Spices & Saffron Rice with Goan Pork & Potatoes

If you are looking for a flavorful and delicious Indian food, look no further.  These recipes will just blow you away into spice heaven!

Since we are now facing the monsoon season, this sure satisfy the hungry tummy and warm up the spirit.

 Basmati Rice with Spices & Saffron
1 tsp saffron threads
2 tbsp warm milk (alternatively, I used hot water)
3 cups basmati rice or any long grain rice
pinch of salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 cardamon pods
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

1. Dry roast the saffron threads in a frying pan and cool slightly then crumble into warm milk and leave to soak for 30 mins
2. Wash the rice, drain, add salt and soak in water for 30 mins. Drain.
3. Heat oil in frying pan, add cardamon and cinnamon sticks.  Fry for a minute, add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes.
4. Transfer rice to a rice cooker and cover with water as you normally would when cooking rice and add a pinch of salt.  Leave to cook.  Once done, use a fork to fluff the rice.  Keep warm until serving time.

Goan Pork with Potatoes
Handful of shallots
5 garlic cloves
1 in fresh ginger
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 tsp whole coriander seeds
3 whole cloves
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp red paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
550 g boneless pork shoulder cut into cubes
vegetable oil
250 g red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 tsp sugar

1. Peel and chop the onion, garlic and ginger.  Put half the mustard seeds and all the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cloves in a coffee grinder and grind as finely as possible.  Put the spice mixture and the onion, garlic and ginger, vinegar, cayenne pepper, paprika and 3 tbsp of water into a blender.  Blend until smooth.
2. Rub 1 1/4 tsp sal, 1/2 tsp black pepper, tumeric and 2 tbsp of the spice paste all over the pork. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 30 mins.
3. Pour vegetable oil in a heavy non-stick lidded pan and over med-high heat, add the remaining mustard seeds.  As soon as they pop, add the remaining spice paste, stir and fry for 5-6 mins or until paste is slightly browned.  Add the pork, together with its marinade.  Stir for a minute, cover ad reduce the heat to medium.  Let the meat cook for about 10 mins, lifting the lid now and then to stir.  Meat should get slightly browned.
4. Add 700 ml water, the potatoes, 1/2 tsp salt and sugar. Stir and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook gently for 50-60 mins until  meat is tender.

Chicken Rice Ball

My children love Chicken Rice Ball.  Each time we go back home in Malacca, this will be their choice for lunch.

Chicken Rice Ball is really, the rice mix with some glutinous rice, cook in chicken stock.  When it's cooked and while it's pipping hot, make them into balls the size of slightly bigger than ping-pong balls.  Serve with soft smooth melt-in-the-mouth steamed or boiled chicken, dip in with hot & sour ginger-chillies.  This rice balls originated in Malacca.  The original coffee shop only serves this and the shop is always pack with customers, so much so that sometimes it's impossible to find a seat.  Most times, we have to takeaway. 

It's located at the bank of Malacca River.  I can just eat the rice with the chillies without the chicken..mm..yum yum.  When it became popular, other hawkers replicate the recipe but nothing beats the original.  Here's the photo of the original coffee shop which I found in google.  If you happen to be there, do try this.. it's along Jalan Hang Jebat or you may know it as Jonker Street.

By the way, you see the group of people surrounding the trycicle hawker outside the shop?  Well, that's the best popiah ever!  So, if you go to this shop, you'll get to sample the best Chicken Rice Balls and Popiah!  What more can you ask for.

I usually make the normal Hainanese chicken rice.  Today, I decided to give the rice balls a try since we've not been back home to Malacca for a while now. Hubby's been busy working on weekends and kids are missing this dish.  Not bad for first attempt, if I may say.. :)

The Chicken:
1 whole chicken with skin (without head and feet please) - wash and drain.  Rub with salt all over.
2 pandan leaves (screwpine leaves)
Boil 400ml water in a deep wok.
Once boil, add in the chicken, pandan leave and season with oyster sauce and sesame oil.  Let boil and turn the chicken half-way cooking time and cook until chicken is cooked.
When chicken is done, take the chicken out onto a serving plate and reserve the stock for boiling the rice later.
Cut the chicken into bite sizes and serve with cucumber and tomatoes if you like.

The Rice:
2 cups rice
1 cup glutinous rice
some chopped garlic
a few slices of crushed ginger
a few pandan leaves

1. Mix both rice and wash and drain the rice.
2. In a wok, heat some oil, add a dash of sesame oil, fry the garlic and ginger for 2 mins.
3. Add the rice and fry for 3 mins.
4. Transfer the rice to a rice cooker and add the chicken stock/broth.  Add salt if needed. Put in the pandan leaves and cook till done.
5. While rice is hot, wear plastic gloves, using the ice cream scoop to be consistent with the size, shape it into a ball.  Do this until the rice are all shaped and serve with the chicken and chili.

The Chili:
5-6 Red Chilies
2 inc ginger
10 limes
salt
sugar
sesame oil

Blend together the chili and ginger.  Squeeze lime juice, add the seasonings and a dash of sesame oil.

Fragrant Meat Pullao and Mixed Vegetable Curry

Do you like Indian food? I'm quite adventurous with all types of cuisine..of course, the cooked and edible ones.  Not the bizarre and exotic type like Andrew Zimmern's 'Bizarre Food'.  For me, the spicier the better.  My Indian Cookbook comes in handy whenever I run out of ideas on what to cook.  My son always give me a big smile when I cook something hot and spicy. But for this vegetable curry, it's quite mild which is fine.  It's tasty with lots of flavor.

Meat Pullao is basically long grain rice boiled in the meat stock together with the spices and meat.  The recipe actually calls for lamb but since I also have some chicken in my freezer, I add them to the lamb.
The rice is richly flavored with the meat stock.
All you need is...

1 medium onion, sliced
20 cardamon pods
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 in long ginger, crushed
1 piece cinnamon stick
175g cup sultanas and blanced almonds to garnish (optional)
3 cups basmati rice (long grain rice), wash and drain
600ml water
salt to taste

400g lamb meat, cut into big cubes
1/2 chicken cut into big bite sizes
8-10 saffron strands

  

Here's how...
1. In a large stock pot, cook the chicken & lamb in the water with the cardamon pods, peppercorn, cloves, onion and salt until the meat is cooked. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Strain the stock if you wish, return to the pot.
2. Add the rice, saffron, garlic, ginger and cinnamon to the stock and bring the contents to the boil.
3. Quickly add the meat and stir well. Bring back to the boil, reduce the heat and cover. Cook covered for about 15-20 mins. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 5 mins. Garnish with sultanas and almonds.

Alternatively, at step #2, once you've put in the rice to the stock, transfer to rice cooker and cook as normal.  You need to adjust the stock accordingly to your rice.  Do not put in too much stock as the rice will become a bit too soft like mine.  I should reduce the stock next time I cook this.  Texture should be fluffly and rice separates and not come together.  Although mine is a little too soft, the flavor is still amazing.

I serve this with my version of mixed vegetable curry.  I'll not provide the recipe.  There are so many versions to vegetable curry which you can easily find anywhere.  As for me, I like my curry with a little milk or yogurt.  You can even conjure up your own version.