Halal Food Recipes: Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

A) Ground together to a fine paste
1 inch piece stick cinnamon
4 cardamoms
1 nutmeg

B) Ground together
1 medium-sized onion
½ cup ginger Ground
¼ cup garlic

C) Ground together and mixed with ½ cup water to form a paste
¼ cup cashew nuts
½ tsp chili powder
1 tbsp aniseed
½ tsp turmeric powder

D)
1 medium sized chicken - cut into 6 pieces
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 spray mint leaves
3 medium-sized onions - thinly sliced
3 screwpine leaves (pandan)
5 cups rice - half-cooked
250 gram ghee
1 cup tomato puree

Cooking Method:

In a large pan, put in the ghee and fry the onions lightly.
Add the ground spices, A. Fry for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes, chilies, pandan, mint and coriander leaves.
Fry for a few minutes and then put in the ground spices, B.
Fry for five minutes or until well-browned and then add the chicken and lower the heat.
Add the spices, C and the tomato puree and mix slowly.
When the chicken is cooked, add the half cooked rice and lower the heat to a minimum.
Cover with a couple of clean dish cloths and cook until the rice is well-done.
Serve immediately with curries or dhal and vegetables.

Hainan Chicken Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg whole chicken
2 cups long grain rice
14 shallots
12 pips garlic
½ inch long ginger
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
4 tbsp cooking oil
Ingredients for Chicken stock:
250 gm chicken bones
750 ml water
salt to taste

Ingredients for Chilli Sauce:

5 red chillies
4 pips garlic
1 lime
1 Tbsp sugar
½ inch long ginger
¼ tsp salt
Garnishing Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 tomato
1 sprig spring onion
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soya sauce

Preparation of Ingredients:

Boil chicken bones with water to obtain chicken stock. Add salt to taste.
Smash 8 shallots, 6 pips garlic and ginger.
Clean the chicken and stuff the inside with the smashed ingredients. Rub the skin with salt and pepper.
Finely slice the remaining shallots and chop the remaining garlic.
Pound red chillies, ginger and garlic together. Extract lime juice. Add lime juice, sugar and salt to the pounded ingredients. Set aside mixture.
Finely slice the cucumber and tomato.
Cut the spring onions into 2 cm lengths.
Mix the sesame oil and light soya sauce together.
Wash the rice grains.

Method:

Heat oil in wok. Fry the chopped garlic and sliced shallots until golden brown. Then add in the washed rice grains and continue to fry until fragrant.
Transfer the fried rice grains into a rice cooker. Add in the chicken stock and continue to cook until rice is done.

Steam the chicken in a wok or steamer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and cut into bite-size pieces.
Arrange the cucumber and tomato slices around the edge of a serving platter. Then place the chicken pieces in the centre of the same platter. Sprinkle the spring onions over the chicken and pour the mixed sesame oil and light soya sauce over it.
Serve chicken with the steamed rice and chilli sauce.

Nasi Lemak

Rice tends to be a staple food in Malaysia as in most countries in the region. The rice eaten in Malaysia tends to be the local variety of rice or fragrant rice from Thailand, its northern neighbour.

Nasi lemak is a popular breakfast dish in Malaysia. It is often sold packed in newspaper, brown paper or banana leaf. With roots in Malay culture, its name is a Malay word that literally means 'rice in fat'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in rich coconut cream.

INGREDIENTS :

2 cups rice

2 pandan leaves (tied in knot)

1 shallot - chopped

10 tsp thick coconut milk

1 small piece sliced ginger

Salt and sugar to taste

1/2 cup dried ikan bilis (anchovies)

4 shallots

1 small piece belacan (shrimp paste)

1 clove garlic

1 large onion - sliced

1/2 cup tamarind juice

8 dried chillies - soaked

To Prepare Rice:

Wash and clean rice

Add 2 cups of water and coconut milk

Add shallots, gigner and pandan leaves

Bring to boil, lower heat, simmer for about 10-15 minutes until water has been absorbed

Loosen rice grains with wooden ladle

Cover pot and leave rice to cook for 10-15 minutes



To Prepare Sambal:

Heat oil and fry ikan bilis until crisp. Keep aside .

Heat oil in wok and fry pounded ingredients till fragrant

Add sliced onions, tamarind juice, salt and sugar

Cook till gravy thickens

Add ikan bilis and mix well

Remove from heat

Serve with sambal ikan bilis, garnished with cucumber slices, sliced hard-boiled egg and roasted peanuts