Sunday 31 March 2013

Nei Choru | Ney Choru | Malabar Neychoru | Ghee Rice

Rice cooked in ghee & layered with fried onions & nuts




 Come the long weekends & it's always the heavy one pot rice varieties with spicy non veg gravies.. Asking me why?? Guests, get together, quiet family dinner - name it, we have everything. And this one is no different. Day before it was Veg pulav, today it's Nei Choru & tomorrow it's Chicken Biriyani !! Ahaa, yeah all planned and implementing to the plan :D 

'Nei chooru' - this is yet another name that makes me drool. A very popular dish in Kerala, particularly the Northen Malabar side. Most of the Muslim weddings would be incomplete without this lip smacking, aromatic rice. It is quite simple to prepare and guarantees you a rich flavor & aroma. This used to feature in my college hostel mess once every week, usually during Sundays. Accompaniment was Spicy Chicken gravy & raita signed off with a glass of lime juice.. Ohh my God.. Heavenly!! And an afternoon nap with an overfilled tummy following that. What more can you ask for during college times, right??




And as many other recipes, I never ever dreamt that I would prepare this one at home. It was my mom-in-law who taught me how to make this. The way she described itself made me quite confident that this is 'As easy as an apple pie' task (though I have never tried to prepare an apple pie :P ) Then there was no stopping me, this one now features in our menu quite often.




And if you ask me the best accompaniments for this I would say any spicy  non veg curry (I personally love chicken) would go with it.  But recently I read in one another blogger page that dhal goes very well this is. I am but yet to try that combo. Am sure this would make some of the vegetarians out there very happy :) So off to the recipe now..




Recipe from Amma (Mil)

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 40 minutes


I Used:

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Onions - 3 nos - big sized - sliced
Water - 4 cups
Ghee - As needed
Cinnamon - An inch stick
Cloves - 4 nos
Cardamom - 3 nos
Cashews - 15-20 nos
Raisins - 15-20 nos
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - As needed





The Way:

  1. Boil the 4 cups of water
  2. In a pressure cooker, heat 2 tbsp of ghee. Add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom
  3. As it starts to sputter & release its aroma, add the washed & cleaned rice. Fry for a minute
  4. Add the oil, lemon juice and the boiling water
  5. Now close the cooker & pressure cook for just 1 whistle and remove immediately from flame. Or to be more precise, switch off the flame when the cooker starts making screeching noises just before the first whistle and allow it to stay in that heat for 10 more minutes
  6. Heat a pan. Add ghee. Roast the cashews & raisins & keep aside
  7. Fry the onions in the same ghee till golden brown
  8. To serve the rice, alternate the fried onions & nuts with the layers of cooked rice 
Serve with parippu/dhal or with spicy chicken curry.

Cheers,
Chitra

76 comments:

  1. simple and tasty....you have made perfectly...

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  2. Wow...neyyu chorru is so drooling...

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  3. Iyoo Chitz you really said it !!After biriyani an afternoon nap ahhaa..that is such a luxury I too miss..I can almost pick the cashew in the first pic

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    1. Haha :) Lovely were those times right??

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  4. Perfect Lunch for Sunday .. Well presented Chitz..

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  5. simple and tasty rice looks lovely :)

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  6. Yum and yummy, its my fav too. I can't get enough of such Indian rice recipes. Yep, its the weekend dishes because for me the time factor is a constraint during weekdays. Again I have repeat like a parrot - so tempting and so tasty.

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  7. Aha!! What can I say, nearby me there is a bread toast and some cut fruits for my breakfast, and I'm looking at your aromatic, rich and divine looking ghee rice. I cannot eat my breakfast anymore, ghee rice it is for my lunch today :-)
    I never got any such nice food in my College Hostel, it has always been a pathetic Pulao, where each and everyone used to search for vegetable, but in vain, HeHe.
    And thanks for the Dhal combo advice for the ever-starved vegetarians like me, HaHa :)
    Also the fried onion and the nuts are making it look so perfect. Love it.

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    1. Lucky us, we have a fantabulous mess !! Hope u tried it & loved it :)

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  8. Ghee rice looks so yummy and inviting!! Drooling over here!! :)
    http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/

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  9. Blog hopping always increase your knowledge for sure... Ghee rice has a different name at your state came to know....loved it...:)..following you...

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  10. wow chitz... looks really lovely... i am not a fan of my own neychoru because i'm afraid to put too much of ney into the choru... hehe... beautiful pics, by the way... :)

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    1. Yup.. I am also scared of adding more ghee.. But u have an advantage when guests come.. U need to get it right, so u dont think twice, na?? :)

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  11. looks very tempting dear... i just lov flavor of fried onions with nuts...

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  12. Lovely dish...I would like to try this..

    Today's recipe: http://accessiblediary.blogspot.in/2013/04/paneer-rezala.html

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  13. Ooooh..Veg pulav, Nei Choru, Chicken Biriyani - You make me drool! Ha ha :) The Nei Choru looks so delish. And for me too, it always goes with a chicken side. Never tried a Ghee Rice and Dal Combo.

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    1. Yup Priya !! Feel like I have added two more kilos to burn now :(

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  14. looks yummy... so tempting....thanks for visting my space...happy to follow you...
    http://mystylerecipes.blogspot.com

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  15. lovely dear..nei chooru is a popular dish of my place..

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  16. Very Appetizing pics!!! Never tried @ home, Bookmarking!!!

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  17. too tempting dear,I can smell the ghee here:)

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  18. I luv this combi with mutton curry. Well made and fab clicks

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    1. Ohhh.. Now I am drooling on hearing this :)

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  19. My fav. Tempting pics with ghee pics.

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  20. I dont mind inviting myself to ur place to enjoy this delicious food.Inviting platter.

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    Replies
    1. Haha.. Anytime Priya :) U r most welcome :)

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  21. Very interesting combination of rice.. love it :)
    MAHA

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  22. Ghee rice looks super delicious... Lovely clicks... I'm a new blogger... Do visit my blog... http://kitchenserenity.blogspot.in/

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  23. Mouth watering, reminds me of my mom's ghee rice :)

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  24. This definitely sounds like comfort food to me..loved it

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  25. Nei choru looks great...Love the aroma that fills in room when it is cooked...

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  26. Flavorful yummy rice,my favorite too..drool.

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  27. Love the recipe....and I always end up picking and stuffing cashews from the rice....thank u for being there on blog today.....hope u had good time....do see you again....

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  28. I have never been able to enjoy nei choru much as I'm allergic to Ghee, but I love the aroma and the look of it :-)

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  29. this is definitely my favourite, although I always 'try' not to have it too much because of the ghee, but then its delicious! YOurs look really yummy especially with the garnishing ( I am usually too lazy to garnish with shallots etc )

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  30. Nei Choru looks divine, absolutely no dispute at the dinner table. :)

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  31. one of my fav..looks yum and delicious

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  32. wow so good it looks perfectly cooked rice.I am veryyyyyy hungry just looking at it.

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  33. my fav one...it has been ages since i made just nei choru..always end up making biriyani,but the taste of nei choru and chicken curry is something diff..drooiling just when thinking about it :)

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  34. Ghee Rice is something I haven't tried, but I must say it looks very good!

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  35. Oo ooh I can almost smell the ghee n d rice n the fried onions. Simple yet so flavourful!!!!

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  36. Simple yet delicious with any hot side dish,you have an awesome space nice to follow you...Will be happy if you follow my space...thanks

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