Briyani is aromatic rice that is made with various spices and served with meat such as chicken, beef, or fish. The meat dishes are usually cooked in the form of either korma or curry. Originating from the Indian subcontinent, briyani is known by many names in Malaysia such as nasi beriani, nasi briani, and even nasi minyak.
The most popular name is Nasi Briyani Gam as that is an improvised version from Johor where the dish is accompanied by hard-boiled eggs and ‘achar’ which is a combination of pickled cucumber, onions, red chillies, and pineapple.
The main ingredients of nasi briyani are the spices such as star anise, cumin, pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, onions, and garlic. The rice has yellow tinge due to the turmeric powder.
In Malaysia, evaporated milk is added to make the rice creamier and fluffier, Sometimes, raisins and cashew nuts are used to garnish the rice. Instead of just eating plain white rice, try this recipe to spice up your rice dish.
Ingredients (8 servings):
- 450g basmati rice (washed and drained)
- 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp of butter
- 3 large shallots (thinly sliced)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 3 cardamom pods
- 6 cloves
- ½ tsp of ground turmeric
- 80g of golden raisins
- 70g of cashew nuts (optional)
- 50 ml of evaporated milk
- 500 ml of water
- 2 pandan leaves ( or 2 tsp pandan essences)
- 1 tsp of salt
Directions:
- Heat up vegetable oil in a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Stir-fry the sliced shallot until fragrant. Then, remove and drain using paper towels and set aside.
- In the same pot, melt the butter under low heat. Stir-fry cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods and cloves for about 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Next, add the drained rice and stir them well. Increase the heat to medium, add golden raisins, knotted pandan leaves, evaporated milk, and water. Stir occasionally while bringing it to a boil and season with salt.
- After the water reduces, lower the heat and cover the pot. Let the rice cook for 10 minutes then turn off the heat.
- In a small dish, mix the ground turmeric with 1 tablespoon of hot water and then sprinkle it into the rice. Mix them gently.
- Then, cover the rice and leave it aside for 10 minutes. Garnish the rice with fried onions and cashew nuts.
- Serve the rice with your favourite curry, hard-boiled egg and achar.