Kozhi Choru ~ Malabar Chicken Rice

Last week has been difficult. My hands and legs have been constantly stiff and it was really draining off my energy. A drive to the office would leave me with stiff legs and back that I would require at least a couple of minutes to start moving. Waking up in the mornings were becoming a pain since my neck would just have a catch, so on and so forth. Being close to mid 30s cannot be counted as “old”, right? 😉 Blaming it on time and on my hectic schedule, I just left myself like that till I couldn’t take my lack of energy any more and decided to pay a visit to the doctor. He asked me to go on empty stomach yesterday morning. Since the treatment mode is Ayurveda, I have to now go on a full vegan diet – no non-veg, no diary, no eggs – till the medication is finish. He has also asked me to squeeze in 10 days to go back home for a full body treatment. How much I can do that, is yet to be seen, even though I really wish to do the same, InShaAllah. Hearing about the diet, HD is fully supportive of eating whatever I will cook but B is already shuddering at the thought of not having non-veg. 🙂 I told him, I would not refrain from cooking, it’s just that I would not be eating them. I must say that it was coming at a time when I was having a friction against having too much of non-veg and was reducing my cooking at home too, so the timing couldn’t be better! Let’s see where it lead me to..

But don’t worry, you will still see all sorts of recipes on the blog appearing, just like a chicken recipe that I am posting today! Kozhi choru literally translates as “chicken rice”, which is a Malabar style of making pulao, I would say. The spices used are very much Malabar and it hardly takes time to put together. From the recipe, you can see that the chicken and rice are partly cooked, then mixed together and cooked together till done. Pair it along with an onion raita and chammanthi, plus if in a more generous mood, some date pickle and you are all ready to go! I have already posted Erachi Choru which is made with meat. This is one of the most frequented Friday meals when I am lacking time and I want my work to finish as soon as possible. Hehe…

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That plate you see in the picture belongs to my mattamma, my umma’s mom. Her father had bought a big set from Malaysia some 60 or 70 years ago – she has no clue – and this was the only surviving plate, and that too with a little crack. As soon as I saw the plate, the blogger in me wanted it, so I went and asked her, if I could take it. She was feeling so shy to give it to me, saying that it is old and it is cracked. 😀 Finally, I convinced her that as rugged it looks, it looks pretty. She searched through her cupboard to see if she can give me another one, before she realized that this is the only one she has. A plate that I am keeping very protected in my prop shelf now… 🙂

Previously posted on this day:

2014: Umma’s Chicken Curry

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5 from 1 vote

Kozhi Choru ~ Malabar Chicken Rice

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken cut into small pcs
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 medium onions sliced
• 2 green chillies slit
• 1 small pc ginger pounded
• 4 cloves garlic pounded
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp fennel powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon
• 2 cardamoms
• 3 cloves
• 6-8 peppercorns
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• Coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

• Wash and drain the chicken, set aside.
• Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• In a saucepan, heat oil. Sauté onion with chillies and a pinch of salt till wilted.
• Add ginger and garlic and sauté till raw smell is gone.
• Add tomatoes and cook till mashed.
• Add the spice powders from coriander to fennel and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the chicken and give a good stir. Sprinkle in the garam masala powder.
• Cook on low flame till it releases stock and is 80% done.
• Meanwhile, in a bigger pan, heat ghee. Briefly fry the whole masalas. Add the drained rice and sauté till crisp.
• Add the water with salt and cook on low flame till the water is absorbed by the rice.
• Add the rice into the cooking chicken and stock and mix well. Cook on closed lid on the lowest flame for another 15 minutes or till completely cooked.
• Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.