One of the star delicacies in Kerala cuisine is the Thalassery biriyani which is favoured for its subtle aromatic taste. During our recent Kerala visit we got to savour this masterpiece at celebrated home chef Abida Rasheed's house. Because of her authority on the Mappila cuisine, she is hailed as the 'Queen of Mappila cuisine. ' During this interaction, we got to witness the simple yet masterful preparation of a home style Thalassery biryani, which Chef Abida says is a special dish that brings the family together. Unlike the elaborate traditional process, Abida Rasheed's simple Thalassery biryani home recipe can be perfected easily over gas too.
The mise en place was all laid out on the kitchen counter. She started by introducing us to the star of the Thalassery biryani which is the aromatic short grain kaima or jeera kashala rice. It's this native grain that lends a distinct delightful flavour to the biryani. In a big copper vessel, she first adds some ghee and oil. Next goes a good amount of roughly sliced onions. She is very particular about the traditional vessels like copper and earthenware. For her the key to perfect a biryani, especially a subtle one like the Thalassery biryani is great patience and attention.
Next she adds the chicken pieces obtained from young chicken as that gives the best flavour. This is followed by salt and freshly crushed ginger, garlic and chillies. After 7-8 mins of cooking, curd and tomatoes are added to the chicken. As the chicken was getting ready Abida gave us an overview of the cuisine of her community, which is the Mappila cuisine.
Islam found its way to Kerala through trade and commerce and Muslim merchants voyaged all the way from the Arab to the Malabar Coast for the purpose. Here they traded in pepper, cardamom and coconut oil and as the trade got consolidated they eventually began to settle in Kerala and married into local families and thus got the name Mappila. Next she deep fried some more sliced onions and nuts for using it in the layering of the biryani.
When the chicken was almost done, Abida added a small amount of her own garam masala to it. It is one of her curated Kerala spices powder range that she has passionately curated for the coming generations. This part led to an orientation about the spices of Kerala. When the chicken was ready she put the soaked kaima rice to boil along with whole spices. This was allowed to cook till 80 percent. When ready the water was drained and the rice was layered over the chicken curry. She then added some more garam masala on top, sealed the vessel with foil and left it on slow flame for 10 mins. From the aroma wafting all through the kitchen we anticipated that the biryani is almost ready but is only an expert who can pin point it completion.
Finally it was time to taste the classic dish and we must confess that from the first morsel itself we were bowled us over by the simplicity of the dish. It was a unique simple looking biryani with minimal colours compared to the biryanis that hail from northern parts of country. We will always cherish the taste of this subtle biryani which needs no accompaniments. Heartfelt thanks to Abida for such an enriching and magical Thalassery biryani experience that we will cherish for long.
Follow Abida Rasheed at
www.abidarasheed.com/
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www.youtube.com/@abidarasheed...
About the host:
anubhavsapra.com/
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Text by Swetaleena Nayak