There are a few moments in life that are just meant to be yours n yours alone! The moments that etch a beautiful memory and make you smile from within, The Indian Food Bloggers Meet #IFBM2014 is one such memory which will remain in my scrapbook of lovely memories forever.
#IFBM2014 was not just a confluence of bloggers, it was the warmth behind those unknown faces, the euphoria of being triumphant in an endeavor, the patience and perseverance of the organizers and the goodie bags tempered and loaded with love. It's been over a year since I started blogging and I knew only a couple of bloggers, but post this event I can only say I feel more humbled and overjoyed to meet so many food bloggers out there who are so immensely talented and reach out to each other with humility.
Will tell you more about it in my next post :)
Coming to the dish that I'm gonna post here.. Birinji is an aromatic rice dish tempered with an exotic spice mix and the not-so-distinct yet flavourful dill leaves. This recipe is known to have originated in the coastal Karnataka region but my Sister shared this with me. Whenever I visited my aunt's house and my sister made this dish, there wouldn't be a single grain of life leftover in the cooker, she had it in her for sure. I had tried this while I was in the US but sans grated coconut. The perfect blend of spices and coconut is what gives it a distinct flavour. Thanks for this recipe Roopa!
I know you guys can't wait to read more about it! so let's get started baybee :)
Serves- 4
Shelf life 1 day
Ingredients
To Grind
| Onion, halved into 4 parts | 1 |
| Cinnamon | ½ inch |
| Cloves | 2 |
| Pepper | 10 corns |
| Cumin/ jeera | 1 tsp |
| Eilichi | 2 |
| Byadgi and guntur ( dry red chilli) | 1:1 proportion |
| Green chillis | 10 |
| Grated coconut | 1 cup |
To cook:
| Fresh Dill leaves, washed and finely chopped | 1 ½ cups |
| Rice, washed and soaked for 15 mins | 2 cups |
| Onion, roughly chopped | 2 medium sized |
| Tomato, finely chopped | 1 medium size |
| Turmeric powder | 1 tsp |
| Bay leaves | 1 or 2 |
| Garlic pods, optional | 2 |
| Salt | As needed |
| Oil | 4 tbsp |
Directions
1. Heat a tsp of oil in a wide bottomed pan and roast all the ingredients under the 'to grind' table. Grind this to a fine paste 1/2 cup of water. It should be of chutney consistency.
2. Heat oil in a cooker, add bay leaves and fry onions until translucent, now add turmeric and give it a stir,
3. Add the dill leaves and fry until they wilt
4. Followed by tomatoes until mushy.
5. Mix the ground paste with the sauteed veggies and give it a boil.
6. Now add the rice, salt and water and give it yet another stir. Close the lid and cook until 3 whistles on medium flame.
And then.. comes your delicious, yummy birinji.. serve hot with raita of your choice or just enjaay as it is :)
Note:
1. My sister suggested I use 1:1 ghee and oil but if you're on a diet then you could use only oil. I did the same, not that I'm on a diet :P
2. Using dill leaves gives a very nice flavour to this dish. Do not do away without dill, even if you're a dill hater, you'll harvest love after eating this dish ( I bet)
3. Since we're using coconut here it better to sautee the coconut with the other spices a lil more so that it increases the life of this dish by a few hours. However, it's optional to use coconut if you're on a diet again and could be easy on the spices and the chillis.
If you have any questions regarding this recipe, please email me or mention in the comments.