Cooking web notes

Neychoru is a North Kerala specialty. To be precise it’s a North Kerala Muslim specialty. I tasted it for the first time at my friend's place and instantly fell in love. It is a rich preparation with clarified butter, cashew nuts, raisins and golden fried onions. The aroma wafting through the house while this is being prepared is enough of an appetizer. All of these qualities make it an ideal treat for our cold, cold weather. Disclaimer: This is not for the weak hearted. Literally. It is so calorie rich that if I call it "healthy" neichoru, it will be one of the best oxymoron you've ever heard.




Ingredients:

Basmati Rice- 2 Cups
Hot Water- 3 1/2 cups
Ghee- 4-5 Tbsp
Cashews- 2 Tbsp
Raisins- 2 Tbsp
Onion- 1 Big
Cinnamon stick- 2 one inch sticks
Cloves- 4-5
Cardamom seeds-From 2
Salt- To taste
Oil- For frying

Method:

1.Wash the rice and soak it in water for at least 30 minutes.Drain and keep aside.
2.Heat 1 Tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and raisins till they turn golden brown in color.
3.Heat the pan in which you are planing to cook the rice .Pour 3-4 Tbsp ghee into it (you could reduce the amount , but the more the merrier !).Add the spices and saute for a minute and throw in the drained rice into it. Saute this for 3-4 minutes.Add salt and mix well.
4.Meanwhile you could heat/ boil the water.
5.Add the hot water into this and allow to boil on high heat. When the water starts bubbling well reduce the heat and continue cooking for another 8 minutes or till the rice is done.
6.Heat the oil for frying and fry the onion.
7.Serve the rice after garnishing with fried onion,cashews and raisins.
8.Best served with raita or chicken/mutton curry.



For Raita:

Ingredients:

Yogurt- 1/2 cup
Tomato(chopped)- 1 small
Onion(Chopped finely)-1/3 cup
Green chillies (chopped)- 2-3
Salt

Mix everything well and serve chilled.

Notes:

1.It's important to use best quality basmati rice and best quality ghee for this preparation. As you know the aroma of rice makes a huge difference to your neichoru, or biryani.
2.Also I've used home made ghee for making this and it is the best :-)