Food Auntie

Kavitha's huge smile and bubbly personality drew me to her immediately.  That, and the fact that she, like me, loves (I mean, loves) cupcakes.  Below is her recipe for chicken pulav.

A few years ago my girlfriends and I went to my mom's house and she taught us how to cook a bunch of my favorites (while we made her measure everything instead of the usual "pinch of that, a spoon of this").  Here's my mom's recipe for chicken biriyani/pulav. -Kavitha

Chicken Pulav
1 ¾ cup of basmati rice (1 ½ coffee mugs of rice is equal)
4 cups of chicken cut into small cubes (because you are putting chicken in rice, you can use more or less)

Rinse the rice

Prepare to grind in blender, to make a paste:
6 cloves of garlic
1 square inch of ginger. Take the skin out.
2 hot jalapenos
A little onion – about 1 cup of onion cut
A little cilantro – ½ cup

Can add water to grind if need to for blender, then grind. It will be a bright green color (it looks similar to pesto)

Get a pot that will hold about 5 quarts
Hear 6 tablespoons of oil in pot on high

When oil is hot – add cinnamon, fennel, cloves, and onions:
Cinnamon stick – about 1 ½ inches long. Break up stick.
1 teaspoon of cloves
½ teaspoon of fennel seeds
½ large onion cut

When onion is brown, add the paste to the pot

Add 1 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

When the gravy becomes thick (it has probably been on the stove for about 10 minutes on high heat), add the chicken
Let chicken cook for about 10 minutes, and then add the rice and stir

Add 2 ½ cups of water

After about 5 minutes, lower the heat to simmer, and cover (if an oven-safe pot, put entire pot in the oven at 300 degrees)

15 minutes later, stir chicken and rice so that the other half of the chicken is on the bottom of the pot

My father is from Aleppo, a city in northern Syria.  Aleppan tourism has exploded in the past year, and the world is finally discovering the joys of the city's cuisine.  When my mother and father were first married, they lived with my father's extended family in Dubai.  Under my grandmother's tutelage, Mama learned to cook the deliciousness that is Aleppan cuisine.  One of the dishes my grandmother passed on is rice with meat and spices, topped with pine nuts. 

Many countries in the Arab world have their own spin on this dish.  In fact, I've eaten it often at Lebanese aunties' houses.  I've never known the proper name for it, but I assume it's Riz b'Lahm, which just means "Rice with Meat" in Arabic.  In my house, we called it, "Nana's Rice" because my nana made it. 

Nana's Rice is traditionally made with pine nuts, but I prefer slivered almonds.  The Lebanese aunties I know use butter and and sometimes cumin to flavor the rice, and serve it as an accompaniment to roast chicken.  In my opinion the dish is best enjoyed simply - solo, with salt, pepper, and cinnamon. 

Nana's Rice
1 cup rice
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
slivered almonds

Boil the ground meat in its own juices, separating it with a fork.  When the color changes, drain and keep aside.  Pour the chicken broth, rice, and ground beef into a pot.  Add cinnamon, black pepper and salt.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium low.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  In the meantime, fry almonds until brown in a small pot of oil.  Drain on paper towel.  When rice is done fluff with fork.  Mound on a serving platter and scatter almonds on top.  Enjoy!