Nasi Beriani Accompaniments

The nasi beriani Johor is eaten with mutton, beef or chicken cooked in a special spicy gravy together with mixed vegetable pickle.

Mutton Beriani

Ingredients:
1 1/2 kg mutton, cut into cubes
2 liter water
200 g beriani powder
150 ml cooking oil
1/2 tin evaporated milk
salt, (sugar, stock cube, if desired)
Frying ingredients:
3 sticks cinnamon
3 star anise
6 cloves
6 cardamoms

Grounded Ingredients:
50 g dried chillies
2 onions
10 cloves garlic
10 cm ginger

Cooking Method:

Heat oil in a wok and fry the frying ingredients.When the aroma rises, add in the grounded ingredients and fry till slightly dry. Add the beriani powder and cook till fragrant over low heat.
Add the mutton, water and seasonings. Stir continuously until the mutton is cooked. Add in the evaporated milk and cook till the sauce thickens.

You can add in 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or tomato sauce if you prefer. The recipe above does not require you to do so.

You can substitute the mutton for 1 1/2 kg beef or 1 chicken, cut in as curry dishes. Don,t forget to remove visible fat and skin the chicken.

The mixed pickle recipe has been included in a previous post.

Nasi Beriani Johor

I picked up a recipe magazine at the Mamak store yesterday. I was attracted to the title "250 Juadah Enak Rumah Terbuka". As the festive season is just around the corner, I felt tempted to see what is new. I found a weird recipe putting strawberry jam in a fruit pickle. I prefer my pickles a bit sour not sweet, thank you.

The nasi beriani recipe and the accompanying dishes seems interesting. It is from the owners of a restaurant in Shah Alam. Below is my translation of the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 kg Basmathi rice
1.5 liter water
1/2 tsp beriani powder
3 stalks mint leaves
5 tabsp ghee
1/2 tin evaporated milk
1 tabsp vinegar
a dash of yellow colouring
salt
1 stock cube, chicken or beef flavour
To be fried:

3 star anise
2 stick cinnamon
6 cloves
6 cardamoms
1 large onion

Blended or grounded ingredients:

2 onions
5 cloves garlic
10 cm ginger

Method:

Wash the rice and soak for 10 minutes.Strain.
Heat ghee in a saucepan and add in all the frying ingredients.Stir until fragrant. Add in the grounded ingredients together with the beriani powder and mint leaves.Stir well.Add in water and let boil before adding the rice, evaporated milk mixed with vinegar, salt,and stock cube.I have deleted the sugar as I don' like sweet beriani rice. Stir the mixture. Close the saucepan with its lid and allow the rice to cook over a low heat. After the water has been absorbed and the rice dries, sprinkle in the colouring and stir the rice.

The recipe does not mention any garnishing. I would prefer if you add finely cut Chinese celery (daun sup), toasted cashew nuts and raisins as garnishing.

If the beriani does not cook well because of insufficient water, take it out of the saucepan and steam it in a steamer for 10 minutes.








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Bihun Sup(Rice Vermicelli in Clear Soup)

Bihun sup can be eaten at any time and is also a popular dish on the second day of Eid when people normally get tired of the rich rendang and other fatty dishes eaten on the first day.

You can prepare the soup with either chicken or beef / bones.

The bone and beef soup is popular in the northern part of Malaysia where the vermicelli is soaked overnight in water mixed with turmeric to colour it yellow.

I normally prepare the soup with chicken as I prefer its taste. The beef and bones soup can be too cholesterol laden for my liking.

My recipe for bihun soup is as follows:

Ingredients:

400 g bihun or rice vermicell
1 medium size chicken, cut into small pieces and skin removed
(Can substitute 500g beef and 1 kg of beef bones for chicken if you prefer)
3-4 fish balls

1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 bundle mustard leaves (daun sawi). (Use spring greens or kailan if you cannot find sawi)


to be squashed with the knife handle:

2 cm ginger, (halia)
2 cm galangal ( lengkuas)
1 stick lemon grass (serai)

For initial frying:

3 tabsp cooking oil
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic

3 cardamoms (buah pelaga)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (jintan manis)
5 cloves (cengkih)
4 cm cinnamon stick
3 star anise ( bunga lawang)
1 tsp black pepper, grounded
1 tsp coriander seeds (biji ketumbar),grounded
soup spice powder, from supermarkets (optional)

Seasoning:

Salt
1 Knorr non MSG soup cube stock

Garnishing:

1 sprig Chinese celery ( daun sup)- sliced in 3 mm pieces
1 sprig spring onion (daun bawang)-sliced in 3 mm pieces
some fried shallots



Chilli Sauce:

10 bird chillies (cili padi) and 4 cloves garlic blended with some soya sauce, sugar, if desired; and vinegar.

Preparation:

Boil some clean water in a saucepan and dip in the vermicelli. Strain once the vermicelli turns white and softens. Takes about 3 minutes. Next dip the beansprouts for 2 minutes and strain, followed by the mustard leaves. The latter will take a longer time to cook. Place the vermicelli, beansprouts and mustard leaves separately in a big plate.

To prepare the soup, heat the oil and fry the spices till fragrant. Add in the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemon grass and grounded black pepper and coriander seeds. You can add ready made soup spices bought at supermarkets at this stage.

Stir and add the chicken and water. Cook until the soup boils. Put in the fish balls. Add salt to taste and soup stock cube.

To serve, place the bihun in a bowl add the scalded vegetables on top. Add the garnishings and pour in the hot soup. Add in the chilli sauce if you want a "hot" (pedas) soup .

Of Noodles and Soups

Today for the first time in many years, I don't get to prepare the meal for iftar. Since enrolling for a personal development course in August, I have been busy out of the house. Today I finished way past 5 30 pm. How glad I was to come home to a readily cooked meal, with compliments from my dear husband and my youngest daughter, Zaty, whose been returning every weekend since the fasting month began. As usual my son, Afif prepares the drink and today it was cold Ribena blackcurrant drink.

The mee goreng (fried yellow noodles) was delicious considering my husband has not cooked since the early days of our marriage. Way, way long time ago. It is nice to taste something different from my usual mee goreng.

Tomorrow, I will prepare soto for them. I have already boiled the meat for the pegedil and has
also cooked the nasi empet. ( See my earlier soto recipe). I am using the layer chicken which I will boil in the slow cooker in the morning. Old chicken makes good soup for the soto.

Ayam Masak Merah (Chicken in Red Sauce)

This chicken recipe complements the tomato rice posted earlier. Beef can also be substituted in place of chicken.

The recipe below is a family recipe where I come from.

1 kg chicken, skinned and cut into small parts

Blend and marinate with the chicken:

4 cloves garlic
4 candlenuts
2 cm ginger

You may fry the chicken if you wish but not until it is fully cooked. The chicken should not be too crisply as it would not assimilate with the sauce.

Other Ingredients:

3 tbsp ghee or cooking oil
6 onions, 1/2 grounded and 1/2 sliced
5 cloves
5 star anise
5 cardamom pods
5 cm cinnamon stick
2 lemon grass, crush by hitting with the handle of your knife

3 tbsp chilli paste, or chilli boh
4 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
2 cups water


Seasoning:

chicken or beef stock, depending on what you use
salt and sugar


Garnish:

mint leaves
fried sliced shallots

Here's how you make it:

Heat the ghee or cooking oil in a saucepan on low heat. Add the sliced onions, spices and crushed lemon grass. When fragrant, add in the grounded onions and the balance of the marinate. Now add in the chilli and tomato paste. Stir continuously and add in 1/2 cup thick santan (coconut milk). Add the chicken, stirring regularly. Add 2 cups of water and stir till cooked. Add more water if you feel the sauce is too thick. You may add 1 cube beef stock, salt and sugar to taste.

You may also add mint leaves and sliced fried shallots as garnishing. This dish goes well with tomato rice and acar timun.

Variations:

• Instead of chilli paste you can substitute with curry powder.
• If you do not wish to use coconut milk, you can use chilli paste with tomato sauce instead of tomato puree.

Tomato Rice

Tomato Rice is normally eaten during Eid or any special occasions. it is popular in the Northern State of Kedah.

Ingredients:
1/2 tin evaporated milk
2 tins rice, washed and tossed
1 1/2 tins water
1cm ginger
3 onions
3 cloves garlic
3 cloves (cengkih)
3 star anise (bunga lawang)
3 cardamom seeds (pelaga)
1.5 cm cinnamon stick
1 sprig lemon grass ( serai)
2 screw-pine leaves (pandan)
1/2 tin tomato puree
3 tbsp ghee

Garnishing (Optional):
A handful of raisins
Some cashew nuts, toasted
Fresh cilantro (Chinese parsley or daun ketumbar), Chinese celery ( daun sop) and spring onions( daun bawang)- cut into 1 cm strips.


Heat the ghee in the saucepan or rice cooker. Fry the ginger, onions, garlic, pandan leaves and all the spices.
Add the water mixed with evaporated milk and let it come to the boil. Add the tomato puree and rice.
Stir occasionally until the water dries up. When the rice is nearly cooked, add in the raisins and leave with lid on till fully cooked. Serve the rice in a large plate. Sprinkle the garnishings, if preferred, before serving.

My Mum's Chicken Recipe

This recipe I inherited from my late Mum. It is ideal for beef and duck as well. Guests could not tell it was the duck that my Mum cooked. They thought it was chicken.

Ingredients:

0.7 kg chicken ( 1 small chicken) or beef

• 5 cm ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 shallots
• 5 cm cinnamon stick
• 1 nutmeg seed, crushed and remove the shell
• 3 cardamom seeds (pelaga)
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds(ketumbar)
• 10 cloves (cengkih)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jintan putih)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (jintan manis)

The above ingredients are pounded or finely blended.

juice from 1 lime ( limau nipis)
1/2 bottle tomato sauce
10 almonds grounded
1/2 tbsp black pepper powder
1/2 tin evaporated milk
100g ghee

Heat the ghee in a saucepan and pour in the grounded ingredients and black pepper. Fry until fragrant. Add in 1/2 cup water, the tomato sauce and evaporated milk and add the chicken which have been skinned and cut to small pieces as in stew or curries.

Add the almonds and cook until the sauce is nearly dry. Lastly, add the lime juice.

Delicious with tomato rice or beriani rice.