Thursday, November 14, 2013

Irachi pidi (Rice dumplings in beef stew)

I never knew such a dish existed until my marriage. Once my MIL made it and I fell in love! But she made the curry and pidi separately. I recently got a recipe where the pidi (rice dumplings) is cooked along with the curry/stew. So here it goes..



For the beef curry

To pressure cook
Beef - 1 kg
Ginger (sliced into thin strips) - 2" piece
Green chilly (slit) - 6-8 (as per your tolerance level)
Curry leaves - 3 sprigs
Salt - as per taste

To grind into paste
Small onions (sliced) - 1 cup
Corainder powder - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Peppercorns - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
Coconut milk (thick) - 1 cup (use 2 full coconuts)
Coconut milk (thin) - 4 cups

For the rice dumplings / pidi

Rice powder (I use pathiri podi) - 2 cups
Hot boiling water - 2.5 cups
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste


Method

Mix all the items mentioned under To pressure cook well with hand and then pressure cook with 1/2 cup of water. Cook till meat is cooked well. Switch off the stove and let the pressure gets released.

Meanwhile add 2.5 cups of water to a vessel and boil it. Add 1 tsp of sugar to it. When its about to boil, add enough salt and let it boil. Add rice powder and mix thoroughly, immediately switch off the stove. Keep it covered for sometime. After sometime, open lid and start kneading the dough (when the heat is bearable - I use my electric mix for doing this job!) When the dough is soft and smooth, make small balls out of it and keep it aside, covered.

In a kadai, add coconut oil. When its hot enough, add the sliced small onions and let them get sauteed well. When it turns slightly brown, add the ground masala and saute well. When the raw smell goes, switch off the stove and add this masala to the pressure cooker. Mix this masala well with the cooked meat and let it start to cook in low flame. Add the thin coconut milk. Adjust salt. Add the small pidis into this and let them get cooked in the stew. When all are cooked well, add thick coconut milk. When its warm enough (do not let the thick coconut milk boil), switch off the stove and serve warm.

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