Kozhikodan Biryani

 

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken legs (small pieces)
400 gm rice
600 ml water (the water is 1.5 times more than the quantity of rice)
6 green cardamoms
2 cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
3 javitri
10 gm fennel seeds
200 gm onion
80 gm tomatoes
20 gm green chilli
50 gm ginger
50 gm garlic
50 gm red chilli powder
50 gm coriander
30 gm mint
5 gm turmeric
Salt to taste
15 gm garam masala
60 ml oil
4 eggs, boiled
30 gm butter

Method:

Pour oil into the pot, add whole spices into it and stir a while.

Put crushed onions, julienne of green chillies and ginger.
Now add ginger & garlic paste, mint, coriander and stir.
Add turmeric, red chilli and fennel powder.
Now add pieces of chicken, chopped tomatoes, water and butter.
When chicken is almost cooked, add rice and salt.
Cover and simmer it for a while till done.
Cut each egg into four then garnish on the rice.

Turkey Recipe

Start with a mixture of soft butter, salt and pepper, olive oil, zest of 2 lemons with juice, 3 gloves of garlic (pureed) and a generous handful of chopped parsley.
Set the butter mixture aside for later and prepare the turkey. Season the bird inside with salt and pepper. Add two onion halves, lemon, bay leaves and stuff into turkey.
Next add the butter mixture under the turkey skin, spread evenly without breaking skin. Flatten butter mixture and line the top of the breast with butter. Turn the turkey around and finish covering the entire turkey with butter mixture.
Place stuffed turkey onto tray and add olive oil. Cook turkey in oven at 220 degrees for 10 minutes, until brown.
Remove turkey from oven and baste. Cover the breast with smoked bacon to protect it from drying out and also help to flavor gravy.
Next bake turkey in oven at 180 degrees for 2 1/2 hours or 30 minutes per lbs.
Test to see if the turkey is fully cooked by sticking a knife in the bottom of the thigh, if the juices run clear, it is done.
Let the turkey rest, uncovered for 2 1/2 hours. This the secret to a flavorful turkey.
Turkey Gravy Recipe Ingredients: 

• Bacon, onions, lemon and trimmings from the roast turkey with lemon, parsley and garlic
• 3 rosemary sprigs
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 litre good-quality dry cider
• 600ml good-quality chicken stock
• 2 tbsp walnut pieces, toasted           

1. Once you’ve transferred the cooked turkey to a platter to rest, drain off most of the fat from the roasting tray and place on the hob.
2. Roughly chop the bacon, add to the tray and fry for a few minutes. Chop the onions and lemon and add to the tray with 2 rosemary sprigs and the tomatoes. Cook for 1–2 minutes, then add the turkey wings, parson’s nose and drumstick tips and fry for a few more minutes.
3. Pour in the cider and boil for a few minutes. Add the juices from the resting turkey and simmer to reduce the liquid by half. Pour in the stock, return to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly. Using a potato masher, crush the vegetables in the tray. Simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced again by a third. Take off the heat.
4. Strain the gravy through a sieve into a saucepan, pressing down on the solids in the sieve with a ladle to extract as much of the flavourful juice as possible. Add a fresh sprig of rosemary to the pan, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for a few minutes.
5. Before serving, remove the rosemary, season to taste and reheat the gravy. Coarsely crush the walnut pieces using a pestle and mortar and then tip into a warmed gravy jug. Pour the piping hot gravy on top and serve at once.