Indian food culture is as elaborate as its history. It offers you an extensive range of foods that are flavourful, aromatic and varied. If you explore the food culture in depth, you will find every region has something unique to offer. For instance, Kashmir offers Wazwan thali which is meat dominated and has extensive use of saunf and saunth (fennel and dry ginger powder). Likewise, in Bengal, you will find different types of local freshwater fish that are widely consumed. If you go to the Southern region of the country, the food there is majorly prepared in coconut oil, with heavy use of mustard seeds, curry leaves and different types of local chillies. Speaking about South Indian food, we instantly relate it to dosa, idli, appam and Malabar parotta. But, did you know that the cuisine has much more to offer? In fact, different states in Southern India have different types of foods. While some are popular across the globe, some are yet to be explored. Take Neychoru for instance.
Neychoru is a classic ghee rice recipe, popular in Kerala cuisine. Often referred to as the distant cousin of the quintessential jeera pulao (or jeera rice), Neychoru is easy to make and can be enjoyed with curry or curd. While exploring the dish, we came across a recipe that is super simple and can be made with minimum effort. This recipe has been shared by Chef Kunal Kapur on his Instagram handle.
Chef Kunal states, "Neychoru or Kerala-style ghee rice is a very rich pulao recipe that is absolutely tasty. You can make it in a pressure cooker at home or in a pan. Ghee rice is a traditional South Indian pulao recipe that uses jeerakasala rice or jeerai rice but can be made using basmati rice or even sela rice." Further explaining the recipe of Neychoru, he shates that the Kerala-style ghee rice recipe uses dry fruits and raisins cooked together with ghee. Let's take a look at the recipe.
Neychoru Recipe: How To Make Kerala-Style Ghee Rice:
To make this dish, you need to first fry cashew nut and raisin in ghee and keep them aside. Then in the same pan, add bay leaf, cinnamon, star anise and cumin. Let the spices splutter and add onions to it. Fry until the onion turns golden brown add soaked rice to it. Add ample amount of water, salt and green chilli and cook the rice.
Then add the cashew nut and raisin and close the lid. Let the water soak. Once the dish is ready, serve it hot with curry of your choice.
Watch the detailed recipe video below:
Also Read: Jeera Rice And Tadka Dal: An Easy And Comforting Combo For Lazy Weekends
"You can eat this simple pulao recipe with any vegetable curry or just serve it hot with curd. I love to eat my Punjabi-style rajma with ghee rice and it tastes yummy. If you are someone who loves jeera pulao or vegetable pulao, then you would love to cook this easy Indian recipe," Chef Kunal adds.
Try this Neychoru recipe today and let us know how you liked it.