Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Neychoru with raita/Ghee Rice with Salad

Neychoru is a North Kerala specialty. To be precise it’s a North Kerala Muslim specialty. I tasted it for the first time at my friend's place and instantly fell in love. It is a rich preparation with clarified butter, cashew nuts, raisins and golden fried onions. The aroma wafting through the house while this is being prepared is enough of an appetizer. All of these qualities make it an ideal treat for our cold, cold weather. Disclaimer: This is not for the weak hearted. Literally. It is so calorie rich that if I call it "healthy" neichoru, it will be one of the best oxymoron you've ever heard.




Ingredients:

Basmati Rice- 2 Cups
Hot Water- 3 1/2 cups
Ghee- 4-5 Tbsp
Cashews- 2 Tbsp
Raisins- 2 Tbsp
Onion- 1 Big
Cinnamon stick- 2 one inch sticks
Cloves- 4-5
Cardamom seeds-From 2
Salt- To taste
Oil- For frying

Method:

1.Wash the rice and soak it in water for at least 30 minutes.Drain and keep aside.
2.Heat 1 Tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and raisins till they turn golden brown in color.
3.Heat the pan in which you are planing to cook the rice .Pour 3-4 Tbsp ghee into it (you could reduce the amount , but the more the merrier !).Add the spices and saute for a minute and throw in the drained rice into it. Saute this for 3-4 minutes.Add salt and mix well.
4.Meanwhile you could heat/ boil the water.
5.Add the hot water into this and allow to boil on high heat. When the water starts bubbling well reduce the heat and continue cooking for another 8 minutes or till the rice is done.
6.Heat the oil for frying and fry the onion.
7.Serve the rice after garnishing with fried onion,cashews and raisins.
8.Best served with raita or chicken/mutton curry.



For Raita:

Ingredients:

Yogurt- 1/2 cup
Tomato(chopped)- 1 small
Onion(Chopped finely)-1/3 cup
Green chillies (chopped)- 2-3
Salt

Mix everything well and serve chilled.

Notes:

1.It's important to use best quality basmati rice and best quality ghee for this preparation. As you know the aroma of rice makes a huge difference to your neichoru, or biryani.
2.Also I've used home made ghee for making this and it is the best :-)

66 comments:

  1. YUM! Ghee and Kurma with Raita, perfect meal.

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  2. Nice, love to eat it with mutton curry!

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  3. Ohhw wow..ohhw wow...Neichoru our Favorite...Nalla tempting anu ketto pic....yummmo!!!!!!!!!!!

    Love
    Kairali sisters

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  4. wow the rice looks soo delicious with all those fried onions and a perfect click..

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  5. beautifully captured pics :)
    Flavourful ghee rice and raita are the made for each other combo :)
    enjoy!
    TC

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  6. Ghee is somehting i am not a huge fan, looks so yumm .

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  7. Eating healthy foods once in a while should not hurt anybody right? Looks delicious.

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  8. Oh wow this is neuchooru week I guess... looks so tempting..eventhough I cooked 4 days back.. Nice click .

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  9. It looks so tempting and flavorful.Nice click, the pic itself made me drool

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  10. nai choorum irachi curryum malbar karude favorite anu..enteyum..Angotu varatee..:)

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  11. Yummy and our all time fav...Try with biryani rice next time,u can c the difference...nice pic

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  12. u r right...the aroma while cooking is irresistible...kothiyavunnu kandittu...

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  13. lloks fav.. the aroma of ghee in rice is indeed inviting..

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  14. Super click..enikkum innu neichor ayirunnu!!!!!! ayyo yummmuyy

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  15. @Vrinda : Isn't biryani rice the same as good quality basmati rice..? I always use the best quality basmati rice for preparations like this :-)

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  16. Very less ingredients with more taste.Easy and yummy recipe.
    Love
    Subhashini

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  17. yep this is from our place north Kerala :) usually a must dish in any functions... you have put a very tempting foto... kandittu kazhikkan thonnunnu

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  18. Ghee rice and raita are my son's fav. Looks delicious.

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  19. Yummy and mouthwatering dish!!! Love the way its presented!!!

    http://memoryarchieved.blogspot.com

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  20. Wow, looks so inviting, love ghee rice..love the way you presented..

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  21. this is the most comforting meal anyone can make i think..your looks so amazing..

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  22. i luv ghee and ur ghee rice luks perfect for me
    u have nice blog and iam following ur blog
    thanks for visiting my blog
    http://gunturtraditions.blogspot.com/

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  23. Classic recipe...Simply Delectable!!!!Kanditu kothi varunu :) Love your Presentation nami
    Kuda cheriya bowlil chicken annoo?

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  24. Love dis classic pilaf....ur pic is soo inviting...

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  25. Rice looks absolutely delicious and amazing click.

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  26. Woow...they look gorgeous!!! sounds so good!

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  27. Simple and aromatic rice, as always gorgeous picture!!!!

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  28. Ghee rice looks really yummy. The beauty of ghee rice is that its mellow and goes well with any side dish, be it veggie or non-veggie. So anytime I have a party, this will always be there. Great shot BTW.

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  29. Lovely - what could be better with ghee rice and korma?

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  30. Wow, my all-time fav NeiSoru! I liked the side dish there too...chicken? Raita is always a must have dish in my house!

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  31. Cool ,thanks a lot,i was looking for one like this for a long time.Anu Alex

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  32. The rice looks absolutely tempting with the brown onions garnished on top:)

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  33. totally agree with u on ghee & rice...looks yummy......I too posted rice dish with raita today...

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  34. Looks mouthwatering... feel like having some :)

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  35. Love this recipe...reminds of my childhood...eating neychoru...

    The quality of your pics are just amazing!!!

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  36. awesome click , m ready to dig in :)

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  37. Neychoru looks divine! With raita and dry chicken fry ,rice looks perfect! Sangee and you are tempting me to prepare this rice :))) Now where is the ghee......

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  38. Once in a while its good to relish some calorie rich food...This is definetly an awesome choice...

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  39. Rice looks apt to be served for lunch...makes me drool here, lovely clicks!

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  40. Such a yummy rice salad! I love the raisins and cashews here!

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  41. Wow This looks royal and tasty ! Infact this is easier version of biryani or pulav yet yummy !

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  42. Definitely one of our dinner next week!

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  43. wow!both pic and description made me feel hungry...fried onion looks so perfect...

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  44. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  45. Delightful combo! Love ghee rice with fried onions..yumm!

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  46. nice presentation!!easy and simple ghee rice.

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  47. Ithippo enikkundakki thanillel kanjirappaly style idi tharum...Iyooo vishakunne...

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  48. Ghee rice with chicken curry a yummy combo....Looks delicious with the fried onions.

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  49. YUM! Like you said, more the ghee, more tasty it is.. I always add a extra helping of ghee before serving ;)
    Wonderful click!!

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  50. I love this combination!!!! Have learned a new word, its "Nalla" I hope I have spelled and used it correctly:) Love your presentation:)

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  51. Wow! Awesome.I agree with you the more ghee the more merrier

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  52. Mmm I would love to have the smell of this wafting through my kitchen. Looks fantastic.

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  53. ethiri chiken curry koodi undel adipoli............

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  54. Simply perfect dish for any kind of function..super fast and easy preparation...

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  55. Yummy ghee rice...adipoli presentation namitha. I very much agree with vrinda, this tastes too good with biryani rice.

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  56. wow, ghee rice is my favorite and albeit the more the ghee the merrier I am :)

    www.foodlyrics.com

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  57. No Dear its not basmathi rice...In Malabar all biryanies r made with biryani rice,its the rice that makes malabar biryani special..its small rice,and rice itself smell like biryani v get diff varieties of biryani rice in Kannur...Here u can try kalijeera rice ,almost sama as biryani rice...and also good for making Paal payasam...

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  58. Thanks everyone...
    Vrinda, thanks a lot for enlightening me on this. Will try to find out this during my next grocery shopping :-)

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  59. Yea what vrinda said is right.njan kannur aayondu ariyam.biriyani rice kittum. pakshe naatil basmatikku vilakooduthal ullondayiriknm,biriyani rice use cheyyunathu ennanu njan karuthiyathu..

    Adipoli ketto:)

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  60. mom makes this back home for every spl occasion... love this... Nice clicks as always!

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