Oil (Sanola gold oil) - 200 ml*
Cardamom - 3
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - one big piece
Bay leaf - half a leaf
Coriander leaves - 3 tbsp
Mint leaves - 15
Tomatoes - 2, cut into halves
Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Salt

Water - 2 litres

* You can use ghee instead of oil but it makes the dish heavier.

Method

In a deep frying pan, heat oil, add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and let the spices splutter for three minutes. Add onions and fry till golden. Add ginger-garlic paste, fry till golden. Add tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are soft. Add chilly powder and salt. Add prawns. Cook for five minutes. Can be cooked the previous day, in fact the biriyani tastes better that way.

The day you make the biriyani, wash and soak Basmati rice in water for half an hour.

Transfer the prawns and the sauce into a big pan, add yoghurt, bring to a boil, add coriander and mint leaves, (strain water from rice) add rice and cook on high flame. Do not cover the pan. Do not stir.

The rice has to remain on top of the prawns. Let the liquid get absorbed. When there is little left, reduce the flame and cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.

Place on top of the covered pan another pan containing piping hot water for the effect of dhum.

The erra biriyani is ready to be served piping hot and tastes well with vengaya pachadi.

Vennai puttu

This is a favourite in many homes in Pondicherry, made generally during the weekends. Quite easy to make, this sweet is generally made the previous day and refrigerated and served for breakfast. The flavoursome combination of coconut milk, raisins, cashew nuts, ghee and cream of rice is excellent. Make this dish, your family will just love it.

Serve 6

Time 1 hour

Raw rice (old harvest Ponni) - quarter kg
Coconut - 1, scrapped
Sugar - 300 gm
Cardamom - 6, powdered
Raisins - 200 gm*
Cashew nuts - 200 gm*
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Water -1 litre, for soaking rice
Water - 300ml, for coconut milk.
* Roast in ghee

Grate coconut, put it in a mixer and run it with 100 ml of water. Strain the liquid for the first milk. Keep aside. Repeat, for the second and third milk with 100 ml of water each time.

Soak rice for one hour; grind it in a fine, thick paste. Add little water. Mix the second and third milk to the paste. It should have the consistency of a thick batter. Cook on high flame stirring all the while. Once the mixture is cooked, add first milk and keep stirring, add cardamom, cashew and raisins.

Grease two plates with ghee and pour the paste. Let it cool and refrigerate over night.

KETHARI SRIVANJIAM

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